Chasing Charlie by Linda McLaughlan Read Free Book Online Page B

braved looking in the mirror. I looked awful and—
    â€˜Your face is all red and blotchy, Samantha.’
    She’d followed me into the bathroom. Awesome. And she was right – I was all red and blotchy, with dark circles under my eyes and a most tragic, pained expression on my face. I looked back down at my hand. I was in pain. Stupid, stupid Sam.
    â€˜I haven’t seen you for a while, Rebecca.’ I looked in the mirror again. There was a total of zero freckles.
    There was a small pause as Rebecca no doubt considered whether or not to return to her original question of why I was asleep with a desk lamp pointed at my face, minutes away from burning the house down.
    â€˜I was in the area,’ she sniffed.
    Good, she was dropping the lamp. But I could hear her ‘poor me’ tone loud and clear. I was in the area because I wasn’t with my boyfriend. If I was, I’d have no reason to come to this dump but as it is I’m terribly lonely. Yes, I could imagine exactly what was going through my sister’s mind.
    â€˜Right.’ My hand was freezing cold and starting to cramp up. I had a headache. Rebecca wasn’t going anywhere fast. I turned the tap off and dried my hand. That would have to do.
    â€˜Shall we have a cuppa then?’ I sighed and motioned Rebecca out of the room ahead of me. If I was sure of one thing it was that I wasn’t entertaining Rebecca on my own. Mara and Ed could damn well help water her down. It was the least they could do, having lucked out so ridiculously in the sibling lottery.
    The windows in the kitchen were fogged up. A cauldron of soup was simmering away on the hob, and Mara was at the kitchen bench surrounded by mounds of vegetables and dirty dishes. She withdrew her hand from inside the carcass of a chicken and waved fingers smeared in stuffing at Rebecca, who gave her a strained smile.
    â€˜She rises,’ Ed said cheerfully.
    I grunted at him.
    â€˜What happened to your face?’
    â€˜Don’t talk to me.’
    Ed shrugged and turned his attention to Rebecca.
    â€˜So what are you doing with yourself these days?’ he asked her, pulling out a seat for her. I saw Rebecca relax instantly. Not a lot of course, because she never does relax like normal human beings, but Ed was definitely making her feel at home. My memory of him being a bit awkward at times really was way off. I glanced at Mara but she had her back to everyone, quite obviously trying to ignore the polite murmuring at the table while doing something complicated with the chicken.
    â€˜I’ve applied for a new job, for the firm Claudia works for,’ Rebecca said a little louder, glancing at me briefly to make sure I was paying attention, and added, ‘as PA to the head of marketing.’
    I was lining cups along the bench with my left hand and concentrating on counting them to keep my mouth shut.
    â€˜Sounds exciting,’ Ed said, actually sounding interested.
    â€˜Yes, he seems like a really nice man.’
    â€˜What’s his name?’ I asked.
    â€˜John Morgan.’
    A snort escaped. John Morgan! I couldn’t believe it.
    â€˜What’s so funny?’ She honed in on me then – she would love nothing better than some juicy gossip.
    â€˜Oh nothing.’ I wasn’t about to give away Claudia’s connection to him. Especially not to Rebecca, who would surely manage to make it work to her advantage. She stared at me as I set her tea down in front of her.
    â€˜Is that skimmed milk in there?’ she asked.
    I didn’t answer her. There was an uncomfortable silence as I picked my own cup up and joined them at the table.
    â€˜Are you staying for supper?’ Ed asked her then.
    I froze, my cup hovering between the table and my lips.
    â€˜Well, I only popped by for a cup of tea really . . .’ Rebecca smiled sweetly at him, more than a little expectantly.
    I tried to think of something to say to put her