Page 81 of The Half Sister

‘I want to know...are you sleeping with her?’

His pace quickens and he runs a hand through his hair. ‘This is fucking insane.’

‘I needed you last night,’ she says, refusing to let the tears that are prickling her eyes fall. ‘I was trying to get hold of you all night, but it seems you were otherwise engaged.’

‘Hold on a second,’ he says, as if sensing the seriousness of the situation for the first time. ‘You were mightily pissed off when Ididspeak to you, and after that I couldn’t take your calls.’

‘Andwhycouldn’t you take my calls?’ she shouts.

‘Because I was tied up with other things,’ he says.

‘Oh, Ibetyou were.’

‘Let me tell you about last night,’ he says, his jaw clenching involuntarily. ‘I was promised an interview with the PM at ten, which got pushed back to midnight, which then got moved to one a.m. And at the same time, I’m trying to schedule talks with the Home Secretary and Education Minister. I’ve had no sleep and I feel like shit, butyouthink it’s because I’ve been...I’ve been...’ He laughs sarcastically, unable to finish the sentence. ‘And to top it all off, you’re now telling me that she’s yoursister.’

‘It’s not a coincidence,’ she says, letting the first tear fall onto her cheek.

‘What isn’t?’ says Matt irritably.

‘All this!’ she exclaims, throwing her arms up. ‘Jess turning up at Mum and Dad’s after supposedly being reeled in by Lauren, and then ending up working with you.’

‘Does she know who I am?’ asks Matt. ‘Does she know who you are to me?’

‘I honestly don’t know,’ says Kate. ‘I’ve had all these mad conspiracy theories going around in my head, thinking this is all part of a bigger picture. That she’s somehow out to get me. I can’t help but feel that she’s after something from us.’

Matt stops pacing and sits down beside Kate on the edge of the bath. ‘But why would she be doing that? Surely this is just a huge coincidence.’

‘I want it to be, but I can’t help thinking it’s something more.’

‘Like what?’ asks Matt.

She wants to tell him about the bizarre set-up she’d found at Jess’s flat, as if she’s waiting for a baby to arrive. But what it might mean, and how it might involve her and Matt, makes it difficult to put into words. It also means she’ll have to admit to breaking in, and that’s a new low, even for a journalist.

She shivers, as if someone’s walked over her grave. ‘What she’s doing is premeditated and intended to cause me maximum hurt and distress.’

Matt looks at her as if she’s completely mad. ‘Are you serious?’ he says. ‘You think this is all aboutyou?’

‘Who else is it about?’ says Kate, her hackles rising.

‘Might it be that she’s just a confused young woman who’s trying to make the best of the unfortunate situation she finds herself in?’

Kate looks at him, open-mouthed. ‘Are youhonestlygoing to stand there and defend her?’ she asks incredulously.

As if sensing the minefield he’s about to stand on, Matt takes a physical step back and runs a hand through his hair. ‘I just think we need to take stock,’ he says. ‘She’s a nice girl and I can’t see any reason why she would have any ulterior motive here. I agree that it seems hugely coincidental that she’s wound up working with me, but it’s a bit of a leap to suggest that it’s got anything to do with you.’

‘She shows up atmyparents. She appears atmyoffice. She’s going out on day trips withmysister. She’s working withmyhusband. What fucking part of this sounds like it’s got nothing to do with me?’ A vivid image of the wardrobe in Jess’s flat, adorned with nappies and romper suits, flashes into Kate’s head. ‘What will she want next, Matt?’ she yells. ‘Mybaby?’

Matt looks at her dumbfounded. ‘Can you even hear yourself?’ he says, when he eventually finds his voice.

Of all the things Kate thought he might do, doubtingherwasn’t one of them.

‘I don’t want you there,’ says Kate, without looking at him.

‘What?’

‘I don’t want you at the scan.’ Even as she’s saying it, she knows she’s biting her nose off to spite her face, but she just can’t stop herself.

‘You can’t possibly be serious.’

---