Page 68 of Plot Twist

Bridget snorted. ‘Huh, yup, that’s our Jackie. But it got worse. When she found out she was pregnant, she was horrified. She really struggled. It was just awful but I think she managed to stay clean. Just about, anyway. And then, when Ivy was born, she went missing from the hospital.’

The plot thickened. My mouth fell open.

‘What?’

‘Yup, literally hours after she’d given birth. Riley said she just kept asking for medication to take the edge off and then she just took off while his back was turned. When she eventually turned up again, she was off her face. But Riley kept it a secret from everyone. The doctor diagnosed her with post-natal depression. But she was too far gone at that point.’

Poor Riley. And worst of all, poor Ivy.

I couldn’t believe they’d had to go through all that. And how could anyone feel like that when they had such a beautiful baby girl? It was an illness though. Jackie was clearly ill.

‘That’s not all, though,’ Bridget continued. ‘When Ivy turned two, she told Riley she was leaving him for someone else.’

‘Brian, his name was.’ Ellie picked up the story. ‘I think he was a dealer. Either way, he was into it all too. And Jackie seemed relieved when she finally told Riley she was leaving. So did he. Riley, I mean. His nerves were shot with it all. He didn’t even seem to care that she was with someone else by then. Said she wasn’t the person he thought she was. She didn’t even say goodbye to Ivy. She just left one night and didn’t come back.’

I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t a mum, but even as a teacher, I couldn’t imagine doing that to a child– leaving them without any explanation. No wonder Ivy was so confused about her mum. No wonder she wanted her back so badly.

‘That’s just awful,’ I said, putting my glass down on the coffee table.

‘I mean, we joke about drinking wine and all around Ivy, but we’d never do anything to—’

‘I know that, Bridget. You don’t need to explain anything, believe me.’

We all sighed. Poor Ivy. I wished there was something I could do to help her. And Riley.

‘And now she’s back,’ Bridget said, exhaling. ‘Riley really wasn’t expecting her. She’s not called, not texted, nothing. Just went completely off-grid. A friend of a friend said they thought she was in London for a while but nothing was ever confirmed.’

‘What do you think Riley will do? Do you think she wants to get back with him?’ I asked.

Second-chance romance. I wondered if he would take a gamble on his own trope.

‘I bloody well hope not,’ Bridget almost shouted.

Ellie shrugged, ever the practical one. ‘He never wanted a broken family, though. He’s angry with her, but he really loved her once upon a time. Plus, she’s Ivy’s mum, and you know what Riley’s like, he’s a dreamer. A sucker for a happy ending.’

My stomach twisted in a tight knot. Ellie was right, Riley was all about the happy endings. I knew he loved Ivy more than anything, too. She was his priority.

The thought of Riley and Jackie being in Bellinder Cottage together overnight to ‘talk’ suddenly filled me with dread.

31

TEN YEARS AGO

Rae kicked the bright orange and yellow leaves as we walked along the path. Tenerife seemed like a lifetime ago. I had barely seen her since we got back. I’d gone back to university and was preparing for my school placement. I was basically burnt out. I spent every waking moment plotting, planning and studying. I dreamed about lesson planning, reciting the class register in my sleep.

I barely had any time for Drew, either, and he was sulking. Big time. He was pulling long shifts working at the theme park and Leila was dangling the possibility of a promotion under his nose to get him to work extra hours. They stayed late after work together most nights for a ‘drink’. He’d never told me that, but I saw it all over her social media pages– which I checked religiously. Obviously.

‘So, I’ve got some news,’ Rae said.

She was wearing a small black hat, her hair tumbling in waves beneath it.

‘Oh?’

‘I’m back with Mickey,’ she said, avoiding my gaze. ‘We’re going to try and make it work.’

My heart sank. She’d spent the whole time in Tenerife off her face, determined to get over Mickey. She’d sworn she would never go back to him, revealing things that she’d never told me before as we staggered home in the early hours of the morning. She’d promptly forget what she’d disclosed the next day. But I remembered.

‘So has he apologised for everything then? You know, all the stuff you told me about on holiday? He makes everything seem like it’s your fault, Rae, when it’s not. You told me he was emotionally abusive. . . And what about the time he. . . he hit you. You told me about that, remember? In fact, you said he punched you. In the side of the head.’