Authors: Gina Blaxill
‘I think you should tell me what’s going on first. I don’t like the sound of police.’
Reece and I filled him in, just saying we’d been kidnapped and keeping it as brief as possible. When we were done, the driver shook his head.
‘Bloody hell! Here.’ Reece nearly snatched his mobile out of his hand. ‘Don’t know whether to believe all this, but you clearly need some kind of help.’
Things happened very quickly after that. The trucker took us to the nearest service station to wait for the police – it turned out we were near Oxford. I didn’t
really believe they were coming until I heard the siren wailing. It was only in the back of the police car with Reece, speeding towards London, that I at last allowed myself to accept that we were
safe.
By the time we arrived at Hendon it was early morning – on a school day I’d be in my first lesson. It felt surreal to be driving through the streets seeing people start their day
when I’d been up all night.
Julie and Reece’s mum were waiting in the police station. Effie let out a gasp when she saw Reece and flung her arms around him, almost crushing him in a tight hug. I felt a pang of
jealousy. Slowly, not meeting her eyes, I went up to Julie.
‘Hi,’ I said. ‘Sorry about this.’
It was such a vapid thing to say, but it was what I felt. Julie had looked after a lot of foster-kids, all with various issues, but she’d probably never had a headcase like me. This
escapade would be reported to my social worker, and it was quite possible I’d be moved if Julie felt she couldn’t cope. So I was surprised when Julie hugged me. Hesitantly I hugged her
back.
‘Sophie,’ she said softly, ‘why on earth did you keep all this to yourself?’
‘Because it was the easiest thing to do.’ I felt a bit choked up. While there was reproach in Julie’s voice, more than anything else she sounded relieved. ‘Thought
you’d think I was making trouble. I didn’t want to get booted out.’
‘I’m not going to boot you out, you silly girl.’ Julie pushed me back to look me in the eyes. ‘Compared to what I’ve seen before, the “trouble”
you’re referring to is nothing. Watch my lips: what happens when you turn eighteen is in your hands, but until then, you have a home with me.’
I felt my lower lip quiver. I’d stood on my own feet for so long that this shouldn’t matter so much to me . . . but it did. Maybe I shouldn’t have closed myself off to Julie.
Maybe I shouldn’t have made so many assumptions. Maybe people cared more than I realized.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered.
I looked at Reece. Effie was brushing him down like a dog, getting rid of the cobwebs and surface dirt. It was ridiculous under the circumstances, and he gave me a thumbs-up. I rolled my eyes at
him, but I knew I was smiling too.
Lots happened after that. Even though we hadn’t slept properly for over twenty-four hours, the police wanted to speak to us. I didn’t mind – I wasn’t at
all sleepy. I guessed I was still on an adrenalin high.
To my surprise, the police officer was DI Perry. He didn’t refer to how I’d been dismissed before, and I didn’t either. I filled him in – but it turned out he knew quite
a bit already. When he told me who his source was, my jaw dropped.
‘
Aiden
’s been here?’
Apparently Aiden had called the police yesterday in a panic. DI Perry said he’d been terrified for his life and had told them all about stealing the formula, who he’d sold it to and
also about us – though by then the police were already on the case after being alerted by Mr McIntyre. Reece and I had worked out most of this already, though there were a few things we
didn’t know. Patrick and Aiden had first known each other at university, and Patrick had been at Vaughan-Bayard before returning to the States. Apparently he’d worked for a US
pharmaceutical company for a while, before becoming involved with illegal drug production and distribution in Brazil. This was where HJP – a code name for the group – came into it. The
cottage we’d been held in was owned by his family. He and Aiden had reconnected at a conference about a year ago, which was where the idea of stealing the formula had come up. The longer-term
plan had been to produce it in Brazil and sell it into the USA.
It was now looking like Cherie was off the danger list. I didn’t know how I felt about that. I told Perry exactly what I’d seen in the car park, and how the car that had run her down
had belonged to Patrick and Kyle.
‘Talking of them, do you know where they are?’ I asked.
‘We’ll find them,’ Perry said. ‘That’s all we need from you at the moment, Sophie. I’m guessing you’d like some sleep.’
‘What about Danielle?’ I asked. ‘Have I done enough to prove she was killed?’
