Mia Evian has to piece together the mystery of Zack Maddox, the bad boy whose life she saved, while simultaneously keeping her own crumbling life together before Zack ends up in trouble again - or worse yet, dead.
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Since he showed up drunk at Robbie's, Preston has been going out almost every night. I've only been out with the group twice myself, but based on what Robbie's shared, Preston has been in full blown Zack mode each time. It's a far cry from the first few weeks after the cottage where he wouldn't set foot in public, and I have no idea if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I try not to ponder over it too much because it makes me dizzy, and so long as he sends me a comma every day, I'm content. I still always send a reply to it, and he still never responds. I visited Anwen again last week. Preston hasn't told her about last summer, and when she questioned him, he acted like he had no idea what she was referring to.
My house is unusually quiet when I enter it. I stayed at Aiden's last night, and he's left all of his assignments until the last minute, so I pretty much left the moment I woke up to let him get on with it. I can hear mumbling, which is odd because Dad's usually blasting some horrendous daytime cookery show on a Saturday morning. As I pass our dining room, I notice that the door is shut, and that the mumbling is coming from the other side. I hear Dad and don't think much of it, but as I'm about to start walking again, I hear a voice so recognisable that it chokes me. Mum.
'... convenient back-up plan, James!'
'That's not what I'm saying, please, just consider it. I'm begging you.'
What are they talking about? Mum hasn't stepped foot in this house since she moved out, so for her to be here now means there must be a good reason. I'm fairly certain they've not even interacted since I was at the hospital after the crash, and I'd barely class what they were doing there as interacting.
'I came here so that we could be adults and talk about the girls,' Mum says from behind the door my ear is now planted against. 'I don't care if you've ended things with that woman, and I don't care how much you claim to still love me because if you did, this never would have happened in the first place.'
Is Dad asking for her back? Has he seriously got the nerve? I have never wanted to applaud Mum so much in my entire life. All she ever used to do was tip-toe around Dad in fear of upsetting him, so hearing her acknowledging her own self-worth makes me want to burst open the door and give her the biggest high-five I've ever given anyone.
'Charlotte, please, come back, I love you. Imagine how happy the girls--'
'Don't try to blackmail me, don't you dare. I don't rely on you anymore, James, I don't need you to make me happy. I can do that alone. You put me through hell after what you did, and I felt like I was worth shit.' Hearing Mum swear stuns me; I had no idea she was capable of it. 'I loved you, all of you, and you didn't even see me.'
My head is spinning. I'm so incredibly proud of Mum for standing up for herself, for not giving in to the easy option of taking Dad back, but should I be? Shouldn't I want them back together so that we can play happy families again? Footsteps grow closer, and as I realise they're heading towards the door I'm leaning against, I panic and slip back out of the house in a rush. I dash up our driveway and out of our street without looking back once, and I have no idea where I'm going. With Aiden unavailable, I pull out my phone and dial Robbie's number because I have no idea what else to do.
