Chapter 58

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Maddy

" M aya still asleep, Dad?" I asked, as I gathered my school books together.

"Yeah."

He rubbed a hand over his face, and I noticed how tired he looked. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Yeah," he said with a yawn, "but I kept waking up thinking I'd heard her moving around. I just checked on her, though, and she's fast asleep."

"Just leave her as long as you can. Sleep is good for healing the body."

He reached out and pulled me closer, kissing my forehead. "I know." When he let me go he scratched at his chest and yawned again. "I might just try and catch a bit more sleep once you've gone."

I glanced at the clock on the cooker, to see it was only half seven. "You didn't need to get up with me, you know."

"I know, but I haven't seen you all weekend, plus I wanted to be sure that you're okay with her staying."

My eyes almost bulged out of my head. "What? Of course I'm okay with it. I would have been disappointed if you hadn't brought her back here."

Dad's shoulder's sagged in relief. "You're a good girl, Mads."

"I know I am. Be very grateful for me, and now go back to bed." I gave him a hug. "I need to go because Zak will be here soon."

"Is he in his mum's car today?"

"Nope, he's riding his bike over and then walking me to school."

Dad's eyes rolled. "Suck up."

Laughing, I gathered my stuff and walked towards the front door, knowing that secretly Dad loved that Zak was taking the time to walk me to school.

And, when I got outside, there he was, about to push his bike up our path with a huge grin on his face. He looked as gorgeous as ever, wrapped up in his coat with a black beany hat pulled down over his dark hair.

"Morning." As I approached, gripping the handle bars, he leaned the top half of his body forward to kiss me. "You smell nice."

"It's my usual perfume." I gave him another quick peck. "Want to give me a croggie?" I pointed at his bike.

"What the hell is a croggie?"

I laughed at how it sounded in his accent. "A croggie, a seaty. Basically, you sit on the seat, and I sit on the crossbar."

Frowning, he looked at me and then the bike. "We can if you want to give it a go, but…"

"I'm joking, Zak. I think it's illegal anyway."

"We'd better walk, then." Smiling he held out his hand, which I took, loving how his big one curled around my much smaller one. "So, tell me about Maya. All you said in your text was that she had an accident and was staying at yours."

"It was a car accident," I told him. "Someone went into the back of her, and she broke her wrist and a couple of ribs. She's been lucky, and is going to be fine, but I think Dad wanted her close."

"That's understandable." He squeezed my hand and led me across the road. "Thank God it wasn't worse."

He was right. I'm not sure how Dad would have taken it. Maya was going to be fine, but it was obvious he was worried sick. I was glad she was staying with us, for Dad's sake as much as hers.

"Have you heard anything from Ana since we got back?"

All I seemed to do lately when talking about Ana was sigh. My response to Zak's current question was no different, a long drawn out exhale that held a mix of frustration and sadness. I felt a twinge in my chest at the thought of seeing the girl who'd been my best friend for what seemed like forever. I hated that things weren't right between us, but I wasn't sure what else I could do. We'd tried to help her, but she didn't seem to want to make things better.

"No and I'm nervous to see her," I reply. "I have no idea how she's going to be on a day to day basis."

"Hmm, there's got to be more going on than just her mum and dad. I mean your dad went out of his way to help her with that, yet she's still being awkward."

Aware of the steel in his tone, I decided it was better to change the subject. I knew how he felt about Ana, but she was my friend, and I didn't want to argue about her.

"So," I said, looking up at him with a smile. "Heard any gossip about the party?"

"How are you feeling?" I asked Emma as we filed into the canteen at lunchtime. I hadn't had chance to talk to her all morning. "Bit sore down there."

She giggled. "I'm fine." Looking around, she leaned in closer. "He called last night, and we had phone sex. Well, I say phone sex, I was knackered, so just made a few moaning noises while he had a wank."

I burst out laughing, grateful that Emma knew just how to brighten my day, seeing as Ana was barely talking to any of us again. She'd sat next to me in study period in total silence, but she definitely wasn't studying. When I asked her why she hadn't turned up for the trip to London, she'd muttered something about having better things to do.

"You're an idiot," I told Emma as we joined the queue for food. Then something struck me. "Not that I don't trust Liam, but you didn't do it over video chat did you?"

