Chapter 25
Last New Year’s Eve
‘Happy Almost New Year!’ Frankie whoops down the phone.
‘Happy Almost New Year,’ I reply. ‘How’s Tenerife?’
‘Oh my God, so gorgeous,’ Frankie says. ‘It was twenty-three degrees today. And you know that boy I told you about?’
‘The one with the sexy eyes or the one with the sexy hair?’ I ask. Over the past three days, I’ve heard plenty about both of them in a series of emoji-laden messages.
‘The one with the sexy eyes,’ Frankie says in a dreamy voice.
‘What about him?’
‘He’s asked me if I want to go down to the beach to watch the fireworks with him.’
As she lets out an excited squeal, I can’t help but grin. Her break-up with Ram in October hit her hard and from all angles. Listening to her now, giddy and breathless at the prospect of cosying up with a hot boy with eyes so gorgeous she could ‘swim laps in them’, I’m stupidly delighted to note that the old Frankie is clearly back in business.
‘But enough about me. How’s Theo’s party?’ she asks.
‘Yeah, OK,’ I say. ‘Y’know, same old, same old …’
‘How come it’s so quiet?’
I glance across at the closed door, then down at the open book in my lap.
‘Jojo,’ Frankie says in her very best schoolmarm voice. ‘Are you even at the party?’
‘Yes, of course I am,’ I reply indignantly.
‘Then how come I can’t hear anything?’
‘I’m in the utility room,’ I admit.
‘The utility room!’ Frankie cries. ‘What on earth are you doing in there?’
‘Just taking a bit of time out.’
‘Time out from what?’
‘Everyone’s really drunk. I just wanted a break from people talking rubbish at me. Seriously, Bex has told me the same anecdote five times now. And it’s not even a very good one. I’ll go back out in a bit, I promise.’
‘Is Toby there?’ Frankie asks.
She’s talking about Toby Flint. He’s in drama club with us and Frankie is convinced he fancies me.
‘Yeah, he’s about, I think,’ I say vaguely.
‘And have you spoken to him?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘We haven’t crossed paths.’
‘Jojo, I know Theo’s house is big but it’s not that big. You could easily track Toby down if you put your mind to it.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’
‘I’m serious. You need to get out of that bloody room and speak to him. Before midnight! You need to lay the groundwork.’
‘Groundwork for what?’
‘Duh! For a midnight kiss, of course!’
‘Ah, but you’re assuming I want to kiss him.’
‘Well, don’t you?’
‘No. Not especially.’
‘Why not?’
Toby is fairly nice-looking. And he’s sweet and interesting and a good actor, and on paper I know I should totally be into him. And yet, I’m just not. I’ve explained this to Frankie on multiple occasions but she’s convinced I’ll come around at some point, that my feelings will click into place if I’d only just try a bit harder.
‘We’ve gone through this,’ I say. ‘I’m just not feeling it. And if Toby likes me as much as you reckon he does, which I don’t think is the case for one minute by the way, then I especially don’t want to mess him around.’
‘OK, fine. So who are you going to kiss?’ she asks.
‘I don’t know. Maybe no one.’
Probably no one.
Almost certainly no one.
‘But it’s New Year’s Eve! Kissing is practically compulsory.’
‘Since when?’
‘Since … I don’t know, for ever!’
In the background I can hear someone calling Frankie’s name.
‘Oh, balls. Jojo, I have to go. Our mains are here.’
‘You’re still eating? It’s nearly eleven.’
‘That’s how they do it here. Last night we weren’t finished until nearly one.’
‘Sounds fun,’ I say.
‘It really is. I bloody miss you, though. I wish you were here so badly.’
‘No, you don’t. Because if I was there I’d totally get in the way of your sexy walk on the beach with the boy with the sexy eyes.’
She laughs. Mainly because she knows I’m right. Frankie may be boy-crazy, but she’s also loyal to a fault. ‘Sisters before Misters’ is her motto, the girl-power anthem ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls her theme song.
