Little White Lies (2 page)

“Piece of cake,” Kenny assures me, his gloved fingertips dancing over the office keyboard, illuminated by the unbearably bright computer screen. “Trust me.”

A woman laughs loudly outside, and my eyes fly to the unshaded windows.

“Can’t you reduce the brightness or something?” I beg. “Someone might see.”

“Settle, petal, I’m nearly there.” Kenny clicks the mouse as it flickers quickly over the screen.

I glance again at the open blinds, then carefully pad across the dark office to the window. I reach for the cord—then headlights suddenly slice across the room.

I drop to the floor, my pulse racing. “Shit!”

Kenny looks over. “Titch. Seriously. Chill. No one can see us.”

I swallow hard and stand up.

“Unless you stand in front of the window, of course,” he adds. “Get back here.”

I scurry back to his side, but suddenly I freeze. “What’s that?”

“What?” Kenny hisses.

“I thought I heard something.”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re just para—”

A door slams noisily, cutting him off.

Kenny’s eyes widen as footsteps echo on the stairs.

“Quick!” He flicks the screen off, grabs me, and ducks beneath the computer desk, just as the fluorescent strips flicker on, flooding the room in glaring white light. I squeeze myself closer to Kenny, his heart thrumming madly against my ear.

“Lucky we had to come back, eh, mate?” a man’s voice says. “Old Harris would’ve had your guts for garters in the morning!”

“I don’t understand,” a second man says. “I swear I set the alarm when I left.”

Kenny’s eyes meet mine as we both recognize the voice of Neil, the work experience mentor I’ve been shadowing for the past week, learning the ropes—incl
uding secretly memorizing the codes for the burglar alarm and computers. Turns out my careers advisor was right—work experience
is
invaluable.

“You’re going senile!” The first man chuckles.

“Watch it, Trev—you’re older than me, remember?” Neil says.

“Older and wiser,” Trev laughs. “At least I don’t forget stuff! Where’d you leave your phone this time?”

“It must be on my desk.”

Shit. Neil’s desk
.
The desk we’re hiding beneath!

I hold my breath, my blood pounding deafeningly in my ears as his heavy footsteps thud towards us.

Oh my God, I’m going to jail. I’m going straight to jail. What was I
thinking
?

I fold my knees into my chest, trying to make myself as small as physically possible as I squeeze my eyes shut, praying desperately, madly, hopelessly....

Please don’t find us. Please don’t find us. Please, please, please
...

The footsteps get louder, closer... then a mobile phone bleeps.

“Hey, Neil!”

The footsteps stop. I hold my breath.

“False alarm. You left it at home, you plank!”

My heart leaps.
No way!

“What?” Neil says.

“I just got a message from your mobile—your wife’s got it. Come on, let’s get out of here before you lose
all
your marbles!”

The footsteps move quickly away, and the door slams again.

“Hey.” Kenny nudges me after a few moments. “They’ve gone.”

I crack open an eyelid. The room is dark again. “What happened?”

He holds up a mobile phone, a text message shining on the screen.

Sent to TREVOR: Hi Trev, can you tell Neil I’ve got his phone at home?

“Neil’s phone?” I stare at him. “
You
sent the text?”

He grins. “How much do you love me?”

“Kenny, you’re a genius!”

“Like, duh.” He shrugs. “Should buy us some time to get out of here anyway. Let’s go.”

My heart sinks. “What about—”

“This?” Kenny winks, his dark eyes sparkling as he holds up a USB stick.

“You got it?” I stare at him. “You actually
got it
?”

“I never break a promise.” He grins. “What’s it worth?”

I take the precious memory stick and throw my arms around him, adrenaline surging through my veins, unable to believe what I’m actually, finally, holding in my hands.

“It’s utterly priceless,” I whisper. “Thank you so much, Kenny.”

“Thank me later.” He smiles. “First we have to get out of here.”

ONE

“Run!” I yell over my shoulder as I sprint as fast as I can. “Come
on
!”

