Super Dark (Super Dark Trilogy) Read Free Page A

stirred it a little, and handed her the cup.
    “Thanks, darling.” For a moment, she stood in the doorway with a vacant expression, sipping her black, sugarless coffee. Her long brown hair clung loosely to her face in soft, fuzzy curls, and her usually immaculate make-up was smeared. But even a hailstorm couldn’t have diminished her beauty.
    My mother was slim and delicately put together, with eyes as large and as hazel as mine. Sadly, that was the only feature I’d inherited from her. Everything else I got from my dad: my pale complexion, my freckles, and even my dimpled chin. I’d always wished I looked more like Mum. Next to her, I always felt so short and stumpy, but she consoled me by saying she wished she had my “strong, athletic legs.” I had another word for them: chunky.
    “How was school?” Mum’s question snapped me from my reverie.
    “Okay,” I said with a shrug.
    “Make any new friends?”
    “Nope, but a girl recognized me today,” I replied sullenly. “A girl named Becky, from my English class. She started asking all sorts of questions.”
    Mum sipped her drink in silent reflection. “Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. It always does. Let me know if she keeps bothering you and I’ll tell someone at the school to have a word with her.”
    “No need for that,” I said hastily. “I probably just need to develop a thicker skin. But sometimes I get so sick of everything, you know? I’m tired of all the questions … tired of people dragging up the past.”
    “Tell me about it.” Mum placed the mug on the sideboard and took out a packet of Pall Malls. She was seized by a sudden coughing fit, but a puff of the cigarette seemed to quiet it. “So, what do you have planned for the weekend? Anything exciting?”
    I shook my head. “I’ll probably go down by Anne and Neil. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them and I keep meaning to go.”
    Mum looked uncomfortable. Anne and Neil were Elliot’s parents. Despite everything, I’d managed to remain close to them. They regularly sent me Christmas and birthday cards, and twice a year, I traveled back to my old neighborhood to visit them. A couple of years earlier, Mum had severed all contact with Neil. I didn’t know all the ins and outs of their quarrel, but from what I gathered, it had something to do with money.
    When Elliot was abducted, Dad and Neil had set up an appeal fund, and thousands of pounds of public donations had poured in. Then, when some of the accounts didn’t tally, Neil had accused my father of stealing. In the end, the matter was resolved, with Neil admitting he’d been wrong about Dad, but Mum still hadn’t forgiven him.
    I hadn’t let my parents’ quarrel affect my opinion of Anne and Neil, who had always been so lovely to me. I felt it my duty to stay in touch. I owed it to Elliot. His parents were alone and childless now, and they saw me as a sort of surrogate daughter. How could I deny them my friendship?
    Mum chose her next words carefully. “Darling, I’m worried about you. Shouldn’t you be spending more time with people your own age? I mean, Neil and Anne are great, but shouldn’t you, well . . .” She paused to take a drag on her cigarette. “You hardly ever go out anymore. When you’re not at school, you spend all day sleeping or on that blasted cross-trainer. I’m telling you, it isn’t healthy. A girl your age should be going out, having fun, doing things other teenagers do.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You’re just saying that because you don’t like Neil.”
    “It’s got nothing to do with that,” she countered. “I just don’t want you throwing your life away when there’s so much you could be doing. I mean, when was the last time you went on a date?”
    “Oh god, not that old chestnut,” I groaned.
    “I’m serious, Sam. When was the last time?”
    “When was the last time you had a date?” I retorted.
    She stubbed out her cigarette in frustration. “This isn’t about me.