Free Beautiful Liar by Tara Bond Page A

myself interfering. It felt like she was out of her league here.
    â€œIf Hugh likes you, he’ll take your number and call you to invite you out.” I gave the advice that millions of mothers would give to their daughters. And I had a feeling it was just as likely to fall on deaf ears. “Let him work for it.”
    She frowned. “But that’s the point. I don’t want him to.”
    Before I could argue with her, Hugh joined us in the hallway. Every time I looked at him, all I could think of was fox-hunting and country shoots.
    â€œYou ready to go, Jas? I’ve got a car coming.”
    She linked her arm through his, and beamed up at him. “Sure thing!” She turned to me. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    She was gone before I could say anything more. I went back in to the room and looked around, just in time to see Alex disappearing upstairs with some leggy redhead I didn’t recognise. Well, that hadn’t taken long.
    There was no reason for me to stay. So I headed out into the night alone.

Chapter 8
    The blare of a car horn woke me. I groaned as I checked my watch. I’d only got to bed a few hours ago, and I could’ve done with more sleep. I shifted uncomfortably, feeling every one of the springs in the old, thin mattress. It was only three days since I’d moved into the B and B, and already it felt like far too long.
    As usual, there was a queue for the bathroom. I spent as little time as possible in there when my turn came. Something must have overflowed, and the mess hadn’t been mopped up properly, so the tiled floor was covered in a layer of dirty water. The woman before me hadn’t bothered to flush the toilet. I had a quick, cold shower, which didn’t make me feel much cleaner, and then went back to my room to dress.
    I went to the canteen for breakfast. I grabbed coffee and some toast, and sat at the end of the long plastic table, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. There seemed to bekids everywhere, which just depressed me. It also made me more determined than ever to get as much money together as possible so I could find us somewhere to live as a family. Whatever happened, I didn’t want April to end up in a place like this.
    Back in my room, I called my sister. We’d worked out a system—I’d leave a message and then she would call me back when she got a chance.
    I was lying stretched out on my bed, reading, when April phoned ten minutes later. It was hard to hear her, and I had to keep asking her to speak up. Something didn’t feel quite right, and when I heard the sound of running water I decided to ask.
    â€œWhere are you?”
    She hesitated for a second before answering, and I could tell she was debating whether to lie.
    â€œApril . . .”
    â€œI’m in the bathroom,” she whispered.
    â€œWhy on earth are you calling from there?”
    â€œBecause there’s this girl, Racquel, who keeps stealing my things. You know, the one who took my lunch money the other day? If she knows I’ve a phone, it’ll be gone straight away.”
    I winced at the distress in her voice. “Do you want me to have a word with her?” After what Maggie had said, I’d ruled out making a formal complaint, so it was the only action Icould think of. I had no problem standing up to bullies, but my sister was a lot softer than me.
    There was a pause at the end of the line, as April considered this. “No,” she said eventually. “If you get involved, it’ll just antagonise her.”
    That was the last thing I wanted. “All right. It’s your decision. But if things get worse, let me know and I’ll do something about it.”
    In the meantime, I told her to keep doing what she was doing—hide the phone, and we’d talk every day at this time—that way, she could arrange to be somewhere secluded to speak to me. At least I’d be seeing her soon. As