‘Alison, my, um, wife is looking forward to meeting you,’ Colin said. ‘And the kids are, too,’ he added. ‘I know they’re not your biological siblings, but—’
‘How long have you been with her?’ Holly interrupted.
Colin smiled and took another step forward, seeming relieved that she was responding to him after being warned by the liaison officer that it might take a while.
‘Fourteen years this September,’ he said, perching on the chair that Vicky had pulled out from under the desk for him and clasping his hands together between his knees. ‘The kids, Jack and Livvy, are twins.’
‘How old?’ Holly asked.
‘Fifteen.’ Colin grinned. ‘They’re a right pair; always up to some trick or other. You’ll fit in great, and we’ve already arranged to put a bed in Livvy’s room for you.’
Holly continued to stare at him for several more seconds in silence, and Colin carried on grinning as if he thought he’d done a good job of winning her over. Then, snapping her gaze off him, Holly looked at Suzie, and said, ‘Can we go home now?’
‘Of course,’ Suzie said, flicking a concerned look at Vicky.
‘Colin, could I ask you to step out for a moment?’ Vicky said, standing up and waving him towards the door.
‘Oh, yeah, sure,’ he said, his grin slipping as he got up. Hesitating, he said, ‘Have I said something wrong, Charlotte?’
‘Don’t call me that,’ she spat. ‘My name’s Holly.’
‘Well, I know, but it’s not really, though, is it?’ Colin blustered. ‘I mean, it’s not the name we—’
‘I said . . . my name . . . is Holly,’ she repeated slowly, a fierce edge to her voice. ‘And if you’re so happy to see me now,’ she went on coldly, ‘if you’ve been “looking for me”,’ she made quote-marks in the air with her fingers, ‘where were you all those times Anna and Devon got raided and I was sent to live with strangers? And why was there no mention of you trying to find me when I disappeared after they were murdered?’
‘Of course I tried to find you,’ Colin protested, his cheeks flaming. ‘Everyone was looking.’
‘You know I checked you out on Facebook the other week, don’t you?’ Holly replied smoothly. ‘Before they tracked you down.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Colin looked confused. ‘What does that mean?’
‘You’ve got an open page,’ Holly elaborated. ‘Which means I could see all your posts going back years. Thirteen years, to be specific. And there was no mention of me whatsoever.’
‘Well, obviously that’s not the sort of thing you’d post on there,’ Colin said. ‘It was an upsetting time, and I’m a very private person when it comes to that sort of stuff.’
‘Really?’ Holly raised an eyebrow. ‘If it was so upsetting for you, how come you were on there the whole time I was missing, posting pictures of your twins and gushing about them?’
‘They were babies,’ Colin protested. ‘Of course I was going to talk about them.’
‘But not about your real baby,’ Holly shot back. ‘The one you abandoned and never bothered with again, not even when social services contacted you to tell you I’d been placed in temporary care over and over again?’
‘That’s not true,’ Colin spluttered. ‘You’ve got to believe me, Charlotte, I—’
‘Stop calling me that!’ Holly yelled. ‘And stop lying, ’cos I’ve seen the social worker’s reports. They were concerned about my welfare for a long time before my mum – Anna – got shot, but you didn’t give a toss. They asked you to take me, but you told them you had to put your wife and her kids first; that you already had your hands full and didn’t need the extra responsibility.’
‘Char— Holly – listen,’ Colin held up his hands. ‘It was a long time ago, and your mother was involved with some very dodgy people.’
‘You know what, I don’t even care,’ Holly said dismissively. ‘You’re nothing to me, and you never will be. So, go on . . . get back to your wife and kids and forget you ever met me, ’cos I’m sure as hell going to forget you.’
Half an hour later, when they had finished talking to Vicky and Jenny, Holly and Suzie headed outside. Pausing to light a cigarette, Suzie blew her smoke into the air and peered at her friend.
‘How you feeling, hon?’
‘Better,’ said Holly. ‘I’ve been dreading this for weeks, wondering if he’d even bother to show up. I could tell he only did it because it’s hit the news and he thought he’d better do the right thing. But it was way too little too late.’
‘Well, I think you handled it really well,’ Suzie said, hugging her. ‘Remember when we first met and I said I was surprised you were only fifteen because you’re mature? Now we know why, eh?’
‘I guess so.’ Holly smiled. ‘Still feels weird knowing I’m seventeen and I can do whatever I want.’
‘And what do you want to do?’ Suzie asked. ‘Because I meant it when I said you can stay with me.’
‘I know, and thanks,’ Holly said gratefully. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you these past few weeks.’
‘We’re friends, and I’ll always be there for you,’ said Suzie. ‘Speaking of which, have you got back to Bex yet?’
‘I spoke to her last night; told her to call round after school today – if that’s OK?’
‘Course