"God no," she snapped back, elbowing me in the side. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"I mean, I don't think he'd do anything bad, but people can get hold of stuff like that and?—"

"It's fine, Miss Cautious. I didn't and I won't, and I won't send him any nudies either, and I certainly don't want any dick pics from him." She picked up two trays and passed me one. "I mean it's a beautiful thing he has in his pants, but I don't want to clog my phone up with images of it. Besides, what happens if we split up, I'll be tempted to look at the photos all the time, and I'll never move on. I'll always remember the good days."

When she raised an eyebrow, we both burst out laughing, and were still clutching our sides when we got to the front of the queue.

A few minutes later, Liv joined us at the table and slammed her salad box down.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, forking a tomato from my plate.

"Ana." Was her short, curt reply.

"What's she done now?" Emma shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with her? I thought we'd sorted everything out."

"Clearly not." Liv flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I told her about the party and all about Teddy and she told me I was stupid because he'd clearly be, and I quote, ‘Fingering someone else by tomorrow.' Not that I let him do that to me."

"Take no notice of her." I patted her arm. "He didn't seem like that at all. Didn't you say he's already texted you?"

"Yes, but she's probably right. It's not like I'm going to see him again, is it?"

"You might." Emma didn't sound convincing.

Liv shook her head. "No, he'll probably go to Oxford or somewhere else just as posh. He's not going to slum it in Manchester. Did you know his dad is a barrister?"

"And?" Emma shrugged. "Zak's dad is a surgeon, and Zak still gets in Maddy's pants regularly."

I nudged her in the stomach. "Oi."

"But he does."

"I object to your insinuation that he shouldn't just because his dad is a surgeon. I'm just as good as him."

"I know, that was the point I was making to Liv. She shouldn't think she's not good enough for Teddy just because of his dad's profession."

"Oh bloody hell," Liv groaned. "Here's Little Miss Sunshine now."

We all looked over to see Ana walking towards us. Her mouth was turned down into a grimace, and she was practically dragging her bag on the floor.

"Brace yourselves," I muttered. "She doesn't look happy at all."

A few seconds later, it was confirmed that Ana was definitely in a bad mood. "Are you all still talking about that shitty party you went to?" Her face twisted into a scowl and the atmosphere at our table shifted instantly.

"It wasn't shitty. If you'd come with us you, might have enjoyed yourself," I replied, trying to keep my voice calm despite the building tension.

She gave me a disdainful look, like I'd suggested she should have climbed Everest or something. "We can't all swan off and have a fun little weekend, can we?"

I glanced questioningly at Emma and then Liv. "I thought your mum and dad had sorted things out." I put a hand on her forearm. She'd pissed me off, but she was still my best friend. "Is it still all going on? Your mum isn't drinking again, is she?"

Ana's expression was hard, not the happy, cheeky smile I'd always been used to over the years. I hadn't seen that look for a long time. It's disappearance had been sudden, and she didn't seem to be in any rush to bring it back.

Frowning, she pulled her arm away from me. "No, she isn't."

"So, what's wrong?" I asked, biting back a sigh of frustration. "Tell us and maybe we can help you."

"Everything is fine. And for your information I don't need yours or anyone else's help."

Emma raised an eyebrow, and Liv cleared her throat. We all knew that she was far from fine. The respite from her bad moods had been very brief. It seemed like her mum drinking wasn't the main issue. Her parents splitting up was awful, and it must have been hurting her more than I could imagine, but we were her friends, and I couldn't understand why she didn't want our help. Why she didn't feel like she could be open about how she was feeling.

"Ana, why don't y?—"

"No, Maddy, I don't want to talk about it. You did your good deed sorting the house out, I don't need any of you sticking your noses in."

She looked at each of us and with a shake of her head, stormed away.

"What the hell is her problem?" Liv took the lid off her salad box and peered inside. "She should count herself lucky that she had her mum and dad together for so long, poor Emma here doesn't even know who her dad is, and your mum died before you were even on solids."

"Liv!"

"She does have a point," Emma added, flicking her food around on her plate like she was looking for something.

"I know, but…" I had no idea what the but was. Liv was right, at least Ana still had both her parents.

"Maybe we should organise a night out or something?" Em suggested.

"Em, she was just invited to a weekend away and didn't bother turning up." Liv stabbed a prawn with her fork—her mum always made her lovely lunches.

Sitting back in my seat, I surveyed the canteen, trying to catch sight of Ana, but she'd disappeared. I had a horrible feeling we weren't going to get back to normal with her any time soon and the truth of acknowledging that fact, made my chest ache.