I hesitate.
She’s not worth the bother. She’s going to Paris soon and I won’t have to worry about bumping into her in the street any more.
I should just go home.
But for some reason, I don’t. I stay right where I am.
Lucy Slater is a bully. Pure and simple. And bullies are cowards. Face up to them and they’re likely to back off.
I saw that in Lucy’s eyes when she fell off the fence that time. There was a split second before she fell into the trough when fear flashed across her face. She thought the worm had turned and she was shocked.
And scared …
In a burst of clarity, I see that Lucy has lost her weird power over me. I’m seeing her clearly for the very first time. She’s a sad, insecure person who needs to hit out to demonstrate her power over others.
I turn and start walking in the opposite direction, peering around pedestrians, searching for Lucy. Catching a fleeting glimpse of her up ahead, I quicken my step. I’m gaining on her but if I don’t hurry, she’ll reach her car and drive off, and then I’ll have lost my opportunity.
I start to run as warm rain starts splashing down. ‘Lucy!’
She half-glances behind her but keeps on walking, so I pick up speed, my heart pounding with the exertion and the sudden determination that’s gripping me.
One last burst of speed and I catch up, running alongside her, shaking moisture from my hair. My face feels red and hot, despite the fat raindrops that are pattering down. Lucy looks at me, a mix of shock and bewilderment on her face.
Then her expression darkens. ‘What?’
‘It was you who switched off the fridge, wasn’t it?’ I pant.
She shrugs and walks on.
‘Just tell me what I’ve done to you,’ I demand.
Her brow furrows as if she doesn’t understand what I’m talking about.
‘You said before that I’d done something to you that was best forgotten. What was it because I’m being honest here when I say I really haven’t a clue how I can possibly have offended you.’
Her mouth is set in a firm line. She’s refusing to look at me.
‘Is it because of Jason? Because Jason and I happened years ago and I can tell you quite sincerely that there is nothing romantic going on between us. There hasn’t been since we were eighteen and he broke up with me to be with you.’
Her look is sceptical, to say the least.
‘Are you really jealous of me and Jason? Because there’s absolutely no need to be.’
‘Why would I believe that?’ she demands.
I swallow. ‘Easy. Because it’s not Jason I’m in love with. I’m actually crazily, madly in love with someone else, okay? So you can stop your evil conniving and go torment someone else for a change!’
‘You’ve got no idea!’ She spits out the words.
I’m straining to hear her over the noise of the downpour. A bolt of lightning directly overhead sends a chill through me. ‘What do you mean?’
She rounds on me, her eyes flashing with rage. ‘I mean, I’m never ever going to forget what you and Jason did to me.’
I stare at her. ‘What did we do to you?’
She says something else, but a giant rumble of thunder drowns out her words. She starts running towards her car.
‘Lucy! What the hell did we do to you? Tell me! Because whatever you think we did, I can guarantee it didn’t happen.’
‘Oh, really?’ she sneers, her eyes full of hatred. ‘So you were there in the hospital on the night of the school leavers’ ball, were you?’
A cold hand grips my insides. ‘Hospital? What do you mean?’
She shakes her head and goes to get in her car, but I grab hold of the handle before she does. ‘Why were you in the hospital? I thought you were at home with a sprained ankle.’
‘Let go!’ she yells, scratching at my hand on the door handle.
‘No! Not until you tell me what the hell you’re talking about!’
‘Get lost, you bitch! You ruined everything.’
The rain is pelting down furiously now. I glance up and as I do so, another huge fork of lightning splits the sky, illuminating everything around us, including Lucy’s agonised, tear-stained face.
‘Come on, then. How did I ruin things?’ I shout.
‘You think Jason is such a great guy, don’t you? But you don’t know him like I do.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He wasn’t faithful to you the whole time, you know. We slept together and you never found out. He was the first boy I had sex with. Six weeks before the school leavers’ ball. And guess what? He told me that night that you and he were more or less over and that he was going to leave you for me.’
I stare at her. I don’t believe it. She must be making it up. But my stomach feels curdled all the same.
‘You don’t believe me, do you? But he did say that. And then, guess what? The next day he told me he’d changed his mind and that you were the love of his life.’
I swallow hard, trying to take it in, as the deluge of raindrops continues to pepper my scalp, pouring over my already sodden hair. Water is running into my eyes and I flick it away.
I feel sick. I can’t believe Jason kept all this a secret from me. I shake my head slowly, swallowing down the nausea. ‘So he was unfaithful once. He wouldn’t be the only guy in the world who made a mistake.’
‘Yes, but you don’t know the best bit,’ she snarls, right in my face. ‘After that night with Jason, I found out I was pregnant. And I was thrilled because I thought that if I had his baby, he would have to choose me. But guess what?’
‘What?’ A feeling of foreboding trickles through me.
‘He made me get rid of it.’
‘What?’ I stare at her in horror. ‘You’re lying. Jason wouldn’t do
