Free Lost Innocence by Susan Lewis

feel relieved that Robert hadn’t chucked them out, because living in this house, in Holly Wood, was amazingly, seriously cool, and the last place she wanted to end up was in some downgrade semi or flat in Bath, or Bristol, or worse, London, with no money, because there was no way her mother could earn anything like the megabucks Robert got paid. Worse still would be finding herself being shipped off to her father,not only because he lived on another planet now, or it might as well be, Australia was so far away, but because he had another family these days who looked a right bunch of mingers from the photos he sent her.
    It wasn’t until she’d turned the blender off that she realised her mother was standing behind her, hands on hips, apparently about to go mental.
    ‘Get over it, Mum,’ she said, before her mother could weigh in first.
    ‘Where were you last night?’ Sabrina demanded.
    ‘Out.’
    ‘I’m aware of that. You’re fifteen years old, young lady, and the rules of this house are that you have to be home by eleven and stay here.’
    ‘Yeah, yeah, blah, blah.’
    ‘So where were you?’
    ‘I just told you, out.’
    ‘Annabelle, look at me.’
    ‘What for?’
    ‘I said look at me.’
    ‘I’m busy, aren’t I?’
    ‘So help me, I’ll send you to your father if you don’t start showing me more respect.’
    ‘Oh, that’s a new one. Haven’t heard that before. Can you excuse me please, I need to get some glasses out of the cupboard.’
    ‘Who’s upstairs?’ Sabrina demanded, standing aside, and thinking, not for the first time, how rarely Annabelle ever looked her in the eye.
    ‘None of your business.’
    Sabrina’s face clenched with anger. ‘If there are boys in your room…’
    Annabelle sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘If you must know it’s Georgie and Catrina. OK? Satisfied?’
    Sabrina’s expression was still tight. ‘I wish you had friends your own age,’ she stated. ‘OK, I know you’ve always known them, but they’re in the sixth form now and you’re…’
    ‘Are there any biscuits or anything?’ Annabelle interrupted. ‘We’re starving.’
    ‘It’s called the munchies,’ Sabrina told her, yanking open a cupboard. ‘It’s what happens when you’ve had too much to drink, and let me remind you yet again, you’re underage …’
    Annabelle suddenly burped, which made her laugh. ‘Sorry, that wasn’t meant to come out,’ she said, pressing her fingers to her lips.
    Sabrina shook her head in disgust. ‘Were there any drugs involved wherever you went last night?’ she asked bluntly.
    ‘Oh Mum, unravel yourself, will you?’
    ‘I want an answer.’
    ‘Well you’re not getting one, because if I say no you won’t believe me, and if I say yes you’ll just go off on one.’
    Feeling the intolerable bite of frustration, Sabrina said, ‘Your attitude is going to get you into a lot of trouble one of these days, young lady.’
    Annabelle didn’t bother to reply. She simply put the drinks on the tray, took the biscuits and started towards the door.
    ‘There used to be a time when I was proud to call you my daughter,’ Sabrina told her, her voice shaking with anger and despair. ‘Now I just feel ashamed, and do you know why? Because you look like a tart, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out you behave like one.’
    ‘You know what,’ Annabelle said nastily, ‘Alicia’s not the only one around here who can’t stand you, because there’s always me,’ and leaving her mother with tears of helplessness and fury stinging her eyes, she went off to feed her friends.
    Turning back towards the sink, Sabrina put her hands on the edge and held on tightly. She dared not let go of her emotions for fear of how fast and furiously they might tear through her if she did. Robert wouldn’t tolerate it if he thought she was still grieving, God knew he’d found it hard enough when he’d first broken the news of Craig’s death. Typically, he’d been patient and kind