Page 53 of Christmas off Script
‘I’m taking up more of your time than usual.’
He took her hand. ‘I want to be with you. Spending time hanging out with my BFFFFFFF is the bloody best. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes! Surely you know that by now?’ He pulled her in for a hug, and she rested her head on his chest. ‘All the women I date eventually decide they just want to be my friend, but I’ve got more than enough already and the bestest friend in the whole world. No-one can take your crown, Princess Ella.’
She gave him a squeeze. ‘I just want you to be happy.’
‘I am happy. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll reactivate the app in January. But until then, nothing is more important than you.’
‘I thought nothing was more important than winning the Christmas quiz?’
‘That’s you-adjacent. If we weren’t on a team together, I wouldn’t care as much.’
‘Thank you.’
Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head, the floral scent of her shampoo sending his thoughts flying from his mind.Concentrate!‘Anytime. Do you want me to turn the main light off? Put the sidelight on instead?’
‘Yes, please.’ She moved away from him and flicked on the lamp by her side of the bed.
Leo cut the main light, got back onto the bed, and held out his arms. ‘Hug?’
Ella nodded and settled herself back against him. ‘Thank you. I feel as if I won’t have any more nightmares if you’re here.’
‘Was it a bad one?’
She sighed. ‘Yeah. It felt so real.’
‘Want to talk about it?’
‘You really want to hear the story again?’
‘If it helps, then yes. I think every time you tell it, you become more confident in the truth of what happened. Not the bullshit Michelle and her demon spawn spew at you.’
Ella’s small body shook with laughter. ‘Unfortunately, they’d rather blame me than take a good hard look in the mirror.’
‘That option’s out. The mirrors would immediately shatter.’
‘Leo!’ Ella managed in between her giggles.
‘It’s true. And they’ve been banned from the Co-op after they soured all the milk.’
‘You’re very naughty.’
‘Yep, and they’re not very nice. Mammy loves everyone, and even she struggles to give them the time of day. I’m glad Henry paid for Summer to go to private school, so she wasn’t in the same year as Billie-Mai at Foxbrooke Secondary.’
‘Me, too.’
A hush settled on the room, the only sounds being the faint creaks from the old house and an owl in the distance.
‘My nightmares usually start with the accident itself,’ she began hesitantly. ‘But this one started before we even left the house. I’m back in the hall trying to talk Dad out of it. But he’s just shouting at me and telling me to do what I’m told. And no matter what I say, I can’t change his mind. He’s getting angrier and angrier until he leaves and slams the door behind him.’
Letting out a steady breath, Leo imagined what Ella must have gone through that night when she was only fourteen. Ronnie Chamberlain had the bright idea of stealing a car and staging a crash to get a huge insurance payout. The more people involved, the more lucrative. The plan was for him to drive into the family car when Michelle was at the wheel and the three girls were in the back. Ronnie would then wipe his prints from the stolen car and jump into the one with his family in it, then claim that a joyrider had crashed into them.
Only it didn’t turn out as he’d planned.
‘I only got in the car because I wanted to protect Kyla-Marie and Billie-Mai, and try to talk Michelle out of doing it,’ Ella continued, her voice tired.
