Page 52 of Take Two

She thought of Mae asleep above the bakery, curled on her side with that stubborn little furrow in her brow. Callie wished she could be there with her.

Jesus, wasn’t it a bit early forthatthought?

She rolled onto her stomach and smacked her face lightly into the pillow. ‘You are not going to fuck this up,’ she informed the bedding. The pillow declined to comment.

She reached out, found her phone again, and opened her messages. Her thumb hovered over Mae’s name.

What could she possibly say that wouldn’t sound either deranged or nauseating?

Thanks for last night x

That sounded like she’d helped her with her homework.

About earlier…

Too vague. Too cowardly.

She kept typing, then deleting, then typing again until the simplest version was left.Are you okay? Can I see you this morning?

This was officially pathetic. How was she this nervous sending a text to someone whose toothbrush she’d once accidentally used on a school trip?

Twenty-Three

Now

Mae was halfway through brushing her teeth when someone knocked on her door.

She froze. Nobody knocked on her door at night. Not unless something was wrong.

She spat, rinsed and padded barefoot across the flat.

The knock came again. ‘Jesus, give me a second.’ Mae opened the door. And there, on her doorstep, stood Callie.

For a second, Mae just stared.

‘Hi,’ Callie said softly, hands jammed awkwardly into her jacket pockets.

Mae blinked. ‘Are you lost?’ she said flatly.

Callie laughed dryly. ‘Nope.’

Mae tightened her grip on the door, halfway between holding it open and slamming it shut.

‘What do you want, Callie?’

Callie didn’t answer immediately.

Callie’s eyes flicked over Mae—pyjamas, bare feet, undone hair—and Mae got a nice little shot of embarrassment.

‘I need to talk to you,’ Callie said finally.

Mae’s mouth flattened. ‘Let me guess,’ she said. ‘Neil sent you.’

Callie gave the smallest, guiltiest nod.

Mae let out a sharp, humourless laugh. ‘Unbelievable,’ she muttered. ‘He couldn’t bully me into changing my mind, so he sent you instead. Work me from the personal angle? Jesus, is there really not anywhere else you can pretend to fancy someone for the cameras?’

‘I didn’t want to come here,’ Callie said quietly. ‘But the shoot falls apart without you. We really do need tomorrow.’