Will stares at me for several seconds, his lips parted, his eyes wide. “Well, that’s decided, then.”

“What is?”

He starts the engine and puts the car into first gear. “You’re moving in with me.”

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Five Years Earlier

The shower block is empty but I still choose the cubicle furthest away from the dormitory. The solar panels have been temperamental for days but it isn’t the cold trickle of water that dribbles from the shower head that makes me shiver.

I shouldn’t have slept with Isaac.

I rub the soap over my face, hair, arms and my breasts then I rub it over the soft flesh of my hips and between my legs. If anyone overheard us having sex, if anyone finds out, then word will get back to Daisy and she’ll feel completely justified in having spread the rumour about Frank and me. It won’t matter if Isaac tells people what he saw, the suspicion will be there.

BANG!

Something solid smashes against the wooden floor of the dormitory and makes me start. I snatch my shorts and vest top from the top of the shower cubicle and yank them on, my body still wet. There’s someone in the dorm.

My clothes cling to me as I silently step out of the shower, testing my weight against the creaking floorboards with each step. I should have left the shower running. Whoever’s out there will have heard the water stop. They’ll know I’m about to step into the dormitory.

My heart thuds in my chest as I peer around the door.

A tiny gecko, spread-eagled on the wall above the window, scuttles into the corner at the sound of my footsteps. Other than the scurrying creature, the room is completely deserted. Deserted, that is, apart from the metal figure of Kali, the Hindu goddess of time, death and destruction, lying on her back in the centre of the room. I’ve seen it before, on the table in the hallway. I snatch it up and sprint lightly to the doorway and out onto the walkway. Sally strolls out of the boys’ dorm, a bundle of dirty bedding in her arms.

“Wait!” I run towards her but she bounds through the hallway and into the kitchen like a startled rabbit. “Sally, wait! Have you seen anyone—”

I draw to a halt next to the hallway table as a low rumble of voices seeps from beneath the closed door of the meditation room. It sounds packed in there.

“Emma!” My name is shouted, clear as day, above the hubbub. It’s followed by an explosion of male and female laughter.

I place the statue of Kali on the table then just as I turn to walk back to the girls’ dorm, I collide with something solid. My arms are pinned to my side as I’m wrapped in a tight hug.