She placed a glass of water on the bedside cabinet. Then, drained and in need of sleep herself, she took the bottle of vodka into her room and stashed it in her underwear drawer before climbing into bed – leaving the door open so she would hear if her mum started moving around in the night.
24
Suzie had gone straight to bed after leaving Holly’s flat for the second time, but as tired as she was her brain refused to switch off. Instead she found herself staring at the silhouettes of the bottles of perfume, hairbrushes and assorted tubes of make-up on the dressing table as she thought about everything that had happened tonight.
She wasn’t sure why Josie had taken such an instant dislike to her, but it was clear from the things Holly had said after her mum collapsed that Josie wasn’t in her right mind. All that stuff about them having to leave because someone was coming to kill them both was bizarre. And that – added to her controlling behaviour in not allowing Holly to talk to their neighbours, go out, or even answer the door – made Suzie wonder if Josie was bipolar, like her own mum. That level of paranoia wasn’t normal, so something was definitely wrong with her, and Suzie pitied Holly for having to deal with it. The poor girl had enough problems at school, where even her so-called friends looked down their noses at her. Home was supposed to be a safe haven away from all those outside pressures, but that flat was no haven for Holly. It was a prison.
The doorbell rang, and Suzie frowned when she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 2 a.m. She had told Holly to ring if anything happened, but there were no missed calls on her phone. Hoping it wasn’t something serious, because she wasn’t sure how much more she could cope with tonight, she got up and pulled her dressing gown on before making her way down the stairs.
She’d been sure that it would be Holly, so it was a shock to see Rob on the step when she peeped through the spyhole. It had been almost three weeks since she’d seen or heard from him, and she wondered if he had been laying low on purpose, lulling her into a false sense of security before turning up to finish what he’d started the last time he was here. But why would he knock if that was his intention? Wouldn’t he be worried that she would call the police as soon as she saw him?
Still mulling this over, she jumped when Rob turned his head and stared straight at the spyhole. He gave a tentative smile which told her that he knew she was there, and said, ‘You not going to open it?’
‘What do you want?’ she called through the wood.
‘To talk,’ he said.
‘About what?’
‘If you open up, I’ll tell you. I won’t keep you long, I promise.’
He smiled again, and Suzie tutted softly before unlocking the door and peering out at him.
‘What are you doing here, Rob? It’s late.’
‘Sorry.’ Rob’s smile morphed into the puppy-dog look that had always melted her heart. ‘I just wanted to see you.’
Irritated when her stomach gave an involuntary flutter, Suzie folded her arms defensively. She’d forgotten how handsome he was, and her head was still swimming at the unexpected sight of him.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he went on wistfully.
‘Well, I haven’t missed you,’ she lied, determined not to let him sweet-talk her. ‘And you got me out of bed, so . . .’
‘Don’t be like that,’ Rob sighed.
‘Like what?’ she shot back. ‘You didn’t seriously think you could turn up in the middle of the night and I’d welcome you back with open arms, did you?’
‘A man can hope, can’t he?’
‘You nearly killed me, Rob.’
‘I know, and I’ll never forgive myself for that,’ Rob said, contrite now. ‘It probably won’t make any difference, but I’ve been working on my temper while I’ve been staying at my mum’s. I’ve done an anger-management course and it’s made me see things differently.’
‘Really?’ Suzie rolled her eyes.
‘On my life,’ he insisted. ‘That’s why it’s taken so long for me to come round. My mentor said I needed to sort my head out before I spoke to you.’
‘And what makes you think I want to speak to you?’
‘Well, you opened the door, and you haven’t slammed it in my face yet, so that’s a good start.’
‘That can easily be rectified.’ Suzie placed her hand on the wood.
‘OK, I get it, you’re not interested,’ Rob said. ‘I only came round to apologize, but you don’t have to worry about me bothering you again, ’cos I’m moving to Scotland.’
‘At this time of night?’ Suzie asked, noticing the heavy-looking rucksack over his shoulder for the first time. ‘I didn’t think trains ran this late.’
‘I’m going tomorrow,’ Rob said. ‘But I needed to get out of my mum’s place, ’cos it’s getting a bit . . .’ He paused and narrowed his eyes, as if searching for the right word. Then, shrugging, he said, ‘Let’s just say I’m not her favourite person right now.’
‘Why, what’ve you done?’
‘Nothing. I’ve been good as gold.’
Suzie snorted her disbelief. ‘If that was true, you’d be home in bed now, not standing on my doorstep at two in the morning in the freezing cold.’
‘Scout’s honour.’ Rob held up two
