Page 127 of Good Sisters
What? What was she talking about and why was she so angry?
‘What do you mean, defend Jess? Defend her from what?’
Julie took a large gulp of wine and exhaled, getting her emotions under control. I looked at Louise and Gavin. Didthey know what was going on? No. They were equally shocked at her outburst.
Julie put her glass down. ‘I’m sorry for snapping. I asked you to meet me here because we have a problem and I need your help. It involves Jess and my boys too.’
‘What problem?’ My mind was racing. What had Jess done? Why were the boys involved? Oh, Christ, was it something to do with Sebastian?
Julie rubbed her forehead. ‘You know that Jess was seeing Sebastian, right?’ she asked me.
‘Yes, obviously.’
Twisting her bracelet around her wrist, Julie said, ‘Okay, please don’t freak out. I didn’t tell you this because I didn’t want to worry you, you have a lot going on, but at that big party we had for the squad, I found Jess and Sebastian in Tom’s bedroom. Jess was drunk and she had her top off. Don’t panic, she had her skirt on and he had his jeans on. They didn’t have sex.’
My hand flew to my mouth. What? Jess? Topless? Jesus Christ. ‘What the hell? How could you not tell me?’ I gasped.
‘Because she was okay, I promise you I checked. She begged me not to tell you and I didn’t want to upset you about it and I knew Jess was mortified and I spoke to her at length and she promised never to do anything stupid like that again. She was so ashamed and upset and I didn’t want to make it worse by telling you.’
‘Jesus Christ, Julie, I’m her mother! You should have told me straight away.’ I felt sick. The wine was curdling in my stomach.
‘Technically I should have, but Jess made a silly mistake – we all made mistakes as teenagers. I walked in on them before anything serious could happen. She was so embarrassed and I didn’t want to add to her shame by telling you.’
‘Well, you bloody well should have.’ I was furious. How dare Julie keep this from me? My God, if she hadn’t walked in, they could have had sex. Jess could have got pregnant. Did she even know to ask a guy to put on a condom? I hadn’t had those conversations with her because she was only fifteen. My head throbbed. I’d have to go home, sit her down and, aside from killing her for being so bloody stupid, talk to her about birth control.
‘And what the hell was she doing in Tom’s bedroom? You persuaded me to let her stay by promising to look after her. I trusted you to keep an eye on her. I presumed she’d be safe in your house, not drunk and half naked with a guy who was no doubt pushing for sex. Jesus Christ, Julie! What the hell were you doing? Where were your boys? Why weren’t they looking out for her?’
‘I had nearly a hundred people in my house, Sophie. I was trying to do everything. I didn’t think Jess would do something so silly in my house, under my nose.’
‘How can you be sure she didn’t have sex? Maybe they were half dressed because they’d had sex and were putting their clothes back on. Jess could be pregnant right now, or have an STD!’ I was shouting. The people at the table beside us looked over.
‘They didn’t. Jess told me what happened. She was drunk and they had only been messing about. I talked to her about getting the morning-after pill if she needed it. She swore on Mum’s grave that she hadn’t had sex.’
I began to shake and cry as rage and shock coursed through my body. ‘You spoke to my daughter about the morning-after pill and didn’t think it was a good idea to tell me this happened? Oh, my God, I literally cannot believe this!’
Gavin leaned forward. ‘To be fair, Sophie, it sounds like Julie was protecting Jess and you. Jess would never swear onMum’s grave and lie. She’s a good kid. They were probably just groping each other.’
I glared at him. ‘I do not need to be protected from information about my daughter and her actions, Gavin. How would you feel if this was Lemon?’
He shuddered. ‘Lemon isn’t going out until she’s eighteen.’
‘I’m sorry, Sophie. Jess was so distressed and she was desperate for you not to know and think less of her and be furious.’
‘I am her mother!’ I hissed.
Louise laid a gentle hand on my arm. ‘I think Julie’s intentions were good. I understand that you wish she had told you, but the bottom line is, Jess is okay and nothing bad happened to her.’
‘But he was obviously pushing her to have sex, or at least mess around. I should know that. I know he’s a jerk, but I didn’t know he was pressuring her to get naked and God knows what else. I bloody well needed to be aware of that so I could protect her. Jesus, I’m so furious I can hardly breathe. I can’t stay here. I have to go. I can’t believe you did this, Julie. I feel so betrayed.’ I stood up and grabbed my bag.
Julie held up her hand. ‘Wait, Sophie, there’s more.’
‘What?’ My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t take any more.
Julie hesitated.
‘What’s going on, Julie?’ Louise asked.
‘Liam got suspended for punching Sebastian in the face. He wouldn’t tell me why, but I got it out of the other two. So, it seems that Sebastian was in the locker room boasting about Jess … about … the …’
