Save Me by Mandasue Heller

Author:Mandasue Heller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

20

Ellie ran down the stairs to the ground floor, lurched out into the cold night air and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She may not have liked Billy, but he’d been in her life since she was twelve years old, so she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t care about him dying. Whatever he had done to her, he didn’t deserve this, and it killed her that her mum was blaming her for it.

‘Ellie . . . ?’

At the sound of Gareth’s voice, Ellie snapped her head up and swiped the tears off her cheeks when she saw him hurrying toward her.

‘What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay at home?’

‘I was worried about you,’ he said, frowning when he reached her. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Billy’s dead,’ she told him, rooting in her bag for a tissue. ‘They were operating on him when I got here, but his spleen ruptured, and they couldn’t save him.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Gareth touched her shoulder. ‘Is your mum okay?’

‘No.’ Ellie blew her nose loudly. ‘She’s blaming me.’

‘Why? It’s not your fault.’

‘Yes it is. Matt was fine until he found out I’d seen you behind his back.’

‘Ah . . . So he’s blaming you, and you’re blaming me?’

‘No, of course not,’ Ellie said guiltily. ‘I’m the one who lied.’

‘Yeah, and with good reason, considering what he’s done since he found out,’ said Gareth. Sighing when she dipped her gaze, he said, ‘Come on, Ellie . . . how long are you going to keep defending him?’

‘I’m not,’ she said brusquely, wishing that people would stop saying that.

‘Yes, you are,’ he argued. ‘You didn’t believe me when I told you he’d stabbed me, and then you argued with that copper when he told you he’d done the same to your stepdad. Now Billy’s dead, but you’d rather blame yourself – or me – than admit that Matt’s guilty. So what are you going to do next? Tell the police he was with you when it happened so he’s got an alibi?’

‘I would never lie to the police. I just . . .’

‘Just what?’ Gareth prompted when she didn’t finish. ‘Just don’t want to believe that Matt’s a murderer?’

‘God, I don’t know what I think,’ Ellie moaned. ‘My head’s completely battered with all of this. Billy’s dead and I’m getting the blame, and now Holly’s sitting up there with my mum acting like butter wouldn’t melt.’

‘Holly’s here?’ Gareth frowned. ‘I thought she’d gone back to London after Christmas?’

‘She did, but she came straight here when she heard what had happened. My mum swears she tried to call me, as well; but you saw me check my phone earlier, and there were no missed calls were there?’

‘Not that I saw. So what did Holly say? Did you ask her about her and Matt?’

‘Yeah, but she denied it, of course.’

‘You didn’t believe her, did you?’

‘I don’t know,’ Ellie admitted. ‘She was so adamant she hadn’t done anything, I did wonder if you might have got it wrong.

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