“You can’t back out now, Lil. They’re all relying on you. ”
I barely slept. But my mom just pushed a water bottle into my bag and told me not to worry about yesterday, that she and Sean would sort it out.
Then Ella’s mom was at the door, and I was on my way to football camp before I could argue. I didn’t know that while I was kicking a ball around, my whole family was about to fall apart. It started in the café. My aunt Jodie was acting strange, way too edgy.
Then Sarah, my sister, came in looking terrified. She started asking questions about a gun. She said she saw it hidden upstairs. She said Jodie had it.
And I didn’t believe her at first. I thought she was exaggerating, like she always does. But then David started shouting, and the next thing I knew, we were all standing in the front room, staring at my aunt, demanding to know where she hid the weapon. “Where’s the gun?
” David asked, his voice sharp. Jodie sighed. “It’s upstairs. Wait there, I’ll go and get it.
”
I thought she was going to come back with some stupid explanation. But when she came down the stairs, she was holding something wrapped in a cloth. She pulled it back, and there it was. A black pistol, gleaming under the light.
David went pale. “Are you serious? ” he whispered. “That’s real?
”
Jodie just stared at him, her face unreadable. Then she raised the gun and pointed it straight at him. “Bang,” she said. The room exploded.
Sarah screamed. David dove behind the sofa. I froze, my heart hammering in my chest. I genuinely thought she was going to pull the trigger.
I thought my own aunt was about to kill my brother-in-law in our living room. Then Jodie burst out laughing. Hysterical, ugly laughter. She lowered the gun and wiped her eyes.
“Oh my god, your faces,” she choked out. “Of course it’s fake, you plums. ”
The gun was a prop from an amateur dramatics group. She’d gotten it a while back for protection, thinking if she ever pulled it out, someone might think it was real.
She swore Lily to secrecy because she was embarrassed. She never meant to scare anyone. Sarah was furious. “You almost gave me a heart attack!
And you made Lily lie to us! ”
But then the questions started. Why did Lily lie? Why did Sarah have to go to the hospital?
What happened that night in the woods? And that’s when everything unraveled. A few days later, I was in the café when Ed walked in. He’d been staying with his cousin, but he’d suddenly announced he was heading back to Warrington.
My mom tried to convince him to stay, mentioning a job opening at the local prison. Ed smiled. He’d already interviewed for it. The job was his if he wanted it.
“Well, if you interviewed for it, you must want it,” my mom said. “Well, yeah,” Ed replied, “but if moving this way is going to cause problems with me and your mum, then maybe I’m better off keeping my distance. ”
My mom promised to talk to her. She seemed genuinely upset he was leaving.
I didn’t get why she cared so much. Then Ed looked at me with this strange expression. “I’m not who you think I am, cuz,” he said. “Or should I say, beta ji?
Niece. ”
I stared at him. “What? ”
“It turns out Sharif seduced his brother’s wife while Baba was barely in the ground.
I’m not your cousin. I’m your army uncle. ”
I felt the ground shift under my feet. My beloved grandfather, the man my gran had finally kicked out after years of abuse, had betrayed his own family in the worst way possible.
Ed was my actual uncle, the product of a secret affair my gran had hidden for decades. “I need to call her,” I said. “She’s on holiday in Pakistan,” Ed replied. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you straight away.
I was kind of hoping you knew, but we just kept it quiet. ”
I didn’t know. I never knew. And I was beginning to realize my entire family was built on secrets.
While I was still reeling, David pulled me aside. He was grinning. “Hey, maybe she loses a bit of loyalty to Yasmeen, she’ll be more likely to sell this place to me. But just keep that to yourself for now, yeah?
I want to pick my moment. ”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was already scheming to buy my gran out of the restaurant. I looked across the room and saw him telling his little jokes, charming his way into Lianne’s affections, while our family was breaking apart.
But the real blow came later that evening. Cassie was there, talking about an incident. Tristan nearly died. She was furious, wanting to start legal proceedings.
And that’s when I saw him. Ross was back. My mom walked in and I saw the look on her face. She froze.
She looked at him like she’d seen a ghost. And then she walked straight past him, refusing to even look at him. Later, I heard what had happened. Ross had been offered a job at the local newspaper.
He was staying. He was trying to build bridges, he said. But my mom wouldn’t even speak to him. She wouldn’t accept a drink from him.
“What do you mean? ” I asked. “You like him? ”
She scoffed.
“I mean, I’d take a drink off Hannibal Lecter. I’m going to spoon him on the settee. ”
She was joking, but there was no humor in her eyes. And then there was me.
I was sitting in the back, watching it all unfold, when Jodie came to find me. She apologized. She said she was sorry for being a weirdo. “I did tell you it was fake,” I said.
“Whatever. It’s fine. But look, I didn’t say this to them,” Jodie said, lowering her voice. “The real reason I asked you to keep quiet was… well, I didn’t want to add to their stress.
I mean, you know how difficult it’s been with Harper. They’re dead on their feet. ”
I just stared at her. She was trying to make herself seem considerate now, after everything she’d put us through.
“I said it’s fine. God, this is so boring. I’m going to bed. ”
I walked upstairs, leaving the chaos behind me.
But I knew I wouldn’t sleep. There were too many secrets being uncovered, and I had a sinking feeling there were more to come.
