Read Forget Me Never for Free Online Page B

Perry, it was making me wonder how I’d feel if Mum did start seeing someone. It wasn’t impossible. She wasn’t that ancient, and compared to some of my mates’ mothers, she looked pretty good. And she was lonely – I’d heard her complaining to Aunt Meg. It couldn’t be much fun just looking after Neve. Mum didn’t even meet people through a job. Thanks to Dad’s life-insurance payout she could afford not to work.
    It was over three years now since Dad had died, and I missed him like it had happened yesterday. It was particularly bad whenever I saw my mates’ dads cheering them on at cricket matches, because I knew how much Dad would have enjoyed that. Whenever I thought about him too long all kinds of questions rolled through my mind. What would he think of how I’d turned out? Would I be different if he was still here?
    I guessed what Sophie was feeling now wasn’t so very different, even though Danielle had been in and out of her life while Dad had been in mine every day. It was a colossal blow to lose someone you cared about, and she’d already lost her mum before Dani. How had I lost sight of that? I made up my mind to be a better friend to her.
    ‘What are you doing tomorrow?’ Mum asked as I took a can of Coke from the fridge.
    I made a non-committal noise. ‘Go over to Sophie’s maybe. Talk over the police thing.’
    Mum didn’t look surprised. ‘Don’t get too caught up in this, Reece. That girl drags you down.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    Mum brushed a droplet of water off a peace-lily petal. ‘I don’t know Sophie well, but I can’t imagine she’s a particularly easy friend to have. You’ve gone out of your way to support her in the past, and I’m not sure how much you get back. It seems to me that Sophie only wants you around when she needs you.’
    ‘You’re wrong. What about when Dad died?’
    Mum looked away, and I regretted bringing it up.
    You always hear that when something terrible happens the only upside is that it brings people together. That certainly happened for me, but it had been Sophie I’d got closer to, not Mum. Mum had been seven months pregnant with Neve when Dad died, and she was all over the place. Frankly she’d scared me.
    Part of me thinks Mum’s never forgiven Sophie for the fact that I turned to her . And part of me thinks Mum’s never forgiven herself.
    ‘Sorry,’ I muttered. The word hung in the air. I wasn’t sure whether or not Mum heard. She went on watering the plants.

SOPHIE
    I ran into the park, feeling like my lungs were burning. A quick glance told me that Paloma and co. weren’t sunning themselves in their usual spot. No one could get at me or ask any awkward questions. I slowed down, my breathing returning to normal. There was an empty swing in the play area so I claimed it and swung higher, higher, higher, until I started to feel heady.
    I’d been so hopeful an hour ago when Julie and I had gone back to the police station. When Perry and Grace appeared, Perry’s first words were, ‘We’ve spoken to Mr Anderson.’
    ‘Did you find him easily?’ I asked, trying not to show how eager I was.
    Perry nodded. ‘He was rather apologetic he hadn’t come to us before. He admits that he saw Danielle the weekend she died – in town and at the flat. According to him, they’d ended their relationship about a month previously. That morning in town had been the first time they’d seen each other since – hence Danielle’s reaction. He hadn’t known she was in Bournemouth until he’d seen her make an online status update referencing it.’
    ‘Right,’ I said. Suddenly I wasn’t liking Perry’s relaxed manner.
    ‘When he called the next day they went for a walk and a talk, and Mr Anderson admits that he may have upset Danielle. After twenty minutes they parted company, and Mr Anderson drove back to London. We’ve checked that story, and it’s watertight. He stopped to buy petrol on the M3 and we’ve seen the timed receipt for the