Free Honest by Ava Bloomfield

hands away.
    ‘Were you
listening to me? We’ve got to sort this out, Ellen. I’m worried.’
    ‘Don’t be,’ I
said. I had no idea what she was worried about, seeing as I wasn’t listening. I
just knew I didn’t want to talk about Peter’s dad. Not now. Not when things
were going so well.
    ‘I’ve got a
boyfriend,’ I said, smiling.
    ‘Wh—oh? A
boyfriend? Back at home, you mean? Sharon didn’t make mention of that in the
information she forwarded to me.’ She began rifling through her papers, a deep
crease in her forehead. She gave up.
    ‘Sharon
wouldn’t know. I haven’t told her.’
    Melanie nodded
quickly, still picking at the papers, itching to search again. ‘Right, right.
And this is a boyfriend back in London? Where did you meet him?’
    ‘No, he’s not
in London. He lives here.’
    Her eyes
widened. ‘But you haven’t been here very long. How old is he, Ellen?’
    ‘Forty–two,’ I
said, rolling my eyes. ‘We’re very much in love.’
    Melanie put
her pen down and sighed. ‘Oh Ellen, please. Let’s not do this. I have to ask
these questions, you know that. I just want to establish that you’re safe and
in control.’
    ‘Of course I
am,’ I said. ‘Things happen fast sometimes. I’ve read a million stories about
these girls who knew they loved someone the first time they met them. People
who got married after three weeks, stuff like that.’
    She cocked an
eyebrow. ‘So you’ve already decided you love this man?’
    ‘I don’t
know,’ I said, smiling. ‘You know how it is. What is it they say?’ I searched
my mind, filing through article after article in Comso , Marie Claire ....In
the end it was the simplest, most common phrase that came to mind. ‘Treat them
mean, keep them keen,’ I said, grinning in triumph.
    ‘Right. So
where did you meet? How old is he? I mean, what’s his name?’ I could see she
was getting frustrated already, her hands flapping about while her cheeks went
as red as her hair. As far as she was concerned, I was a victim of child abuse
— I wasn’t supposed to be into boys. I wasn’t supposed to be remotely concerned
with them, not until I felt ‘stable’ and ‘ready’.
    Well, that was
my decision, not hers.
    ‘I’ve known
him forever. His name is David.’
    She put her
pen down again and looked at me, her eyes glazing over. ‘David Peirce.’
    I looked down
at my knees, smiling, suddenly feeling very coy. ‘Might be.’
    There was a
long pause. It was a grey afternoon, and the living room was dark and dull. Her
eyes stuck out like two coloured diamonds, watching me. ‘Ellen, David Peirce is
one of my—’ she shut her lips tight before she could say anymore. I could
practically hear her cursing herself inwardly.
    ‘Client
confidentiality,’ I said, grinning. ‘I could report you for that, you know.’
    She sat back
in her seat and exhaled deeply. ‘That was a slip of the tongue, I’m sorry.
Look, what I’m trying to say is that I know David has as girlfriend, and it
isn’t you, Ellen.’
    ‘What?’ I
said, going cold.
    ‘David’s
girlfriend is called Lauren. They’ve been together a couple of years now.’
    I bit my lip.
‘Well, it’s early days yet. I never said—’
    ‘Your words
were I have a boyfriend , Ellen. David Peirce is seeing Lauren.’
    ‘Lauren
Anders. Yeah, yeah, I know her name,’ I said, huffing. I pulled one of the
loose hairs off my hand and toyed with it. ‘Look, things are rocky between
them. And what with me returning after all this time...Well, it’s like one of
those Cosmo stories isn’t it?’
    ‘No, it
isn’t,’ said Melanie. ‘How do you know her surname? Ellen? What is that you’re
playing with?’
    ‘My hair,’ I
said, wrapping it around my finger.
    ‘Ellen, you’re
not losing your hair again, are you? Sharon put in the report—’
    ‘Shut up! I’m
not talking about Bulimia today. Or Dennis.’
    Melanie leaned
forward, arms resting on her knees. She stared intently into my