Forget Me Never

had said? But if I did I’d never find out the truth about Dani, and the need to know was interfering with everything now. I was sure I’d never feel normal again – not until I understood.
    Before I knew it, it was nearly two o’clock. I went to one of the nearby bakeries and picked up a bag of potato borekas. What was I going to do next? Julie and the kids would be at the zoo by now; it was too late to join them. My school holiday assignments needed work and I hadn’t finished sorting through my wardrobe to see what I could give to the charity shop. Or I could ask Paloma what she was doing. Before I’d found that USB I would have been happy doing any of these things. Now it all seemed trivial.
    And that was when I knew there was no way I could let it go. It wasn’t that Aiden hadn’t scared me; he had. But I didn’t think I could stomach the alternative.
    I took out my mobile. I had a new message – from Reece, asking if I was OK. I slipped the last boreka into my mouth. Things had been weird with Reece last night, but maybe yelling at him had been an overreaction. He was doing this for me, after all – no one else cared enough to do that. I dialled his number.
    ‘Hey,’ Reece said. I could hear rumbling and people chatting in the background.
    ‘Hi,’ I said. ‘How was last night?’
    ‘OK. Another cricketer turned up, but he only played for Sussex back in the eighties and wasn’t that interesting. Didn’t see Aiden. Guess he left. You OK?’
    ‘Fine. Sorry I had a go.’
    There was a pause. Neither of us was good with apologies.
    ‘Well,’ Reece said. ‘I’m on my way to Brent Cross – if the crappy bus ever gets there, that is. I’m babysitting the poddling cos Mum’s got a headache, but if you don’t mind playing with the train set in the Early Learning Centre, we could hang out.’
    Relieved that my apology seemed to have been accepted, I ended the call. Brent Cross Shopping Centre was practically on my doorstep. My favourite part used to be the fountain in the main foyer. Above it was a big coloured-glass dome which little kids always used to stand oohing and aahing at. Both ceiling and fountain had gone now. Instead there was a stage area where some kind of event was usually going on. It was there that I waited for Reece and Neve.
    ‘Thought you were never going to show,’ I said when they arrived. ‘What was it this time, roadworks at Finchley Central?’
    ‘Naturally,’ Reece said. Neve tugged on his arm. She was wearing a blue-and-white-check dress and had a little matching bag. When I said she looked nice, she gave me a twirl.
    ‘It’s new. Look at my bag.’
    The bag had crayons and a little notepad inside, already full of Neve’s drawings. After I’d admired them we set off for the Early Learning Centre. The train set covered a huge table in the middle. A number of small children were wheeling them along the track, making choo-choo noises. Neve grabbed a red train from the shelf and joined them. Reece picked up a plastic dinosaur and pretended to attack me with it.
    ‘Would’ve loved this junk as a kid. Neve doesn’t know how lucky she is.’
    ‘Where d’you think we go next?’
    He sighed. ‘The sarcastic part of me wants to say the Disney Store, but I’m guessing you’re not talking about shops. I dunno, Soph.’
    I told him about running into Aiden outside McIntyre’s house. Reece stared at me with an expression I hadn’t seen before. It made him look older.
    ‘Why didn’t you say ? Heck, why didn’t you call me? I was right there! Did he hurt you? We should go back to the police, Soph the guy’s a creep!’
    I wasn’t so sure he was right. When I met Aiden on the swings, he’d had an apologetic demeanour – and somehow there’d been a hint of that yesterday too. I’d been frightened, but he’d seemed almost desperate. I was starting to wonder how willing a participant he was in whatever they were up to.
    ‘He didn’t hurt me.’ I changed the subject. Reece gave me a sceptical look, but he didn’t press me. We stayed in the Early Learning Centre until the attendant started to give us shirty looks, then moved on to a couple of other shops Neve liked. By four o’clock we were all peckish, so we visited the frozen-yogurt stand and sat on one of the many benches in the aisle between the shops to eat them. There was a ‘Summer Grotto’ display on the stage area, which seemed to involved adults dressed up as Disney characters dancing with