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Back The Library Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict

‘That’s kind but I live a way out.’

Tom shrugged. ‘Sundays are dull as… anything. Furrow’s Cross wasn’t it?’ She nodded. ‘I can get a bus over.’ He looked up and she could see that the offer was genuine.

‘Okay but on one condition.’

‘Name it.’

‘You stay for Sunday roast.’

His face lit up like a toddler on Christmas morning. ‘You’re on.’

11

TOM

I checked Maggie got her bus and set off home. As I turned the corner to go up the hill I saw Joshua Kemp coming the other way. What was he doing in the village? I had a split second to make a decision about whether to turn around or not but I was too slow. He saw me and his lip curled into a sneer.

I put my head down, hugged my broken bag and kept going.

‘Harris! What are you doing around here? Don’t you live on the council estate with the other losers?’ Kemp laughed at his own joke.

‘Josh,’ I said as if greeting a friend but kept going.

‘Hey. I asked you a question.’ He held his palm out like a traffic cop to stop me. I had no choice.

‘I’m going home.’

‘Do you know where Farah lives?’ he asked.

‘Err…’ Again far too slow.

‘You do. Are you some sort of stalker?’

‘No. I don’t know exactly where she lives. I think it’s on the way into town.’

He gave me a shove. ‘You can do better than that.’

‘Off the London Road, I think. But I don’t know.’ If I had known where she lived I would have been taking regular walks up that way like a right saddo. It was better all round that I didn’t have her address.

‘If I find out you’re lying.’ He puffed his chest up like a pigeon.

‘I’m not.’

I began walking again and Kemp must have tripped me up because my foot caught on something. I fell to the pavement like a brick. I clutched my bag for fear of its contents falling out. My romance book addiction remained strong. Thank goodness I didn’t drop any but I landed hard on my wrist and it bloody hurt. Kemp chuckled to himself like a third-rate Disney villain as he walked away.

*

I did my Sunday paper round in double quick time despite the ache in my wrist and was showered and dressed before Dad had surfaced. I left a note to say I’d be out all day at a friend’s. I figured it wasn’t that far from the truth.

The bus dropped me near the crossroads that gave Furrow’s Cross its name and Maggie’s instructions were to walk back from there and take the dirt track on the same side of the road that the bus had dropped me off.