Mina made an ‘uh-huh’ sound in her throat. ‘Be nice, given the other night. Give it a rest, Robbie.’
‘Right yeah, big bad Robbie. Left his girl all alone in the hospital, whilst he went off on tour. I know, I’ve heard it all before. Except I didn’t leave her, she left me. She checked out of life!’ He jabbed in her direction wildly. ‘And now you’re back, good as ever.’
‘Pretty much,’ Luke said. ‘Now, please just leave it. I don’t want to ruin another shirt. And I am not spoiling Hans and Holly’s night.’
‘And you’re here. Perfect.’ Robbie rounded on him like a snake would a rodent. Except in this case, Luke wasn’t the sly rat. ‘Not dumped this one yet then.’ He thumbed in Luke’s direction, his eyes fixed on his ex. ‘Not engaged to him, are you? That’s more your style, quickie engagement before the comp and then sack the lot off after.’
The stunned faces around said it all, and Rebecca lost her temper. She could feel her face flushing with the shame of being outed in the room, but looking back now, she wasn’t quite sure he was the injured party after all.
‘No, no engagement. I’m not that stupid. Once was more than enough. Tell me, how much did you make from my accident in the end? Enough to get right back on tour after, eh? We shared the same agent Robbie, don’t bother lying. I bet no one can tell the difference with you anymore anyway.’ Luke was there, still holding Hans down and supporting Holly, but he was looking at Robbie as if daring him to make a move. His eyes were shark-like and slit almost shut. She touched his leg, and he moved to sit near her. Holly shuffled into Hans’s side.
‘Don’t you dare move,’ Holly whispered theatrically to her husband. ‘Baby trumps dickhead.’
Hans scowled but put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
‘Leave, Robbie, you weren’t invited for a reason. No one cares.’
‘Really?’ Robbie still didn’t take the hint. ‘I think they will, everyone loves a comeback story, eh Becks? Ex-lovers, fighting it out for the title. Not bad, eh? I can hear the merchandise money rattling in the tills already.’
‘I told you,’ Rebecca spat. ‘Not this year.’ Or any year at this rate.
‘Why wait till next?’ Robbie jeered. ‘Why else are you here? Can’t seem to figure that one out yet, but the gossips online soon will. Seen your Facebook lately?’ he sneered. ‘I won’t have to wait till the line-up announcement, I bet.’
Rebecca’s eyes flicked to Hans. He nodded at her as if to say, ‘take him down.’ She glanced at Holly, but she was cuddled up to Hans, looking relaxed.
‘You don’t need to wait,’ she said, pulling herself up off the sofa, and standing in front of him. Luke was right there with her, his hand still in hers as ever. ‘I’m—’
‘All in,’ Luke broke in. ‘Competition entries have gone in, she’s ready. She’s even been teaching me a few things. I entered the novice one. Looking forward to it, aren’t we Rebecca? Hans, Holly, it’s been lovely but—’
‘You entered together? What’s the point?’ Robbie scoffed. ‘You’re hardly in her league, are you?’
Luke’s jaw clenched.
‘Robbie, shut up.’ She couldn’t feel her face. ‘Sorry, Hans, Holly. Ring you tomorrow.’
They got past him unchecked, for some reason he was more interested in eyeballing Luke. The two men shuffled around each other like dogs on a lead, not knowing whether to bark or bite, or both. Rebecca couldn’t do anything but walk away, trying not to run. She was waiting for Luke to say something, but he was so quiet. Maybe the ex showing up again was a bit of a mood killer for boyfriends. She wasn’t feeling quite so bright and shiny herself.
‘I don’t get you Becks, I really don’t.’ Robbie was standing there now, addressing the room, not just her. He was in full influencer celebrity mode, she’d seen enough of his YouTube videos back in the day to realise now that he wasn’t addicted to the danger, or the sense of achievement you felt when you went out there and did your best. He was addicted to the byproducts – the fame, the hangers on. If he could film himself now, working up to his big monologue, it would already be livestreaming. They were almost at the door. She could feel Luke almost vibrating with anger at the side of her, and she knew he was holding it in for her. To get her out without causing a huge scene or make her look even more of a spectacle than she felt already. He was so angry with Robbie, had said so many times how he couldn’t believe anyone could be that calculating. His anger made her question her own, or lack of it.
‘See you soon then, Becks! Looking forward to seeing you on the slopes.’
Stopping at the door, she pulled away from Luke’s hand and walked through the rest of the party guests to get to Robbie. His smile faltered a little, and she leaned in, pushing her index finger deep into the middle of his chest. She wanted to poke it all the way through, take that swinging brick of a heart out of his chest and stamp on the bloody thing till it was dust.
‘You can tell people what you like, you can play the jilted loving fiancé, but we both know,’ She leaned in closer still, ‘You were out of this the minute my body hit the deck. You just wouldn’t admit it. The fact is Robbie, it took all that for me to see just what a shallow, fame-hungry, little div you are. Luke is three times the man you are, without even trying.’ She smiled then, her fears fading as she took in his shocked expression. ‘The best thing that ever happened to me was that ski breaking. It took me
