Forget Me Never (13 page)

Quickly I backed down the alley to the garden. More people had arrived while I’d been busy – which was just as well, as it was easier to lose myself in the crowd. I found Reece still
talking to Graham Heffer. His food was untouched, indicating he’d been talking non-stop, and he appeared to have dumped my plate somewhere.

I didn’t waste time being polite. As soon as I was near enough I elbowed Reece in the ribs, cutting him off mid-sentence. ‘Need to talk to you.’

Reece shot me an annoyed look. ‘Not now! I’m telling Graham about the match-winning fifty-four I made against St Anne’s High!’

‘Excuse me,’ Heffer said. ‘Just seen someone I know. Nice talking to you.’

He brushed past, waving at someone up by the house. Reece started following but I stopped him.

‘Reece, I wasn’t kidding! Aiden’s here!’ I pulled him right to the back of the garden behind a large rhododendron bush and filled him in on what I’d overheard.
Aiden had mentioned Dani having an ‘attack of conscience’ – that
proved
she wasn’t entirely willing. Maybe that was why she’d run away to Bournemouth. Maybe she’d known about
the serious side effects!

‘I was right about the trials being significant then,’ Reece said. ‘Sounds like the results are going to be bad. What the hell is it they’re up to?’

‘We should go. Now,’ I said.

Reece bit into a slice of chocolate tart. Crumbs dropped on to his shirt and he brushed them off; it was such a leisurely gesture it made me want to scream. ‘Aiden’s probably already
seen us. Don’t see what we’d gain by leaving. Anyway, it’s not like he can do anything here.’

‘Reece! This is about cricket, isn’t it? You think you’re going to meet more players if you stick around. Is that more important than Cherie threatening to hurt your
family?’

‘Chill, Soph! What’s got into you?’

‘Reality check!’ I wasn’t getting through to him; why did he have to be so stupid? ‘Enjoy boring more cricketers to death then. I’m off.’

‘I’ll text you tomorrow!’ Reece called as I pushed my way through people to the alley leading out to the road.

I didn’t bother replying. As I stepped through the gate on to the street I felt fingers close around my wrist and found myself pinned against the wall, staring up at Aiden.

‘Don’t make a noise,’ he hissed. ‘I saw you in the garden. What the hell are you doing here?’

My eyes darted over Aiden’s shoulder, hoping there was someone to raise the alarm – but there was no one. The street was dead, and I wasn’t sure the people at the barbecue
would hear if I screamed. I could see Aiden’s car, parked on the other side of the street. Terrified he was going to force me into it, I struggled, pulling away with all my might. Aiden
grabbed my other wrist. He was stronger than he looked; his hands on my wrists were firm and unyielding.

‘Stop it! I’m not going to hurt you.’

‘I don’t believe you. Let me go!’

He pushed me back against the wall with a force that winded me. ‘You and your mate have got to back off, OK?’ he said. ‘What you’re doing’s going to get you
hurt.’

‘Like Danielle?’

Was it my imagination, or did he wince? ‘This isn’t just about me. There are other people – really nasty people. They wouldn’t think twice about shutting you
up.’

‘You mean Cherie?’

Aiden laughed. ‘You’re better off not knowing. Listen –’ he released one of my arms. ‘Dani’s dead. You can’t fix that. Leave it there. Look upon this as
a friendly warning.’

I yanked my other arm away from him. He took a step back and I bolted down the road, glancing over my shoulder – but Aiden was just standing by the house, watching. There was a weird
expression on his face. I didn’t waste time working out what it meant – I ran all the way to the tube station. Only when I was on the train, safely heading home, did I allow myself to
relax.

I didn’t sleep that night. I kept feeling Aiden’s hands on my wrists, the texture of brick on my back. Several times I got up and lifted the curtain, convinced I
was going to see a Mini parked outside. At half three I went downstairs and made a cup of milky cocoa and sat sipping it in the darkness, trying to get a grip. Aiden had only been hanging about
before because he wanted to get hold of Edith. I wondered what he’d done to her – wiped the files and then chucked her in the bin? It didn’t seem important now.

There are other people.
What had Aiden meant? Was he talking about the mysterious Patrick or were there more? This thing had to go beyond Vaughan-Bayard – and Danielle, for that matter. But
what kind of scale were we talking? Brazil had been mentioned – was this an international conspiracy or was that too fanciful?

