‘They?’ asked Nancy, incredulously. She turned to Mia, standing a distance away, reluctant to get too close. ‘Were you there?’
‘No...’ she stammered. ‘I mean, I wasn’t throwing the blood.’ She backed away a little, cut an anxious glance to Lara and then turned and ran.
‘Mia helped me,’ said Lara. ‘Afterwards.’
‘Did they hurt you?’ asked Nancy, her rage growing. ‘What did they do?’
She felt Beth place a calming hand on her arm.
Lara burst into tears.
THIRTY-FIVE
Saturday 31 October
Nancy lay in her empty king-size bed. Her heart raced faster than felt safe. She threw off the covers, unable to bear the heat. Her body was a raging furnace of fury.Breathe, breathe, she told herself as she tried to calm down, but the pictures kept on playing over and over in her head.
Lara on the roundabout.
Being spun.
Rosie laughing. All the girls laughing.
Jeering.
Throwing the blood at her.
Treating her like something subhuman.
Nancy was writhing in torment at the idea of it, of not being there, of not being able to stop it, of Rosie still laughing, even now.
She wanted to rip her fucking head off.
THIRTY-SIX
Sunday 1 November
Nancy had wanted to speak to Imogen the very next day, but Lara had begged her not to, fear in her eyes, and Nancy had reluctantly agreed. It was too raw at the moment anyway, and she was worried about how Lara would be after the attack. Halloween had fallen in half-term so there was no school. Time enough to consider what to do for the best, although Nancy was not going to let this go.
The rest of the holidays passed by in a calm bubble, just Nancy and Lara in the house. The pool was finished and although it wasn’t summer temperatures, they had a day where it was warm enough to test it out. They swam, going from side to side in the clear water, racing, splashing each other, then lay on their backs, gazing up at the blue sky. As Nancy watched the clouds drifting over, she couldn’t believe a whole year had passed since Sam’s death. So much had happened since then and his comforting presence was becoming more ghostlike as the days floated away.
When the weather turned on the Thursday, Nancy and Lara retreated inside. They baked cakes, watched movieson TV. It was a peaceful few days, where everything seemed as it should be. It was only at night, when Lara was asleep, that Nancy would lie in bed and the huge black crow would land on her shoulder again and she could feel its weight, feel everything she wanted to say to Imogen, to sort this out once and for all.
On the first morning of the new half-term, it was cold and blustery. As Nancy was getting dressed she looked out of the large bedroom windows towards the reservoir and saw small waves, topped with white crests as the wind whipped across the water.
In the kitchen, Lara was subdued. Nancy tried to tempt her with a bacon sandwich, but she refused. She was sitting at the breakfast bar, picking at some toast.
‘You need to eat something,’ said Nancy.
‘I don’t want to go to school,’ said Lara.
Nancy came over, sat next to her. ‘It’s going to be OK. They can’t do anything to you. The teachers won’t allow it.’
Lara wasn’t convinced. ‘You don’t know that, Mum.’
‘Miss Young already knows Rosie’s caused trouble. I’m going to tell her about Halloween as well—’
‘No, don’t.’
