Chapter 17

“I can’t believe I met Billy Thomas,” said Cassie dreamily.

“You did more than meet him,” Chloë said with a grin. She was sitting opposite Cassie at the kitchen table, working on an essay.

Cassie blushed and started giggling. Eddie, sitting to Cassie’s right, grunted. He’d made his displeasure clear as soon as Cassie had started flirting with the singer. His mood worsened when the pair vanished from the backstage party and Adam had had to hold him back from punching Billy when they had returned after half an hour, looking flushed and dishevelled. Cassie’s witches’ nose had gone missing and her green face paint was smudged.

His mood hadn’t improved in the four days since and it was starting to get on Adam’s nerves. He sat opposite Eddie and next to Chloë. He looked from Eddie to Cassie and back, and then continued with his essay.

They’d sort it out—eventually.

Chloë’s mobile phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. “Sorry,” she said as she stood and flipped open the phone. “It’s my agent. I have to take it.” She put the phone to her ear as she left the room. “Humphrey, what’s up?”

She closed the door behind her and returned a short time later looking ashen-faced. She quickly packed her things into her bag. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. Something’s come up.”

“What is it?” asked Cassie.

“I can’t say.” She saw the worried look on Adam’s face and added, “It’s okay. It’s nothing serious. Just something I have to deal with quickly before it gets out of hand. All perfectly normal. I’ll call you later.”

Adam frowned even more. “Okay. I’ll pop around later and see if everything’s okay.”

“No!” Chloë composed herself and continued. “I mean ... I’ll text you, okay. Stay away from the house tonight. Promise me.”

“Why?”

“Promise me.”

“Okay. Fine.” Adam tried not to sound hurt.

Chloë knelt so that her face was level with his and put her hand on his cheek. “Adam, promise me you won’t go by the house. Promise me. It’s important.”

“Okay, okay. I promise. What’s all this about, sweetheart?”

She stood. “I’ll tell you later. I swear. I have to go.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and left the room. “I’ll text you. Don’t do anything until I text you.”

The front door slammed shut behind her. “What was all that about?” Cassie asked.

“Buggered if I know,” said Adam.

“It’s celebrity stuff,” said Eddie with all the authority of one who knows no more than anyone else but wants to appear as if he does. “I’ll bet you any money it’s celebrity stuff. She’s probably got a photoshoot she’d forgotten about or an interview or something.”

“I doubt it. She told me that she wasn’t doing anything like that until Reunion comes out—and then only as little as she can get away with.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Adam,” said Cassie. “It’s probably nothing.”

Adam checked his phone for messages every half an hour for the rest of the evening, but all he got was a message from Eddie asking if he’d heard from Chloë. He replied with two words, the second of which was off.

He had trouble sleeping that night. Partly because he hadn’t heard from her, but also simply because she wasn’t there. He’d gotten used to falling asleep by her side and watching the sunrise light her face in the morning. He didn’t like her absence. She wasn’t at the nine o’clock lecture the next morning. He had trouble concentrating on Dr Banks but did notice a lot of people turning in their seats to look at the empty seat next to him. Where was she?

“Hey, Adam,” said Kim as they left the lecture. “Brave of you to show up today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you seen it?”

“Seen what?”

Kim took that morning’s edition of The Daily Echo out of her bag and handed it to him. He unfolded it and his breath caught in his throat.

Covering the whole of the front page, along with the headline Trick or Treat? was a photo of him and Chloë. She was on her knees in front of him and despite the blocking out of the detail, it was obvious what she was doing.