“Shit,” Cyrus moans, running his hands over his face. “Oh, God. Something’s happened. She’s hurt.”
Seb leans forward. “We’re concerned about her well-being,” he says into the receiver. “Did she seem ill? Hurt?
“No. She seems perfectly fine.”He pauses.“So what is it? Is Enzo giving you a better price? That bastard’s always trying to steal my tenants.”
“What?”
“She’s taking a leaf out of your books, apparently. Said she’s moving out next month. Got a job up inBristol.” His voice is dripping with disgust. “Come on, Jack. You boys have lived here for years. Don’t you think you owe me a bit of loyalty? At least tell me when some other landlord is trying to fuck me over. That wasteman’s had it out for me ever since I bought this bloody building. I guess this is his idea of revenge, huh?”
“What?” I ask numbly. “I’m sorry, did you say Beth ismoving?”
“I’ll tell you this for free—”Bill keeps on ranting. “Enzo might have lower prices, but that idiot’s known for dodging his mortgage payments. If you don’t want to get evicted, you’ll stay here.IfI decide to keep you.”
My heart stops in my chest. Cami looks up at me and starts wailing.
“Is that a baby?” Bill asks, sounding suspicious. “I’ve had other tenants complaining about a baby crying. It’s notyours,is it?”
“Thank you,” I tell him, and end the call without saying goodbye. None of us say anything for a few seconds. I pull Cami closer to me, trying to comfort her as my mind whirrs.
Beth is upset. She’s ignoring our calls. She’s moving away. Why? What the Hell has happened in these last few days for her to want to cut contact with us? Why does she want to leave us? Why does she want to leaveCami?
Cyrus stands suddenly, bending and yanking his suitcase out from under the bed. I watch as he tugs the wardrobe door open and starts haphazardly pulling out his expensive silk shirts.
“What are you doing?” I ask stupidly.
“Packing.”
“But what about the dinner—”
He whirls on me, his eyes flashing. “What do you care about more, Jack? Beth, or making bloodyvideo games?”
Without meaning to, I look up again at the suit hanging from the door, my convention pass sticking out of the front pocket. Being invited to a huge event like the AGAME Summit used to be my dream. As a teenager, I imagined what it would be like thousands of times.
But now I’m here—and if I’m honest, I’ve hated almost every moment. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve been wishing I was somewhere else. With someone else.
“Beth,” I say. “I care about Beth more.” I take a deep breath. “You’re right. We have to go home.”
“Why?” He demands. “You adore your work. You bloodyloveyour work. But you’d drop it to run after Beth. Why?”
“I…” I look down at the baby in my arms. Cami tips her head and looks back at me, her tiny lips pouting.
“Youlove your work,”Cyrus practically growls, tugging at his hair. “Jesus bloody Christ, Jack, you’re so goddamnthick,I swear to God—”
“I love her more,” I finish. “Beth. I love her.”
Cyrus shakes his head. “God, you’re so bloody stupid.” He kicks his suitcase shut. “There’ll be other work opportunities. Someone book the seats.”
“On it,” Seb says, already tapping at his phone.
Sixty-Five
Jack
If the flight to America was bad, the flight back to England is nothing short of torturous. All three of us are scared and worried. Seb is massaging his temples, and Cyrus is checking his watch every minute, desperate for the journey to go quicker. Cami can sense the tension, and she screams steadily from takeoff to landing. Soon, the other passengers’ glares and comments turn into outright complaints. The cabin crew flock over to help, trying to distract her with toys and baby food, but nothing works. Eventually, Sebastian reaches into his wallet, pulls out some notes, and shoves them at the flight attendant. “Just buy everyone a drink on me,” he mutters, rubbing his eyes. “That’s the best we can do.”
After an equally terrible taxi drive, we finally make it back to our building. We don’t bother stopping at our flat first, dragging our suitcases right to Beth’s hallway. Cami calms down as soon as we reach her door, like she knows she’s finally going to see her nanny again.
Seb raps at Beth’s door, hard. We all wait anxiously. Cami squirms in my arms.