I’m sat by a window at the back of the pub. Thought out of the way would be best with what we’re here to talk about. Hurry. Please x
I take Sonya’s desperation as my cue to leave the confines of my car.
The Blackwell Arms is like most traditional British pubs. It has a dark oak bar sweeping through the middle of the room and a patterned carpet that style forgot. Commentary mumbles in the background from a television playing a football match, with the regulars glued to it. Unlike other pubs, though, The Blackwell Arms smells clean, no lingering scent of spilled beer and bad decisions.
I order a Coke then take it to the back of the pub, an area quieter than the front but no less stereotypically styled.
Sonya West jumps to her feet when she sees me. A halo of frizz surrounds her scraped-back hair, the style so poorly tied up that she might as well pull it loose from the scrunchie.
‘Janine?’ she asks.
‘That’s me. Nice to meet you.’
I don’t know whether to go for a handshake or not, but Sonya takes the decision out of my hands by pulling me into a fierce hug. ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ she whispers.
When Sonya pulls away, I’m alarmed to see that there are tears in her eyes. She dabs them away while we settle into our seats. I study her. Sonya’s wearing make-up, but it was hastily applied. Her clothes are well tailored but creased. In fact, there’s a general air of chaotic dishevelment about Sonya that almost makes me want to pass her my doctor’s details.
‘Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,’ I say.
‘I should be the one thanking you. I’d have dropped everything for an update on Lex.’
‘Has Otis been giving you any?’
Sonya stops chewing the side of her thumb to scoff. ‘You were with him earlier. You’ll have seen him ignoring my calls. He doesn’t tell me anything, even though I’m Lex’s best friend. I’m so worried. Disappearing without going to a friend or telling anyone where she is… it’s not like her.’
‘Otis said the same thing.’
‘I bet he did,’ Sonya mutters.
‘I take it you’re not a fan of his?’ I ask, taking a sip of my drink.
Sonya pauses to study me before she answers. ‘How well do you know Otis Clarke?’
‘I don’t. Not really. I met him for the first time the other day.’
‘Have you fallen for his charms yet?’
When I pull back, Sonya laughs.
‘Don’t judge me for saying that. Otis has this way about him that gets people on side. He acts so self-assured that people don’t get the chance to realise what he’s saying is bollocks. He’s a con man dressed in a nice suit. Don’t let the fancy house and six-car garage fool you.’
‘Well, you don’t hold back,’ I reply, a remark Sonya shrugs at. ‘Have you always felt this way about Otis?’
‘Maybe not as strongly as I do now, but I’ve never been his biggest fan.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘How long have you got? One thing you should know about me, Janine, is that I’m a good judge of character. I see things most people don’t. To everyone else, Otis and Alexa are the golden couple. How could they not be? Those looks, that house, that life? It’s the dream!’
‘But you don’t see it that way?’
‘No, and you wouldn’t either if you knew what went on beneath that shiny exterior.’
It takes everything in me to not wrap my arms around myself as protection against the iciness of Sonya’s words.
‘Lex is the most wonderful person I’ve ever met,’ Sonya continues. ‘It’s impossible not to love her. She shines on her own, but put her next to Otis and together they sparkle. Otis likes that. He grew up poor – I mean,reallypoor – so the ability to turn heads matters to him. Surely you’ve noticed that?’
I think of Otis, bleary-eyed and disintegrating more and more as time goes on. ‘I don’t know if I’d describe him like that.’