The milky drink must have worked because I fell asleep on the sofa and only woke when Julie came down and switched on the morning news.

‘Too hot in your room?’ she asked as I sat up rubbing my eyes.

I mumbled something about not being able to sleep. Julie perched on the armrest and muted the telly.

‘What’s on your mind?’

Most other girls probably would have told her. But Julie wasn’t my mother. It wasn’t fair to burden her with this. And I was scared she’d tell me I was being silly or, worse,
mention counselling again. In fact, I realized, I didn’t tell Julie much at all. She didn’t know how much I was dreading going back to school, or even what I got up to when I was out of
the house. I’d been living here a year and a half and she didn’t really know me, and I knew that was my fault. Suddenly I felt very alone.

‘I should get up,’ I said, swinging my legs off the sofa.

‘Did you and Reece have a falling-out?’

That was typical; assuming the cause of all this was boy trouble. If only!

‘Sort of,’ I said. ‘He’s just being stupid. He doesn’t get that having a family is a privilege you don’t play about with.’

‘Maybe you should give each other a bit of space. I was going to take the kids to the zoo today. Why don’t you come? It’d be nice to spend some time together.’

Part of me was tempted. But I knew Julie would try to get me to talk; she always did. It was easier to say no. If Julie was disappointed, she didn’t show it; all she said was that if I
changed my mind, they were setting off at eleven. Wishing I didn’t find stuff like this so difficult, I headed upstairs to shower.

Should I back off, like Aiden had said? But if I did I’d never find out the truth about Dani, and the need to know was interfering with everything now. I was sure I’d never feel
normal again – not until I understood.

Before I knew it, it was nearly two o’clock. I went to one of the nearby bakeries and picked up a bag of potato borekas. What was I going to do next? Julie and the kids would be at the zoo
by now; it was too late to join them. My school holiday assignments needed work and I hadn’t finished sorting through my wardrobe to see what I could give to the charity shop. Or I could ask
Paloma what she was doing. Before I’d found that USB I would have been happy doing any of these things. Now it all seemed trivial.

And that was when I knew there was no way I could let it go. It wasn’t that Aiden hadn’t scared me; he had. But I didn’t think I could stomach the alternative.

I took out my mobile. I had a new message – from Reece, asking if I was OK. I slipped the last boreka into my mouth. Things had been weird with Reece last night, but maybe yelling at him
had been an overreaction. He was doing this for me, after all – no one else cared enough to do that. I dialled his number.

‘Hey,’ Reece said. I could hear rumbling and people chatting in the background.

‘Hi,’ I said. ‘How was last night?’

‘OK. Another cricketer turned up, but he only played for Sussex back in the eighties and wasn’t that interesting. Didn’t see Aiden. Guess he left. You OK?’

‘Fine. Sorry I had a go.’

There was a pause. Neither of us was good with apologies.

‘Well,’ Reece said. ‘I’m on my way to Brent Cross – if the crappy bus ever gets there, that is. I’m babysitting the poddling cos Mum’s got a headache,
but if you don’t mind playing with the train set in the Early Learning Centre, we could hang out.’

Relieved that my apology seemed to have been accepted, I ended the call. Brent Cross Shopping Centre was practically on my doorstep. My favourite part used to be the fountain in the main foyer.
Above it was a big coloured-glass dome which little kids always used to stand oohing and aahing at. Both ceiling and fountain had gone now. Instead there was a stage area where some kind of event
was usually going on. It was there that I waited for Reece and Neve.

‘Thought you were never going to show,’ I said when they arrived. ‘What was it this time, roadworks at Finchley Central?’

‘Naturally,’ Reece said. Neve tugged on his arm. She was wearing a blue-and-white-check dress and had a little matching bag. When I said she looked nice, she gave me a twirl.

‘It’s new. Look at my bag.’

The bag had crayons and a little notepad inside, already full of Neve’s drawings. After I’d admired them we set off for the Early Learning Centre. The train set covered a huge table
in the middle. A number of small children were wheeling them along the track, making
choo-choo
noises. Neve grabbed a red train from the shelf and joined them. Reece picked up a plastic dinosaur and pretended to attack me with it.

‘Would’ve loved this junk as a kid. Neve doesn’t know how lucky she is.’

‘Where d’you think we go next?’

He sighed. ‘The sarcastic part of me wants to say the Disney Store, but I’m guessing you’re not talking about shops. I dunno, Soph.’

