The Hornbeam Tree (21 page)

‘Isn’t that your mum coming up the drive?’ she whispered.

Molly’s eyes grew large as a cold dread opened up in her chest. It wasn’t just because she was afraid her mum was here about the stupid picture Glover had snatched, but because from up here her mum looked all thin and like weird, as though the chain had come off her karmic cycle.

‘Did you know she was coming?’ Kelly asked.

Molly shook her head, then abruptly turned back to pay attention to the lesson. She wanted to get in Buddha’s good books so he’d make Brad call tonight.

Chapter Eight

AFTER LEAVING THE
school Katie drove straight home, left the car in its usual space, and carried the evidence of Molly’s disgrace into the house. There was only Trotty to greet her, and a note from Michelle saying she’d gone to the supermarket with Laurie, but Laurie wasn’t staying for dinner. Katie barely registered the words, for she was still so upset by her meeting with the headmaster, and disconcerted now by how empty the house seemed, that for a bewildering, disorienting moment she felt almost afraid.

Scooping Trotty into her arms, she buried her face in the dog’s lovely soft fur, and carried her upstairs. In her bedroom she dropped Trotty on the bed, with the proof of her motherly neglect, and sat down in front of the three oval mirrors of her antique dressing table. She looked as dreadful as she felt, ashen-faced, hollow eyes, sunken cheeks. Ironically, only her wig seemed to exude any semblance of life.

But what did she, or the way she looked matter,
when
she’d obviously gone so terribly wrong with Molly that her young life was heading fast towards disaster – if it wasn’t there already. Fear was tightening a stranglehold round her heart even though her instincts seemed to be telling her it was all a game, something Molly and her friends got up to, the way teenagers did. However, if she’d learned anything in her years as a columnist, it was how wrong parents could be about their own children, how often they failed to read the signs even when they were staring them in the face.

Fighting to hold back the tears, she covered her face with her hands and felt the pain of it all pressing so hard into her heart she could barely stand it. No amount of spiritual counselling, understanding or meditation could make this any easier to bear. Molly was her baby, her own flesh and blood, the most precious part of her life, and she was failing her completely. With all her might she was trying not to be bitter about her fate, to be, instead, one of those women who was noble and brave, who accepted their lot with equanimity and forgiveness, but there was no light from God shining in her soul today, no inner peace to smooth the way. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to be here for her daughter, to go on being a mother, and show her how deeply she mattered.

‘Please God,’ she choked, starting to break down, ‘please, please, please, let me stay with her. Even if it’s only until she’s old enough to cope on her own.’

Her head fell into her hands as she sobbed. It wasn’t for her that she needed to live, it was for Molly, couldn’t God see that? She’d go freely and happily if there was no Molly, but how could she
just
give in and accept her fate, focus her mind on the now, or anything else, when Molly’s whole future was at stake?

It was a long time before she was able to pull herself together and stumble into the bathroom to rinse her face, but mercifully she managed it in time, for she was just coming back out on to the landing when the sound of the back kitchen door opening brought her to a stop. She hoped it was Michelle,
please God let it be Michelle
, but the thud of Molly’s school bag hitting the floor told her that God wasn’t listening.

Downstairs Molly was banging about in the fridge, turning on the radio, pouring herself a drink.

Katie stayed where she was, caught in the dilemma of whether to postpone confronting the issue to give herself more time to think it through, or whether to address it now and get it over with. The second stair creaked and her heart contracted. She put her towel on the banister and continued to stand where she was, outside Molly’s room, almost as though barring the way.

As Molly reached the top she stopped, her face draining as she saw her mother.

‘What’s the matter?’ she demanded, already on the defensive. ‘What are you standing there like that for?’

‘I have to talk to you,’ Katie said.

Molly scowled and started towards her room. ‘I’ve got homework to do,’ she retorted.

‘I’ve been to the school today,’ Katie said quietly. ‘What you had confiscated in the chemistry lab needs a lot of explaining. Now I’m prepared to listen, but I don’t want any lies, or …’

Molly’s eyes flashed. ‘Why do you just assume I’m going to lie?’ she cried.

‘All right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, but it doesn’t get us away from the fact that it has your email address at the top …’

‘Yeah, exactly, which makes it my personal stuff, so you should all just mind your own fucking business and give it back.’

