Moira’s smile thinned, and Maeve remembered that her mum was a little older and Moira might not see herself in the same fashion demographic.
“Anyway, how areyou? Enjoying summer?” Moira asked, fixing her hair in the living-room mirror as Maeve followed her in.
“I’m good, it’s great,” Maeve said in the way of teenagers everywhere since time began whose lives are falling apart.
• • •
Senan is a devil child, Maeve decided, just twenty minutes after the Fitzpatricks left. Good god, no wonder Cody Geary put him in the back garden, she thought, as he tore around the living room, jumping from couch to chair to couch, shrieking at the top of his voice. His sister stood beside Maeve, arms folded, foot tapping, saying, “You know he’s not allowed to do that?” over and over.
Maeve reached for him as he raced past and grabbed him around his middle. His shrieks got louder and he wriggled out of her arms, elbowing her in the eye in the process. It hurt far more than a five-year-old’s elbow should and tears sprang to her eyes and, suddenly, all Maeve wanted to do was sit on the floor and cry.
• • •
It was early—half ten—when the Fitzpatricks got back, though Maeve had only just got the kids to sleep. The first six times she put Senan up, he came back down. In the end, she sat on the floor outside his room, to steer him into his bed each time he emerged. This seemed to tire him out eventually and, close to tears again, Maeve made her way downstairs and on to the couch just as the key turned in the front door.
“Hello!” Moira stage-whispered, peeping into the living room. “We didn’t stay long—work in the morning. All good?”
“Yes, all great,” Maeve said, through gritted teeth.
“Fab.” Moira slipped into the room, wobbling a little in her silver heels as she rummaged in her bag. “I’m delighted.” She pulled out a rolled-up fifty-euro note and pressed it into Maeve’s hand. “Sometimes Senan can get a bit…excitable. He’s a great kid, but not everyone is as capable as you.” She pursed her lips.
Maeve smiled, feeling a new solidarity with Cody Geary.
“Senan’s a sweetheart,” she said, and picked up her bag.
• • •
And now, at the end of the Fitzpatricks’ driveway, Maeve stops to put the cash inside her phone cover. It’s actually two fifties.Wow. Moira’s never paid her this much before. Maybe she’s desperate to hold on to anyone who’ll put up with the devil child. Maeve checks Snap Maps to see who’s around. Ariana is still in her own house. And Jessica is in hers. Nika, however, is on the main road, near the turn for Oakpark. Shit. Though according to the app, she’s in a car, so maybe she won’t notice Maeve. She switches off her own location and starts her walk home.
89
Nika
Thursday
Nika swings the steering wheel hard to turn into Oakpark. She’s going faster than she should, she knows that, but she doesn’t care. She’s fuming. More than yesterday, more than this morning. She’s just spent three hours in Jessica’s room, talking it over, and she’s more riled up than ever.
“It was definitely Maeve who did it, by the way,” Jess had said, as if Nika needed any convincing. “Ruby and Alison think they actually saw her near the clubhouse, skulking in her stupid purple beanie. She’s so embarrassing.”
“Enough to tell the police?”
“They weren’tthatsure but, like, almost.”
Nika sighed. “Fucking Maeve Khoury.”
“You can’t let her get away with it,” Jessica said. “She literally tried to kill you. And she’s just getting on with her life.”
“I know.” Nika stood at Jessica’s wardrobe, riffling through her dresses. She was there to pick out something to wear to a party next weekend, but the whole Maeve thing was making it hard to focus.
Jess frowned. “Like, if it wasn’t for the AWGoss account, we could get her arrested. I hope she knows that.”
“Annoyingly, she probably doesn’t.” Nika sighed. “God, I wish there was a way to tell the guards without getting in trouble.”
“Well, you can’t, but there has to be a way to get your own back.” Jess was sitting on her bed, painting her nails. “Honestly, you can’t just let her off. Like, we can’t change the law, but all you did was put a video online that was actually true? You didn’t make anything up. Doesn’t matter what any stupid law says, what she did was way worse.”
“I know. I’m fucking furious.” Nika held a short pink Oh Polly dress against her and checked the full-length mirror. “I actually can’t believe she’s getting away with it. I just feel so…powerless?”
“Youarepowerless when it comes to the laws and stuff. But you can takebacksome power and sort it out yourself, you know?” Jess had warmed to her theme. “Like in the TV show,The Power?”