Perry met my gaze levelly. ‘We’ll take a look at that iPhone backup, and then we’ll see.’
I was incredibly miffed that the police seemed to know everything already. DI Perry said that the evidence we’d gathered and our testimonies were important, but it was hardly satisfying.
Sophie would say the end result was what mattered, but I’d rather wanted my fifteen minutes of fame.
As we drove home Mum kept looking at me as though she couldn’t believe I was really there. As soon as we got in, Neve barrelled down the stairs shrieking happily. I lifted her into a big
hug.
‘Where were you?’ she asked.
‘Battling gangsters, armed only with a cricket bat,’ I said. ‘I reckon I deserve a Wikipedia page for that. Bit scary, but I’m fine.’
‘Did you miss me?’
‘Duh,’ I said, giving her a kiss.
‘They weren’t gangsters,’ Mum said. ‘If you’re going to brag, at least get your facts straight.’
The logical thing to do was go to bed. I could feel my eyelids dropping. But I wanted to speak to Mum first. She asked Aunt Meg (who’d been babysitting ever since Mum had reported me
missing) to take Neve out so we could have some privacy.
We sat in the front room on the couch. I could see the DVD of
The King’s Speech
on top of the television. It seemed ages ago that we’d been sitting here watching it. I’d have to catch
up on it sometime.
I cleared my throat. ‘I know you’re pleased to see me and all, but—’
‘Pleased?’ Mum interrupted. ‘
Pleased
doesn’t begin to cover it! I thought I’d never see you again, that you might be dead . . .’ She wiped at her eyes. I winced. I hated
seeing my mother cry.
‘Guess you’re mad at me.’
‘I’m mad at you for not telling anyone what you were doing! That was stupid, and dangerous, and you and Sophie are lucky to be alive. And as I understand it, the burglary and Neve
going missing at Brent Cross happened because of this too. So yes, I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty mad. But as well as that –’ she squeezed my hand – ‘I’m
really
proud
of you, Reece. And I know your dad would be too.’
I wished she hadn’t brought Dad into it. The last thing I wanted was to feel teary. ‘I was trying to protect you and Neve, y’know. Because I love you both, and if anything ever
happened . . .’
‘Oh, God,’ Mum sniffed. ‘You’re setting me off again. I think we’re both too tired to be having this conversation.’
There was one question I still needed to ask, and I had the strangest feeling Mum knew it was coming.
‘D’you blame Sophie for this?’
‘She’s very important to you, isn’t she?’
Crap, she knew. But then even Neve had some idea how I felt about Sophie. I guessed it must be obvious to everyone except Soph.
‘She’s my best friend,’ I said carefully. ‘I know you hate her, but it was out of order to ban her from the house. Brent Cross was my fault, not hers.’
Mum pursed her lips. ‘You make sure that girl appreciates what an amazing friend you are to her. Right now, I don’t think she does.’
‘You haven’t answered the question.’
She sighed. ‘I can’t stop you from doing the things you want to and seeing the people you want to, can I? You’re not my little boy any more.’
I could see it was all I was going to get. I stood up. In the door to the hallway I paused. ‘Hey . . . Mum? Did my team win the match yesterday? I mean, I totally would have been there,
but I was a bit preoccupied.’
‘What? I don’t know, Reece! You and your cricket!’
‘I’m going to need a new bat,’ I said, going upstairs. Mentioning cricket had reminded me of those tickets McIntyre had given me. There were two of them. The match wasn’t
for a little while, but I knew who I was going to take. I wasn’t just going to ask her as a friend either. The big question was whether or not she’d accept . . .
‘Wasn’t meant to fricking rain,’ Reece said, for the hundredth time. ‘This has been one of the driest summers on record. So why, I want to know, is this
afternoon the exception?’
‘You’re not going to get answers by staring aggressively at that can of Coke,’ I said. I glanced out of the window of the pizza place we were in. Rain droplets were running
down the glass, and the pavements were shiny. ‘Lighten up! We only lost an hour’s play. I’d quite happily trade that for the rain dance we saw.’
We’d just come from the Oval. As it turned out, the tickets McIntyre had given Reece were expensive balcony seats. The expression on his face when he’d seen where we were sitting had
almost given me a stitch I was laughing so hard. Most of the day the sun had shone and we’d sat back in our seats taking in everything and exchanging light-hearted jibes with some India
supporters sitting nearby. But then after the tea break the heavens opened, just as it looked like England were gaining the upper hand. The India supporters had launched into a very enthusiastic
and very funny dance in celebration.
