Page 99 of Broken Beyond Repair

She’d expected her mum to be confused by the statement, but instead, Rhona said, “You go get your girl.”

“What?” Sydney asked, baffled.

“Her.” She nodded at the screen, which was currently displaying a close-up of Beatrice. “You couldn’t take your eyes off her, and you smiled every time she came on the screen.”

There was no hiding anything from her mum.

“Right. I’ll call you, okay? Look after Gertie for me.” Sydney passed the key to her. “Tell her I’ll be back for her soon.”

“Good luck.”

Sydney hot-footed it out of the cinema. She needed to get to Beatrice as fast as she could, and even with Gertie sporting her new engine, she wasn’t going to be fast enough for her.

As she hit the chilly air of the Scottish winter, her phone lit up. It was a text message from Alison that readBA1710. She must have seen the interview, too, and guessed who Beatrice was talking about. A check of the flight number gave Sydney an arrival time of 7:45 p.m. If the next flight to Heathrow from Edinburgh had available seats, she’d arrive in time to surprise Beatrice at the airport.

Another text message flashed up on her phone, this time from James.

Please tell me she wasn’t talking about you!he messaged.

Okay. She wasn’t talking about me.

She so was, though, wasn’t she?

Yes!Sydney replied even as she ran across town to grab some belongings from her mum’s house.I’m heading to Edinburgh airport.

What have I told you about mixing business with pleasure?

Take every opportunity??

Very good!

Those two words, even from her good friend, sent a thrill up Sydney’s spine.

She replayed the video repeatedly once safely in the back of the taxi and heading for the airport. She was beginning to wonder what the hell she was doing jumping on a plane to London and needed the video for reassurance that she wasn’t going mad.

Perhaps just one.

Had Beatrice meant one specific person or just not everyone? Had she read everything wrong? Inhaling a deep breath, Sydney stowed her phone in her pocket and sat on her hands to control her twitching mess of a body. There was only one way to know — find Beatrice.

CHAPTER37

Beatrice fidgeted in her seat and checked her watch for the tenth time that hour. Was there a strong crosswind making the plane particularly slow across the Atlantic today? They were due to land in an hour, and it was going to be the longest hour of her life. She wanted her feet on the ground so she could begin her hunt for Sydney.

She woke her phone up for the first time during the flight; she couldn’t ignore it forever. Alison had begun calling as soon as her eggs Benedict was placed in front of her, which, thanks to her 7:45 a.m. flight time to London, she’d eaten at JFK airport at 6:30 a.m. The talk show would have aired at 3:00 a.m. UK time, so Alison would have woken to find Beatrice all over the news.

There were ten missed calls from her leading up to the time of her flight; she’d ignored them all. She needed time to get used to being an out actress before she faced the world. Strangely it didn’t feel any different. Was it supposed to? In the end, all it took was one simple correction,hetoshe, and it was done. A weight lifted. Yet another in an extensive line of shackles she’d needed to cut away.

A quick check of WhatsApp revealed Alison immediately started messaging once the flight took off. It was the only way they could communicate whilst Beatrice was in the air.

Why didn’t you tell me, Bea? I would have supported you.

That one hit hard. It was going to be the hardest one to answer.

I’m guessing you didn’t trust me.

That one made her eyes water.

You not trusting me is on me. I’m sorry.