No One Else

Chapter 4

4

Jude

Her line kept ringing. And ringing. And ringing. And then it hit her voicemail.

So I tried again.

That time, she picked up just before the line clicked out.

"Yes?"

Patience, Jude. You fucked up, and now you've got to fix it. "Hi, Lily. Do you have a moment to chat?"

A sigh. "Precisely one moment."

"Thank you for giving Elle my letters. I completely understand your feelings—"

"You don't."

Deep breath. "You're right. All I could do is put myself in your place. Had I walked into what you walked into, I'd tell Rob he were better off. I can't blame you for feeling this way, but I'm reaching out to you on behalf of someone we both love very much."

There were a few beats of silence, and then: "Well, go on. I'm listening."

She might've been more angry than Elle. "I'd like to help plan for Elle's birthday. I'm sure you've already started pulling something together, but I want to contribute in some way, any way."

"You know she hates surprises. She also hates attention. Regardless, that girl deserves a little fun. I'm going to throw her a small party here. Then, maybe, depending on how she's feeling, move the party out to a bar. Nothing too club-y. She'd fucking hate that. But something a bit trendy, something more fun than your average pub."

"What can I do to help?" I asked.

"Make the most of your celebrity status. I was going to have Rob do it, but if you're willing—"

"Of course. More than willing."

"Then I'll text you some of the bars I picked out and you can see if you can get us a private table at one."

"Done."

"Great. Bye."

"Oh, er, before you go, I wanted to get your opinion on something. I...I'd like to take Elle on a sunny holiday. We get so little sun in London, and I want to give her a break from all of the clouds and rain. I was thinking maybe somewhere along the south of France."

"You've taken her to France. Take her somewhere new, somewhere she hasn't been before. She asked me a ton of questions about Italy after I came back with Rob, so I'm sure it's somewhere she's added to her list."

"Italy...she has a list?"

"Of course she has a list. Everyone has a fucking list. Don't you?"

"I, er, I guess. I've been to lots of places for filming and press so—"

"Well we're not all movie stars getting to travel around the world. Some of us have jobs that keep us in certain places—remember?"

Apparently I'd used up all of the kindness Lily was going to afford me that evening. "Okay, okay. Thanks. I'll look for your text with the places for her birthday."

"Yeah."

"Bye, Lily."

"One last thing: if you ever give her a reason to question you again, I'll personally ensure your eternal misery." And on that note, the line went dead.

Fucking hell she was intense. Yet, rightfully so.

I wanted to get to work on planning out our getaway the moment I was off the phone, but I suddenly missed Elle far too much. Before my mind could catch up with my body, I realised I was in my car driving to her. I spent nearly fifteen minutes sitting outside her flat, wondering if she even wanted to see me. We weren't supposed to jump back in so suddenly; we were told to take things slowly, get to know each other again. But I didn't want to listen to anyone or anything other than my heart.