Evie fell silent. Then, ‘She obviously wasn’t happy, though, was she?’ she asked, her eyes filled with disillusionment.
Jack looked away. ‘She couldn’t have been, could she?’ He shrugged hopelessly. ‘But then she never really was.’
‘She was perfectly happy,’ Lina snapped. ‘Untilyoucame along, that is.’
Jack didn’t respond. He simply had no ability to be remotely civil left in him.
Shaking her head, Evie dragged her gaze away and turned back to Lina. ‘We’re going,’ she said shortly. ‘Come on, Nan.’ She gave the woman’s shoulders a gentle squeeze, then crouched to help her on with her shoes, as if she were incapable.
‘I don’t want to cause any upset,’ Lina said, her voice feeble. As she glanced at him, though, Jack saw the glint of triumph in her eyes. He swallowed back the fear growing steadily inside him. She knew exactly what she was doing and it terrified him.
FIFTEEN
KARA
I wouldn’t be doing this if not for Jack. I remind myself just how caring he is. It’s thanks to him gently encouraging me to get behind the wheel and riding with me until I felt confident, that I’m driving at all. I glance at Evie after a moment. She looks so much younger in her hastily thrown-on leggings and tracksuit top. Vulnerable, despite the maturity she’d shown in being so caring of her grandmother. She was clearly bewildered by all that had gone on tonight. As am I. ‘You were back early,’ I venture, attempting to engage her in conversation. ‘Was the under-eighteens event cancelled?’
She keeps her gaze on the side window. ‘I didn’t stay long,’ she answers with a shrug. ‘Immy was being a pain, though, so…’
‘Oh? How so?’
‘She flirts. A lot.’
‘Ah.’ I have no idea what to say. I can imagine Immy doing that, but I don’t want to appear to be judging her.
‘It’s embarrassing and annoying, and I told her so.’
‘You had words?’
Evie nods but says nothing.
‘Are you going to be all right, Evie?’ I ask after several minutes driving in silence – apart from Lina singing softlyto herself in the back. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Memory’. I recognise it. The lyrics are apt. After all I’d heard, every street lamp does seem to beat a fatalistic warning.
Evie doesn’t respond. Noticing her rocking to and fro, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, I’m worried for her. I so wish she felt she could open up to me. ‘Evie?’
‘What?’ She glances at me. Clearly she’s miles away.
‘I wondered if you were okay. You can always talk to me, you know, if you need to.’
She glances briefly at me again. As she does, her phone rings, as if on cue. She checks it. ‘It’s Dad,’ she mumbles.
‘Are you going to answer it?’
She shakes her head.
‘At least text him,’ I urge her. ‘Let him know you’re all right and that you’ll see him soon.’
She glances back to her phone, thumbs it once the ringing stops. Then, ‘Can’t,’ she says. ‘Battery’s dead.’
‘Use mine.’ I nod to where it rests in the phone holder. I tell her the PIN – 0207, Kai’s birth date – then watch as she types in a text. It was short, just aSee you later, I guess.
‘There’s a charger in the glove compartment,’ I say. ‘Take it and let me have it back later.’
‘Thanks,’ she mumbles and fetches it out. ‘Do you believe him?’ she asks, looking back at me. ‘Dad. Do you believe what he said?’
Lina has stopped singing, I notice. Wondering whether she’s listening, I glance in the rear-view mirror. She has her eyes closed and appears to be sleeping. ‘I do, yes,’ I say. ‘I’ve never known him to be anything but kind and caring.’ Have I, though? I wonder as I recall how furious he’d been with the employee who’d stolen from one of his clients. How furious he’d been just now with Lina. But it was all justifiable. Wasn’t it? ‘He cares for you a great deal. You must realise that.’
‘I suppose.’ Evie sighs. ‘The thing is, though, if hewascheating on my mum, then he has told lies, hasn’t he? He must have lied to her.’