‘Anyone else there miss me?’ she asks.
‘Uh-huh. Seriously, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve come up to me asking where you are. Some of them seemed genuinely disturbed by your absence, like the idea of the two of us not being in the same room is personally offensive to them.’
‘And they’d be absolutely right,’ Frankie says. ‘It’s not natural, quite frankly. When I get back on Wednesday, I’m coming straight over to yours and I’m going to stay there until we go back to school on Monday, whether you like it or not.’
‘I’m gonna hold you to that,’ I say happily.
‘Excellent.’
‘Frankie!’ a voice calls.
Frankie groans. ‘OK, I really have to go now. Promise me you’ll go back to the party the second you hang up.’
‘Can I at least finish my chapter first?’ I ask.
‘You’re reading?!?’ Frankie splutters.
‘How else am I supposed to pass the time?’
‘Are you seriously telling me you brought a book along with you to a New Year’s Eve party?’
‘No. I found it on a bookshelf in the living room.’
‘Jojo, I adore you, you know I do, but you really do baffle me sometimes.’
‘Have a lovely time with the boy with the eyes. Do all the things I wouldn’t do.’
‘Ha! Message me if you snog Toby. If you snog anyone.’
I roll my eyes. ‘I will. Don’t get your hopes up, though.’
‘I love you, Joanna Rosalind Bright.’
‘And I love you, Francesca Elena Ricci.’
‘Happy New Year.’
‘Happy New Year.’
I hang up and go back to my book, using the torch on my phone so I can see the tiny print.
I’ve read maybe another three or so pages when the doorknob begins to turn. My heart sinks. There’s still another three whole hours before Bex’s dad comes to pick us up. I’d been naively hoping I could commandeer the utility room as my own private hideout until then.
The door creaks open, yellow light from the kitchen leaking in.
A figure – a guy – stands in silhouette.
‘Oh, sorry,’ he says, noticing me in the gloom. ‘I didn’t realize anyone was in here.’
‘Wait a second. Ram, is that you?’ I shine my phone in the direction of his face.
He shields his eyes and squints. ‘Jojo?’
‘Hello!’
‘Oh my God, long time no see. Hello!’
I beam. In the aftermath of the break-up I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed hanging out with Ram. ‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.
‘I’ve been asking myself that since I got here.’
‘Ah. Not having a great time?’
‘Not the best.’ He pauses, casually eyeing the space on the tumble-dryer beside me. ‘Mind if I join you?’
PART THREE
RAM
Chapter 26
The lift doors slide open and I step out into reception. Reece is nowhere to be seen. A laminated sign proclaiming ‘Back Soon!’ has been propped on the desk in his absence.
I buy a bottle of water from the vending machine and take a long swig before slumping on the fake leather sofa next to it.
My head is spinning. It has been ever since Reece mentioned the baby. Until then, although aspects of Frankie’s so-called evidence were most definitely odd, I n
ever for one second thought Jojo had anything to do with Olivia Sinclair’s disappearance. And now? Now, I have no idea what to think. Every time I attempt to visualize Jojo opening that car door and taking Olivia, my brain just seizes up. Jojo is literally one of the kindest, smartest, most sane people I know. True, I haven’t seen her since January, but I can’t imagine even the most extreme personality transplant would result in her doing something as crazy and downright criminal as this. There has got to be an explanation.
I check the time. Twenty to one. In just over nine hours, I’m supposed to back on the rink for my shift.
Above the desk, a flat-screen TV plays silently, subtitles juddering across the screen. It’s one of those A Place in the Sun type of programmes that always seem to be on in the background when Mum is bustling around the kitchen making dinner.
I rest my head against the wall behind me and let my eyes fall shut. I’m exhausted. Last night, Roxy had a night terror. It only lasted ten minutes but for ages afterwards I couldn’t get back to sleep, her screams echoing in my ears. This morning she had no recollection of it, which was both reassuring and slightly annoying. Then I had a split shift at the rink. The hot weather has resulted in a surge in numbers and the place has been complete mayhem for the past two weeks. Before Frankie turned up, my plan for the rest of the evening was to drive home, fix myself a fish finger sandwich and fall straight into bed.
