Page 106 of Take My Hand

Zak pulled a cigarette from the top pocket of his padded denim jacket, and put it, unlit, into his mouth.

“You better not be about to light that, Mr Hoyland.”

We swung our gazes to see Mr Barber, our head of History, strolling past us with his stare aimed at Zak.

“No, sir.” Zak gave him one of his best smiles. “I would never smoke on school property.”

“No point in putting that disgusting thing in your mouth then.” He took a step towards us and held out his hand, palm up. “I’ll take that.”

Zak reached for the cigarette and taking it from his mouth, dropped it into Mr Barber’s hand. “Sorry, it’s a bit wet, sir.”

Liam snorted, earning him a poke in the back of his leg with the toe of Emma’s boot. Liv tutted with her phone to her ear, and I guessed it was because we were wasting Harry time. Mr Barber pocketed the cigarette and marched on, wiping his hand on his jacket.

After we watched him disappear inside school, Liv dropped her phone back into her pocket. “Straight to voicemail. Now can we actually talk about Harry,” she demanded. “I need to come up with a plan on how to get him to notice me, seeing as no one really wanted to help the other day. And he was a no show at that lame party of Jack’s.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but the sight of Ana walking towards us stopped me. It wasn’t just the message from her mum the night before, or that she was running late, which was unusual for her. It was the fact that she looked dishevelled. Her short black bob was messed up like a bird’s nest, and her jeans were the one she’d worn the day before—the ones that she’d spilled tomato ketchup on the day before. Even her coat was buttoned incorrectly.

“Ana,” I whispered. “Ana’s here.”

“What the hell is wrong with her?” Liv asked. “She looks terrible.”

As she got closer, it was clear how terrible she looked. Makeup was smudged under her eyes, and her face was pale.

“Wow.” Liam blinked a couple of times as we all watched Ana stumble over her own feet. “Is she drunk?”

Her bag dropped from her shoulder, down her arm, and the change of weight unbalanced her. She listed to the right and grabbed for fresh air, I guessed to hopefully hold her upright. It didn’t work because her legs went from under her, and shelanded in a heap on the ground. Her bag softened the blow a little, but when her shoulder hit the concrete she let out a yelp.

We all ran towards her, yelling and calling her name. Liam reached her first and crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her arm.

“Ana, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“My fucking arm. What do you think?” Her words slurred a little leaving her mouth. “Shit.”

Liam and Zak put their hands under her arms and tried to help her to her feet, but her legs were like spaghetti and didn’t want to hold her up. She kept bending at the knees and giggling.

“She’s shitfaced,” Emma hissed from the corner of her mouth. “How the hell is she like this? It’s only half eight.”

I shrugged. “No idea.” Stepping forward, I stooped down to look Ana in the face. “What have you been drinking?”

She gave me a slow grin. “Alcohol.”

“I know that. What sort of alcohol and how much?”

“Rum. Lots.”

“We should get her out of here,” Zak said, gaining my attention. “We need to take her home, babe.”

“Yeah, I know.” I looked over my shoulder to Emma. “Is your mum home today?”

She shook her head. “No, visiting a client in York. She won’t be home until seven. Why?”

I grimaced. “My dad is home, he’s on the evening shift at the bar. Liv’s gran lives with them, so…” I pointed at Ana.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Okay, but she better not puke everywhere.”

“I have to go to German,” Liv griped. “If I’m not there Miss Wright will go straight to the office and tell my mum.”

She had a point. While having your mum work at school had some benefits, it meant that she knew Liv’s every move.

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