My heart leapt. I had wanted desperately to spend more time with him after school, but I just thought I should go home. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

  He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have said if it wasn’t. I’ll order a few dishes. The Chinese is always quicker, so tell him to hurry up.” Dad stood up and fished his phone out of his pocket. “He’s not a veggie, is he?”

  “No. He doesn’t like fish, though.”

  “No king prawn then.” He bent down and kissed Maya’s cheek. “And no mushrooms for you.”

  The way she looked at him, just because he remembered she didn’t like mushrooms, made my insides feel all squidgy. Anyone would think he’d just told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world, which, as an aside, I think he thought was true. She was gorgeous, though. Gorgeous and stylish, and I really wouldn’t have minded her as a step-mum, but that was jumping way ahead.

  “I’ll go and call Zak.” I jumped up out of my seat. “I’ll get him to get here as quick as he can.”

  Leaving my Dad on the phone ordering food, while Maya gazed up at him, I ran up to my room and bounced on the bed. My blinds were still closed, and my bed still unmade and there was a wet towel on the floor. It wasn’t like me, but I’d been in a rush to leave the house that morning. My hot boyfriend was waiting outside in his mum’s car to take me to school. As his number rang out I made a mental note to tidy it all up before Zak came over.

  “Hello gorgeous. Missing me already?”

  God, yes. I missed him even if I’d only seen him a few of minutes before.

  “Nah, not really. My dad is, though. He wants to know if you want to come over for takeaway, seeing as we didn’t get to go out after school.” I heard something bang in the background and the clinking of a glass. My heart dropped. “Oh, are you already eating?”

  “Just a snack, babe. I can eat don’t you worry about that.”

  “So, you’ll come over then?”

  “On my way.”

  He laughed, and the richness of it warmed my blood. “See you soon.”

  “See you soon.” I sighed and quickly set about tidying my bedroom just in case Dad let me bring Zak up there. Like that would happen!

  “I hear you want to be a vet, is that right, Zak?” Maya asked, forking a piece of chicken.

  Zak nodded, chewing the food in his mouth. After swallowing he said, “Yeah. Hopefully I’m going to Edinburgh. If I get the A-level grades I need.”

  “You never wanted to be a doctor or dentist like your parents?” Dad snagged a prawn cracker from the dish in the middle of the table and popped it whole into his mouth.

  “Dad!”

  He shrugged and turned back to Zak, waiting for his reply.

  “Not really,” Zak replied. “I don’t ever want to be compared to either of them. I’d rather make my own path.”

  I could see that Dad was impressed by his raised eyebrow and slight nod of his head. The fact that he was, and that he seemed to like Zak, was the best feeling. I remember Ana having a boyfriend, Alfie, in year ten, and her parents hated him. It wasn’t anything particularly serious because we were only fifteen, but they still made it difficult for her. In the end, he finished with her because she was never allowed out and when she was had to be home by eight-thirty. She was so sad most of the time when she should have been enjoying it.

  “I can’t imagine doing anything so academic,” Maya said.

  “Yeah, but software development isn’t easy,” I told her. “I’d never be able to write code.”

  She screwed up her nose. “It’s easy once you know how.” She looked at Dad. “I certainly couldn’t run a bar or a pub. How on earth do you act pleasant all the time as well as making sure you have the right amounts of everything you need?”

  “Same, the more you do the easier it is. As for being nice to people all the time, I’m not sure I am.”

  “He’s right.” I laughed. “You should hear him talking to some of the reps. He’s really rude.”

  “Yeah, because they deserve it,” he grumbled. “They’re a bunch of pushy tossers half the time.”

  Zak chuckled and shoved more food into his mouth. Whether he’d had a snack or not earlier, he could seriously eat. He was on his second plateful of food, and I was glad Dad had ordered too much, as usual.

  “What are your plans after we’ve eaten?” Dad asked. “Homework?”

  I looked at Zak, knowing full well he hadn’t brought any books with him. “Maybe listen to some music or watch TV in my room, if that’s okay.”

