Blood Ties by Sam Hayes Read Free Book Online

to go to Greywood.” Simple as that. I was going to discuss it with her but she seemed fine. She even went out to the shop for me. I didn’t know that she’d started . . .’ Erin emitted a little sob of guilt. Whatever happened now, their daughter had entered a new phase of life.
    Anger welled within Robert as he watched his wife tidy the kitchen, as if she didn’t want to hear about Ruby, that folding the washing was more important than her daughter’s happiness. There was something final about the way she smoothed the piles of towels, and the meticulous and inappropriate sock-pairing was ridiculous when her troubled daughter was whimpering upstairs.
    At one thirty Robert led his wife to bed. He went to the bathroom and then to check that Ruby was sleeping soundly. She lay on her side, clutching a grubby rabbit for comfort, wheezing softly through her dreams. Robert wished he could see into her head, guide her through her nightmares and make all her wishes come true. He blew her a silent kiss and went to join Erin in bed. He slept fitfully and all too soon he noticed pink and orange lines spread across the sky from the east. His chest tightened as he realised that it was Monday morning.
    ‘Tell me you won’t send her back there today.’ Robert wiped his hands across his face. He wasn’t the type to plead. Other measures were needed. He rolled over to face Erin. ‘Ruby can come to the office with me. Anything.’
    Surprisingly, Erin nodded. ‘I’ll telephone Greywood and let them know the situation.’
    ‘I’ll take care of that. I can call from the office.’ He didn’t need to insist. Erin would gladly allow him to telephone the headmistress and explain their ‘difficult’ situation.
    Before rising, he stared at the ceiling. Was this the first flicker of fatherhood? he wondered. His first taste of parental control? Then he looked across at Erin, who was sliding a cream satin robe over her shoulders, and thought: is this the first flicker of doubt?
    Half an hour later, Robert and Erin were in the kitchen preparing for the day ahead. Ruby entered, fully dressed in her old school uniform, an unlikely smile widening her face. She had applied make-up, mascara and lipgloss, and her hair was swept back into a long ponytail tied with a blue scarf.
    ‘Morning,’ she said. She dropped her bag of books on the floor and swung the refrigerator door open, removing juice and eggs. ‘I’m starving,’ she continued. ‘I don’t need a lift today. I’m early enough to catch the bus.’
    For a moment, Robert thought the smile was artificial. Had there been hesitation? Was that swallow concealing pure fear, the flicker of her eyelids chasing away welling tears? He stood and approached her, wanting nothing more than to absorb her, to save her from what the day held.
    Ruby ducked aside as his outstretched arms tried to ensnare her. She took a frying pan from the cupboard and broke three eggs, dropping them into the pan from a height. Robert snorted, trying to retrieve his pride, trying to fight the ridiculous feelings of rejection that had been slung at him by this teenage girl.
    Ruby threw the cracked egg shells into the waste bin and Robert considered: maybe she wanted to go back to her old school. Perhaps Erin was right, that running away would only create more problems in the future. What did he know? He’d never been a father before and, in his experience, facing his fears had only awarded them strength and the power to destroy what he cherished most.
    Robert turned and leaned against the sink, sighing, staring out into the garden. He wanted time to think about Ruby, to figure out how he could change Erin’s mind but his thoughts kept returning to Jenna, as if they were magnetised and he was charged with the opposite pole. She was as fragile as a chiffon scarf caught on a branch but Robert couldn’t shift the image of Jenna in his garden – her hair blowing in the breeze, her smile as wide as the horizon as she