13 Minutes Read Online Free

again.
    ‘Too small,’ Becca said, trying to return one of her own. She felt uncomfortable again, which was just stupid. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
    ‘So Natasha was happy as far as you know?’
    They all nodded.
    ‘Does she have a boyfriend?’
    ‘Nothing serious,’ Hayley said. ‘Boys like Natasha but there’s no one she’s really interested in. And no one was creeping her out or anything. She’d have said.’
    ‘Does she sneak out of the house often?’ She watched them all then, as if the other questions had merely been fluff to gently rest this one on. A pregnant pause followed as Hayley and Jenny considered how honest to be.
    ‘Sometimes. Not often,’ Hayley answered. ‘Her parents are really lax, to be honest. They let her do pretty much what she wants, but if she did sneak out late, she’d go through her bedroom window and climb down the tree at the back. It still has a rope ladder on it from when she was a kid.’
    ‘Her parents might want to consider taking that down,’ Bennett said dryly.
    She asked a few more questions, anodyne stuff about school and other friends who might be useful, and then, apparently satisfied, left.
    Even though there was one less person in the room, it suddenly felt a lot smaller to Becca, just her and Hayley and Jenny, awkward in each other’s company. Well, she felt awkward. It probably wasn’t the same for the other two, their bodies turned towards each other slightly, squeezing Becca out, as if she was a stranger.
    ‘Maybe we should bring some of her stuff,’ Jenny said quietly, looking to Hayley for approval, her face tight, teeth nibbling at one perfectly painted fingernail. ‘You know, music and shit from her bedroom. It might help wake her up.’
    Hayley nodded. ‘I’ll ask Gary for the house keys. It’ll be good to get out of here for an hour or so – we must be starting to stink of disinfectant.’
    ‘You should probably check with that detective first,’ Becca said. ‘She might not want anyone touching Tasha’s things.’
    Hayley glanced at Becca, irritated that she was still there. ‘Your hair looks like it could use some medicated shampoo, Bex. You should ask one of the nurses for a bottle.’
    ‘Maybe you should get something for your crabs,’ Becca snapped back. The three girls stared at each other, contempt and a thousand social differences hanging in the air, no need for feigned politeness now the policewoman had gone.
    ‘God, you’re gross,’ Jenny said.
    ‘Just like her boyfriend.’ Hayley didn’t even look at Becca as she headed to the door. ‘Barrel-scraping.’
    ‘Just so long as they don’t breed.’
    Becca looked down at her phone and pretended to scroll through it until they were gone, her stomach twisting slightly. She hadn’t cared what they thought of her for a long time – why should she start now? Pretentious, prissy bitches, that’s all they were. So was Natasha. Why had she even come here? And where was Aiden? As if reading her mind, her phone pinged. Taking Jamie home. Will come back for you. Hour maybe? Sorry x
    Fucking great. At least the Barbies were gone.
    She flicked a quick okay back at Aiden, trying not to sound irritated even though she was, and then went in search of a drinks machine. Her mouth was still dry from last night and the waiting room was too warm.
     
    *
    She was scouring her coat pockets for change when Gary Howland found her.
    ‘Rebecca. Let me. I was going to get a coffee anyway.’
    ‘Thanks.’ He looked tired and his sweater was crumpled, no doubt pulled on fast when his world collapsed early that morning. She felt sorry for him. The Howlands, from Natasha upwards, lived charmed lives from what Becca could see. Until this, anyway. It must have come as a shock.
    ‘What do you want?’ he asked.
    ‘Diet Coke, please.’
    He pressed the buttons and the bottle hit the tray loudly.
    ‘Is Mrs Howland okay?’ she asked. A stupid question but she didn’t know what else to say. In all