  Dad contemplated it while he chewed his food and, after glancing at Maya, nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”

  Beaming at him I was startled when my phone pinged with a message. I looked down at it to see it was Ana’s mum.

  I frowned at Zak. “It’s Ana’s mum.”

  “Her mum?”

  “Yeah.” Fear spiked because my friend’s parents only ever messaged any of us if we were in trouble, or they wanted to know ideas for Christmas presents.

  I opened up the message and frowned as I read it.

  Susan (Ana’s Mum)

  Hi Maddy. Sorry to bother you but can I ask if Ana was at school today?

  I read the message out, wondering why on earth she was asking.

  “Was she?” Dad asked, pouring more wine into Maya’s glass.

  “Yes. She was with you last lesson, wasn’t she?” I asked Zak.

  “Yep. Definitely. She sat in front of me.” He peered at the text. “I wonder why she’s asking?”

  I typed out a reply to say she was. “Should I call Ana?” I asked the three people watching me.

  “Maybe wait until her mum replies,” Dad said.

  “You don’t want to cause trouble between them.” Zak stroked a hand down my back. “Or is it normal for her to ask?”

  I shook my head. “We only have each other’s parents numbers for emergencies, and they have ours for the same reason.”

  “And when I need to know what size bra to buy you for Christmas,” Dad quipped.

  I slapped at his arm. “Dad!”

  Zak laughed, but Maya bit back her smile. We were quite the happy little circle around the dining table.

  “The point is,” I stressed, “it’s not usual for her to ask something like that.”

  As soon as the message went, I quickly got a thank you back, but I couldn’t shake the worry that something was wrong.

  “Maybe I’ll call Ana and say it’s about school or something.”

  Zak nodded, leaned in, and kissed my cheek. “Good idea.”

  I loved that he wasn’t embarrassed or too scared to show me affection in front of my dad, despite claiming Dad petrified him. He was respectful of him. He was respectful of me.

  When Zak and Dad then started to discuss football, Maya and I rolled our eyes and my concern about Ana was forgotten..

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Maddy

  Walking through the school gates, Zak’s fingers curled around mine as I looked out for my friends. Emma, Liv and Liam were waiting in what had become our usual spot before classes, on the bench under the Library window.

  “No Ana,” I whispered, glancing up at Zak.

  He didn’t reply verbally, but he tugged on my hand giving me a silent sign of support.

  “I should have called her,” I echoed the thoughts running around in my head. “I should have tried to find out why her mum messaged me.”

  “Maybe the others will know,” Zak said as we approached our friends.

  “Hiya.” Liv held her hands out for me. “Come and sit next to me. We need to talk Harry Mayhew.”

  As I was pulled onto the bench between her and Emma, Zak bumped fists with Liam, who immediately struck up a conversation with him.

  “Before we do.” I patted their thighs. “We need to talk about Ana.”

  “Did you get the weird message from her mum as well?” Emma asked.

  My gaze whipped to hers. “Yes. What did you make of it?”

  She shrugged. “No idea really.”

  “Did you call Ana afterwards?”

  Emma’s eyes flicked to Liam so quickly I almost missed it. “No. You?”

  I shook my head. “I wish I had, though. I feel bad now.”

  “Have you seen her this morning?” Emma asked.

  “She’ll be here soon,” Liv said with a sigh. “You know how she likes the drama.”

  I blinked my eyes slowly, and Emma almost choked. There was only one drama queen amongst us, and she was sitting on the bench, and it wasn’t me or Emma.

  “I think Maddy is worried because of the mood Ana has been in.” Zak shifted his bag on his shoulder and shoved his hands under his armpits. “And we usually see her on the way in, but there was no sign this morning.”

  Liv thrust her hand into the pocket of her pink wool coat and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call her now and then can we talk about Harry?”

  Zak pulled a cigarette from the top pocket of his padded denim jacket, and put it, unlit, into his mouth.

  “You better not be about to light that, Mr Hoyland.”

  We swung our gazes to see Mr Barber, our head of History, strolling past us with his stare aimed at Zak.

