The One and Only

  I could see Alejandro was as worried about her as I was. Eve had never been exactly outgoing. But I don’t think either of us had ever seen her this overwhelmed and scared before.

  After a while George showed us round the downstairs part of the house. It was enormous and full of twisty little corridors and oddly-shaped rooms. George said the original part of it dated from the eighteenth century. ‘But we tend to hang out mostly at the front,’ he said walking us through the kitchen again and out into a massive living room. It was, like the rest of the house, wood-panelled, with long, high windows, embroidered rugs on the wooden floor and lots of little tables covered with ornaments. Bottles and cans and overflowing ashtrays lay everywhere, along with an array of dirty plates and bowls. ‘Bit of a mess,’ George murmured. ‘Cleaner comes tomorrow.’

  Through an open door I could see another room with no windows and hardly any furniture. A piano stood to one side. Five or six electric guitars were propped against three large amplifiers.

  Alejandro and George started discussing the merits of the drum kit which stood in the corner.

  ‘You OK?’ I whispered to Eve. ‘Shall I ask if there’s a room we can have or something?’

  She gazed at me. ‘I’d like a bit of time on my own, actually,’ she said. ‘I think I’ll go outside for a while. D’you mind?’

  ‘Course not,’ I lied.

  Eve slipped away and I sank down on one of the sofas.

  She’s having a hard time. Be patient.

  George and Alejandro were talking very animatedly now. Then George turned round.

  ‘Where’d she go?’ he said, his eyes wide.

  I shrugged. ‘Wanted some space.’

  ‘Man, for one second I thought she’d just vanished,’ George said. ‘She’s like an elf or a sprite or something.’

  ‘No she’s not,’ I said, irritated.

  ‘Too much sweet wine, George,’Alejandro said quickly. ‘Hey. I am very tired. Show me where I am sleeping.’

  We followed George to the first floor. I wasn’t sure if we’d come this way before or not. George led us along another bewildering series of corridors until we came to two doors opposite each other. George pushed one open – revealing a large room complete with wooden four-poster bed and an ornate chest-of-drawers. A sink stood in one corner. The room was as big as my and Chloe’s rooms put together at home.

  ‘Bit basic, but d’you want this?’ he said to me. ‘Sheets and stuff are in the drawers.’

  I nodded eagerly and wandered inside.

  I could hear George ushering Alejandro into the room opposite. I shut the door and walked over to the window. It looked out over the side of the house. Trees. A patch of lawn and a corner of sea in the distance.

  Eve was sitting on the grass, bent over something, her bag beside her.

  I went over to the bed and switched on my mobile. Four missed calls from Mum, a text from Ryan demanding an update on what was happening – CALL ME U ****ER – and ten calls from another number I didn’t recognise, but which I guessed must be Jonno’s.

  Oh, crap.

  Then the phone rang. I stared at the name flashing up at me.

  Chloe.

  ‘Hi,’ I said.

  ‘Where the frigging hell are you?’ she snapped.

  ‘Happy New Year to you too,’ I said. ‘I suppose you’ve spoken to Ryan then?’

  ‘Don’t get arsey with me.’ Her voice rose. ‘D’you have any idea what you’re doing to Mum?’

  ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘Eve’s dad’s been calling and yelling at her since early this morning. She’s had to leave the phone off the hook. He’s threatening to kill you or get you sent to prison or God knows what. He’s been on at Ry, too. Demanding to know where Eve is. Course Ry swore blind he hadn’t seen either of you. But he told me about Alejandro turning up. You’ve got to come home, Luke. Mum’s off her head worrying about—’

  ‘Well, she 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