‘Erin? Do you?’
‘I—’ She stopped, swallowed. ‘Who was that girl?’
Adam glanced behind him. ‘Which girl?’
‘The one who was all over you like a rash just now,’ Sam said, his voice icy.
Adam sighed heavily. ‘No-one was all over me. I was just trying to walk past and get to you and she threw herself at me.’ He took Erin’s elbow. ‘Erin, I promise. I don’t even know who she is.’
‘Okay.’ She nodded, and forced a smile.
‘So are you coming with me? Or are you going to go home and leave me here all on my own?’ He stuck his bottom lip out and Erin couldn’t help it: she melted. Of course Adam wasn’t flirting with someone else in front of her; why would he do that? She must have misunderstood. She stepped towards him into his arms and he kissed her lightly on the nose.
‘I’ll stay.’
‘Good choice.’ His hands ran down her back and onto her bottom, making her entire body fizz.
She turned to find Rose standing next to Sam, her arms folded across her chest.
‘Are you staying too?’ she said.
‘No, I think we’ll head home.’ Sam looked angry but Erin knew he’d forgive her. He always did.
‘Rose?’ she pleaded. ‘You can come and meet the band.’
Rose hesitated a minute, torn between her loyalty for Sam and her desperation to meet Dan. But in the end, loyalty won. ‘I’ll go with Sam,’ she said, pulling on her coat and hooking her arm through his. As the pair of them disappeared out of the door, Erin turned back to Adam, and as his eyes fixed on her, the guilt she felt at letting her friends down flew out of her mind. She was here, with Adam, and he wanted her. She kissed him, molten with desire, and felt a spark of triumph as he took her hand and led her backstage, away from the groups of girls still hanging around, who were watching them go with obvious envy. She’d won, for now. She could only hope things stayed that way.
18
NOW
The Psychedelic Furs: ‘Pretty in Pink’
‘Hello Mum,’ I said, momentarily forgetting I wasn’t meant to call her that.
‘Hello,’ Mum replied, smiling. It was three days after Christmas and to my relief she seemed in a good mood. She was sitting up in bed and looked as though she’d put on some make-up and brushed her hair. ‘Have you come to see me?’
‘I have. Is that okay?’ I perched on the chair nearby and waited.
Mum looked at Suzy questioningly, and Suzy gave a small nod. ‘You like talking to Erin,’ she reassured her.
Mum turned back to me and smiled again. ‘Oh good.’
‘I’ll leave you two for a while shall I?’ Suzy said, heading towards the door.
‘Thank you,’ I replied.
A silence hung in the air for a few seconds after she left. I stared out of the window behind Mum at the gardens where, in the misty distance, a small figure trudged across the grass, and wondered whether they were supposed to be out there alone. My attention was brought back into the room by Mum’s voice. Despite everything that had happened to her mind over the years, she still sounded the same, and when I wasn’t looking at her I felt consumed with joy when I heard her and truly believed I had her back again. Until reality crashed back in.
‘Sorry,’ I said, turning my attention to her. ‘What did you say?’
‘What dear? What did who say?’
I sighed. ‘Never mind.’ I held out a small package wrapped in red and silver paper. ‘Merry Christmas.’
‘What’s this for?’ she said, eyeing it suspiciously.
‘It’s your Christmas present.’
