Lucy in the Sky

looks to be fairly short from where I’m standing, but it’s hard to tell. They’re all smoking; it reeks in here.
    ‘Hi,’ I say. ‘I’m Lucy, Nathan’s friend. He’s upstairs sleeping.’ I smile. ‘Would you wake him up in an hour or two?’ Introducing themselves as Ned and Billie, they nod their assent.
    I check my phone as I’m walking out of the door and back down the hill to Archway. James’s message says simply:
    YOU’VE BEEN AGES!
    I don’t reply.

Chapter 21
    ‘Where the hell have you been?’ James asks me crossly from the living-room sofa, as I open the door.
    ‘I told you,’ I snap. ‘I went to get Nathan from the airport, then I took him back to his place in Archway to help him get settled.’
    ‘I didn’t realise you were going to be all bloody day.’
    ‘I’ve hardly been all day, have I, James? It’s only three o’clock.’
    ‘I thought we were going to do something together. What have you been doing all this time?’ he rants.
    Blimey, I didn’t think he’d give me this much grief.
    ‘We went for breakfast and a bit of a walk and then fell asleep,’ I answer.
    ‘You fell asleep ?’ he asks me incredulously.
    ‘Yes…’ I reluctantly reply.
    ‘How the fuck did you manage to do that?’
    ‘James, don’t speak to me like that! I haven’t done anything wrong. I was exhausted from waking up at four thirty. I couldn’t get to sleep again after you woke me up at midnight when youstumbled in out of your face!’ I turn the tables on him, like only a professional girlfriend can.
    ‘Don’t you bloody turn the tables on me,’ he growls. Bollocks.
    ‘Look, it’s not a big deal,’ I tell him. ‘I fell asleep because I was knackered and he was jet-lagged. That’s all!’
    ‘Sounds a bit fucking dodgy to me.’
    ‘Stop swearing at me!’ I raise my voice and he appears to calm down slightly. I walk off to the kitchen to get a glass of water. When I turn around he’s there, behind me, watching me. I jump. ‘You frightened me.’
    He looks straight into my eyes. ‘You do fancy him, don’t you?’ he asks calmly, but there’s a deadly tone to his voice.
    ‘Of course I don’t!’
    ‘You do.’ He says it steadily and I don’t know what to say.
    I look up into his deep blue eyes and find myself shrugging helplessly.
    ‘No, I don’t,’ I feebly persist, but it’s no use. He can see right through me. Guilt must be riddled across my features. He shakes his head at me in disgust.
    ‘What’s going on, Lucy?’ His mouth is stretched into a tight, thin line.
    ‘I don’t know,’ I tell him honestly.
    ‘You do fancy him,’ he says flatly.
    I can’t answer.
    ‘Fuck!’ he exclaims, and runs his hand through his hair, angrily.
    ‘James…’ I put my hand on his arm. He shakes me off and stalks back into the living room. I follow and perch on the sofa beside him. His expression is pained, distraught, and I suddenly feel overwhelmingly sorry for him.
    ‘I love you,’ I tell him gently. He doesn’t answer. ‘I love you,’ I say again.
    ‘Do you love him?’ he asks, head shooting round to look at me, eyes widening a touch. ‘Is that why you didn’t want to leave Sydney and come back to me?’
    ‘No!’ I vehemently deny, but he stares at me with disbelief.
    ‘James, I love you ,’ I try again, and put my hand on his bicep. He doesn’t shrug me off this time.
    ‘You can’t see him again,’ he says suddenly, resolutely.
    ‘James—’
    ‘No, Lucy,’ he interrupts, looking at me. ‘You can’t see him again.’
    ‘I can’t just ignore him. He’s here alone! He’s the brother of one of my best friends!’ James shakes his head, looking away from me. ‘Don’t be like this. Don’t be unreasonable.’
    ‘ Unreasonable? ’ He looks at me in amazement, and lets out an indignant laugh. ‘Un-fucking-reasonable? You’ve got to be bloody joking.’
    I look away from him, defensively. This is hopeless. I go through to the bedroom and strip the sheets, then start putting away all the items of clothing that have been piling up on the chair over the last few days. He turns the sound up on the TV.
    This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, I repeat to myself as I complete menial household chores. I will see Nathan. I can’t not see him. I won’t not see him. There has to be a way round this. I keep myself busy while James continues to ignore me from the living room. After a while his dark shadow appears at the door.
    ‘Are you going