Page 19 of Seven Letters

Shocko’s cheeks reddened. ‘I had to, Riley. Because you’re a minor, they said I had to get an adult to pick you up.’

Riley began to sob. Not only was she now going to be a pariah in school, but her parents would go mental. Her mother would lock her up and never let her out again.

Shocko stood up and shuffled his feet. ‘I’m sorry, dude, I had to.’

Riley cried even more.

Shocko wrung his hands. ‘Jeez, Riley, don’t cry. Come on, it won’t be that bad.’

‘My mum is going to freak.’ Riley wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve.

‘Yeah, she probably will but … well, I’ll talk to her. I’ll say … I dunno … Oh, I’ve got it. I’ll say your drink was spiked.’

Riley sniffed. ‘Yes. That’s perfect. You’re a genius.’

Shocko shrugged. ‘Well, I wouldn’t go that far, seeing as I failed almost every subject in my Christmas exams, but …’

Riley took his hand. ‘You’re a genius to me.’

Shocko’s face turned pink.

The curtain around the bed was yanked backwards.

‘Riley! Are you OK?’ Mia asked, rushing over and examining the bandages.

‘I’m fine, Mum. It’s just a bump.’ Riley was desperate to play this down.

‘You gave us a fright, sweetheart.’ Johnny reached down and hugged her.

‘They glued it.’

‘What?’ Mia glanced at Shocko.

‘Her head, they glued it. No stitches, just glue.’

‘Sounds sore, you poor thing. How are you feeling?’ Johnny held her hand.

‘Honestly, it’s fine. It’s no big deal.’

‘Thank God you’re all right. How did it happen?’ Mia asked.

‘Well, I tripped and hit my head off a coffee-table.’

‘Were you drinking?’ Mia’s eyes were like lasers.

Riley flinched. ‘I had one beer.’

‘One beer?’ Johnny asked. ‘You smell like you had twenty.’

‘No, just one,’ Riley said. It was true: she had only had one beer. She’d had about six vodkas as well, but at least it was partly true.

‘You fell over after one beer.’ Johnny’s eyebrows rose.

Riley glared at Shocko.

‘What?’ He looked confused, then his brain caught up. ‘Oh, yeah, sorry, I think her drink was spiked,’ he blurted out.

‘Spiked?’ Mia was horrified. ‘With what? By whom?’

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