My Sister's Lies by S.D. Robertson

Author:S.D. Robertson [S.D. Robertson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2018-11-19T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

‘Hello! You’re back. How was the trip?’

‘Mia, how are you? I didn’t expect a welcoming committee, but it’s nice to have one.’

She flashed her uncle a sheepish grin. ‘Oh, I wasn’t waiting here for you. I was just, er, nipping to the bathroom.’

She stood there in the hallway while Mark, who looked worn out and dishevelled, dropped his overnight bag on the floor before removing his jacket and placing it on a hanger on the coat rack.

There was an awkward moment when he looked up and, seeing his niece there, watching him, interpreted this as her waiting for a proper greeting. So he leaned forward and planted an unexpected kiss on her cheek.

‘Hello,’ she found herself repeating. ‘Um, Hannah said you did manage to catch up with Mum yesterday evening.’

‘That’s right.’

‘How was she? Did she, er, say when she’d be coming back for me?’

Her uncle smiled, although his eyes didn’t join in with his mouth. ‘Is it okay if I freshen up first, Mia? Then we can all sit down together and I’ll bring you and Hannah up to speed. I’ve been dreaming of a shower all the way home. I feel so hot and sticky, although it’s definitely not as warm now as it was in Bournemouth yesterday. It was roasting.’

‘Sure,’ Mia replied. ‘Hannah’s in the kitchen, by the way. I’ll, um …’ She pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

‘Please. You carry on, love.’

She hadn’t actually been on the way to the bathroom when Mark had walked through the front door. She’d been listening out for him for the past hour or so, splitting her time between the lounge and her bedroom, trying to read but struggling to concentrate. Hannah must have noticed she was on tenterhooks, but she’d been good enough not to say anything.

As soon as Mia had heard the key, she’d darted towards the entrance of the apartment, desperate to know what her uncle had discovered. She hoped for some explanation about what her mum was up to and a date when she could return home: preferably soon, while there was some of the school holidays left to enjoy with her friends. Hearing Mark say how warm it had been down there was enough to make her feel homesick. She longed to sunbathe or play ball games on the beach; to enjoy a refreshing dip in the sea.

It was for this reason that she’d not been messaging as much with her friends back home in recent days. It only made her envious and sad she wasn’t with them. Meanwhile, not wanting to look like a total loser, she’d told them a few porky-pies about what she’d been up to in Manchester.

For a start, Mia had claimed to have befriended a group of local kids, who she was supposedly hanging out with most days. She’d taken some surreptitious pictures on her phone of teenagers skating and hanging out in Cathedral Gardens, an open space near Victoria railway station, then used these to bring her fictional friends to life.

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