Read Oak And Mist (The Ambeth Chronicles Book 1) for Free Online

flooding through her. She rushed to meet her daughter.
     
    ***
    Alma came through the side door to find her mother waiting for her in the hallway, leaning against the wall with arms folded. ‘Alma,’ Eleanor said, her voice betraying her concern as she took in her daughter’s dishevelled state. ‘I was starting to get worried about you. Where have you been?’
    ‘At the park, like I told you,’ Alma said with a scowl. She did not need this. Pulling an errant grass stalk out of her long hair, she pushed past her mother to get to the kitchen, well and truly coming down from her adrenalin rush of before. ‘It’s not even eight o’clock,’ she said, her voice distant as she rummaged in a cupboard. She was suddenly starving. Eleanor followed her into the kitchen, folding her arms as she leant against the counter and watched Alma.
    ‘I called you,’ she said accusingly, ‘but there was no answer. What is the point of you even having a phone if you don’t keep it turned on?’ Alma made a face, realising her mother must have been ringing her while she was in Ambeth. She hastily tried to come up with an excuse, but her mother had already rummaged in her bag and was holding the offending phone up.
    ’See, you’ve let the battery run down again,’ she said crossly.
    ‘Hey!’ protested Alma. She snatched the phone from her mother’s hand and stalked out of the kitchen, taking her sandwich with her. ‘I’m going to my room,’ she said angrily, ‘and I’ll charge it up, OK? Just give me a break.’
    But Eleanor wasn’t in the mood. Following Alma upstairs, she positioned herself at the door to her daughter’s room and leant against the doorframe, arms folded. ‘Alma, where were you tonight?’
    Looking hard at her mother, Alma tried to figure out what she was getting at. ‘I told you, I was at the park. Alone,’ she added, forestalling the next question. Which was the truth, really, as far as she was concerned. She hadn’t left the park; she’d simply gone to a… different section. ‘Just let me be, will you? I’ve had a rough day.’
    Eleanor raised her eyebrows, then sighed. ‘Can I come in?’
    ‘Fine,’ huffed Alma, putting her phone on its charger before sitting on the bed, her sandwich on her lap. A yawn slipped out as tiredness threatened to overwhelm her. She knew her mother was just worried about her. She also knew that tone – Eleanor wasn’t angry any more, but she did want to talk. Damn. Making a face, she crossed her legs and waited.
    ‘So tell me about it?’ Eleanor said, leaning against the chest of drawers.
    ‘Oh, well, there’s not much to tell,’ muttered Alma, taking a bite of her snack.
    ‘Well, there’s obviously something,’ said her mother. Alma said nothing, just chewed her sandwich and avoided her mother’s gaze, wishing she had never said anything. But Eleanor just waited, her lips folded. Finally Alma sighed, rolling her eyes.
    ‘Fine!’ she said. ‘I just…I saw this girl from my school, Ellery, at the park and, well, she was kind of – oh, it’s nothing, it doesn’t matter.’ She took another bite of her sandwich. But her mother didn’t look like she was going to leave any time soon.
    ‘Ellery was what?’ asked Eleanor, concern in her blue eyes. ‘Is she causing problems for you?’
    ‘Oh god, Mum, just leave it! It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.’ The last thing she needed was for her mother to get involved. ‘Mum,’ she went on, taking another mouthful of sandwich, wanting to change the subject. ‘I need to ask you about my bracelet.’
    ‘Your bracelet? Why, what do you want to know?’ Eleanor’s face changed and Alma picked it up immediately. Her mother didn’t want to talk about her bracelet. Well, that was just too bad.
    ‘It came from my father, right? From his family?’
    Eleanor stared at her a moment before speaking. ‘Yes, that’s right. He gave it to me when we were… courting.’ Alma looked at her mother curiously. An