Save Her, Abigail Osborne [ebook reader for surface pro txt] 📗

as Flora picked up a vase and threw it at the wall in Greg’s office. Her heart sank. It was all over. She had been a finger’s breadth away from success. But now she would have to find another way. Flora would understand. She had to understand.

Sophie rested her hands on her head and watched an empty McDonald’s bag being blown about in slow circles. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with a Plan B. It would come to her, it always did when she was here. Here, where it all began.

51

Flora’s parents were just images in her mind now. Time had erased the nuances she was sure she must have known in their speech and behaviour. There was only one memory she still had where she could remember having an actual conversation with her mother. No longer could she recall her mother’s voice, but she remembered her words.

Melissa, the queen bee at school, had told her she could only come to her birthday party at her house with the hot tub if she stopped being friends with Sophie. Sophie was not cool and anyone who was friends with her was not cool either – according to Melissa. Flora remembered sitting at her mother’s dressing table while her mother sat behind her brushing her long brown hair. Her mother was appalled at Melissa’s behaviour and warned Flora. ‘Don’t let go of true friends, Flora. They are hard to find and you should not let go, no matter what anyone tells you. Loyalty is important in life. Sophie is a good friend to you. She’s worth more than a hot tub, don’t you think?’

Her mother had loved Sophie like a daughter. Although they had never talked about it, Flora knew her mother suspected that there was something wrong at home. She was always inviting Sophie over for dinner and sleepovers. Hearing her mother’s words in her mind, she felt ashamed. Sophie had never done anything to make Flora question her. So how dare she be taken in by Greg and his theatrics?

Obviously, it would be easier to believe Greg when he said that he had never hit Sophie because that would mean there would have been no signs for Flora to miss. She would not be the awful, self-centred friend she knew she was. Of course she would rather believe Greg than admit she had been a terrible friend and not seen that Sophie had been suffering. Sophie deserved her loyalty. Plus, hadn’t she heard with her own ears Sam and Greg discussing it? They even talked about the bruises. Greg was a good liar. He was so convincing. The look in his eyes when he begged her to believe him… She could not see the slightest hint of a lie; only a desperation to be believed. But Flora felt her mother’s presence as she played with the necklace around her neck. There was no doubt in her mind that her mother would want her to stand by Sophie.

Almost back at the car, Flora let out a scream when a hand grabbed her arm. She whirled around to see Sam, face tomato-red and sweaty. He bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath, his tie flapping around his neck.

‘I’ve been shouting…’ he gasped for breath ‘…you f-for ages.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.’ Flora felt awkward. She had barely spoken to him since she overheard him in his office. He didn’t know that she was avoiding him which made her feel even worse.

‘We need to talk.’

‘I just can’t deal with you right now. I’ve got to go.’ She turned, intending to find her car and leave. She needed to find somewhere quiet she could think about everything. It felt like someone had her head in a vice and with one more twist her head would explode.

‘Don’t believe everything Sophie tells you, Flora.’

All the muscles in her body stiffened. Her knuckles tightened into fists and the urge to turn and punch Sam in the face gripped her. She breathed hard, trying to steady herself. Slowly, she turned back to face him. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Get me to think Sophie is in the wrong here. All to protect your disgusting–’ She walked towards him and pushed him with all her might. He didn’t move far. ‘–wife-beating–’ She pushed him again, trying harder, wanting to hurt him. ‘–violent thug of a brother.’ Flora was out of breath. Sam, still slightly red from his run down the street, seemed calm in the face of her white-hot rage. It made her want to hurt him all the more.

‘Calm down, Flora. There are things you don’t understand.’

‘Calm down! I’ve just told you that your brother is a wife-beater and you tell me to calm down. Go to hell!’ It felt like all the air in the atmosphere had gone. She was suffocating. She turned and ran away from him, clawing for each breath. Sam’s voice floated in the air behind her, but she ignored it. Her need to escape was overpowering.

52

Just when Sophie was beginning to think that everything was coming together, her world was once again swept from underneath her. Sophie had watched as Flora fled from Greg’s office. She switched the app to show her the camera in Flora’s bedroom and waited for Flora to come home. As predicted, Flora had come into view and thrown herself onto the bed. There was no audio but by the shaking of her shoulders Sophie could tell she was sobbing. Her heart had lurched in pain to see Flora cry. Sophie turned off the camera and dialled Flora’s number. She had answered on the first ring.

‘Where have you been?’ Flora had screamed down the phone.

‘Hey, what’s wrong?’

‘Where are you? I’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages.’

‘I’m sorry, my phone died. I was with a client.’

‘I… I thought something had happened to you.’

‘Hey, don’t cry. I’m fine. Please don’t be upset. I promise I’m fine. Do you want me