I told him about running into Aiden outside McIntyre’s house. Reece stared at me with an expression I hadn’t seen before. It made him look older.

‘Why didn’t you
say
? Heck, why didn’t you call me? I was right there! Did he hurt you? We should go back to the police, Soph the guy’s a creep!’

I wasn’t so sure he was right. When I met Aiden on the swings, he’d had an apologetic demeanour – and somehow there’d been a hint of that yesterday too. I’d been
frightened, but he’d seemed almost desperate. I was starting to wonder how willing a participant he was in whatever they were up to.

‘He didn’t hurt me.’ I changed the subject. Reece gave me a sceptical look, but he didn’t press me. We stayed in the Early Learning Centre until the attendant started to
give us shirty looks, then moved on to a couple of other shops Neve liked. By four o’clock we were all peckish, so we visited the frozen-yogurt stand and sat on one of the many benches in the
aisle between the shops to eat them. There was a ‘Summer Grotto’ display on the stage area, which seemed to involved adults dressed up as Disney characters dancing with small kids and
throwing chocolates about. Neve joined in and Reece and I sat back, stirring our yogurts. I was about to say I’d pick a different flavour next time when I realized we weren’t alone.

‘Hi, Sophie,’ It was Zoe Edwards and one of her mates. I felt my insides cartwheel. I hadn’t seen Zoe all summer – Paloma had mentioned she’d gone away, Tenerife or
somewhere hot like that. I’d almost been able to pretend she didn’t exist. ‘How’s your holiday going?’

‘Fine,’ I mumbled, putting down my yogurt. Why was she acting all nice?

‘Been anywhere tropical?’

Reece narrowed his eyes. ‘What do you want?’

Zoe gasped. ‘Oh, Reece, I didn’t see you there! Sorry, I just assumed Sophie didn’t hang out with you any more.’

‘Why would you assume that?’

‘Because Sophie doesn’t fancy you.’ Zoe opened her eyes very wide, as though it was obvious. All facial expressions were exaggerated with her; she fancied herself as an
actress. ‘There’s someone else you like, isn’t there, Sophie?’

Reece glanced at me and raised his eyebrows in a question:
What’s she on about?
I shook my head, swallowing. Suddenly it was like I was at school again – all the whispering behind my
back, the laughter. My throat was constricting, making me feel like I was choking.

‘Leave me alone,’ I managed.

Zoe tilted her head to one side. ‘Doesn’t Reece know, Sophie? Did you not tell him?’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Reece demanded. I saw that his hands had balled into fists; for a moment I thought he was going to hit her.

‘Oh, of course. You weren’t at the party,’ Zoe said in a pitying voice, ‘so you wouldn’t know, but Sophie had a very interesting time—’

‘
Leave me alone!
’ I couldn’t bear making a scene like this; I pushed past Zoe and walked quickly into the nearest shop. Reece ran after me. To my relief, Zoe and her friend were
walking off sniggering.

‘What was that all about?’ he asked, catching my arm. It reminded me of how Aiden had held me yesterday; I shook him off.

‘Don’t want to talk about it.’

Reece opened his mouth – but then he paused and turned around to look at the stage.

‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Where’s Neve?’

I looked around. The Disney characters in the Summer Grotto were still dancing, but the kids who’d been there with Neve had moved on. Forgetting about Zoe, I ran to the
stage, pushing through the crowd milling around it. Children in white T-shirts and shorts and pleated skirts and sparkly sandals – but no blue-and-white-check dresses. Telling myself to get a
grip, I waved Snow White over to the edge of the stage.

‘Do you know where my little sister went?’ My voice came out sounding a little high-pitched. ‘She was up here just a moment ago. Three years old, dark hair, check
dress.’

Snow White shook her head. I looked around at the sea of faces thronging the stage, then scanned the entrances to the nearby shops. No sign of her! Neve must have wandered inside one of them.
Which one?

Zara had the most colourful window display. Come on, Neve, I thought, stepping in and craning my neck to see above the shoppers’ heads. Don’t do this to me. Damn it, she
knew
she wasn’t supposed to run off. How many times had Mum told her? But then when Neve was with Mum she never got the opportunity to stray – Mum was always so careful. I was the sloppy one who’d thought
Neve was safe on that stage and had forgotten about her when Zoe had come along.