‘Poppy…’ Declan’s voice broke. ‘I love you so much. I’m so sorry for hurting you.’
She shook her head. ‘I think you need to go now.’
She looked at him. Tears were tracing down his cheeks. She’d never seen him cry before.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. She realised that she was crying too.
She stood up and walked to the front door and Declan followed her.
‘I love you,’ he repeated.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him too but the words stuck in her throat. Because he didn’t feel entirely like the Declan she loved any more. She hadn’t believed that the Declan she loved would lie to her or go behind her back.
‘Goodnight.’ She opened the front door.
‘Okay,’ he said. He stepped outside onto the porch and then said, ‘Could we speak tomorrow? Please?’
‘Maybe.’ She didn’t know how she’d be feeling when she’d had time to think.
After she closed the door behind him, she went back into the kitchen and plonked herself down at the table with a full packet of eight Tunnock’s Caramels and began to unwrap the first one.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so utterly, utterly bereft. It was like her entire world had been pulled from under her this evening and she didn’t know whether she’d ever be able to get over it.
20
GEORGIE
Georgie didn’t know how long she’d been sitting on the bench in the middle of the green, worrying about Poppy and thinking through the implications of finally having identified Max’s father, when she heard someone say, ‘Georgie.’ Oh. It was Raf.
‘Hi.’
‘Are you okay? I think you’ve been sitting here for a while.’ His words were pleasant, but his tone was distant rather than friendly; the warmth and laughter usually in his voice were completely missing.
‘Yes, great, thanks.’ Frankly, she didn’t feel that warm towards him, either. She really did fully, fully understand that he’d been upset about her going through his things – she’d been so wrong and stupid to do that – but two wrongs did not make a right, and he should certainly not then have shown her secret to Poppy. That had been anawfulthing for him to do.
‘Are you sure?’ He peered at her. ‘You really don’t look alright. Are you crying?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Georgie, I…’ He hesitated and then said, ‘You really don’t look okay. Come into the pub and sit down for a minute?’
Georgie shook her head. ‘I can’t go back to the drinks.’ And she had no desire to speak to him either.
‘They’ve finished. We’re just tidying up.’
‘No, honestly, thank you, I’m fine.’
‘Georgie, your teeth are literally chattering. If not the pub, go home? Where are you staying?’
‘With my mother.’
‘Let me walk you over there now, then?’
‘Honestly, I’m fine on my own. I might just sit here for a little longer.’
‘Right.’ Raf gave an audible sigh. ‘You know, I really don’t want to stand out here. But I really don’t feel like I can leave you here alone in the middle of the night.’
‘Really, I’m fine.’ Georgie did not want to go back to her mother’s until she was certain that she and her stepfather were in bed. The moonlight allowed her to just about make out the house in the distance, and she could see that there were still lights on in most of the downstairs windows.
