“Seems so? She either did or she didn’t, Caz.” Hannah scoffed, then threw up her hands. “What the hell is going on? Kirsty may be a bit out of sorts at the minute, but she’d never do anything to hurt Edie.”
Taken aback by Hannah’s reaction, Caroline took a step, then another away. “I was just trying to help. She was about to put your daughter in the back of her car!”
“Caz,” Hannah said, reaching out a hand.
“No. Please don’t. Whether we’re together or not, I have a duty of care for every student in this building. If I see something suspicious, I have to act on it.”
“And I’m glad you did.”
“Tell that to your attitude.” Caroline straightened her blazer out and opened the door to the office. “Hey, Edie.” She waved a hand in front of Edie, smiling when she removed her earphones. “Your mum is going to take you home, okay?”
“With you?”
“No, sweetheart. Not with me. But I’ll see you real soon, okay?”
Edie lowered her eyes, nodding slowly. “Kay. Bye, Ms Baker.”
“Bye, Edie.” Caroline turned to Hannah. “The police will be coming to see you. They need a statement from Edie. I should head home in case they turn up at mine.”
“The…police?”
“Yes. I had to call them. That may not have been what you wanted, but as I said, I have a duty. I’ll see you soon, okay?” Caroline stepped away, but Hannah stopped her. “Hannah, please. I really need to leave now.”
Hannah backed away and held up a hand. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Take care of Edie. I’m certain she’s fine and doesn’t know what’s happened, but just…keep an eye on her.”
Caroline took her bag from the side of the chair she’d been sitting on when Hannah arrived and left the building. She didn’t look back, she didn’t reconsider, she just kept walking. As the adrenaline began to wear off, the pain tripled.
* * *
“Yes, okay. Thanks.”
Hannah stared at her phone when the screen dimmed, her head spinning. She’d been home for two hours, and she could barely understand what had happened. Edie had been quiet, but she would have to speak up eventually because that had been a call from a police officer telling Hannah they would be with her soon.
“Edie?” Hannah called her daughter from the bottom of the stairs. “Could you come down?”
Edie’s bedroom door opened, and heavy footsteps followed. “What for? Has Caz called? Is she coming over?”
“No, love. I texted her, but I’ve not heard back yet.” Hannah noted the sadness in her daughter’s eyes as she landed in the hallway and walked away. “Is everything okay? Did you want to talk about what happened?”
Edie sniffled. “Mum, I’m sorry. If I’d just gone with Kirsty, you and Caz wouldn’t have broken up.”
What? Broken up?This was news to Hannah. News she really hoped was entirely off the mark. “Why would you think that?”
“Because she’s angry with me now.” Edie wiped a hand across one cheek, and then the other. “Why did you ask Kirsty to pick me up from school?”
“I didn’t. Caz did the right thing.” She was sure of that even if Hannah still wasn’t quite sure what had happened. “Was Kirsty mean to you? D-did she hurt you?”
“No. But she wouldn’t let go of me.” Edie flopped down on the couch, pulling at the cuff of her hoodie. “Mum, if something was wrong…like, between you and Caz, would you tell me? I-if you didn’t love each other anymore because of Kirsty.”
“Of course I would. But Caz and I are fine.” Hannah hoped so, anyway. It was difficult to know how Caroline was feeling because she wasn’t accepting Hannah’s calls. Still, Hannah understood. The last thing Caroline would have wanted was to call the police today. Hannah sat beside her daughter, squeezing her knee. “And would you tell me if something was wrong? If you knew more than you wanted to say, would you tell me?”
“Yeah. It’s just… Is Caz at the hospital?”
“Why would Caz be at the hospital?” Caroline, as far as Hannah knew, had gone home to wait for the police. The reason she hadn’t heard from her—Hannah assumed—was because of that. But then Hannah recalled the way she’d spoken to Caroline. She could have handled it all far better than she had. “Edie?”
“Kirsty punched her.”