You could have said no, a voice inside my head reminds me.
I tried, I reply.
Oh, really?
Yes.
Hmmm.
I did!
OK. You just keep telling yourself that …
I try to imagine an alternate universe where I told Frankie to get lost and went home as planned. It’s pointless, though. The fact is, my fate was sealed the moment Frankie said Jojo was in trouble.
‘All sorted?’
I glance up. Reece has emerged from the back office, a Twister ice lolly in his right hand.
‘Sorted?’ I repeat.
‘The baby,’ Reece prompts.
I frown.
‘The urgent medication?’
Of course. Frankie’s cover story.
‘Oh, er, yes,’ I say. ‘Crisis averted. Thanks.’
Reece nods, plonks himself down in his chair and slurps noisily at his ice lolly.
I take another sip of water and pretend to watch the TV. A middle-aged couple is looking around a Spanish villa. He likes it; she’s not so keen.
‘You can change the channel if you want,’ Reece says. ‘Here.’ He tosses me the remote. I mindlessly flick through the channels, eventually landing on an old episode of Have I Got News For You?, but without sound the jokes don’t really land. Not that I’m in the mood to laugh anyway.
As the credits are rolling, I text Frankie for an update.
It’s been weird, being back in her company after almost a year apart. If I’m honest, it’s kind of freaked me out a bit. In so many ways, I feel like a different person to the one Frankie went out with. Being back in close proximity with her almost feels like stepping back in time. I could sense myself slipping into old patterns of behaviour, the familiar dynamic that ultimately led to our downfall rearing its ugly head. Not that things were ever terrible between us. Far from it. In the aftermath of Dad dying, she was the perfect person to have around – bright and funny and silly and energetic – the antidote to grief in human girl form. It was only as time went on that it became clear that something was missing. On both sides.
While I’m awaiting Frankie’s reply, I launch WhatsApp.
The message I drafted this morning is still sitting there, unsent.
I allow myself to wonder what might have happened if I’d pressed ‘send’. Would today have panned out differently? Or is it totally arrogant of me to even think that?
My phone buzzes. It’s Maxwell, my best mate.
M: What’s all this about you driving off into the sunset with Frankie? You’re not back on, are you??
R: No. I’m just helping her out with something.
M: Oi oi!
R: Nothing like that, you dirty bastard.
Frankie hasn’t messaged me back.
I’ll give her another fifteen minutes, I decide, then I’ll call. I put my phone away and return my attention to the TV, rhythmically clicking through the channels, stopping occasionally to watch something for a minute or two before moving on.
Until something catches my eye.
A red banner scrolling across the bottom of the twenty-four-hour news channel.
A red banner declaring Olivia Sinclair has been found.
My eyes widen as I read the rolling text.
Missing infant Olivia Sinclair found safe and well at a property in Kirkdale …
… 32-year-old woman in custody …
… Olivia’s parents ‘elated’ at the news …
My body surges with relief. I knew it. I just knew Jojo didn’t have anything to do with Olivia’s disappearance. I grab my phone to ring Frankie. If we’re in the car in the next ten minutes or so, we’ll be back in Newfield by 5 a.m. Four hours sleep isn’t ideal, but I’m only working until 2 p.m. I can power through, then crash when I get home after my shift.
Frankie doesn’t answer. I hang up and am in the middle of composing a text when there’s a loud ‘ping’ and the lift doors open to reveal Frankie, her hands on her hips.
I jump to my feet.
‘Look!’ I say, pointing at the TV screen. ‘They found Olivia! I knew Jojo had nothing to do with it, I knew it!’
But Frankie doesn’t even glance at the TV.
She strides straight up to me and, without saying a word, slaps me clean around the face.
