Free The One and Only by Sophie McKenzie Page B

shouldn’t be,’ I interrupted. ‘I texted Mum last night. I told her I was all right—’
    ‘Are you listening to me. Jonno’s saying—’
    ‘He’s an idiot. He—’
    ‘For Christ’s sake Luke,’ Chloe shouted. ‘Mum’s been on the phone to me for the last hour. She’s—’
    ‘So that’s what’s really bothering you! Why don’t you go home then?’
    ‘I’ve got a job and responsibilities. You’re just—’
    ‘I’m doing it for Eve.’
    I switched off the phone and hurled it onto the bed beside me.
    Bloody hell.
    Now I felt guilty in about six different directions. The last thing I wanted was Mum worrying about me. Still, at least knowing Jonno had been on the phone to her made it easier to decide what I should do. If I wasn’t at home and Mum didn’t know where I was, there’d be no reason for Jonno to keep calling.
    My jaw clenched at the thought of him shouting at her. I paced over to the window and kicked at the wall. My shoe made a tiny dent in the plaster. Dust trickled onto the floor.
    Eve was still out on the grass.
    I wrestled with my conscience for about two minutes. She’d said she wanted to be on her own for a bit. And yet, she’d want to know what Chloe had said. She’d want to know about her dad.
    It took me nearly ten minutes to find my way downstairs and out of the house. It was nearly ten am now, and there was no sign of anyone else about. Outside the sun had burned through the clouds and was shining on the sea, making the water glitter like broken glass. The wind was still fierce though, whipping over the cliff top and biting at my face.
    I was in a really black mood as I walked towards Eve.
    She heard me coming and twisted round.
    ‘D’you mind me being here?’ I said, stopping a metre or so away from her.
    She shook her head. ‘I’m just drawing,’ she said. She gave me this sad smile that made me feel mean for being so pissed off.
    ‘Can I see?’
    She nodded.
    I walked up to her and sat down, putting my arms around her. Her hands were ice cold.
    ‘Hey, you’re freezing.’ I smiled at her, holding both of her hands in one of mine to warm them up.
    Just being near her made me feel better. I could feel my bad mood slipping away. A seagull squawked overhead as I kissed her neck and looked down at the sketch book in her lap. It was open at a page showing a pencil drawing of the cliff top with the trees and sea beyond. It was obviously unfinished, but clearly a picture of the scene in front of us.
    ‘That’s amazing,’ I said, impressed. I leaned over and flicked through the sketch pad. It was crammed with pencil drawings. There were drawings of animals and apples in bowls, and stones propped against doors. One scene kept recurring – a single tree in a barren wasteland outside a window.
    ‘That was the view from the dormitory at the convent,’ Eve said, smiling.
    ‘These are really good, Eve.’ I noticed another sketch book inside her bag on the ground beside us. I pulled it out.
    ‘No,’ she said, making a grab for the book. ‘Not that one.’
    I whipped it out of her reach. ‘Why?’ I said, teasingly. ‘What’s in it?’
    I stood up, holding the book above my head, so she couldn’t get at it. She tried to jump up a couple of times, but I could tell she was only half-heartedly trying to stop me.
    I grinned and caught her round the waist with my free arm.
    ‘Please may I see?’ I said.
    She looked up at me. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘But promise you won’t laugh.’
    I nodded and opened the book.
    A picture of a face. A male face.
    Oh my God.
    I stared down at Eve.

 
10
Personal Jesus
    It was my face.
    I turned the pages. It was me. Over and over again. Sketched from different angles, and with different expressions. But always, unmistakably, me.
    I pored over the drawings. The early ones were a bit rough – I was only just recognisable from the basic shape of the features. But the later ones had more personality, the soft, curving pencil lines making