Chapters (67)
- Cover
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- PART TWO
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- PART THREE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- PART FOUR
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- Mailing list
- A Letter from Kathryn
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Kathryn Croft
She opens the door and finds Jackson sitting on his bed, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
‘Hey, can I come in?’
He shrugs.
‘Your mum’s just on the phone, and I needed the bathroom.’ She still does, but her bladder can wait; Jackson’s more important.
Walking over to his bed, she sits down next to him. ‘I know this is hard, and you miss him so much. We have to just keep hoping, and never let go of it.’
He nods, gives her a brief glance.
‘We’ll find him.’
‘I… I miss him so much.’
Sienna knows this too, but she has to protect Jackson. Until this moment she has never felt maternal. ‘Sometimes people do things they wouldn’t normally do. Maybe because they’re upset or angry.’
Tears erupt from his eyes and trickle down his flushed cheeks.
Acting on instinct, Sienna leans towards him and folds her arms around him. If he pulls away, so be it. At least she is doing what she can to offer comfort while he’s in distress. Surprisingly, he doesn’t pull away, doesn’t even flinch. Instead, he leans his head on her shoulder, his tears soaking her top. They stay that way for a moment, until Holly’s footsteps can be heard on the stairs.
Jackson sits up. ‘Thanks,’ he says. ‘For being nice to me.’
‘Anytime,’ Sienna says. ‘Remember that.’
Holly comes into the room, picking up some clothes from the floor. ‘Jax, are you okay?’ She mouths a sorry to Sienna.
‘Just a wobble,’ Sienna says. And they are all entitled to those.
Later, when she’s at home, Sienna thinks about Holly’s advice to speak to Abby.
Come what may, she believes it’s time to confront her friend.
TWENTY-FOUR
Abby
She’s tired, her sleep last night cut short by Sienna’s appearance in her garden, and she’s never functioned well without a full night of sleep. It’s time to put an end to this, which is why she’s standing outside Sienna’s house at seven a.m. She hasn’t showered this morning; she needed to get here before Sienna had a chance to leave the house.
Her car’s in the driveway, parked next to Greg’s BMW; a tableau of normality that doesn’t reflect what’s going on inside the house. For a second, Abby pictures Greg opening the door, dressed for work in one of his suits. In her mind he walks to his car, waving goodbye to Sienna who stands by the door. A time before all of their lives were turned upside down.
A flick switches in her mind, turns off those thoughts, and now she’s staring at the front door, waiting. When it opens, she struggles to take in what she’s seeing. Sienna’s not dressed yet, and it looks like she’s wearing Greg’s dressing gown – it’s black and far too big for her.