Page 22 of Kiss Me Ever After
Both Mum and Ted drew in a unified breath before launching into speaking at once.
“Do they know who did it? Was anyone hurt?”
“What were you doing there? You weren’t involved, were you?”
You can guess who said what.
“Looked like a bunch of lads. Youngsters, around sixteen or seventeen. I didn’t recognise any of them.” That much was true. “One of Amber’s friends works there and got caught up in it. I made sure she was okay and then walked her home.” Instinctively, I tugged down the sleeve of my sweatshirt, not wanting to show either of them the cut on my arm. It wasn’t deep and would likely heal in a couple of days.
“Is she okay? Was it one of the Fielding girls?” Mum’s eyes widened as she reached for her drink.
“No. It’s no one you know.” I shook my head, not ready to tell anyone about Lennon yet.
“Expect it’s one of their fancy London friends taking a summer job one of the locals could have had.” Ted sniffed.
If only he knew how close to the truth he was.
“Are they going to have to close?” Mum asked. “Shame because it was nice in there, if a bit pricey. I’m sure they’ve been getting lots of trade from the tourists who don’t really notice that kind of thing.”
“They’re closed tomorrow, to clean up I guess.”
“And what about the police? Did they do anything?”
“Huh.” Ted snorted. “I doubt it very much. Haven’t seen a police presence since they moved the station.”
Only half-listening to Ted’s grumblings about the lack of authority and how the entire world was going to rack and ruin, I headed into the kitchen. There was a plate warming in the oven, with a soggy pie and veg. I was hungry enough I’d probably have eaten anything put in front of me. Instead of re-joining them in the living room, I called out I was going to my room.
“Don’t get gravy on your bed!” Mum replied.
I kicked open the door with my foot, then closed it behind me, to give me some peace and quiet.
Suddenly overcome with tiredness, I sank onto my bed and balanced the plate on my knee. While I shovelled in the tasteless meal, my phone pinged. I didn’t bother to look, knowing it would be one of the lads. But when it started to almost vibrate like a sex toy, I couldn’t ignore them any longer. Chewing on the last mouthful of mash, I shoved the plate to one side and pulled my phone from my pocket.
I’d been right to assume it was Alex and Curtis. Scrolling through the messages, I bit my lip. They ranged from‘are you okay?’to‘do you know who the little fuckers were?’to‘WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING WITH LENNON COLE???’
The shouty capitals were from Alex, who’d probably found out from Amber, who’d probably spoken to Lennon.
I rolled my head around, hearing the clicks of tension in my neck.
What was I going to tell them?
I slumped back on the bed, narrowly avoiding the discarded plate.
I liked Lennon.
Hell, I more than liked her.
If I was honest, I’d known that for years. But I’d never really admitted how much I liked her to anyone, let alone myself.
But did I really want a summer fling with someone who’d made it crystal clear coming back to Ealynn Sands had been the worst thing ever to happen to her?
I’d looked after her today. Protected her. Because I liked her.
This evening’s kiss intensified all those feelings.
Choosing to ignore the lads, I found the message I’d sent to Lennon earlier with the photographs of the damage from the cafe. I wanted to ask her if she was okay. Several times I typed out a message. Each time I deleted it, believing the words to be trite or corny, or just downright cheesy. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I threw the phone down beside me, only to hear it chime with yet another notification.
Amber: I swear, if you fuck Lennon over again, I will kill you.