‘Don’t you dare speak to me like that!’

‘I’ll speak to you how I want.’

‘Molly. I want you to swear to me that you’ve never met this man.’

‘All right. I’ve never met him!’ She had such a sullen, defiant look on her face that Katie could have slapped it.

‘I don’t believe you,’ Katie said.

Molly threw out her hands. ‘See, I can’t win, can I?’ she cried.

‘Are you charging boys to do things to you?’ Katie demanded. ‘Is that how you afforded those shoes?’

Molly’s eyes flew open in shock, then her face went dark with rage to think her mother could actually believe she’d do something like that. ‘So what if it was how I got them?’ she challenged. ‘I never get anything around here, so …’

‘It would make you a common whore,’ Katie cut in.

‘So what? Who cares what I am? Definitely not you.’

‘Molly, that is not true.’

‘Yes it is, now get out of my way.’

‘You just stop right there,’ Katie said blocking her. ‘Now you listen to me, I love you more
than
anything else in this world, but that doesn’t make having pictures like that acceptable. Mr Webb is reporting it to the police, did you know that?’

Molly turned pale.

‘Well, what did you expect?’ Katie cried. ‘You know about the dangers of the Internet and you’ve left me with no alternative but to confiscate your computer …’

‘Like hell,’ Molly cried, barging past. ‘You touch that, and you’ll be sorry.’

Katie grabbed her, but she was too strong and pushed her away.

‘Don’t you dare go in that room!’ Katie warned.

‘I need my computer …’

‘Not for the Internet you don’t, so I’m having it disconnected. You can go online at school, or on my computer, but your privileges are revoked.’ As she finished she was starting down the stairs.

Molly thundered after her. ‘If you do anything to that phone line, I’ll smash your head in!’ she screamed.

Katie turned back, appalled by the threat, but as she started to respond her foot slid off the edge of a stair and though she tried to grab the handrail she wasn’t quick enough and fell to the bottom, cracking her head on the flagstone floor below.

Molly gaped at her in horror. ‘Mum?’ she whispered.

Katie could only lie there, too dazed to focus.

‘Oh my God, oh my God,’ Molly muttered.

Katie blinked and reached out for the leg of a chair.

The door opened and Michelle came in. ‘Katie!’ she cried, running straight to her. ‘What happened? Are you all right?’

‘Just give me a hand up,’ Katie croaked.

Michelle grabbed her, then heard Molly saying, ‘I didn’t do it! I
didn’t do it
.’

Seeing the stricken look on Molly’s face and registering her words, Michelle’s heart turned to ice. ‘Molly, what happened?’ she demanded.

‘I didn’t do anything,’ Molly cried. ‘It wasn’t my fault!’

‘OK, calm down,’ Katie said as Michelle helped her up. ‘No-one’s saying it was your fault …’

‘Yes you are.
She
is. She’s blaming me, and I didn’t do anything.’ Molly’s face was turning puce with rage. ‘You don’t belong in our family,’ she yelled at Michelle, ‘so why don’t you just go back to where you belong? We were all right before you came along …’

‘Molly, stop it,’ Katie cried.

‘No, I won’t. I’m getting out of here. I hate this house. And I hate you …’

‘Molly, please,’ Michelle implored as Molly came flying down the stairs.

‘Get out of my way,’ Molly seethed, elbowing her way past. ‘
Just get out of my way
,’ she screamed as Michelle tried to take hold of her, and grabbing her bag she banged a fist against a pile of dishes and ran out of the door.

‘Molly! Come back!’ Michelle called, going after her, but as she got outside Molly was already leaping the fence and racing as fast as she could up the lane towards the woods.

Still in the kitchen, Katie was holding on to the
edge
of the sink feeling as though she were about to throw up.

‘Are you hurt?’ Michelle asked, coming back in.

‘No, just a bit shaken.’ She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ‘She’ll go to Allison’s,’ she said. ‘I’ll call in a minute to make sure.’

‘So what happened?’

Katie’s eyes closed as the spinning in her head became faster. ‘I think I’m going to faint,’ she whispered.

Quickly Michelle sat her down and rubbed her back as she put her head between her knees. She stayed there for almost a minute, before sitting up again. ‘That’s better,’ she sighed, as her vision started to clear.