Chapter 27
I fall back onto the sofa in shock.
Did that really just happen?
I lift my hand to my cheek. It’s stinging like mad. It definitely happened.
But why? All things considered, I thought Frankie and I had been getting on pretty well tonight.
‘Someone’s not happy.’
I glance up. Reece is smirking at me.
‘Lovers’ tiff, is it?’ he adds a little too eagerly.
I shake my head and stagger to my feet. Frankie is nowhere to be seen.
‘Which way did she go?’ I ask. ‘Did you see?’
‘Out the front,’ Reece replies, pointing towards the automatic doors.
I run out onto the pavement and look in both directions. The street is deserted.
‘Frankie!’ I yell. ‘Frankie!’
No response.
I walk to the corner and look down the next street. Once more, it’s empty. Where are all the people? Then I remember – it’s after one in the morning. Anyone sensible is in bed. I jog back, past the hotel entrance, to the road where we parked. No Frankie.
I take out my phone and call her. She picks up after a couple of rings.
‘What?’ she barks.
She’s walking. I can hear the soles of her flip-flops slapping against the pavement.
‘Frankie, what the hell was that?’ I ask.
She lets out a laugh.
‘Seriously,’ I say. ‘What did I do?’
‘What did you do?’ she repeats. ‘What did you do?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Why don’t you ask Jojo?’ She spits out the words, each one dripping with anger.
‘What do you mean?’
She doesn’t reply.
‘Frankie, what do—?’
She hangs up before I can finish my question.
Why don’t you ask Jojo?
What on earth is she talking about?
Unless …
Shit.
But Jojo wouldn’t tell Frankie about any of that? Would she? She was the one who was adamant Frankie should never ever find out, the one who made me promise never to bring it up.
I try Frankie again. This time it goes straight to voicemail. There’s no point in leaving a message. Frankie famously doesn’t listen t
o them.
I swear under my breath and walk back to the hotel. Although it’s still boiling, the wind is picking up. It isn’t the least bit refreshing, more like having a giant hairdryer blasted at your face. I glance up. Clouds roll overhead. They’re moving so fast it almost looks like they’re chasing one another.
‘You didn’t find her, then?’ Reece asks as I stride back into the foyer.
‘Does it look like it?’ I snap.
Reece raises his eyebrows and puffs out his cheeks. ‘Listen, I didn’t have to help you out before,’ he says sulkily.
‘I know, I know,’ I say, raking my hands through my hair. ‘I’m sorry. I’m just … under a bit of stress right now.’
‘Still. There’s no need to take it out on me.’
‘I know. Like I said, I’m really sorry.’ I head towards the lift. I need to find out what Jojo said to make Frankie fly off the handle like that. ‘It was room four-two-six, right?’ I say.
Reece doesn’t answer.
‘Please, mate. I’m sorry I snapped before. It’s just that it’s important.’
Reece lets out a heavy sigh. ‘Yes, it’s four-two-six.’
‘Thank you, mate,’ I say, jabbing at the lift button. ‘Thank you.’
As the lift rattles upwards. I study my reflection in the mirrored panel. My cheek is still red from Frankie’s powerhouse slap.
Her words keep echoing in my head: Why don’t you ask Jojo?
Ask Jojo what?
Unless you count the time I saw her sail past me on the number 88 bus a few months back, I haven’t actually seen her in the flesh since New Year’s Day. A few times I’ve thought about ringing her or turning up at her house, but every time I’ve been tempted I’ve remembered the promise I made and forced myself to keep my distance.
The lift doors stutter open and I step out onto the fourth floor. I take a right and head down the corridor. As I get closer to room 426, my nerves build. It’s just Jojo, I remind myself. Even after everything that happened, she’s still your mate. There’s no need to be nervous.
My pep talk doesn’t work. By the time I reach room 426, I’m sweating like mad. I wipe my clammy palms on my shorts and rap on the door. It flies open almost immediately, making me jump.
First Day of My Life Page 16