‘That’s good. She’s going to need her rest.’
‘Especially when she wakes up and remembers we killed her mummy,’ I add, a lump forming in my throat. ‘I’m so sorry, little one,’ I whisper as my eyes fill up.
‘Hey, don’t beat yourself up,’ Ben says softly. ‘Most people would have driven off. She was lucky you found her.’
I don’t speak for a while.
‘Do you want me to take you home?’ he asks eventually.
‘Can I stay a bit longer?’
‘Of course you can.’
‘It’s not like Michael and Mum will be wondering where I am.’ And Josh will be out cold with all the alcohol he’s consumed. I don’t say that part out loud, because I don’t want to make Ben angry again. I feel surprisingly sober, considering how muchIdrank.
‘Have you spoken to your dad recently?’ Ben asks.
‘Yeah. It was Olivia’s birthday last week.’
‘How’s your stepmum getting on with her pregnancy?’
‘Fine, I think. I didn’t speak to her.’
‘Do you get along with her? What’s her name again?’
‘Lorraine. She’s okay. She’s pretty nice, in fact.’
‘Just not nice enough to live with.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You didn’t consider living with your dad and Lorraine instead of with your mum?’
‘Absolutely,’ I reply. ‘I would have gone to live with them instead of coming here if they’d had enough room for me.’
‘Are you serious?’ He stares at me in surprise. I nod. ‘Blimey,’ he comments. ‘Would you go back to the UK now if you could?'
I cock my head to one side and think about this for a moment. ‘I don’t know,’ I answer eventually. ‘You’ll have to ask me again when I start school. I’m dreading it,’ I admit.
‘I don’t want to sound unoriginal and tell you it will be okay,’ he says, ‘but it probably will.’
I roll my eyes at him.
‘It will! Look at how quickly you settled into work. You’re obviously good at meeting people and making friends.’
At that comment I can’t help but let out a sharp laugh.
‘Youdidsettle into work well,’ he says, perplexed at my reaction.
‘It’s not that,’ I reply. ‘It was the bit about making friends.’
‘What? Don’t you have mates back home?’
I stare down at my fingernails. ‘Not any more.’
‘Why?’
I let out a deep breath and shift the koala into a more comfortable position on my lap, because this is a long story and I finally feel brave enough to tell it.
