Page 39 of Good Sisters

Jess stood between Sophie and me in low-slung jeans and a cropped faux-fur jacket that was hanging off one shoulder.

‘Are you not freezing?’ I asked her. ‘I’m cold looking at you.’

‘No, I’m ff-fff-fine.’ She shivered, as she applied more lip-gloss. Her lips were turning a light shade of blue.

She didn’t need any more lip-gloss or make-up. She looked like she was heading out to a party. She was a mini-Sophie, all blonde hair and long, slim limbs. I’d noticed a few of the boys who’d come to support their classmates ogling her. The boys on the subs bench, which was directly to our left, were checking her out too.

‘Who’s that?’ Jess asked, pointing at Sebastian.

‘Never mind. Stay away from him,’ I said.

Sophie looked over. ‘Oh, God, is that Sebastian?’

‘The one and only.’

‘He used to be a scrawny little kid.’

He was now five foot ten, muscly and broad-chested – probably from the gym and the pool he had at his house, as well as the private nutritionist.

‘Sebastian Carter-Mills?’ Jess wasn’t letting go.

‘Yes,’ Sophie said.

‘Didn’t I used to know him when I was younger?’

‘Yes, before we lost our money and Victoria completely dumped me.’ Sophie’s mouth set in a hard line.

‘He’s fit.’

‘No, he’s not, he’s a dickhead.’ I put my niece right.

‘Stay away from him,’ Sophie warned her daughter.

Jess completely ignored us both and I saw her smile at him. He smiled back. To be fair, he was a good-looking kid, but he had been horrible to the triplets when they’d first arrived in the school. Unfortunately for Sebastian, the triplets had grown taller than him and shone on the rugby pitch, so he’d changed his tune and decided he actually wanted to be friends with them. The triplets had the measure of him, though: they tolerated him but that was all. They hadn’t forgotten how vile he had been to them when they’d first arrived in Castle Academy. The great thing about being a triplet is that you don’t need to be friends with anyone you don’t want to because you already have two best mates. My boys were as thick as thieves. Although they fought morning, noon and night, they always had each other’s backs and I loved seeing them support each other.

‘Have you been talking to Louise?’ I asked.

‘Not this week,’ Sophie said. ‘The Robert saga continues with Pippa doing her dump-and-run act at the most inconvenient moments, so I’ve just been running from work toschool to home with no time for anything else. I’ll call Louise tonight, maybe, see how she’s doing. I think she’s been having a tough time with Clara not wanting to go to school. And what about Dad? Have you seen him this week? I feel bad that I haven’t.’

‘Yeah, I popped in yesterday.’

‘How do you think he is?’

‘He was sitting in the TV room, in the cold, watching football with a plate of toast on his lap. He said there was no point putting the heat on for just him. It kind of broke my heart. I never realized how much he depended on Mum for everything – social life, food, a warm, welcoming home, company … all of it.’

Sophie’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’ll call over tonight.’

Seeing Dad sitting in the cold had made my heart ache. We all dropped in as much as we could, but as the weeks had passed and we’d all got busier, it had gone from someone calling in every night to every second or third night.

‘I was so angry at him for leaving my house the last time to call into Dolores, but seeing him yesterday, I went back to thinking that maybe having Dolores for a bit of company wasn’t the worst thing after all. At least she gets him out and about and up to the golf club,’ I said.

Sophie sighed. ‘I can’t stand her, but I suppose it’s better than him being alone in a cold house.’

‘I miss Mum,’ I said quietly.

‘Me too.’ Sophie reached for my gloved hand and squeezed it.

‘I just thought it would get easier, but it hasn’t. Life around you has moved on, but you’re standing still. It’s like, okay, that’s over now, you’ve cried, been sad, and now it’s time to crack on with life. But I’m still really struggling.’

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