Perfectly Reflected by S. C. Ransom Read Free Book Online Page A

alone!”
    “Honestly, it wasn’t me! And I’ve no idea who would do such an awful thing.” But I was talking to thin air. Graham had jumped back in his car and was trying to make an exit. The car fired but died and I could see him sitting rigid in the driving seat. I’m not sure which of us was wishing harder that the car would work. He tried again and this time the old engine spluttered into life, and with a spin of tyres he was gone. I stood alone at the edge of the road, almost shaking with fear. Who could possibly be that mean, and what were they going to do next?

Olivia
    I had a terrible night, thinking of poor Graham. Every time I remembered the look on his face I could feel myself going all clammy. My mind kept circling around the questions of who and why, but nothing came to me. And Grace had been clueless too, when I’d told her about it. “Poor old Geeky Graham,” was all she’d managed.
    In the morning I stretched as I lay in bed, remembering at last with a smile that I was due to go to St Paul’s again to see Callum. I put everything else out of my mind as I thought about standing in his arms and kissing him properly. I just had to negotiate my release from household duties for the day. Downstairs I could smell the home-baked loaf that Mum made every Saturday, and jumped out of bed to put my plan into action.
    But it wasn’t to be quite that simple. Mum had obviously had a conversation with Graham the night before, and was keen to get to the bottom of things. As we sat in the kitchen with our coffees and the warm cinnamon loaf I knew she had me trapped.
    “So what did that poor boy want, Alex? I’ve never seen anyone look quite so gutted when he heard you weren’t in.”
    “What time did he turn up?”
    “Oh, it wasn’t late. About half-past eight? I told him that you were at Eloïse’s party. I take it he didn’t try and find you there?”
    I felt my stomach churn, and surreptitiously pushed myplate away from me. He had been waiting outside for over three hours. “What exactly did he say?” I asked, wondering how much I was going to have to tell Mum.
    “Well, he said he was here to pick you up, but as soon as I told him that you were out, he got very flustered, and barely said another word.”
    I heaved a silent sigh of relief. If Graham hadn’t mentioned going away for the weekend, I certainly didn’t have to. “It was all a bit of a misunderstanding, Mum. He got the wrong end of the stick from something that someone had told him, that’s all.” I tried to leave it at that, but her eyebrow was up.
    “And…?”
    “And nothing. Really. He’s just a guy I used to know, that’s all. Seems he’s been carrying a bit of a torch. I let him down gently,” I added quickly as I saw her draw breath to interrupt. “It’s all fine now, I promise.”
    “Hmm, well. I know you won’t have been leading him on, Alex, you’re too nice. But I’ll not forget the look on his face for a long time.” She shook her head as she cut herself another slab of the loaf. “So what are your plans for today? What do you and Grace have cooked up?”
    “I think Grace is seeing Jack today, he’s playing in a match so she’s off to support him.”
    “Are you going to watch too?”
    “I don’t really fancy going again; I always feel a bit in the way these days.”
    Mum reached over and squeezed my hand. “Never mind. It’s always tough when your best friend gets their first serious boyfriend. You’ll have plenty of time for that, when you find someone you like.”
    “It’s fine Mum, I’m really happy for them. But I don’t want to be trailing around after them. It’s just…” I felt really mean manipulating her, but the chance was too good to miss. “It’s just difficult finding other things to do. I thought I might pop up to London, have a look at some of the shops on Oxford Street, maybe go to the Tate Modern. What do you think?”
    “That sounds like a great idea. Why don’t you call