I round a corner and send a flock of flustered pigeons flapping into the trees, my heart pounding as hard as my feet on the concrete path as I glance backwards. But the path behind me is empty. I stop running, gasping for breath as I wait for a moment, but there’s still no sign of my friend. Hastily I retrace my steps, but it’s only when I reach the corner that I see the familiar figure splayed out on the grass.

“I’m dying!” she groans.

“You’re such a drama queen.” I smile as I jog over.

“And you’re a slave driver!” Vix moans.

“It was your idea to come running with me!” I laugh. “Don’t you remember last night?”

“No!” she says, blinking up at me. “I was drunk last night. Or crazy. Or both. I didn’t mean it,
obviously
.”

“So you don’t want to shape up to snag a cute fresher?”

“Well, yes,” Vix admits grudgingly. “But why do we have to run so
early
?”

“What time
is
it?” I ask, gazing out over the beautiful sunlit park. Other joggers are already bouncing round the perimeter, past families making their way to school and a couple of dog walkers.

But there’s still no sign of him.

Vix checks her watch. “Ten past eight.”

I frown. He should be here by now.

“Did you hear me? Ten past
eight
!” Vix cries. “And I haven’t even had a coffee yet! How am I even
functioning
?”

“Come on, lazybones.” I take her hand. “Just a few more meters.”

“Can’t,” she says. “I can’t move.”

“There’s a café just over there.”

Vix looks up. “With coffee?”

“Yes,” I laugh, helping her up. “There’s coffee, and comfy sofas, a great view and—”

Suddenly my heart jumps.
There he is.
Quickly, I bend to retie my shoelaces as he crosses our path.

“Aha!” Vix grins. “So
that’s
the real reason you’ve been running every morning.”

I look up sharply. “What?”

She raises an eyebrow. “The tall, dark, and handsome hotty who nearly gave you a heart attack?”

Shit.
Am I that obvious?

“You’re blushing!” she squeals.

“Shh!”
I hiss, glancing over to check he didn’t hear. He heads into the café, the hood of his red jacket pulled over his mess of black hair despite the warm morning sunshine.

“No wonder the cute freshers are crashing and burning with you—you’re totally smitten with Mr. McHotty over there!” Vix smirks. “Not that I blame you. He’s totally fit. Check out that
arse
! Now, that’s a view worth exercising for. What’s his name?”

I shrug.

“You haven’t even
talked
to him?” Vix stares at me. “Come on!”

“No—Vix!” I protest, grabbing her arm as she heads for the café. “I can’t just go up and talk to him—I don’t know anything about him!”

“Well, how are you ever going to
get
to know him if you never even meet?” she argues.

Cold dread trickles down my spine. Do I have the guts to actually
meet
him?

“Seriously, babe, what’s the worst that could happen?”

I shudder.
If only she knew
.

“You don’t get on, you say goodbye, you get to lie in in future?” Vix grins. “Anyway, you do know
some
stuff about him,” she argues. “You know he’s cute, you know he’s athletic....”

“I know you’re shallow!”

“And
you’re
a
chicken
!” Vix cries. “Life’s too short—I’m going in!”

“No, Vix!” I grab her arm.

“Then
you
go!”

“But—”

“Bye!” She shakes her arm loose.

“Fine.” I hurry past her towards the entrance of the café.

“Atta girl!” Vix cries.

Keeping my head down, I walk through the door, make a beeline for the counter, and order two iced coffees before risking a quick glance round the café.

I spot him almost immediately. He has his back to me as he takes a seat at a corner table with a bottle of orange juice. I watch as he peels his jacket off and drapes it over the back of his chair, revealing toned, tanned arms.

Sweat beads on my forehead and my own hoodie suddenly feels two sizes too small.

I pay for the coffees, pick up my tray, then take a deep breath.

This is it.

I head towards him, my fingers tightly gripping the tray.

I can do this,
I tell myself, forcing my feet to move.
One step, then another. Simple.

So why does it suddenly seem like the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life?

Just talk to him—just words.

Through the window, Vix gives me a thumbs-up. Great. An audience.

Another step. Then another.

