Page 58 of Gold Digger
“Er… Lottie, are you sure?” Margot asked. “I mean, you have been known to be a little on the clumsy side. There’s no shame in just having tripped.”
Claire was looking between me and Blake, her face draining of colour.
“Did you see who it was?” Ollie asked, still furious.
“No,” I said slowly. “But I think Hayley did.”
“What a load of bollocks,” Blake said, dismissively. “You didn’t even speak to the kid when she was here.”
“Hayley and I communicate just fine without words.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, if she’s going to go around making up stories, perhaps she shouldn’t be playing withmystepdaughter.”
“Blake, what the fuck’s crawled up your arse, mate?” Ollie said, anger and confusion running through his tone. But Blake’s eyes were locked with mine and I could see everything he was trying to say:this is my family, back off or I will annihilate you.
So I had a choice to make: should I say something now, and trust Ollie to choose me if I went up against this psychopath? Or should I stay quiet? In that moment, I ran through everything that I had to lose here. I’d had another family meeting summons from social services this week. As much as I’d protested against the fake engagement, I now acknowledged that it really was my best chance at keeping Hayley. It was a lifeline. Yes, this guy needed calling out. Yes, I was worried about Claire and Florrie. But I simply wasn’t in a position of power here. This was their family. I wasn’t family. I wasn’t blood. And I’d experienced over and over again how people would prioritise their real family over some random foster kid. I might not be the foster kid anymore, but that didn’t change the dynamic. And Florrie was the first friend Hayley had ever spoken to. I couldn’t take that away from her. So, in the end, I was the first to break eye contact with Blake.
“Maybe I did trip,” I muttered at my feet. “And it was pretty crowded over there. It was probably an accident.” The words felt bitter on my tongue. That was no accident – my ribs were still throbbing.
Ollie closed his hand around mine and squeezed.
“You sure, darling?” he asked, and I nodded. Maybe I’d tell him later, but with the memory of Margot’s hug fresh in my mind, I decided that fitting in would be better. Giving in would be easier.
I caught Blake’s smug look as Ollie led me away from the pool and took the opportunity when nobody was looking. Just because I didn’t say swear words didn’t mean I couldn’t mouth them.
Chapter 28
People think I’m rude
Ollie
I’ve never been so terrified as when I saw Lottie sinking to the bottom of that pool. I still felt like I couldn’t breathe even now that she was safe and in my sister’s dry clothes. Luckily Vics had come over just as we were walking up to the house and sorted Lottie out. Vicky had been nearly as furious as me when she heard what happened. She displayed more emotion than I’d seen out of her in years, even shouting at me to demand an explanation as to why I let it happen. And now she was here, she clearly did not think me up to the job of looking after Lottie. She hadn’t moved from her side since they came back from the house.
“Why are you calling her that?” Vicky snapped at Mum.
“Er… what darling?” Mum asked, frowning at her in confusion.
“Why are you calling Lottie ‘Charlotte’? It’s not her name.”
We were in a large group with some of my cousins, and Mum had been introducing Lottie to everyone. I’d thought it was a bit weird that she was using Charlotte, but seeing as Lottie didn’t say anything, I hadn’t thought to question it.
Mum gave a nervous laugh. “Well, itisher name.”
“No, it’s not,” Vicky replied. Lottie sidled closer to her and put her hand on her wrist.
“Honestly, Vics, it’s fine,” she murmured. “I don’t mind.”
Vicky’s eyebrows went up. “But your name isn’t Charlotte.”
Mum was looking confused, and the rest of the group were shifting uncomfortably. “Of course it is. Lottie is short for Charlotte, surely.”
Lottie gave a small shrug. “Well…”
“Lottieis her legal name,” Vicky said firmly then turned to Lottie. “Why would you let her call you Charlotte?” Lottie’s face was bright red now as she looked down at her champagne glass which had been doled out to her when she came back from changing, seeing as she dropped her other glass by the pool. “And why are you giving her champagne? She doesn’t drink.” Vicky turned to me. “You know she doesn’t drink, and she hates the smell too because her mother was an alcoholic.” Lottie was now looking like she wanted the ground to swallow her up. Everyone around us had gone totally silent.
“Vicky, that’s enough,” I growled.
“What?” she glared at me. “You’re the one calling her by her wrong name and giving her drinks she can’t stand. Why are you having a go at me?” Her gaze then snapped to Lottie, and I realised that she must have made a signal via her hand on her arm. I knew they had all sorts of non-verbal cues but I hadn’t found out what meant what yet. “Why should I leave it?” Vicky asked. “You nearly drowned. You don’t have a drink you can drink on a boiling day, and you’re not even being called by your actual name. And people thinkI’mrude.”
