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Unfortunately, it was too late.
“Of Elliott finding out you … what?” Mum asked, her voice dangerously low.
With a single shake of my head, I begged her to lie. More than enough had been revealed for one night, and I was genuinely starting to worry for my mum’s health if she got any more enraged. All Georgia had to do was say that she was afraid that Elliott would dump her if he found out about the drink spiking, but clearly, she was on a truth telling roll, and she managed to squeak out, “I slept with Leon.”
The screech that came out of Mum was loud enough to wake the entire street. Georgia put her head on the table, covering it with her hands,
“Isabelle, go to your room,” Mum said.
All three of us were shaking, but I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want Georgia to have to face Mum’s fury alone.
“Isabelle.”
“No, Mum, please just-”
“Now!” she barked, and I turned and ran from the kitchen and up to my room. I slammed the door, scrambled around in my bag for my iPod and jammed the headphones in my ears so I wouldn’t have to hear the yelling.
The beat of the dance track only served to make my head throb, but I couldn’t bear to hear any more arguing. Tears flowed freely down my face, and I shuffled back to the top of my bed, hugging my knees to my chest.
It should have been obvious that my parents would be upset with Georgia, but I didn’t know that my mum could ever have that amount of anger inside her. She was the most laid back mother I knew, always understanding about even the craziest issues. But this. Hearing the things Georgia had done had flipped some kind of switch in her head. She never yelled. Barely even raised her voice. There was no way to tell how long it would take her to calm down, but I was pretty sure that this was not going to be our best Christmas ever.
Somehow, even with the deafening sound of music blaring in my ears, I fell asleep, huddled at the top of my bed still fully clothed. A gentle hand on my arm startled me awake and I jumped up and pulled my headphones out. Jesse was standing in front of me, but I could barely focus on him becaus
e my head was still thumping and my eyes were all sticky from the tears I cried before drifting off.
“What time is it?” I asked, blinking a few times to clear my vision.
“It’s just after midnight,” Jesse said, setting his crutches to the side of him so he could sit down. He reached out his hand, but instead of taking it, I let my body fall sideways so my head rested in his lap.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The cops asked me some questions. Then they asked Hunter some questions. Then they asked us both again. I told them everything Georgia told me, and they said that they’ll be talking to Mischa first thing in the morning. They want to talk to you too, but when your dad came up to get you, you’d fallen asleep. He convinced them that you probably don’t have anything new to tell them, but they’ll be coming by in the morning to talk to you anyway.”
Definitely good judgement on my dad’s part. I could barely string a sentence together with my headache and my worry about Georgia.
Georgia!
“Jesse, what happened to Georgia? Is she in trouble with the police?”
“No. Looks like she’ll just get a warning. She wasn’t the one who spiked my drink. But … if Mischa tries to pin it on her, things might get more complicated.”
If I’d had the energy, I’d have leapt to my feet, ready to make absolutely sure that Georgia didn’t get any more trouble heaped on her, but I didn’t. All I wanted was to lie where I was, with Jesse gently running his fingers through my hair.
“What about my parents?” I asked. “My mum went mental at Georgia.”
“I heard.”
“I think everyone in Notting Hill heard. I’m surprised the police didn’t charge into the kitchen and arrest her for disturbing the peace.”
“She calmed down a little. Eventually. Georgia went to bed a while ago but she was still pretty upset. Your dad said I should check on you while he checks on her.”
I smiled with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, and his green eyes seemed to sparkle. I’d wanted to ask him if he really, truly forgave me, but with that look, he told me everything I needed to know.
Jesse slowly leaned forward, bending down further than should have been comfortable for him, and lightly kissed me. Before I had the chance to fully enjoy it, the sound of Jesse’s mobile ringing made him pull away.
“Who could be ringing you at this time?” I asked, begrudgingly moving away so he could reach for his phone. He looked at it and sighed.
“It’s my boss. I better get this.”
