“Oh.” The rest of the house, including Leo, seemed to be fast asleep. Charlie considered his options, and signed, “Breakfast?”
Lila nodded and disappeared onto the landing, coughing. Charlie hurriedly got up and followed her, poking his head into Leo’s room. Lila’s soft toys littered the bed all around his sleeping form, like she’d spent all night there—perhaps she had, and Charlie wondered how often Leo shared his bed with Lila. And how Lila had snuck down the hallway without Reg hearing.
Charlie darted back into his room, snagged a hoodie, and then followed Lila downstairs, ready to grab her if she stumbled. He thought about taking her hand, but a flashback to Leo’s fury at Reg the previous evening stopped him.
He doesn’t like people touching Lila.
Charlie considered why, but killed the thought before it could take hold. He’d seen enough in the Poulton house to know that there were many stories that he didn’t need to hear.
In the kitchen, they found Reg already seated at the kitchen table. Charlie frowned. It was 6 a.m., and no one in the family was an early riser. “What are you doing up?”
Reg stood and put the kettle on to boil. “Leo was creeping around until all hours, then I heard Lila get up. I didn’t want to disturb them once they finally settled, so I came down and scrabbled through some of the work I missed yesterday.”
Charlie eyed the tools spread on the table. Reg taught woodwork at Heyton College when he wasn’t collecting stray children from social services. “Are you working today?”
“Not today. Your mother and I are taking Leo and Lila to the doctor.”
“Why?”
Reg smiled tiredly. “To register them and have them checked over.”
And the rest. But Charlie didn’t say it. Instead, he opened the cereal cupboard and beckoned Lila, who’d been hovering behind him since they’d entered the kitchen, over to choose her breakfast. “Which one?”
Lila studied the cupboard that Kate had stocked with more choices than usual and pointed at the Coco Pops.
Charlie retrieved the box, but Lila continued to stare into the cupboard. A tiny frown creased her forehead. Charlie glanced at Reg, who was watching them intently, studying . . . analysing, like he always did new kids. He nodded, so Charlie crouched at Lila’s side and signed, “Do you want something else?”
Lila coughed again and pointed at an unopened box of Shreddies. “I don’t like those.”
“Okay. You don’t have to eat them.”
Lila shook her head. “I don’t like them.”
Something in her posture seemed to make Reg move. He appeared behind Charlie and stepped carefully around him, a move Charlie didn’t understand until he realised Reg had avoided approaching Lila directly.
Reg pulled the offending cereal from the cupboard and signed, “Throw them away?”
“In the bin?” Lila didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t seem afraid of Reg. Or hostile, like Leo.
“Yes,” Reg signed. “The big bin outside, if you like?”
Lila nodded. Reg opened the backdoor and instructed Lila to find her shoes. She ghosted into the hallway as Charlie shot Reg a quizzical frown. “What was all that about?”
Reg shrugged. “We can’t fix much in this life, son, but we can chuck out the bloody Shreddies.”
Lila came back before Charlie could answer. Reg pointed her in the direction of the nearby wheelie bin and talked her through disposing of the cereal. The whole scene took less than two minutes to play out, but Charlie felt like he’d been dropped into another world.
He poured Lila a bowl of Coco Pops while Reg made tea. Lila ate with her head down, and didn’t look up until her bowl was empty.
Charlie picked at his toast and watched her glance around the cosy kitchen. Kate had decorated the whole house in comforting shades, and the AGA kept the kitchen warm in the winter.I wonder what their old home was like.
Reg tapped the table to get Lila’s attention. “Drawing?”
Lila’s solemn gaze brightened. “Can I?”
“Of course,” Reg signed. “Charlie, do you think Lila could use your special pens? She’s a little beyond the crayons we got for her.”
No one was allowed to touch Charlie’s precious wooden manga pens. He’d saved his paper-round money for six months to buy them. He opened his mouth to protest that there were plenty of art supplies stashed in the study upstairs, but hurried footsteps on the stairs distracted him.