The coffee shivers and slops over the sides of the cups. I will myself to keep walking, my eyes fixed on the back of his head.

One more step
...

My tray slips suddenly from my fingers, the crockery crashing to the floor as coffee splashes everywhere
—including straight down the back of the guy, who leaps from his chair, his jacket tumbling to the floor.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I cry.

He looks up and I freeze as his pale blue eyes meet mine, goose bumps prickling down my arms as I struggle to breathe. I look away quickly, my cheeks burning.

“Oh no—your jacket!” I pick it up, grab a napkin from the table, and hurriedly dab at the coffee stains.

“It’s fine, really,” he says, smiling down at me.

“No, I’m really sorry. I’ll pay for the dry cleaning,” I offer.

“Forget about it.” He smiles again, taking his jacket and orange juice. “It’s fate’s way of telling me it’s about time I did some laundry.”

“I’m so sorry,” I say yet again, stupidly, as he hurries out of the café.

“What
was
that?”
Vix rushes in, her face a mixture of horror and amusement.

“Smooth, huh?” I sigh.

“
Now
I understand why you didn’t want to introduce yourself,” she laughs. “Lucky it wasn’t
hot
coffee—he’d be in hospital!”

“What a disaster!” I sink my head into my hands. “Or then again, maybe not...”

“Seriously?” Vix smiles. “Exactly
which
part of the last five minutes wasn’t completely catastrophic?”

I reach down and pick something up off the floor.

“The part where Mr. McHotty dropped his wallet...”

TWO

“Beautiful!” Vix beams at my reflection. “Ooh, and I’ve got just the right color blush in my room.”

“Vix, I don’t want any—”

“Back in a sec!”

I sigh as she disappears into the corridor; then I turn to the mirror and stare at the unfamiliar girl gazing back at me.

Just months ago my hair hung, lank and mousy-brown, round my shoulders. Now it twists and curls, dyed blond a few weeks ago by me, now pinned and styled by Vix, who has also plastered so much makeup over my face that only my black-rimmed eyes are recognizable. Though there’s something different lingering behind
them
now too. A flicker of... what? Excitement? Fear?

Maybe both.

“Here we go...” Vix bounds back into my room. “Smile!”

I grimace as she dabs at my cheeks with a soft brush.

“Yikes! I hope you’re gonna do better than that when you see McHotty!” she scolds. “No wonder he ran a mile!”

My heart beats fast at the thought of seeing him again.

“There!” she says finally, stepping back and admiring her handiwork. “What do you think?”

“I don’t recognize myself,” I tell her honestly.

“Well, duh!” She grins. “That’s kind of the point! It’s your second week at university
—what better time to reinvent yourself?” She smiles. “You’re gorgeous, Lou. Believe it. Work it. No more klutzy Louise Shepherd, no more being tongue-tied and awkward around guys. Now you are
Lou
—smart, sophisticated, confident femme
fatale.” She giggles. “McHotty doesn’t stand a chance.”

“I hope you’re right.” I lick my strawberry-glossed lips nervously. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Just a sec.” She grabs the curling iron.

“
Vix!
How much longer?”

“One second!
Just the finishing touches...”

“You’ve been saying that for hours!” I protest. “We should have returned his wallet straight away.”

“We couldn’t!” Vix protests. “We had lectures to get to.”

“But we walked past his house on the way back from the park this morning,” I remind her. “We could have dropped it off then.”

“But
he
doesn’t know that.” Vix grins. “Besides, you were
not
presentable. This way you get to make a great second impression—God knows you need it after the first!”

“Very reassuring,” I groan. “But hurry up—what if Christian’s been freaking out all morning about losing his wallet?”

“
Christian
now, is it?” Vix says, a smug smile on her lips.

My cheeks burn. “That’s what it says on his driving license, Christian Marcus Webb.” I stare down at the little pink card, usefully printed with his name, date of birth, address, and those piercing eyes that seem to stare straight into my soul.

“Well,
Christian
will be so knocked out by your appearance he won’t even care about his wallet.” Vix grins, setting down the curling iron. “There. Done. We can go.”

