“You’re just saying that.” But I so needed to hear it. I wanted my music to be worthwhile. I wanted it to affect people.

“I’m not. Your music means something to me. It means something to a lot of people. They just don’t seem like much because they’re not a fixed audience of TV viewers that bring in bundles of cash, but believe me, they’re out there.”

“So I’m Vincent Van Gogh?”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“It means I’ll be a great artist but die penniless.”

“Do you want to be rich?”

“No. But sometimes I get really sick of struggling. Sometimes I just want to see a completely overpriced mattress on TV and say to myself, do you know what? I’m going to buy that mattress.”

Now she laughed. “I’ll buy you a bloody mattress if you’ll stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

I laughed, too. “I am feeling sorry for myself, aren’t I? I’m such a drippy bitch.”

“You’re doing it again,” Karla scolded, a smile in her voice.

“Yes, I am. I don’t think there’s a cure. But thank you for the pep talk. It helped.”

“You’re welcome. And Reya?”

“What?”

“Go have a good time. You deserve it. Quit worrying and overthinking things. It’s all wasted energy in the end.”

“Okay,” I said, breathing deeply. “I’ll try. And I’ll call you in a day or so. We’re taking the train to Paris tomorrow.”

“Cool, talk to you then.”

Fourteen.

Trev was breathless and sweaty by the time they were done filming. And I was, well, I was impressed. On screen, their jumps and runs looked effortless. Behind the sleek perfection of the final cut, it didn’t seem real. But here, seeing it all happen in the flesh, I saw the extent of how much they challenged themselves. I was even more impressed than that day I watched them train in their gym.

I went to Trev and handed him a bottle of water. “That was incredible. And insane. You should be proud though. You definitely took things to another level today.”

“All in the quest to entertain the masses,” he replied with a wink, taking the water and twisting open the bottle. I watched as he brought it to his mouth and took a long swig, far too mesmerised by the way his throat moved when he swallowed. His eyes fell on mine as he screwed the cap back on.

“Hey guys,” came a voice, and I turned to see Isaac approach. I wondered how he got past the security barriers, but then again, he probably had his ways. I didn’t think Trev ever paid a Tube fare in his life back in the old days. He was a master of jumping barriers and evading detection. His morals had always been somewhat questionable, but that was just how he grew up.

A pang of nostalgia hit me. That life was a whole other world for him now.

I wondered what Isaac’s life had been like back in Johannesburg. He was more or less a stranger, so I had no idea about his past. Had he been rich or poor? I suspected it was the latter from the worn Reeboks and tattered jacket he wore. Maybe he and Trev had more in common than I thought.

“Hey Isaac,” Trev greeted, giving him a nod. “You ready to show me what you can do?”

I could tell Isaac was nervous, but he did well not letting it show. “Yeah, man. Let’s do this.”

“I can’t believe you’re going on a run. Aren’t you exhausted?” I asked, flabbergasted.

Trev grinned. “Nah, but I’m glad my energy impresses you.”

I wasn’t sure what his grin meant, but I didn’t have too much time to ponder it. Callum and Leanne came over, and Isaac was adorably star-struck again. They heard about the run and wanted to tag along, too. In the end, Jimbo, the crewman who’d apparently been filming my gig, went with them to capture the action. I think he was under instructions from Barry to capture more behind-the-scenes stuff.

Isaac was asked to sign a release form, allowing the show to use footage of him. He was more than happy to sign, and then off they went. He shot me a look that said Can you frickin’ believe this? Like, none of it felt real. I was just happy to see someone who obviously deserved a chance get one.

There was no sense in me going with them, since I could barely climb a five-foot wall, never mind vault between buildings like they were stepping stones in a garden pond. Instead I joined Neil back at the apartment, and together we went through plans for the evening and following day, made phone calls, arranged catering, answered emails, all that fun stuff. And strangely, even though I’d never done anything like this before, I really enjoyed it. I was organised by nature, so this was right up my alley.

When Neil suggested we order in dinner I told him I’d cook something instead. Aside from music, it was one of the rare few things I was good at.

I had all the ingredients to make lasagne from scratch. By the time I had it in the oven, I felt grubby and sweaty. It had been a long day. Glancing at the clock, I figured I had just enough time for a shower before the food was ready. I lavished myself with my favourite coconut body wash and felt clean and relaxed by the time I emerged.

I heard the front door open and voices chatting as I wrapped myself in a towel.

“Something smells amazing. I could eat a horse,” Callum exclaimed and I smiled to myself.

“Me too,” said Leanne and I just slipped my feet into my flip-flops when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I didn’t think too much of it until the door handle turned and Trev stepped inside.

I should’ve shouted for him to get out, but for some reason my mouth wouldn’t work. I stood there, gripping the edge of the towel that was wrapped around my body. Trev’s eyes went huge when he saw me, and he started to apologise.

“Shit, sorry Reya,” he said, his breathing quickening as he retreated.

“It’s fine,” I replied and waved away his apology. “I’m just finished anyway.” Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it all before. The thought made a shiver run through me.

His gaze traced the lines of my shoulders. They were dotted with drops of water that fell from my wet hair.

“Here, let me,” Trev murmured, his voice low as he grabbed a small towel from the rack. My heart stuttered when he came forward, stepped behind me and gathered my hair up into the towel in one swift move. It was a tight twist on top of my head when he was done and I uttered a quiet, “Thanks,” while his fingers swiped away one of the drops on my shoulder.