True Colours:The You Don't Know Me Trilogy Book 2(60)

Finishing his muesli, Dan places his spoon in the empty bowl and stares at it.

'Priceless,' he mutters. 'You nearly destroyed our lives and you're  completely oblivious to it all. But that's you all over, isn't it?'

My sister's eyes flick between us.

'I don't understand.'

He bites back a laugh, stands up and takes the bowl over to the sink.

'You'd better tell her, Maya. I'm going for a shower. I can't deal with  this.' Returning to the counter, he takes a last sip of coffee, touches  his palm against my back and kisses the top of my head. 'I love you.'

And with that, he saunters through to the lounge.

'Dan,' Sara calls out.

He turns and stares at her, his face impassive.

'I'm sorry.'

He hesitates before he answers. 'I heard you the first time.'

'I don't mean for yesterday.'

Oh Jesus. What's she playing at now, dragging up a minefield of  unresolved issues over breakfast? I hold my breath, watching his face,  catching a flash of disbelief, a hint of disgust. God knows what he's  about to throw back at her. My stomach turns a cartwheel as his lips  part, but when he finally does speak, I'm astonished at his  self-control.

'It's all in the past,' he says quietly.

'But  …  the things I did  … '

'Aren't worth talking about.' He's about to leave when he seems to have  second thoughts. 'We'll be on friendly terms one day, Sara. We have to  be.'

He takes to the stairs, disappearing from view.

My sister turns back to me, eyes agog.

'We have to be?' she asks.

'Because we're a couple and that's the way it's going to stay,' I inform  her with a significant dollop of pride. And what the hell, I might as  well add on the next bit. 'In fact, he wants to marry me.'

Her mouth opens.

'Bloody hell. He doesn't hang around. Have you said yes?'

I smile.

'Not yet.' And then I realise something pretty important, an absolute  truth carved in stone. 'But it's going to happen.' And Jesus, I've  finally said it out loud. I really am going to marry the big kahuna. 'So   … ' I falter, suddenly tangled up in the realisation. 'You'll be his  sister-in-law at some point, and you'll need to work things out.' I wave  my hand in the air, as if it's going to make things any less confusing.  'Tea?'         

     



 

Without waiting for an answer, I set about making a brew.

'When are you going home?' I ask, filling the kettle and switching it  on. Seeing as Dan's decided to work from home today, I have no intention  of letting Sara hang around.

'I've got a train booked for ten.'

'I'll call a taxi for you.'

She says nothing. With my back to her, I prepare the mugs and watch the kettle as it slowly rumbles its way to the boil.

'I could leave later,' she says at last, her tone uncertain. 'I could change the train time. Maybe we could go for a walk?'

'Not an option. I'm confined to quarters.'

'Why?'

I take in a breath. I need to fill her in on the facts. The kettle clicks. I make the tea and take it over to the counter.

'The man you were supposed to meet yesterday,' I begin.

Heaving up an eyebrow, Sara takes a grateful sip of tea.

'He isn't called James. His real name's Ian Boyd. He used you to get to me.'

My words hit her with the full force of a punch to the jaw. She seems to  reel. And then she gapes at me, shakes her head, puts down the mug.

'What are you talking about? He's called James. He shops at Tesco's.'

In spite of everything, I can't help but laugh at her ridiculous comment.

'If only.' I smile. 'His name's Ian and I met him in Edinburgh. And I  don't think he's ever been in a supermarket.' I take a sip of tea,  deciding that it's high time to veer away from glibness. 'I went out  with him for a while, but he turned abusive  …  and I ran away.'

'Ran away?'

'That was the reason I came down to London. I needed to lie low. And it  worked for a while  …  but now he's found me again. He used you, Sara. I  have no idea how he tracked you down, but he used you to get me into  that hotel.'

She raises the mug to her mouth, clearly struggling to take it all in. And now for the crunch.

'And while you were locked in the bathroom  …  he tried to kidnap me.'

I watch in amazement as a spray of tea splatters across the worktop.

'Are you kidding me?' she gasps. 'Kidnap? Nobody gets kidnapped  …  not really.'

'That's what I thought.' I give her my best sarcastic smile. 'But it  turns out they do. Boyd's obsessive, unbalanced  –  to say the least. He  tried to get me into his car. Dan turned up just in time.'

'Shit. What?' She wipes tea away from her chin. 'I hope you called the police.'