“Finally.” I grab my bag from my bed and usher Vix out of my room, locking the door behind us, then hurry down the two flights of stairs to the bustling reception area of our halls of residence.

“Lou! Vix!” Matt calls over from the group of students hanging out on the sofas. “We’re thinking of hitting that new club on Division Street tonight—Lush. Do you guys fancy it?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Vix beams.

“Excellent!” He smiles.

“What about you, Lou?” his mate Dan asks. “Have you done something different with your hair? It looks great.”

“Oh. Thanks.” I smile.

“Lou will have to let you know later.” Vix grins. “She may have a hot date tonight!”

Dan’s face falls. “A date? Who with?”

“No one,” I tell him, hooking my arm through Vix’s. “See you later. Come on, Vix.”

“No fair.” Vix pouts as I drag her towards the exit. “Why do all the decent guys always fancy
you
?”

“They don’t!” I protest.

“Please. So beautiful. So blind.”

“Matt likes you,” I argue. “And he seems really nice.”

“Yeah, but he’s a computer science geek.” She rolls her eyes. “It doesn’t count. Ooh—post!” She slips from my grip and skips over to the pigeonholes to check her mail.

“Vix!”
I protest. “Come on!”

“Chill, hon—Christ
ian’s house is, like, a two-minute drive away!”

“You want to take the car? What happened to getting in shape?”

“I jogged this morning, didn’t I?”

“Barely.” I smile.

“Besides, jogging in trainers round a nice flat park is
not
the same as trudging up and down Sheffield’s bleeding hills. It’s bad enough trekking halfway across the city to lectures—I
so
should’ve gone to a campus uni—but there’s no
way
I’m hiking up hills in
heels
!” she says vehemently. “Besides, I thought you were in a hurry to return Christian’s wallet. And you don’t want to turn up all puffed and sweaty after spending so long getting beautiful, do you...?”

“All right!” I laugh at her swift change of tactics. “We’ll take my uncle’s car.”

“Sweet.” She smiles, then frowns as she flicks through the collection of envelopes in her hand. “I still haven’t heard from the student loan company, have you? I need to know when my money’s coming in.”

I sigh, then search the pigeonholes for my own mail.

“Uh, Lou, why are you looking in the
W
box? You’re not Mrs. Webb yet, you know!”

“Oh yeah, right.” My cheeks burn as I move to the
S
box. I have to stop
doing
that. Louise Shepherd. My name is
Louise Shepherd
. I riffle through the letters, then freeze as I spot the familiar postmark.

“Bills, bills, bills!” Vix moans, opening her mail. “You get anything interesting?”

“Same,” I lie quickly, shoving the letter into my bag as she hooks her arm through mine. “I’m gonna have to start looking for a job soon!”

“Seriously!” Vix nods as we head into the car park. “No one ever warns you how expensive uni is! I thought it was all about late nights and lie-ins, booze and bonking, good times and—”

“Good grades?” I raise an eyebrow.

“You sound just like my dad,” Vix groans as we slide into the car. “ ‘University is not about getting drunk all day, Victoria. This is your future on the line.’ He’s still sore that I didn’t get into Cambridge like his beloved
Darius
.” She pulls a face. “Dads! It must be easier living with your uncle and aunt, huh? Less pressure?”

I falter.
I wish.
I owe them everything. They had no obligation to adopt me, so when I let them down it’s a hundred times worse.

And boy, have I let them down.

“Not that I’m saying it’s easy losing your mum and dad,” Vix adds quickly. “Just... just tell me to shut my big mouth.”

“It’s okay.” I smile as I maneuver the car out of the car park. “I never really knew my parents, but I don’t think my aunt and uncle treat me any differently than my cousins. Except, I guess, my uncle’s a little more protective of them, but that’s probably just because they’re younger than me.”

I smile as I think of fearless little Millie and her comical take on the world. She’d be into everything, given half a chance.

“Tell me about it,” Vix groans. “It’s a nightmare being the youngest. Especially with Darius for an older brother—he’s like another parent!”

I laugh.

