Celeste tries again. “I know you’ve always been very…well adjustedand haven’t needed my guidance, but if ever there is something, do let me know, won’t you?”
Nika nods. Celeste’s eyes go to her daughter’s arms, taking in the long-sleeved hoodie she’s wearing, despite the warm July weather.
“Aren’t you too hot?”
Nika folds her arms across her body. Has she got thin, Celeste wonders now? She’s always been slim. Celeste knows you’re not supposed to care about your children’s weight as long as they’re heathy and happy, but she’s always been secretly glad Nika is slim. Her friends go on and on about body positivity but, honestly, if people just…she stops the thought before it takes off. That’s not why she’s here. She scans the room again, taking in the makeup and the skincare that costs almost as much as her own. The handbags hanging inside the open wardrobe door. The vast array of trainers, neatly boxed below rails of dresses. The schoolbooks on her desk, ready for September. All the hallmarks of a perfectly well-adjusted teen. Maybe the knife’s just gone, the way of odd socks, never to be adequately explained. And Nika would tell her if anything was wrong. They’re not the most chatty mother and daughter, but they don’t fight. Yes, Celeste thinks as she stands and walks to the door, Nika would tell her.
• • •
Out on the landing, she pauses at Cody’s open door and glances in. He’s in his gaming chair, his back to her, engrossed in some online thing, his hand moving a joystick at speeds she’ll never understand. Imagine if he applied the same focus to school. Something grabs her attention then. Something about his hand. His knuckles. Bruised purple. What on earth has he been up to now? She takes one step into the room and falters. This would be better dealt with by Warren. She steps back out and quietly closes the door.
50
Maeve
Tuesday
On Tuesday evening, Maeve is curled on her bed, eyes closed, when her mother knocks, comes in without waiting for a response and sits down beside her.
“Can I get you anything?” Leesa asks, brushing a hair from Maeve’s clammy forehead.
A headshake.
“I…I heard about…”
“No.”
“What?”
“Don’t say it. Don’t say anything, Mum. I just want to be left alone.”I want to die.
“OK. I could go to Nika’s parents?”
Nika?Oh god, ofcourseit’s Nika behind the diary video. Maeve realizes now she probably knew it was Nika but hadn’t quite believed her former best friend would go this far. That she’d use something from a time when they’d lived in each other’s pockets. Abuse her trust. Throw away a childhood friendship so completely.
How does her mother know it was Nika? Maeve wants to ask but also doesn’t want to talk, not now, not ever.
Leesa reads her mind or sees something on her face.
“It was Nika behind the account. Aoife found out. She did some digging and careful asking, and you know her friend whose brother is pals with Cody Geary?”
A tiny nod.
“That’s how she found out for sure, but she’d already guessed because the anonymous account is online whenever Nika is online and she could see on Snap Maps that they’re in the same location at all times.”
Oh my god, only Nika could be stupid enough to have Snap Maps on for a troll account, Maeve thinks.
Her mother rubs her back. “Want to talk?”
“No.”
“OK, I’m going to bring you something to eat.”
“I don’t want anything.”
“I’ll bring it anyway, and you can eat it or leave it. I love you.”
She bends and kisses the top of Maeve’s head. “Greta is downstairs. She called in on the way home from hockey camp. She wants to come up and see you.”
