‘No one, she’s from the publisher’s. She’s helping me with work,’ Edward said.
‘Like Serena Whitelaw did? Is extra special attention part of the reason you stay with that company? Do they hire for their sexual skills and their proofreading? A double whammy hey? How many women have you fucked from there now? Three? Does she make it four?’
‘Shut up – the children will hear you.’
Oh, Edward, thought Eve as she walked to the door.
‘Let’s go up to Myles’s room, hey? Then we don’t have to hear this fighting.’
The three of them trudged up to the tower and Eve closed the door. There was no sound of the chaos downstairs but they sat in silence on the floor.
‘Do your parents fight much?’ asked Myles.
Eve thought for a moment, trying to remember her childhood.
‘Not fighting like that. Maybe disagreeing but about silly things, like putting the rubbish out and the twins being naughty when they were little.’
She waited, trying to think.
‘The only time I remember a serious fight was when I got into a new school, a posh one and I had a scholarship, and Dad wanted me to go but Mum didn’t. She said that I would be fine at whatever school I went to and it wasn’t fair to the boys if I went because they couldn’t afford the fees for them on the money they made.’
Flora was playing with the kitten, not paying much attention, which Eve found odd. She had seemed like she’d yearned for her mother this whole time, and now she was removed. Perhaps the idea of her mother was more comforting than the reality, which made sense after seeing Amber outside with the hammer.
‘So what school did you end up going to?’ asked Myles, interrupting her thoughts about Amber and Flora.
‘Oh, the local school. I told Mum I didn’t like the uniform of the posh one, and they said they wouldn’t let me wear double piercings in my ears.’
Myles laughed. ‘I get it. Is that where Gabe and Nick go now?’
‘Yeah, it’s a good school. I didn’t need to be surrounded by people who I couldn’t hang out with on the holidays because they were going to fancy resorts and skiing. I just wanted to hang out with my friends and the band we had and to be a dork and read books. I had a nice life with Mum and Dad. I didn’t need to try and pretend that I was anything else.’
‘Do you think Edward would let me go to that school with them?’ Myles asked.
Eve didn’t show her surprise. Instead she shrugged and acted casual, as though he wasn’t asking about something important that could change his future.
She knew he would remember this moment and even more so if it worked out.
‘Maybe, I mean it’s a bit of a hike. Maybe you could stay at Mum and Dad’s a few times a week. I don’t know, I mean anything is possible. We just have to work out a way.’
Myles hugged Jimmi and she could see him hiding his face from her.
‘I don’t want to be with her. She doesn’t love me; she hates me.’
She could hear the crack in his voice and she felt his pain, wishing she could fix it all but knowing only one person could fix it.
‘And Edward hasn’t adopted me, so he doesn’t have any rights for me. I looked it up online.’
Eve sighed. No child should have to look up custody laws to try and predict their future.
‘Let’s not go there yet,’ she said and touched his arm.
‘You’re here, you’re safe with me and Flora and Jimmi, and Edward will sort out your mum. She sounds sick, so maybe he can get her some help.’
‘She’s been in rehab so many times,’ he said.
‘What’s rehab?’ asked Flora.
‘It’s like a hospital for people who need extra love,’ Eve said.