  “No, sir.” Zak gave him one of his best smiles. “I would never smoke on school property.”

  “No point in putting that disgusting thing in your mouth then.” He took a step towards us and held out his hand, palm up. “I’ll take that.”

  Zak reached for the cigarette and taking it from his mouth, dropped it into Mr Barber’s hand. “Sorry, it’s a bit wet, sir.”

  Liam snorted, earning him a poke in the back of his leg with the toe of Emma’s boot. Liv tutted with her phone to her ear, and I guessed it was because we were wasting Harry time. Mr Barber pocketed the cigarette and marched on, wiping his hand on his jacket.

  After we watched him disappear inside school, Liv dropped her phone back into her pocket. “Straight to voicemail. Now can we actually talk about Harry,” she demanded. “I need to come up with a plan on how to get him to notice me, seeing as no one really wanted to help the other day. And he was a no show at that lame party of Jack’s.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but the sight of Ana walking towards us stopped me. It wasn’t just the message from her mum the night before, or that she was running late, which was unusual for her. It was the fact that she looked dishevelled. Her short black bob was messed up like a bird’s nest, and her jeans were the one she’d worn the day before—the ones that she’d spilled tomato ketchup on the day before. Even her coat was buttoned incorrectly.

  “Ana,” I whispered. “Ana’s here.”

  “What the hell is wrong with her?” Liv asked. “She looks terrible.”

  As she got closer, it was clear how terrible she looked. Makeup was smudged under her eyes, and her face was pale.

  “Wow.” Liam blinked a couple of times as we all watched Ana stumble over her own feet. “Is she drunk?”

  Her bag dropped from her shoulder, down her arm, and the change of weight unbalanced her. She listed to the right and grabbed for fresh air, I guessed to hopefully hold her upright. It didn’t work because her legs went from under her, and she landed in a heap on the ground. Her bag softened the blow a little, but when her shoulder hit the concrete she let out a yelp.

  We all ran towards her, yelling and calling her name. Liam reached her first and crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her arm.

  “Ana, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

  “My fucking arm. What do you think?” Her words slurred a little leaving her mouth. “Shit.”

  Liam and Zak put their hands under her arms and tried to help her to her feet, but her legs were like spaghetti and didn’t want to hold her up. She kept bending at the knees and giggling.

  “She’s shitfaced,” Emma hissed from the corner of her mouth. “How the hell is she like this? It’s only half eight.”

  I shrugged. “No idea.” Stepping forward, I stooped down to look Ana in the face. “What have you been drinking?”

  She gave me a slow grin. “Alcohol.”

  “I know that. What sort of alcohol and how much?”

  “Rum. Lots.”

  “We should get her out of here,” Zak said, gaining my attention. “We need to take her home, babe.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I looked over my shoulder to Emma. “Is your mum home today?”

  She shook her head. “No, visiting a client in York. She won’t be home until seven. Why?”

  I grimaced. “My dad is home, he’s on the evening shift at the bar. Liv’s gran lives with them, so…” I pointed at Ana.

  Emma rolled her eyes. “Okay, but she better not puke everywhere.”

  “I have to go to German,” Liv griped. “If I’m not there Miss Wright will go straight to the office and tell my mum.”

  She had a point. While having your mum work at school had some benefits, it meant that she knew Liv’s every move.

  “We can take her,” Zak offered. “I have mum’s car.”

  I straightened up and smiled at him. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I have a double study period.” He turned to Liam. “Can you come? I’m not sure I can manage her on my own.”

  As if to prove a point, Ana flopped forward, almost headbutting me. “Woah, careful.” Pushing a hand against her chest, I noticed that as more people arrived at school, more were gawking at us.

  “We need to get her out of her quick before someone tells a teacher.”

  Zak nodded. “Come on, Ana,” he said softly, “work with us here.”

  Ana giggled and grinned at him. “Okay, Zakky.”

  “Oh fuck,” Liam groaned, hoisting her higher. “She’s more than shitfaced. And she’s heavier than she looks.”