‘Have you eaten anything today?’ Michelle asked.

‘I’m fine.’

‘Katie. What have you eaten today?’

Katie’s smile was weak. ‘First it’s me having a go at Molly, then it’s you having a go at me. What a happy house.’

Michelle’s humour wasn’t responding. ‘If you don’t eat, you’re not going to have any energy, and if you have no energy how can you even begin to think you’re capable of dealing with Molly?’

Katie shot her one of her famously dry looks.

‘You’re not taking the megace are you?’ Michelle stated.

‘Sometimes.’

‘Katie, you have to eat, and if appetite stimulants are the only way …’

‘Can we just get drunk? I’m feeling in need.’

‘Not on an empty stomach.’

‘OK. You cook, I’ll take the megace and open the wine, and then you can tell me all about Laurie’s triangle …’

‘No. You can tell me all about Molly and how you ended up on the floor with her halfway up the stairs.’

‘She didn’t push me, so I’ve no idea why she thinks I think she did. What I do know, though, is I’ve made a terrible mess of everything with her, and right now I haven’t got the first idea how to put it right.’

Michelle’s eyes were dark with concern. ‘I could suggest you begin by telling her the truth,’ she said, softening her tone, ‘but you obviously need to let this settle down a bit first. What happened at the school? I take it that’s what this was about?’

Katie nodded. ‘I think,
hope
I overreacted, so I want you to take a look at what I brought home, and tell me what you think, how you would handle it from here. Whatever we decide though, I’m going to have to tell Laurie that the programme can’t happen, because after this … I have to focus totally on Molly now, and forget my pathetic, selfish bid for a last grasp at fame.’

Molly ran and ran – across the horse and pony field, over the next stile, through Bell Woods and finally up the drive to Allison’s house.

Spotting her coming, Allison bounded out of the stables to meet her. ‘What’s up?’ she cried.

‘I had a terrible row with my mum,’ Molly gasped, dashing away the tears. ‘She’s threatened to take my computer away, and Brad’s instant-messaging me tonight. You’ve got to let me use yours.’

‘No problem. Come on. Let’s go to my room. What was the row about?’

‘She’s seen the picture that was confiscated,’ Molly explained, following her into the big farmhouse kitchen where Mrs Bond, phone in one hand, glass in the other, flashed a sweet smile as she passed.

‘Oh shit,’ Allison groaned. ‘Have you been grounded?’

‘We didn’t get that far, she fell down the stairs, and it was like, so surreal, because it was like Step Five before we abandoned it, and maybe I pushed her, but I know I didn’t. I was going to help her up, but then Michelle came in and you could tell she thought I’d done it. She is such a bitch. I hate her. Everything’s gone wrong in our house since she came. I wish I knew how to get rid of her.’

‘We’ll work something out,’ Allison assured her, pushing open her bedroom door.

‘Someone’s texting me,’ Molly said, her heart giving a jump in case it was Brad.

Please let me

know where u r.

Mum.

‘Oh God!’ she cried, throwing a quick glance at Allison.

Allison was busy lighting a cigarette and turning on the computer, so Molly hurriedly typed a message back.

At A’s.

‘Oh God, it’s her again,’ she seethed, as her mother messaged back.

R u OK?

Yes. R u?

Yes. Love you. We need to talk.

Molly sighed and tutted and tossed the phone on the bed. ‘God, this is like so unreal, with Brad texting me today, and then her exploding at me when I got home. Who needs it?’ she grumbled, glad her mum was all right.

‘What time’s he instant-messaging?’ Allison asked.

‘Six. Are the others coming over?’

Allison was already dialling. ‘Cecy? It’s me. My house at six. Tell Donna. Molly’s going to chat to Brad from here, and she’s got a problem she needs solving.’

‘What problem?’ Molly asked as she rang off.

‘With your aunt. You said you want to get rid of her.’

Molly sat up. ‘Yes, that’s right,’ she confirmed. ‘I just know she’s like, responsible for everything that’s going wrong in our house, and she hates me, so I’ve got to find a way of making her go back to where she came from.’

‘OK, we’ll put our heads together and come up with something,’ Allison responded. ‘That’s not your mother again is it?’ she snapped impatiently as Molly’s phone started ringing.