Page 83 of You Lied First
I looked around to check we were outside of earshot of the big tent. We were turned away from it – I hoped our voices wouldn’t carry.
‘It’s none of my business what happened with you and Guy,’ I hissed, ‘but that’s not a fair thing to say about Flynn. He loves Liv. Maybe it’s time to have some water and try to get some sleep.’
But Celine carried on. ‘She’ll never be one of them. You’re not rich enough or posh enough. I can’t believe you don’t see that. I can’t believe you’re going to let them break your daughter’s heart. You, who does anything to protect her! Where’s the tiger mum now, Sara? Run away because she wants to hang out with the Forrests?’
‘I’m sure Liv can take care of herself,’ I said, trying not to let my temper rise.
Celine sneered. ‘This from the woman who shoved a teacher down the stairs for making her daughter cry! The Forrests better watch out!’
‘What?’ Fear lurched in my gut at the thought that she knew my darkest secret.
‘Oh, yes! I know all about you breaking that woman’s wrist. I know you tried to have it hushed up, but teachers talk. No way that was an accident, and it seems the court agreed. I wonder what the Forrests will think of that when they find out. You’re not the kind of person they’d want their son mixed up with.Persona non grata.Ha ha ha. You watch how fast he drops her when I tell them.’
‘You wouldn’t. Celine, please?’ I looked at her in disbelief. I knew she was drunk. There was a chance she was ranting and wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning. But there was also a chance that she would.
‘Why wouldn’t I? What have I got to lose? Who are you to me, anyway? You’re the one who had an innocent kid removed from a class and shagged a teacher to get your kid into school. You helped your daughter cheat. You’re not who you say you are, Sara Says. And I think Margot deserves to know the real you. You’re a nasty piece of work, and I bet your daughter’s no better!’ She lurched towards me and shoved me in the chest.
‘Get off!’ I pushed Celine back, but she lunged after me again and I shoved her, hard. She staggered backwards, lost her balance and fell onto the sand. I towered over her, fighting the urge to aim a kick at her. My blood thrummed in my ears. If I could obliterate her off the face of the earth, I would.
‘Don’t you dare tell them,’ I hissed.
She tried to stand, staggered again, and fell back down.
‘Or what? Fuck off, Sara! I tried to help and you don’t want to hear. You do you. I’m going to bed.’
I watched as she crawled unsteadily across the sand towards her tent. She was still wearing the pretty scarf she’d wrapped around her neck when we’d been shivering over the ghost stories. The long ends dragged in the sand. It wouldn’t be difficult. She was drunk. I had the height advantage, and she wouldn’t see me coming. If I could grab the ends of it, thescarf would give me leverage. Celine would be silenced. Flynn wouldn’t leave Liv. Liv would be happy.
When I think about it like that, it really was a no-brainer.
What I need to do now is convince Margot that Guy did it while trusting that Guy thinks Margot did it. If I can engineer that situation, I might just get away with it. I nod to myself as I turn into my road. Liv will calm down; she’ll come back. I start to think that things might turn out far better than I could ever have hoped.
And then I see the police car parked outside my house.
66
MARGOT
‘Flynn?’ Margot can hear her son talking to someone in his bedroom. She knocks and, when there’s no reply from inside, pushes the door slowly until her head fits around. ‘Flynnie?’
He’s at his desk, his back to her, headphones on, on what appears to be a video call – with her dad. That’s a new development. She looms into the picture behind Flynn.
‘Hello, Dad! What’s going on here?’
Flynn spins around, his face for a moment the perfect picture of a kid caught stealing. Then he flicks the call to computer speaker and her dad’s voice rings out. Flynn bashes a key to turn down the volume since Guy’s in the house.
‘Hello, Margot. Very timely! We were just talking about you. How are you?’ her dad says.
She snorts. ‘Super!’ She’s being sarcastic, but then she realises her dad might not have heard about the autopsy results, nor connected the case to the one she was telling him about. ‘So, er …?’
Her dad sighs. ‘Flynn and I have had a lovely chat but, Flynn, maybe you want to speak to your mum alone now? You know what I think and I’m always here if you need me.’
‘Okay,’ Flynn says.
So goodbyes are said while Margot takes a seat on the end of Flynn’s bed and waits to hear what’s been going on between her father and her son.
‘So?’ she says, when Flynn finally faces her.
‘So,’ he says, and grimaces. ‘Sorry. I needed to talk to someone.’
