‘We went shopping,’ Teri says.
I cross my arms. ‘And how did that happen, exactly?’
Holly shrugs. ‘I dropped by Teri’s. She always said I was welcome.’
‘And you are, sweetie. Anytime,’ Teri gushes. Then to me, she says, ‘Holly was upset. I don’t know what happened between you, but she needed a bit of cheering up. I thought it would be nice to hang out.’
‘Hang out,’ I repeat. ‘Really.’
‘Well, yes. Why not? I miss Holly since I moved out.’
I snort a laugh. ‘You only moved out two days ago.’
‘She was upset, Kate. What’s the matter with you? Must you resent what little fun she can eke out? Seriously? Must we all be as miserable as you?’
I open my mouth, repeatedly. Like a blowfish. And as much as I hate to admit it, it hurts.
‘I thought doing a little makeup session would cheer her up,’ she says. ‘And it’s not like you would ever do that for Holly, is it?’
‘Her father?—’
‘Yes, I know. Daddy would disapprove. But Daddy isn’t here, is he?’
I look at Holly. She looks down at her skirt. I swallow a swirl of panic. Surely she didn’t say anything, did she?
‘Max is in Zurich,’ I say.
‘Yes, Kate. I know. You only told me fifty million times. Anyway, we went shopping on the high street, and you should see what we bought. We had a great time. Didn’t we? Show Kate your black top, Hol.’
Hol?
Holly makes a beeline for the shopping bags, no doubt relieved to have something to do, away from my disapproving gaze. She bends down to rummage through one of them, then holds up a black top against her chest.
I blink. It’s a sleeveless sheer top with sequins here and there, certainly not enough to cover her breasts, if she ever were to wear it, which is never.
‘Don’t look like that,’ Teri says. ‘It’s just a top. Daddy doesn’t need to know, does he? It will be our little secret. Just like the car accident.’
I blink a few times. Even Holly looks a little shocked that she brought it up. But, of course, Holly has no idea what’s going on here. I never got the chance to tell her. What with ferrying Max’s corpse back and forth.
But I am so angry I can barely get the words out. ‘Holly, go home, clean yourself up and get changed. You look ridiculous.’
‘Hey, relax, Kate,’ Teri says.
I stare at her, dumbfounded. ‘What’s wrong with you? You’ve made her look like a clown. You’ve bought her clothes that are completely inappropriate.’
‘Come on, Kate! Where’s your sense of fun? She’s sixteen years old! You’re supposed to be the young one but look at you, turning into a headmistress. The skirt and boots look great on her. And we got a leather jacket too!’
I am vaguely aware that these are the sorts of things I might have told Max, once upon a time.She’s sixteen years old. Let her have some fun.
Well, not anymore. I snatch the top out of Holly’s hands and throw it on the floor.
‘Kate! What are you doing?’ she cries.
I pick up her other clothes from the floor, the clothes she was wearing before she got changed, and shove them into her arms. ‘Go home, Holly, now. And you…’ I turn to Teri. ‘How dare you? Who do you think you are? You think you can lure her here with some cheap baubles and some new clothes?’
‘Hey, none of this was cheap,’ Teri says, a smile tugging at her lips.
‘Stop talking to her like that!’ Holly cries. ‘You’re sounding crazy!’