It had certainly given us a lot to talk about over dinner. We’d also had a small argument over who was paying. Reece had offered, I’d said I wanted to pay my half, and then
he’d accused me of ‘rejecting his attempt at being chivalrous’ and made out he was upset. He wasn’t really, and I was happy enough to let him pick up the bill. It felt
strange and somehow grown-up for him to be paying for me. I guessed I would have to get used to all this if I was going to be his girlfriend.
I’d realized that deep down I really did like him – and if I was honest, I probably had for a while. I’d just been too afraid that it would spoil everything. But Reece’s
point about me needing to trust people had hit home. After spending most of the summer together, I missed him badly the first week of sixth form. I’d picked up my GCSE results a few days
after Heathrow, and to my astonishment I’d done really well, exceeding most of my predicted grades. I’d even got an A* in geography, something I never would’ve thought possible.
Reece’s results had been pretty good too. Zoe Edwards had done surprisingly badly; she’d been allowed into the sixth form, but she was noticeably subdued and more or less left me alone.
Paloma’s party was old news now anyway.
It was Paloma who made me act on Reece. We were in Broom Hill’s library and I’d ended up filling her in on everything that had happened over the summer. Before I even got to the end,
she shrilled, ‘Sophieeee! Are you going out with him yet or what? Because if you aren’t, you are totally missing a trick.’
This was absolutely typical. So much for kidnapping and murder and pharmaceutical espionage – all Paloma was interested in was my love life.
‘This is a silent library!’ barked the librarian, glowering at us from the check-in desk. Paloma ignored her.
‘Seriously, girl,’ she whispered, ‘how much more does someone have to do for you to agree to go on a date with them? Climb Mount Everest, rescue a baby from a burning house?
Get outta the library right this instant and give him a call, else I swear I will do it myself.’
In the end I went round to Reece’s house that same evening. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say, but he brought it up first. We were in the garden, sitting on the grass and
drinking some disgusting but strangely addictive blue drink Reece had found in Londis in Hendon. Effie was inside having coffee with Reece’s aunt. She’d relented on her house ban, but I
could tell she still didn’t like me coming over. ‘You know those Oval tickets,’ Reece said. He had his shades on so I couldn’t see his eyes. ‘There are two of
them.’
‘Congratulations,’ I said. ‘You can count. I knew there was a reason you got an A in maths.’
‘One’s obviously for me. I was thinking, you might like to come too?’
‘Is this a date?’ I asked.
‘I was getting to that,’ Reece said. ‘You ruined my moment.’ I waited for him to continue. ‘So . . . how about it? I know you said it wouldn’t work, but I
figure impossible, magical things can happen when you’re trapped in a dark pantry together.’
He said it so lightly that if I didn’t know him better I might have been fooled into thinking it didn’t matter.
‘The pantry magic’s worked,’ I said, blushing a little. Reece flipped his sunglasses on to his head, blinking.
‘What?’
I fiddled with a strand of hair. ‘I couldn’t have done this without you. You’re a bit of a hero. Just took me a while to realize. It’s like you said – some things
are worth sticking with.’
Reece looked smug. ‘I was a brilliant shrink, wasn’t I? Maybe a new career beckons.’
‘Thought you wanted to go into the pharmaceutical business,’ I said, giving him a push.
It was a lot easier than I thought, getting used to Reece as a boyfriend. The first time we kissed, in his room later that evening, felt a little weird. We’d been talking about something
to do with school and then, breaking off mid-sentence, Reece suddenly leaned in, pushing my hair away from my face. Our lips met for a few seconds before he pulled back, and I could tell he felt as
self-conscious as I did, because he said, ‘I sort of planned that as being better.’
‘How much better?’ I asked, and that made us laugh and after that it was more relaxed, and the kissing did improve – and I mean a lot. By the time the match came round, it felt
absolutely normal and right. And I’d even bought a dress similar to the one he’d pointed out in that shop window on the way to McIntyre’s barbecue. Not that I was going to change
what I wore completely, but it was nice to have something new that made me actually feel pretty. And he’d been right: it suited me.