“But you and your cousins get on okay?” she asks.

“Like a house on fire.” I smile. “I think of them more like sisters, really. One’s only a year younger than me, so we always did everything together—horse-riding lessons, ballet classes, same piano tutor, same swimming coach, same school... till sixth form, anyway.”

“Why, what happened?”

My heart sinks.
Then everything changed.

“My uncle always wanted us to go to his old boarding school for our A levels—to make sure we got the best grades. They only take girls in the sixth form, and I was a year older, so... it was the first time we’d been separated nearly our whole lives.”

And I wish I’d never gone. Never left her side.

“I wish I had sisters,” Vix sighs. “All I hear is: ‘Victoria, why can’t you be more like your brother?’
My dad doesn’t understand that I don’t
want
to be a bloodsucking lawyer, and investigative journalism is an equally valid career choice. He thinks it’s all just paparazzi on motorbikes.” She sighs. “You know he gave Darius a Porsche for his twenty-first? A
Porsche
? And he won’t even let me drive his old
Volvo
. I can’t believe your uncle loaned you his car. You’re so lucky. And it’s an automatic too. So easy to drive.”

“Yeah, it is—except when you have to go up and down all these hills!”

“So how come you’ve got your uncle’s car anyway?” Vix asks. “Doesn’t he need it?”

I shrug. “Not for a while.”
Not where he is.

“He’s away?” Vix asks.

I nod.

“Business or pleasure?”

“Business,” I say quickly, focusing on the road in front of me as we drive down a steep hill, hoping Vix will drop the subject.

I think of the envelope in my jacket pocket.
It’s certainly not pleasure
.

“Isn’t he worried about you damaging his car?” Vix asks. “I’d be totally paranoid about even
scratching
it, if it were me—my dad would go completely mental.”

I smile. “My uncle doesn’t really go mental about that stuff anymore.”

“Anymore?” Vix raises her eyebrow.

I hesitate. I’ve only known Vix for two weeks, and even though we seem to have clicked straight away, making friends and sharing secrets isn’t exactly high on my list of priorities right now. I’m not sure how much I really want her knowing about my life.

“He... he used to be a bit of a drinker, and there was this one time—years ago—someone keyed his new car and he went crazy, punched a brick wall, and broke his hand.”

“Wow,” Vix says.

“But he went on an anger management course and now he’s really mellow.” I smile, remembering how he laughs when he tells the tale, showing us the scar on his knuckle. “He doesn’t drink much anymore either, and the story comes out every time he tries to warn us about the dangers of alcohol.”

“Tell me about it!” Vix smiles. “ ‘Alcohol is poison from the devil, Victoria. Do not succumb to its evil temptations.’ Thank God my dad didn’t see me last night.”

I laugh.

“Or the night before, come to that. Or all last week, or— Ooh, we’re here!”

She points out of the window and my heart beats fast as I pull over in front of a cottage with a green door.

Twelve Bromley Road.

“Can you believe you’ve passed his house every morning on your way to the park?” Vix grins at me. “And all this time you had no idea that the man of your dreams lived just inside!”

The man of my dreams.
If only she knew.

I look up at the little gray stone cottage, and although I’ve seen it many times before, goose bumps prickle down my arms. Can I really go through with this?

“Don’t worry.” Vix squeezes my arm. “I know last time didn’t go that well, but this time you’re the hero, returning his precious wallet. He can’t
not
be glad to see you!” She grins.

I smile tightly, then take a deep breath, step out of the car, and walk through the gate, up the garden path to the door. I swallow hard, then knock tentatively.

Nothing happens.

“Louder!” Vix calls through the open car window.

I hesitate, then knock harder.

Still nothing.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” Vix jumps out of the car, races up the path, and thumps her fist on the door.

“Vix!”

“What?”

Still nothing happens. My heart sinks.
He’s not in
.

“You looking for Christian?”

Vix and I turn in unison.

“Yes!” Vix beams, skipping towards the lanky red-haired guy who’s leaning on the gatepost.

“Then you’re in luck.” He grins. “Because I know exactly where you can find him.”