a toilet though.’ He wrinkles up his nose in disgust and she laughs, relieved that he’s here next to her. They sit in companionable silence under a cedar tree, shaded by the canopy of velvet leaves, watching scantily dressed young couples sprawled on towels; the men in shorts, their chests bare, the girls in bikini tops that leave little to the imagination. A large group of women are picnicking with their toddlers and gossiping under a neighbouring oak.
‘Are you okay, Bea?’ he asks, as he hands her a can of Pimms, which she takes and guzzles gratefully. ‘You seem a bit melancholy.’
Anger surges through her along with the alcohol. ‘What do you expect when you’re constantly lying to me?’
The sun has brought out the freckles on his face so that he looks tanned and healthy, and he runs a hand through his hair, something he always does when he’s anxious. She can tell that he’s inwardly debating whether to continue lying to her and she wants to warn him that it’s very important what he decides to say next. It could mean the end of everything.
‘You’re talking about Abi, aren’t you?’
She’s relieved that he’s decided to be honest with her. ‘You’ve been sneaking around behind my back for the last few weeks. But what hurts the most is why you didn’t just tell me?’
He has the grace to look ashamed. ‘I’m sorry, Bea. I didn’t know how to explain it to you. Abi wanted me to tell you. She felt so awkward about it. She thinks a lot of you. And, well, I know you don’t agree with romances between housemates.’
She places the can next to her on the ground. ‘You’ve broken the rules, but it’s not only that,’ she says, without looking at him. She pulls a dandelion up by its root and begins to methodically pick off its petals. ‘I care about Abi, but she’s incredibly fucked up.’ She twists her body around so that she’s facing him. ‘You do know that, don’t you? You’ve seen the newspaper article about Lucy. Abi blames herself for her death. She sees a psychiatrist and she told me herself she suffers from paranoid delusions and survivor’s guilt. She’s fragile, probably not the best person to start a relationship with. And she thinks I haven’t noticed those scars on her wrists. Well, I have, Ben. Haven’t you?’
He nods, slowly. ‘I did suspect,’ he admits.
‘She hasn’t said, but I bet she’s been on a psych ward. Be careful, that’s all I’m saying.’
Ben pauses, as if weighing up whether to be honest with her. ‘I do like her a lot. I’ve not felt this way—’
She doesn’t want to hear it. She throws the dandelion, now bald without its petals, on to the ground. ‘I understand,’ she interrupts, trying to keep her voice even. They sit for a while, watching a group of teenagers playing football. ‘Do you think we should be honest with her? About the past, about what we did?’
Ben gapes at her as if he doesn’t know who she is, his face turning crimson. ‘You’re fucking joking,’ he splutters. ‘We said we would never tell anyone, ever.’ He downs the rest of his Pimms and crushes the can in his fist.
‘Abi’s different. You said so yourself. You want to lie to her?’
‘We’ve done something awful, Bea,’ he says in a low voice. ‘Abi would never look at me in the same way again. Or you. You would ruin everything. Is that what you want?’
She tuts. ‘No, of course not.’
‘Abi would never understand, and she definitely wouldn’t forgive it.’ He emits a manic bark of laughter. ‘Our lives would be ruined. We’d have to move away again. We’ve made a life here now.’ His face darkens. ‘You can’t tell anyone. Ever.’
The Pimms swirls around in her empty stomach, making her nauseous. ‘I know. But I feel so guilty, Ben.’ She takes his hand as they sit in silence, staring out over the rooftops of Bath. Bile rises in her throat at the thought, but she’s compelled to ask, ‘Are you sleeping with her?’
He drops her hand as if it’s diseased. ‘I’m not answering that.’
She blinks back the sting of tears. Fury builds in her chest. ‘You make me so fucking cross,’ she hisses. ‘I told you that it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with her. She’s my friend, I’m the one who found her. I’m the one who’s supposed to be helping her, and you’re going to ruin it, the same way you ruin everything …’ She can hear her voice rising. The women sitting under the neighbouring tree turn to look at her, clutching their toddlers to them as if she might be some drunk, some threat.
Ben grabs her hand and squeezes it hard. ‘Stop it,’ he urges. ‘People are looking.’
‘You don’t care about my feelings at all, do you? It’s bad enough that you’ve decided to begin a relationship with her regardless of the house rules,’ she cries, her anger cancelling out any embarrassment. ‘When we moved in together we agreed that we would respect each other … we said …’ She pauses, takes a deep breath.
‘I know what we said, Bea.’ His face is sweaty, panicked.
‘Then why are you shagging her, Ben? Under my roof, in my house—’
‘Don’t be so melodramatic, for fuck’s sake,’ he spits, making her flinch. ‘And it’s our house, Bea. Our house.’
‘Whatever.’ She’s crying now, knows she’s making a scene. Several other people have turned to look at them and one of the teenagers calls over to ask if Beatrice is all right.
‘She’s fine,’ Ben snaps, standing up and pulling her to her feet. ‘Come on, we better go.’
Beatrice thrusts her toes back into her flip-flops and follows Ben as he stalks down the hill, the plastic bag filled with their empty cans swinging from his arm. She wonders if she’s said too much, gone too far? She has to run to catch up with him, but he doesn’t stop until he’s halfway down the road and by the time she’s reached him she’s panting and out of breath. She grabs his arm and he spins around to face her, his eyes hard.
‘What the fuck is the matter with you, Bea?’
She hangs her head, surprised by his sudden burst of anger. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘And you can hardly talk. What about Niall?’
She freezes. ‘Niall? Nothing is going on with Niall. He’s a friend, that’s all. And he doesn’t live with us.’
He glares at her disbelievingly. Then sighs, shaking his head and she can tell his anger is dissipating like air being slowly squeezed from a balloon. But when she makes a move to take his arm, he shrugs her off.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asks, hurt swelling behind her eyes at his rebuke. ‘I’m sorry I caused a scene.’ She knows how he hates to row in public, hates attracting attention.
‘It’s not that.’
‘Then what?’ She takes a tissue from her pocket and blows her nose.
He hesitates. ‘Abi means a lot to me, you know.’
A chill creeps around the back of her neck, despite the heat. ‘What are you saying?’
‘I want to give things a go properly with Abi. And I want you to take us seriously and stop this jealousy, Bea. I know it’s hard for you, you’ve always been the most important woman in my life. I get that. But I don’t see why Abi can’t be my girlfriend and your friend. We don’t have to bicker over her.’
‘I don’t think it’s the right time for her to be getting into a relationship,’ she says weakly. ‘I thought that if I could help her then it would make everything else okay, somehow.’
‘Not this karma shit again, Bea?’ He sighs. ‘Nothing is going to make up for the past, for what we did. You know that, right?’
Her