'No.'

'Maya! If he tried to drag you off  … '

'It's complicated.' Suddenly obsessing over Boyd's threats, my brain  shifts into panic mode. Maybe I've revealed too much already. 'We can't  get the police involved. And I don't want you to say anything to  anybody.'

'But Mum and Dad need to know.'

'No, they don't.' We glare at each other. 'I'm serious about this. Promise me you won't say a word. He's made threats.'

'What sort of threats?'

If ever there was a moment for a little editing, then this is it. After  all, if I tell her the complete truth, she'll only freak out.

'Dan could get into serious trouble.'

'But what if Boyd comes back?'

'I've got a bodyguard.'

'And what if he comes back for me?' she demands, her voice rising towards hysteria.

'He won't,' I lie. 'He's had his use out of you.'

Chewing furiously at her bottom lip, she drifts off into thought.

'Maybe I should go and stay with Mum and Dad for a while,' she suggests at last. 'Just to be on the safe side.'

'If it makes you feel any better.' I smile, doing my best to reassure  her. 'But it's me and Dan he's after. You're not in any danger.'

'And you are?'

'As long as you stay quiet about this, I'll be fine.'

She stares at me, dumbstruck, swallowing a few times before she finally,  and quite inevitably, dips her toes in the pool of self-pity.

'I feel like an idiot. I thought he was interested in me. I believed him.'

'Don't beat yourself up about it. He can put on a good act.'

She hangs her head. Her shoulders sink.

'I'm a mess,' she goes on, clearly happy with the temperature and taking  the plunge. 'I can't believe what I did yesterday. My marriage is a  wreck. My kids are a nightmare. My sister hates me. Her boyfriend hates  me.'

Fantastic. She's gone right in at the deep end, and now I'm going to have to console her.         

     



 

'We don't hate you.'

'You might not, but he does. And I deserve it. I've been bloody awful to both of you.'

Dan's words echo in my ears. Tell her. Tell her what she did to you.  Deciding that I'm going no further with the sympathy, I summon up every  last scrap of courage. This is the moment for action.

'You're right.'

As soon as I close my mouth, I get the desired reaction. She raises her  head, makes eye contact and waits for me to confirm all the things we've  tried to forget. And by confirming them, I'll bring them back to life.  We'll have to acknowledge them, live with them and deal with them.

'What you did to Dan is between you and him,' I go on. 'But I can tell  you what you did to me. You took every opportunity to let me know I was  useless, every opportunity to ridicule me and make me look like an  idiot. And because of you, I had no self-confidence, no friends. Because  of you, I felt worthless.'

And there you have it. Done and dusted.

I'm half expecting her to deny it all, to refute my claims. Instead, she  gazes at me and I can practically see the regret in her eyes.

'And now?' she asks. 'Is that how you feel now?'

'A little.' I pause. 'But Dan's undoing the damage. Bit by bit. Because he understands.'

Hands clasped, she lowers her head, slumping towards the counter top.  And I give a jolt, surprised to find that Dan's standing right behind  her. I'd let my sister know he's here, but he shakes his head. Whatever  she's about to say, he wants to hear it too.

At last, a whispered confession trickles out into the quiet. Slow. Punctuated by silences.

'I've thought about it a lot. Why I was like that. Why I did those  things. I don't really know why I went so far. All I know is I was  fucked up. Spoilt. Before you came along, Mum and Dad gave me  everything. I was the centre of attention for nine years. I had them  wrapped around my little finger.' She stops for a moment, taking in one  jagged breath after another. 'I'm not trying to blame them. I'm just  trying to explain. I don't even know if I'm right, but it's the only  thing I can think of. I suppose I got used to it. I was Queen Bee at  home and Queen Bee at school, right from the start. I got my way. I  never stopped to think how I made people feel. It didn't matter to me.  And then you came along, and Dad lost his job. I didn't have much to  fall back on. I wasn't bright like you. I didn't have any talent. I  didn't have anything really.' With a sigh, she finally comes to her  conclusion. 'I suppose I made other people miserable to stop myself from  feeling small.'

I've heard enough. I lay a hand on her arm.

'You don't have to go on.'

I catch sight of Dan. He shakes his head again.

'Nobody liked me, Maya. I know that. I just manipulated people, scared  them.' She looks up with a wry smile. 'I guess I'm like your Mr Boyd.'