disappeared so…”
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember … ”
“But you know me now!”
He busied himself cleaning the inside of the wok with paper towel and then started to chop vegetables. She thought about what he’d said about his ex-girlfriend. She’d gone to some island north of Scotland. Kate was certain that he knew the name of the island and maybe even her address off by heart. He was still hurting, she was sure. She felt a surge of sympathy for him.
“What about you? Where do you come from? Not round here, I can tell by your accent,” he said.
“I’m from Norwich. My parents split and my mum remarried. I don’t get on with my stepdad so I tend to stay round here in the holidays.”
Kate said it off pat. She’d told many people versions of this history over the last two years.
“Do you still see your dad?”
Kate shook her head. It was the truth. She had never seen her biological father.
“So you’re on your own. Brothers? Sisters?”
“Just me. I’m happy that way. I have friends here. I’ll probably stay here after I finish my degree.”
He nodded and threw two handfuls of vegetables into the wok. It made a loud sizzling sound. It smelled good. She realised she was very hungry. She ran her fingers through her hair and felt the knots in it.
“I just need to brush my hair,” she said, grabbing her bag, standing up.
“Col’s in the bathroom. Use my room. It’s pretty tidy.”
She walked into Jimmy’s bedroom. The blinds were up and the room was full of light. It looked much bigger than it had on Sunday morning. It was tidier but not tidy. The duvet had been straightened but there were still bumps in it, probably covering T-shirts or underwear that had been discarded. Boys never made their beds neatly. She sat down on the corner of the bed and angled her face so that she could see into a mirror that was on the wall. She pulled the brush through her hair, pausing when she got to the knots, teasing them out.
She realised she hadn’t thought about the police for a while. It was all there in her head, the interrogation, the teddy bear badge, but it wasn’t at the front of her mind. She felt relaxed and remembered Julia’s words, There’ll be some explanation for the badge. Maybe she was right.
Was she actually enjoying herself?
She shouldn’t be feeling like this. At the very least this house should have depressed her. She’d had her fill of student houses and their chaos. The communal areas were the worst; the grubby kitchens with their sticky floors, the hallways that got filled up with people’s coats and bikes and shopping bags. That’s why she loved it with Sally and Ruth. Theirs was a sane existence. Everything had a place and if there were coats over the newel post they would disappear in a few hours.
Jimmy Fuller’s keenness should have worried her. He’d met her before and clearly remembered it. Perhaps that’s why he had stuck with her on the previous Saturday night. And he had an ex-girlfriend whom he clearly still had feelings for.
He was someone who had big emotions. The sort of person she usually steered clear of. The odd thing was she liked him. He was good company and she felt easy with him.
And she was attracted to him. Why not? After the way she’d been treated. Why shouldn’t she have a good time?
She looked around his room. The piles of DVDs seemed at a precarious angle; one knock and they would all come toppling down. Her eye settled on some plastic boxes in an alcove. Each had a label on the side with the word Becky written on it in felt tip pen. She went over to them and picked the lid off the top one, curious about this girl who had been close to Jimmy. The box was full of books but on the top there was a battered envelope folder which had the words Rebecca Andrews Papers. Kate took it out and lifted back the flap. It had a passport and a degree certificate. There were also some birthday cards.
Kate looked round at the door, keenly aware
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember … ”
“But you know me now!”
He busied himself cleaning the inside of the wok with paper towel and then started to chop vegetables. She thought about what he’d said about his ex-girlfriend. She’d gone to some island north of Scotland. Kate was certain that he knew the name of the island and maybe even her address off by heart. He was still hurting, she was sure. She felt a surge of sympathy for him.
“What about you? Where do you come from? Not round here, I can tell by your accent,” he said.
“I’m from Norwich. My parents split and my mum remarried. I don’t get on with my stepdad so I tend to stay round here in the holidays.”
Kate said it off pat. She’d told many people versions of this history over the last two years.
“Do you still see your dad?”
Kate shook her head. It was the truth. She had never seen her biological father.
“So you’re on your own. Brothers? Sisters?”
“Just me. I’m happy that way. I have friends here. I’ll probably stay here after I finish my degree.”
He nodded and threw two handfuls of vegetables into the wok. It made a loud sizzling sound. It smelled good. She realised she was very hungry. She ran her fingers through her hair and felt the knots in it.
“I just need to brush my hair,” she said, grabbing her bag, standing up.
“Col’s in the bathroom. Use my room. It’s pretty tidy.”
She walked into Jimmy’s bedroom. The blinds were up and the room was full of light. It looked much bigger than it had on Sunday morning. It was tidier but not tidy. The duvet had been straightened but there were still bumps in it, probably covering T-shirts or underwear that had been discarded. Boys never made their beds neatly. She sat down on the corner of the bed and angled her face so that she could see into a mirror that was on the wall. She pulled the brush through her hair, pausing when she got to the knots, teasing them out.
She realised she hadn’t thought about the police for a while. It was all there in her head, the interrogation, the teddy bear badge, but it wasn’t at the front of her mind. She felt relaxed and remembered Julia’s words, There’ll be some explanation for the badge. Maybe she was right.
Was she actually enjoying herself?
She shouldn’t be feeling like this. At the very least this house should have depressed her. She’d had her fill of student houses and their chaos. The communal areas were the worst; the grubby kitchens with their sticky floors, the hallways that got filled up with people’s coats and bikes and shopping bags. That’s why she loved it with Sally and Ruth. Theirs was a sane existence. Everything had a place and if there were coats over the newel post they would disappear in a few hours.
Jimmy Fuller’s keenness should have worried her. He’d met her before and clearly remembered it. Perhaps that’s why he had stuck with her on the previous Saturday night. And he had an ex-girlfriend whom he clearly still had feelings for.
He was someone who had big emotions. The sort of person she usually steered clear of. The odd thing was she liked him. He was good company and she felt easy with him.
And she was attracted to him. Why not? After the way she’d been treated. Why shouldn’t she have a good time?
She looked around his room. The piles of DVDs seemed at a precarious angle; one knock and they would all come toppling down. Her eye settled on some plastic boxes in an alcove. Each had a label on the side with the word Becky written on it in felt tip pen. She went over to them and picked the lid off the top one, curious about this girl who had been close to Jimmy. The box was full of books but on the top there was a battered envelope folder which had the words Rebecca Andrews Papers. Kate took it out and lifted back the flap. It had a passport and a degree certificate. There were also some birthday cards.
Kate looked round at the door, keenly aware
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