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‘You come about work?’
Belle is impressed. Jack must have told them about her already. ‘Yes, yes, I have.’ She beams her best smile.
‘You’d better come in, then,’ he replies, slamming the door closed behind them as the girls step inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY
HANNAH – NOW
I almost dissolve into a puddle of relief on the hallway floor when I catch sight of Belle curled up on the sofa in the living room. I’m reminded of when she was a little girl, when she needed me, when whatever happened in her life was gently steered by me. I wish with all my heart that was still the case.
After I’d left the pub, I called and messaged her at least a dozen times but hadn’t been able to reach her. Panic had set in. With hundreds of hotels and guest houses in and around Bristol, there was no point wasting time searching for wherever Jack might have taken her – rather my plan was to check in at home first and pray she was there, or if she wasn’t, then I’d talk to Rob, tell him what had happened. Then we’d decide together what to do next.
‘Hi, darling,’ I say breezily, struggling to conceal my anxiety. After I put down my work bag – making sure it’s zipped up so the folder of photographs isn’t visible – I go through and sit down next to her. Unusually, she has no make-up on, and her knees are drawn up under her chin with her hair tied back in a ponytail. ‘I’ve not seen you wear that top in ages. You used to live in it.’
Belle tugs at the pale-pink sweatshirt – the one with butterflies all over. She nods, not looking at me.
‘What did you get up to today?’
‘Jenny came round.’
‘You didn’t see Jack at all today?’
Belle shakes her head, staring into the fireplace, even though there’s no fire lit.
So he lied to me about Belle being at his hotel. He was using my daughter as a pawn in his sick games.
‘Are you OK, love? You seem…quiet.’
‘I’m fine.’ Belle curls in on herself more, burying her face behind her knees.
‘Did you have a tiff with Jen?’ I know only too well how the pair of them can be with each other – like sisters, really. Squabbling one minute, best friends the next – a by-product of having known each other since they were five when they started primary school together.
‘She’s just so…so childish these days,’ Belle confesses.
I stroke her back. ‘Or maybe she’s worried you’re growing up too fast,’ I say, wondering if Jenny tried to warn her off Jack. As Rob said, the most powerful influence will come from her peers.
‘I think she’s jealous. She’s never even had a boyfriend, let alone one that’s a proper man.’ Belle picks up her phone and glances at her screen. I catch sight of all the missed call and text notifications, mostly from me. At the top of the list, I see a message from Jack.
‘What does he say?’ I ask, hoping to God he isn’t asking to see Belle or, worse, come round.
Belle angles the screen away from me as she opens his message. Then she sighs and her head flops back against the cushions. ‘He says he’s on his way to London.’
Another part of me melts inside. It buys me a little more time.
‘For work?’ I ask, knowing it’ll be for something shady.
‘Dunno.’ She shifts round on the sofa, turning to face me. ‘I don’t understand why everyone’s so against him. He’s only ever done nice things for me. I mean, he’s given me a car, a job…all this…’ She shoves her ring under my nose again and touches her neck where the pendant Rob and I chose still hangs. I can’t stand to look at it.
‘Oh, love,’ I say, wanting nothing more than to wrap her up in my arms. But I know she’d hate that right now, being treated like a little girl. Although that’s exactly what she looks like to me, sitting there in her fleece pyjama bottoms and her butterfly sweat top. ‘Everyone’s concerned that you’ve suddenly decided to drop out of school. And then there’s the age difference. You might not notice it now so much, but when you’re, say, fifty, he’ll be going on eighty.’
Belle laughs. ‘Were you always that rubbish at maths, Mum? He’s notthatold.’
Of course, Belle doesn’t realise that he’s lied about his age as well as his name, what his so-called business entails and, worse, what he knows about me. I wish I had relatives somewhere remote that I could pack her off to, to keep her safe – but I don’t. And Rob’s parents are too close to London for comfort. But I’m not thinking straight – I can’t hide Belle away for the rest of her life.
No, I need to deal with this another way – a way that will keep my secret, because if that comes out, then everything’s over anyway. When I look back, everything I’ve ever done was for Belle. Somehow, we rescued each other.
‘Did you and Jen eat the food I left for you?’
