Page 17 of Save Us
“I don’t know what you want to hear from me, Dad,” I mutter. “Want me to tell you that it’s true? That I wanted to boost my predicted grades a bit, so I kissed my history teacher?”
Beside me, Ember is shifting uneasily on her chair. I can’t look at her, or my parents either, so my eyes roam restlessly around the kitchen. My gaze comes to rest on the clock on the wall opposite me.
The bus comes in five minutes. Ordinarily, I’d have been at the bus stop for ages by now, backpack on my back. Instead, I’m sitting here in the kitchen, having to face this grilling.
“No, I don’t want to hear that from you,” Dad says calmly. “Yes, I want to know what’s going on with those photos. But I would like to hear your side of the story.”
I look at him in surprise.
“I didn’t give you that chance yesterday. And I’m very sorry,” Mum adds. “I was out of my depth in the situation. Sitting in that office, looking at those photos…I believed what Mr. Lexington told me and didn’t even let you get a word in.”
I hold my breath.
“I’m sorry, Ruby.”
Suddenly, my eyes start to sting. There’s a lump in my throat, and I keep trying to swallow it down. It isn’t working.
“But you mustn’t just vanish like that.” Her voice fades to an insistent whisper. “We were so worried.”
“It was wrong of us not to be there for you yesterday,” Dad goes on.
“And it would mean a lot to us if you explained what happened,” Mum adds.
No matter how often I blink, the tears won’t disappear. On my left, Ember lifts a hand to stroke my back. I’m incredibly glad that she’s here with me at this moment.
Mum pours me a cup of tea and pushes it over the table. I wipe my cheeks and wrap my hands around the warm porcelain. It gradually edges out the cold in my bones. My parents give me time to get myself together. For a moment, I weigh how much I can tell them. Would it be a betrayal of my friends to tell my family their secrets? But this isn’t just about James and Lydia now. It affects me too. And however important they both are to me, I can’t put my relationship with my parents at risk.
“It started the day I went to get my UCAS reference from Mr. Sutton,” I begin after a hesitation. “Last September.”
Mum and Dad listen carefully. The situation isn’t scary anymore. Far from it. Now, I feel like I’m in a safe space, where I canfinally tell the truth. So I keep going. “I thought we had an appointment. But when I walked in, he wasn’t alone.”
It’s hard to get started, but over time, the words come more easily. When I tell them that Cyril and James’s father were behind the photos, Mum reaches for Dad’s hand.
“Mortimer Beaufort is totally unscrupulous,” I explain, my voice hoarse. “He’d stop at nothing to protect his family’s reputation.”
“Without caring if he destroys another family in the process,” Mum says, shaking her head. “What a horrible person.”
“Horrible person? I can think of a few other words for him,” says Dad, a deep furrow between his brows.
“I don’t get it. How can a monster like that be the father of someone as kind as Lydia?” Ember muses.
I’ve been talking for so long that I’m out of breath. I swig my tea and hope that the lump will finally disappear from my throat.
There’s silence in the kitchen. But it’s thoughtful now, rather than awkward.
“I can’t believe you’ve been carrying all that around without a word to anyone,” Dad says in the end. He takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes.
The tea has gone stone-cold, and I put the mug down. “I couldn’t break my word to James and Lydia.”
“But it’s not just about those two anymore,” Ember says gently, putting into words what I’ve been thinking.
“It’s too big a mess for just us. I have no idea how I’m meant to convince Mr. Lexington of the truth. Mr. Beaufort is on the PTA and gives the school megabucks every year. So do Cyril’s parents. So if it’s their word against mine, it’s obvious who he’s going to believe.”
“But surely you can show him the original photos, can’t you?” asks Mum.
“Cyril deleted them off James’s phone. If they still exist, it’s only him or Mr. Beaufort who’s got them.”
“And even if they do, how is Ruby going to prove that they aren’t the fakes?”