  “Liam,” she snapped, looking affronted with her brows screwed together. “That’s not a nice thing to say.” She tried to slap at his arm, but it sent her off balance again.

  “Teacher on the way,” Emma hissed. “Hurry up!”

  “Ana,” I snapped, grabbing her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Just help Zak and Liam, stop being a dick. Okay!”

  Ana inhaled, her eyes closing like they were too heavy, as she gave me a slow nod.

  “Let’s go.” Zak said, giving Liam a nod. They lifted her up and started to drag her away. As they did, she dropped her bag, so I snatched it up while Emma took Zak and Liam’s, passing one off to Liv. She shook her head and sighed but took the bag anyway. I gave one last look to the bench to check we hadn’t left anything behind, and then followed them as they practically dragged our friend to Zak’s car.

  As they bundled her into the back seat, buckling her in, I turned to Liv and Emma. “Are you staying here, Liv?”

  “Yeah. I can’t risk my mum finding out I skipped. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them you all had the shits yesterday.” She dropped Zak’s bag at my feet. “Are you coming back?”

  I looked at Ana, her head lolling as she fell to one side. “I doubt it. Not by the look of her. Maybe the boys will.”

  Zak straightened. “I’ll stay with you. Just in case.” His eyes were full of worry, and I knew he meant in case we needed transport.

  “Okay.” Liv smoothed down her coat and leaned forward to look at Ana. “I think she may puke, by the way.”

  Ana’s chest heaved, but instead of throwing up, she collapsed with a groan.

  “We need to get going,” Zak said. “Liam, can you and Em get in either side of her. I know it’s a tight fit.” He looked disdainfully at his mum’s Mini. “If I’d known we were transporting a pissed mate, I’d have begged my dad’s car.”

  I placed a hand on his back. “I’m sorry, Zak.”

  He whizzed around to look at me. “Hey, it’s alright. I don’t mind. As long as she doesn’t puke. My mum will freak if she does.”

  “Let’s go then.” I pulled open the passenger door. “I’ll message you Liv.”

  “Here have this.” She thrust a carrier bag at me. “She can be sick in that. It’s had my brother’s trainers in it, so it probably stinks.”

  I threw it into the back to Emma. “I doubt she’ll notice.” After giving Liv a quick hug, I got inside the car and buckled up as Zak sped off.

  “She’s finally stopped,” Emma sighed as she flopped down onto the sofa next to me. “And she’s asleep.”

  “Did you put her on her side?” Zak asked, grabbing my ankle and pulling my legs over his thighs. “If she pukes in her sleep, she might choke.”

  “Yes, thank you, Zak,” she snapped. “I put her on her side.”

  As Liam walked in with his head in a bag of crisps, we all turned to look at him. He hadn’t stopped raiding Emma’s mum’s food cupboard since we’d got there an hour before.

  “I’ve never had chicken and stuffing flavour before,” he said, shoving another handful into his mouth. “They’re nice. I might ask my mum to get some.”

  “Liam! They’re my mum’s favourites.” Emma jumped up and tried to snatch the family-sized bag from his hand. Too quick for her, Liam lifted his hand in the air, leaving her jumping to try and grab it.

  “Liam. Give me the crisps,” she cried, giggling as he moved his hand further away and tickled her side. “No, Stop it. I want the crisps.”

  “You do, do you?” He smirked and took a step back. “Is that all you want?”

  My eyes widened and I nudged Zak. “He’s flirting with her,” I whispered.

  “I know,” he whispered back. “He finally found his bollocks.”

  Our heads craned forward as we watched Liam pull Emma to him with an arm around her waist. He then dipped his head and smacked a kiss against her smiling lips. Emma’s arm went around his neck, and Liam walked them backwards, out of the lounge, leaving Zak and I staring after them.

  “Well.” Zak looked at me and grinned. “I knew he liked her, but I didn’t think he’d do anything about it.”

  “You knew he liked her.” I poked at his hard stomach. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “He asked me not to tell anyone.” He shrugged.