Millie widened her eyes indignantly. ‘The Sinner, a rerun. What is this? The Inquisition?’
‘It’s aschoolnight.’ Emily’s voice rose. ‘We discussed this, Millie. If you’ve any hope of getting the five GCSE grades you need, you have to apply yourself to your school work.’
Folding her arms, Millie rolled her eyes languorously. ‘Right, so I’m not supposed to chill out occasionally then?’
‘You can chill out as much as you like.’ Emily tried hard to hold onto her temper. ‘But you donotstay out late without clearing it with me or your father first.’
Millie’s expression was now one of belligerence, which only increased Emily’s annoyance. Did she not realise how worried she’d been? Yes, she was only an hour late, but anything could happen in an hour, as Emily well knew. ‘And you donotlie to me,ever,’ she added. ‘Understand?’
Millie boggled at that. ‘That’s way out of order, Mum,’ she muttered, her face creasing into a scowl. ‘I amnotlying. I’ve been round at Anna’s. Ring her now if you don’t believe me.’
‘I just might,’ Emily threatened. ‘But I think I’d much rather talk to her mother tomorrow. How much have you had to drink?’
‘I haven’tbeendrinking.’ Millie dragged her hair from her face and eyeballed her defiantly. ‘What the bloody hell is up with you anyway? It’s not like I’ve been out the whole night.’
Enough.Emily saw red. ‘That’sit, Millie. No more going out during the week, no TV …’
‘What?’ Millie laughed, disbelieving.
‘… no mobile top-ups and no computer time, unless it’s for homework. Not until you learn to act like an adult.’
‘You have to be joking.’ Millie gawped at her, stunned.
‘I’ve never been more serious in my life,’ Emily assured her. ‘You can carry on up the stairs now, assuming you can negotiate them.’
‘God! You’re being totally unfair. Ben’s still out.’ Millie splayed a hand towards the front door.
‘He’s older than you,’ Emily argued, stopping short of pointing out that she would also always worry more about Millie simply because she was a girl. She was acutely aware that this was partly because of her own experience at the hands of the man who’d manipulated her and then taken what he wanted anyway when she’d said no. The fact was, though, that Millie was young, beautiful and vulnerable – more so for having been drinking.
‘I’ve only been at myfriend’s,’ Millie retaliated, her cheeks flushing furiously. ‘I rang Dad on his mobile and told him I was going to be a bit late. He said it was fine.’ Her gaze went past Emily to where Jake was making an appearance now he’d finished talking to whoever it was he was perfectly happy to take calls from this late, leaving her to deal with their daughter. ‘Dad?’ Millie appealed to him.
Jake glanced at Emily, as she turned to face him, and then uncomfortably back to Millie. ‘I said it was fine as long as you checked with your mum, Mils,’ he said, at least backing Emily up.
‘Right. Thanks for your support, Dad.’ Swiping a tear from her cheek, Millie threw him a mutinous scowl, and then flounced onwards to the stairs. ‘Ihateit here. I’ll be glad when I can leave,’ she growled, thundering up them, half tripping. ‘You treat me like I’m three years old and then expect me to act like anadult? How does that work?’
Shaking his head, Jake gazed despairingly after her, and then looked back to Emily. ‘She’s been drinking again, I take it?’ he asked, his face etched with concern.
It was a pity he hadn’t been concerned enough to come home when he’d promised to, Emily thought, with a mixture of fear and frustration. She so wanted to believe his car had broken down, but after seeing that email, she just couldn’t make herself. ‘Obviously,’ she said, now perilously close to tears herself. ‘That was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about tonight, but of courseyouhad more important things to do.’
Jake looked at her, perplexed. ‘It was an emergency, Em. It’s clear we do need to sit down and have a talk, preferably also with Millie, but I had no choice but to go.’
Emily nodded, trying very hard not to cry in front of him. ‘I gathered,’ she managed, turning back to the stairs.
‘Em …?’ Jake called worriedly after her.
‘I’m going up,’ she said, a treacherous wobble to her voice. ‘Can you check how long Ben will be, please?’
Pausing on the landing, she took a breath, and tapped on Millie’s door. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to her. She couldn’t apologise. She just wanted her daughter to know that she loved her.
Getting no answer, she tapped again. ‘Millie?’
‘I’m sleeping,’ Millie mumbled moodily, which Emily supposed meant she didn’t want to speak to her.
The tears fell as she went into the bathroom, bolting the door behind her. Was she wrong about all of this? Wrong to wade in so heavily with Millie, despite her gut feeling that she hadn’t been at Anna’s house? Wrong about Jake, despite her instinct telling her that something wasn’t right? She’d been so off colour lately, stressed and anxious, her heartbeat so rapid she’d felt it like an actual pain in her chest. Millie kept accusing her of saying things she couldn’t remember having said. She should talk to Jake. But he would want to examine her. Feeling as vulnerable as she did, could she bear for him to be that close to her?
‘Emily?’ His voice came through the bathroom door. ‘Can we talk?’
She wasn’t sure she wanted to, with her emotions so fraught. She could hardly avoid it, though. She would be the one acting childishly if she stayed in here. Taking a second to wipe her smeared mascara from under her eyes – make-up she’d foolishly reapplied when she’d thought they were going out – she braced herself and opened the door.
