Page 49 of The Best Friend
My shoulders drop as I realise the precarious position we’re in. ‘Shit. I didn’t think of that.’
‘Look,’ Jared says. ‘I’ll tell her I’m too busy to run with her at the moment, okay? But I can’t stop her from showing up at the office. I still have to be nice to her.’
I nod.
‘But, Lou… me being nice to Darcy – it means nothing, okay? Don’t start getting paranoid. I love you.’
I bite my lip and nod again.
‘Does that make you feel any better?’ he asks. ‘Am I forgiven for being an insensitive git?’
I don’t reply.
‘Am I forgiven just a tiny bit?’ He puts on his puppy-dog expression and I can’t stop my mouth from curling into a reluctant smile.
‘Mummy!’ Joe calls out from upstairs. He sounds upset.
‘I’ll go,’ Jared says, rising to his feet.
‘It’s okay,’ I say. ‘Sit and eat your dinner. I’m not hungry anyway.’
‘Sure?’
I nod. Jared sits back down and I jog up the stairs to see what’s wrong with Joe. He’s in bed with the covers pulled up to his chin. The nightlight casts a cosy glow around his room, but his face is white and tear-streaked.
‘Baby, what’s the matter?’
‘I can’t sleep,’ he sobs. ‘I keep seeing horrible faces every time I close my eyes.’
‘Is it because of the film you were watching with Tyler?’ I sit next to him on the bed and smooth his fringe out of his eyes.
Joe nods. ‘Some bits were good, but then it got really scary and Tyler was making fun of me because I didn’t want to look.’
Bloody Darcy again, messing up my family life.‘It’s not real, Joe. Don’t think about it. They’re just actors wearing funny costumes. Think about football instead. Think about all your favourite players, okay?’
‘What if I can’t stop thinking about the faces,’ he says. ‘They feel like they’re real.’
‘How about if I read to you until you fall asleep? Something lovely and friendly likeOld Bear?’
‘That’s babyish.’ He pouts.
‘No, it’s funny and lovely and it will help you get to sleep. Okay?’
Joe relaxes his expression and nods.
‘I walk over to Joe’s bookshelf and pull out the large hardback book. I haven’t read this to him since he was about five. But I know it will help him calm down and forget his fears.
‘Mummy,’ he says as I sit back down next to him.
‘Mm?’
‘I don’t think I like Tyler’s mummy any more. I didn’t like it when she was here instead of you and Daddy.’
‘Why? What did she do? Did she say anything to you?’
‘No,’ he says, his brow creasing. ‘She says nice things and she smiles at me, but it’s not a real smile. It makes my tummy feel scared.’
His words chill me. That’s exactly how I feel about Darcy. Maybe it’s not just my paranoia, after all. My throat is tight and I realise my hands are shaking. I need to get that woman out of our lives.
