Summer of Secrets by Cathy Cole Page B

leaving even before Ruth died.” She blinked back a sudden rush of tears that had formed in the backs of her eyes. “My parents seem to bring out the worst in each other,” she said sadly.
    Polly nodded. “Mine did too.”
    Rhi wished more than anything that she could have her family back again, when everyone was happy, when Ruth was alive and there was nothing to worry about. Talk about wishing for the stars , she thought. “There were good times,” she said, more to reassure herself than anything.
    Polly smiled. “We had some really fun times when I was little. I like remembering us all around the kitchen table we had in our San Francisco apartment. The sun always seemed to shine. Dad used to make muffins. He was so proud of them, he made them at least once a week. They were always as hard as rocks but Mum and I pretended they were delicious.” She giggled. “We fed most of them to the pigeons that used to land on our window sill. They were the fattest pigeons on the block.”
    â€œMum and Dad used to have a water fights in the garden,” Rhi said, remembering. “They were like a couple of kids.”
    â€œThe key is to remember those good times without wishing you could have them back,” Polly said.
    Rhi swallowed painfully. “I don’t think I can do that yet,” she admitted.
    Polly’s voice was gentle. “Of course you can’t, this has only just hit you. But you will be able to one day. I promise. You’ll find your new normal, just like I have.”
    Rhi realized she was feeling better. “Yes,” she said, feeling more confident. “You’re right. It’s just … getting to the new normal, isn’t it?”
    â€œExactly. You’ll all mess up for a while, and hurt each other, and shout and scream for a bit, and it’ll suck,” said Polly. She smiled encouragingly. “But then things will settle down and a kind of calm will sneak up on you that you won’t even notice for a while. And then – bang. New normal.”

ELEVEN
    Finding herself unable to concentrate, Rhi left Polly’s house earlier than the others, intending to go home. Instead, she found herself down on the beach, curled up among the rocks where she had sat only a few days earlier, watching the sea and thinking. It wasn’t until the tide began to lap at her toes that she stood up and started the long trudge home. Her school bag felt absurdly heavy on her back.
    It started the moment she came through the door.
    â€œHow was your first exam?” Her mother’s eyes flicked over Rhi’s sandy uniform. “It’s late. Where have you been?”
    Rhi paused on the stairs. At least she could look her mother in the eye on this one. “Studying at Polly’s with the others.”
    Her mother looked relieved. “Thank goodness you’re starting to take things more seriously. I hope you were working and not chattering?”
    The quiet haven of her bedroom was so close. “Not now, Mum,” Rhi said, reaching for her door handle.
    Her mother was up the stairs in a flash, standing beside Rhi as she tried to get into her room. “What does that mean? You were studying, weren’t you?”
    Rhi went into her room and shut the door as firmly as she dared. All she wanted to do was pick up her guitar and work on the song she’d written for Ruth the day before. She’d been thinking about it down on the beach, and she knew it wasn’t quite as she wanted it. The rhymes were still rough around the edges, and the chorus wasn’t right. She put down her bag and slung her guitar around her neck, closed her eyes and summoned up the opening chords of the song.
    The door opened. Rhi swung round. Her mother folded her arms and raised her eyebrows enquiringly at the guitar around Rhi’s neck.
    â€œI didn’t say you could come in!” Rhi blurted.
    Her mother made an inarticulate sound of