The Catalyst | Joanne

Chapter 46

"Here you go."

Oti passed Dianne a steaming hot cup of coffee before sitting down opposite her on the couch.

"Thank you" Dianne said quietly. "For coming to get me. And for the coffee. You didn't have to do that."

Oti shook her head. "I did. I wasn't about to leave you on the street like that. Not with some maniac running about!"

"She... she's not a maniac" Dianne said. "Well, she might be. But I feel sorry for her. She's obviously got problems. Why else would she reach out to me like that?"

"Dianne" Oti reached out to place a comforting hand on her friend's knee, "you need to stop thinking about her. And you need to tell me why your Joseph isn't with you. That's what I'm more worried about."

Dianne sighed. She and Oti had had many conversations on this couch. When Dianne broke up with her previous boyfriend, Oti had been the voice of reason. When she had realised she had feelings for Joe, Oti had been the one to push her to admit it.

"I overreacted" Dianne said. "He... he kind of suggested he thought I was, well, seeing this girl in more places than she was. That I was going mad somehow. That was what his sister had said, and he agreed with her. I asked him to choose, and he froze. So, I left."

Oti leaned back, groaning slightly. "Dianne! You can't walk away like that! He's a good boy and he loves you. What are you going to do now, hmm?"

Dianne shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I don't want to sleep in the apartment on my own. There are too many memories. I just..." she sighed. "Part of me wants to prove them all wrong. Part of me wants to find this girl and fix this by myself."

"You're playing with fire" Oti warned.

"I know. I know I am, but what else can I do? This whole situation has become ridiculous, and it's like I'm just circling the drain. She's pulling me in, and nobody can see that it's not my fault. Alfie blames me because he thinks I'm stupid and naïve. Zoe and Joe are blaming me because they think it's all in my head. What do I do?"

Oti looked across at her friend. "You go and get some clean clothes. You come back here. You have a bath. We open a bottle of wine. And, just like old times, we put on Pretty Woman or Titanic and you cry until you fall asleep."

Dianne curled her arms around her body. "I don't know if that's going to work this time. But... can I stay?"

Oti nodded. "Of course you can. Why don't you go and get some of your stuff? Joe's in Brighton, right? So, go and get some stuff while he's out so you don't have to face him until you're ready to talk."

"OK. I won't be long." Dianne paused at the door, making sure she had her keys. "Thank you."

///

"Alfie?"

Alfie sat back in the driver's seat of his car as Zoe's voice rang out through the speaker.

"She's not at the station" he said. "She might have got the earlier train, though. Shall... shall I drive into London and head towards Clapham Junction just in case? I might be able to catch her at the other end."

Zoe sighed. "Well, we might as well try everything. Just... let us know if you find her, OK? Marco the concierge has a spare key; he'll let you in to Joe's apartment if you need to check there."

"Fine, I'll let you know when I get there."

As Zoe ended the call, she turned to Joe and sighed. "I feel so helpless" she said.