Page 50 of Yearning Difficulties

I turned at the sound of my name. Killian, Chris and Anderson were all watching me with hopeful expressions. They stood halfway between the little strip of shops where my apartment was and the bandstand, which was still adorned with a few pumpkins.

‘There’s a housewarming party at the Minolas’ new place,’ Killian said. ‘You should come.’

I felt Dad’s mild disapproval without even looking at him. He wasn’t overprotective without reason. He’d fished me out of so many parties during my early teens, when everything had seemed so exciting in the getting ready and then so unmanageable in the reality.

‘It’s very low-key,’ Killian said suddenly, glancing between me and Dad. ‘Not too overstimulating. And . . . our mother will be there.’

The subtext was clear. You can talk to Dr Bergery outside of school. Seal the deal. Stick the landing.

I turned to Dad and squeezed his arm. ‘I’m going to go.’

I watched him fight his instincts. He wanted me in the house after eight in the evening because, somewhere inside of him, he still thought I was six. I saw the moment he lost the fight.

He gave me a wan smile and said, ‘Text me once an hour and be home by eleven.’

I clocked Dr Bergery as soon as the four of us entered the new Minola house.

She was drinking champagne from a slender glass flute and laughing at something Logan and Bibi’s dad was saying.

‘Is Cherry here?’ I asked Chris as we made our way into the large reception room of the house. I was desperate to see her laughing face. I loved being in the warm glow of her addictive energy – it made things so much easier to observe and manage.

Chris winced. ‘Her evil stepsister got her into trouble. Uncle Clyde grounded her.’

Ashley. His words didn’t surprise me. ‘What happened?’

He shrugged, glancing at Killian. His twin raised his arms, as if to say ‘I’m too mad to talk about it’. ‘Apparently, some necklace went missing from Aunt Sloane’s jewellery box and it was found in Cherry’s room,’ said Chris.

I suddenly caught sight of Ashley. She was grinning wildly at something Sterling was saying.

But I somehow knew Cherry would never steal.

I said as much to Killian.

‘Agreed,’ he responded. ‘But it didn’t help that when Cherry pled her case, she said she’d never have stolen it because “it was too ugly”.’

I closed my eyes but had to smile. ‘Oh, Cherry.’

Dr Bergery suddenly spotted us. She raised a hand in greeting to me and I gave a small wave in return.

‘See?’ Killian murmured in my ear. ‘You’re in.’

We both moved to sit on a brown leather sofa. It was the kind you’d see in a showroom but it was horribly uncomfortable to sit on. Judging by Killian’s grimace, he thought so too.

I watched Chris and Anderson as they moved to a quiet corner. Their heads were close together as they examined a tank full of exotic but very bored-looking fish. There was something about their closeness, their sudden intimacy, that gave me pause.

I nudged Killian. ‘What’s going on between those two?’

Killian looked to the pair of them. Something unreadable entered his gaze. ‘Don’t know what you mean.’

I gave him a small shove but he caught my hand in his and held on to it. ‘Come on! There’s clearly something going on.’

‘I wouldn’t know.’

I suddenly recalled Chris and his words on Radio Panache. ‘Is Anderson who he was talking about on the show?’

Killian glanced at me and then looked away just as quickly. ‘I barely heard any of that.’

‘It was beautiful,’ I said. ‘So amazing.’