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‘My things?’
‘Yes. I’ll be in contact in due course to arrange a suitable time. Goodbye.’
Pulling the mobile away from her ear, Carmen stared at the screen. Was this really happening? She’d done everything right, though. She had a copy of the tenancy agreement. Everything.
She leaned back in her chair, her shoulders slumping. She was homeless. And broke. How was she even supposed to find another place to rent when she’d already paid Stella for next month’s rent? It would be impossible. It was impossible. She’d have to move in with Adele. She had no choice. No choice whatsoever.
The toaster pinged, indicating the toast was ready. Pushing her chair away from the table, she stood up. She needed to find Rob. He’d be able to advise her. Tell her if she could do anything else other than go through the small claims court.
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HOW COULD STELLA HAVEdone this to her? To her housemates, too? She assumed they’d been none the wiser, either. She stepped off the path to avoid being pummeled to the ground by a toddler on a bike.
‘Sorry. Thank you.’ A man pushing a pushchair nodded at her.
Jumping back onto the path, she walked a bit faster. She still had forty minutes of her lunch break left, but she wanted to have time to ask Rob’s advice as well as ring the estate agent back if Rob could think of a way to resolve all of this.
As she reached the top of the hill, she turned right. She was sure Tricia’s house was along here. Last night, on their way to Falmouth, they’d had to pop by to drop off Ava’s favourite teddy. She’d forgotten it and couldn’t sleep without it. Carmen had stayed in the car, but she remembered noticing a wind chime outside the front door. She’d been able to hear the gentle ringing of it from the car. Now, if she could just find the wind chime, she’d be able to find Tricia’s house and Rob. Ava was at the holiday club with Pippa, so she’d be able to catch Rob and speak to him.
She paused. It was quiet up here. The murmur of traffic on the hill was muffled and tourists rarely ventured this far into the village. Tilting her head, she listened. There it was, the gentle ring of the chimes. Looking to her right, she breathed a sigh of relief. There was Tricia’s house, the wind chimes gently blowing in the breeze by the porch doorway.
Opening the gate, she walked the short distance down the garden path to the front door and knocked.
‘Hello?’ A woman with greying hair piled into a bun opened the door and peered out. ‘Can I help you, dear?’
‘Hi, my name’s Carmen. I’m looking for Rob. I know he’s busy, but I just need to speak to him for a couple of minutes, please?’
‘Carmen? I’ve heard so much about you, dear. Yes, come on in. He’s a bit caught up at the moment, but I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.’ Tricia stood back, letting Carmen pass.
‘Thank you.’ Stepping into the hallway, Carmen walked into the lounge as Tricia had indicated to her to do so. It was empty, but she could hear Rob’s voice outside. Walking through the house, she pulled open the back door and froze. Rob was there. He was standing in the garden hugging another woman with little Ava wrapping her arms around them both. Who was she, and why was Rob hugging her? Was it Naomi? It must be. That was why Ava had her arms wrapped around the both of them. But why was she here and why wasn’t Ava at the holiday club as Rob had said she was? And more importantly, if it was Naomi, why on earth was Rob hugging her like that?
Turning, she stumbled back through the living room and back out onto the street. She vaguely heard her name being called, followed by Ava calling for her daddy.
She needed to get out of there. She needed to think. First, she’d lost her home and now it looked as though she’d lost Rob, too.
Chapter Twenty One
