‘But it’s okay. We’ve found a nursery for Cora. I know you’ve helped a lot with her and you’re a kid too, and I’m sorry about that but your dad and I, we’re really happy about the baby.’ She takes my hand and places it on her stomach. ‘It’s early days yet, so we’re not telling anyone, okay? It’s a family secret. Talk of the baby stays in the apartment.’
I force a smile. I know I’ll love my baby brother or sister when they’re born. Hell, I love Cora even though she’s a shrieking whinge bag most of the time. I’m glad they’ve sorted a nursery out. That makes me happy. I think back to what I should say to Mum about Tessa, James and what happened to Harry. I want to mention the missing girl again but I don’t feel I should, and I don’t want to slip up and tell Mum I was in the woods with Harry. ‘Mum, I found some things out today.’
‘Okay, do you want to share them with me?’
She says this like it’s optional but I can see she’s dying for me to spill all. ‘James, the bully kid – Tessa, the woman with the scars – she’s his aunt. He doesn’t live too far away and he stays with her a lot. Also, Harry told me that James put worms in his boots once.’
Mum recoils and starts biting the insides of her cheeks. I can see her cogs whirring as she comes to the same conclusion as me. James is a bully, it’s likely that he sent the malicious letters to everyone and put the worms in the hamper that his aunt probably told him to give to us. I wouldn’t blame Mum for thinking that. It’s exactly what I’m thinking. ‘There’s something else.’
‘What?’
‘I gave James a little shove in the playground because he called Harry a horrible name and Harry got angry at me. He said he didn’t need me to stick up for him and that it was embarrassing. When he saw James on the floor in the dinner hall, he thought I’d done the same again. He looked really upset with me. I don’t think he’s going to talk to me again. I’ve lost the only friend I’ve made around here.’
‘I’m sure when you explain things as they were, Harry will understand.’
It’s not like I’m not going to try. I’ll head to his later to see how he is, that’s if he’ll see me.
‘And as for James, I did push him hard, Mum. I wanted to get away from him and when he hit the floor, I was glad he was hurt because it was the only way I could get away from him and his friends. I wanted him to feel pain and now I feel horrible about it.’
Mum is shaking. I pull away. I knew she wouldn’t understand.
‘Did you, err, did you find a letter downstairs at all?’
I raise my brows and shake my head. ‘I didn’t see any letter. I came straight up with Cora.’
She scrunches her brows. ‘I love you so much, you know that. You’re my first born and you’ll always be the one who made me a mum.’ She leans in and kisses me on the head. ‘I have some good news.’
‘What?’
‘We’ll have Wi-Fi on Wednesday so you’ll be able to chat with Mai as much as you like.’
Yes, I want to punch the air. ‘Thanks, Mum. I’ll apologise to James tomorrow and make things good with the teachers.’
‘Thank you. We have to do what we can to get by and fit in while we’re here.’
‘But I don’t regret pushing him.’
Mum stands and looks at me like I’m a stranger, then she leaves me on my own. That look has left me feeling unsettled. Either she thinks I’m lying or she thinks I’m some sort of psycho. I don’t yet know which but I’m sure I’ll find out.
Twenty
Gemma
I run to the bathroom, lean over the toilet and retch. There is nothing to bring up. I then sit on the loo to pee and it burns a little. During my other two pregnancies, I had very mild urine infections but this isn’t as bad – yet.
I think of that letter going missing and I don’t know what to do. If I go rummaging now, Ethan will wonder what I’m up to. The apartment door slams and the pipes chug a little which means the kitchen tap is running. I flush and go out into the main living space. Ethan finishes washing his hands. I swallow nervously, wondering if he’s found the letter.
He turns and smiles. ‘I do believe we’re winning the battle. That whole wall is down and do you want the good news?’
‘More good news?’ Phew, he hasn’t found the letter. He wouldn’t look this happy about its contents or me stealing it from Quinn. As for the good news, it’s not the nursery place; he’s already told me about that.
‘Yep, Robbie and Jake are coming up to help.’
They are regular members of our renovation team. I can’t help but crack a smile on hearing that. It means the work will get done a lot quicker. We’ll be picking out flooring, paint and wallpaper before we know it. I run over and hug him. He squeezes me back. I refuse to believe that he slept with Quinn. He wouldn’t. Now I know about James and the worms, things make sense. I wonder if James even threw that article in the hamper just for laughs and I’ve been worried all this time. This chaos is the work of a teen bully acting out and terrorising the neighbours. I should speak to Tessa, get her to deal with her nephew. ‘That’s the best news. We’ll be out of here before we know it. Have you unearthed anything terrible?’
‘Nope, not yet. No asbestos or Japanese knotweed.’
That’s good, he definitely hasn’t found the letter but I need to find it.
