Good Girls Don't (17 page)

Epilogue

Two weeks after Jeremy’s death, Barry will tell his mother the truth about their relationship. She will look at him oddly and wonder why he asked her to sit down. “I knew that,” she will say patiently. He will stare at her in shock and will later use this story as an amusing anecdote at parties.

I will also use it as the basis for the short film I make at the course, which will prove to be less like school than I imagined. The teacher will be rather impressed with my work and tell me that I have “real potential”, which will be the first time anyone has ever used the word “potential” when speaking to me without it following the words “You’re not living up to your full . . .”

Lucy and Andrew will get back together at a party after their exams finish, surprising no one. They will be inseparable all summer and discover in August that they’ve gotten into the courses they wanted.

Declan will spend his summer writing his feelings down, as his therapist has suggested, in the form of poetry. He will read these poems to Abi, who will smile encouragingly but confess to me that they’re terrible.

Hugh and I will become real friends again, and spend so much time together that Fiona will end up picking a fight with me at a party. The two of us will yell at each other for a while, getting so worked up that our friends will worry that we’re going to start throwing punches. Roisín will drag me away from her and will kiss me in order to distract me. I will prove to be easily distracted, and will also find myself re-evaluating every thought I’ve had about her innocence later that night. Barry will claim he saw it coming.

She’ll play a modern-day Rapunzel when I finally get around to making my first movie, but she won’t be one bit interested in the handsome prince.

And then we will all live, more or less, happily ever after.