CHAPTER FORTY
Several large suitcases sat open on the two single beds. One was half filled with strewn clothes, make-up and magazines while Lana stood beside it, continuously pulling out brightly coloured items of clothing and replacing them with others.
On the opposite side of the room, Emma sat carefully folding her three favourite pairs of black jeans and placed them gently beside a number of dark coloured t-shirts and Converse. Several books had already been neatly arranged down the sides of the case.
When her mobile vibrated on the bedside table, she grinned, leaning forward to read the message.
'Tell him to stop texting already, you're going to see him in a couple of days,' sighed Lana with a wink.
Swooning, Emma quickly sent a message back before zipping up her case and turning her attention to Lana's belongings.
'Here, let me do it,' she offered, nudging her sister out of the way with her hip. Pulling out various items that were totally unsuitable for the Academy, Emma shook her head and laughed.
'Really?' she said, holding up a zebra print bikini.
Lana shrugged, 'You never know... we might go swimming one day?'
'In an animal print bikini? If we do go swimming, you'll need a swimming costume. You know, an all-in-one?' she laughed, putting it back in the drawer behind her and taking out a slightly more sensible bright pink one piece and putting it at the bottom of the case.
One by one, Emma pulled out clothes that would be far more suitable for nights out clubbing than college classrooms, replacing them with slightly more apt versions. But Lana just sat back and watched Emma do her magic. She'd always been better at packing than Lana had so she just left her to it, keeping an eye on a couple of pieces that she would shove back in later on.
A creaky sound alerted them to the fact that someone was climbing the stairs. Opening the door, a whiff of freshly baked pies entered the room and Audrey appeared with cups of tea for her two girls. She'd been crying.
'Oh Mum, what's up?' asked Lana with genuine concern.
'I... I... I'm just going to miss you, that's all...' she said as the tears began to flow again.
Lana chuckled while Emma rushed forward to take the cups from her mother's hands, placing them on the chest of drawers before turning back and hugging her tightly.
'I...I... I can't believe how fast you've grown up and now you're off to... to.... c....college.... in.... L....London,' she wept.
'You'll see us every holiday, and parents open day is only a month away. Plus, you're going to come to London to see us every now and again, aren't you, Mum?' Lana asked as she gently stroked her back.
Audrey nodded with a smile, wiping her eyes with the apron she'd been wearing all morning as she tried to take her mind off the girls imminent departure.
'See, you'll probably see more of us there than you do now!' she laughed.
'Yes, I suppose you're right,' Audrey chuckled sadly. 'Well, drink up your tea and then come downstairs. I've made your favourite pies for dinner,' she said as she walked out, stopping and taking a long look at them before wiping at her eyes again.
Something banged on their bedroom window, making them jump. And then again, they noticed a little stone tap against it.
Pushing it open, Lana leaned out. Looking down she saw Scott straddling his bicycle with a grin.
'We'll be right down,' she yelled as she shut it again and the two rushed downstairs, through the hallway and out through the back door.
'Hey!' he said as they walked up to him, all grinning like children.
He let his bike drop to the ground as they turned away from the house and walked slowly to the bottom of the garden, where they sat with their feet dangling over the edge, looking out across the sea.
Nobody said anything for a while but they were all thinking the same thing. Scott was being left behind and they were really going to miss each other.
'S...so,' he stuttered, 'Just one day left.' His voice cracked slightly and he looked away from them, embarrassed.
'Will you come and visit, Scott?' Emma asked quietly, picking up a stone and flicking it over the edge.
Lana sniffed loudly.
'If I can get time off, I will. I promise.'
'I still can't believe you're going to be working full time on the Nutters farm,' Lana said, sniffing again.
'I never was cut out for college. I much prefer to be outdoors working, always have. You know that.'
'But on a farm?' she almost shrieked, shuddering at the thought, making him laugh.
'I really enjoyed doing the work experience there... it's hard to believe they actually offered me a job.'
Emma turned to face him, 'It's not hard to believe at all, Scott. You've always been a really hard worker. You could get a job anywhere... anywhere you wanted. And you're just so... you know... likeable,' she said, blushing as Lana agreed, nodding avidly.
'You think?' he asked, his cheeks turning pink. 'Thanks.'
After they were silent for a few more minutes, he opened his mouth to say something but then shut it again. He tried again but then stopped and sighed.
'What?' Lana asked.
'I've been trying to work out what happened before you left, you know? The...the... ghost? And you... jumping off the cliff. I know you've been avoiding my questions. I just want the truth.'
Lana was reminded of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, 'The Truth? You want the truth? You can't handle the truth.' But she kept her mouth shut and looked at Emma whose pink cheeks burned as she gulped.
'There's nothing to tell,' Lana said totally unconvincingly.
'Really? You expect me to believe that? You're my best friends, we've never kept secrets before. Why start now?'
Lana let her head fall backwards, and she looked up at the intense blue of the sky, sighing loudly, not knowing what to do.
'Scott, we can't tell you,' Emma whispered. 'I'm sorry.'
He shook his head, looking out at the sea, before biting his bottom lip. 'Can't or won't?'
'Both, Scott. Look, it's for your own good. Honestly.'
'I don't believe this,' he said scrambling to his feet, stumbling backwards. 'Look, I'm going home. Tell your Mum I'm sorry I can't stay for dinner after all. Good luck in London.'
The girls sat still, Lana putting her head on her knees while Emma lay back onto the dirt, looking up at the sky.
'Well, that went well,' Lana sighed. 'Now what are we supposed to do?'
'Nothing we can do. We promised we wouldn't tell a soul and that includes Scott.'
'But he's our best friend. It hurts to keep secrets from him,' she said, wiping her eyes.
'Are you crying, Lana?' asked Emma who sat up and searched her sister's face.
'No,' she croaked.
Emma put her arm across her shoulders, 'Well I never,' she said, smiling slightly. 'I never thought I'd see the day.'
Lana shook her head and smiled at her, 'Oh shut up.'
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Through the fog, Declan stood waiting patiently as the family said their goodbyes. Patrick, Audrey, Lucy Joe and Greg stood around the girls, all were sobbing slightly. Even little Greg pretended to have something in his eye.
Lana and Emma kept scanning the harbour, hoping that their best friend would have had a change of heart and would turn up to say goodbye, but there was no sign of him.
Reluctantly, they boarded the vessel after giving their family members one last hug, promising to call regularly. As it chugged into motion, Lana and Emma held hands, tears free falling down their cheeks. Shivering, they turned to go inside when a voice pierced through the foggy air.
'Lana... Emma...'
'Scott!' yelled Lana as she released her sister's hand and ran right to the back of the ferry, Emma following behind.
'I'm sorry! I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it,' he cried as he threw his bicycle to the floor and ran as close as he could to the edge of the water without falling in. 'I'm going to miss you! Call me, text me, email me, okay?
' he shouted.
'We will. We're sorry too, Scott! Come visit us,' Lana shouted at the top of her voice, 'We're going to miss you so much!'
Both girls stood waving frantically until both he and their family disappeared, enveloped within the misty air.
'He came,' sighed Lana as they turned and headed back indoors into the warmth, where they sat beside Declan smiling, knowing that everything was going to be okay. Knowing that they hadn't lost their best friend. They just wouldn't see him for a while, that's all.
Sitting down beside Declan, he turned to look at them with the biggest, cheesiest grin in the world, 'So girls... are you ready for the Academy?'
###
Book II in The Morgan Sisters Series
May 2013
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Suzy Turner, The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw
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