The Faithless - Martina Cole [45]
It was cut and dried to him; he saw, he conquered, and he came. Then he went home. Unlike Jonny, he liked to keep his life as uncomplicated as possible.
Chapter Thirty-Five
‘Come on, Celeste, have a bit of lunch – you’ll feel better for it.’
Celeste smiled gratefully, and dutifully ate her salad sandwich. She liked it at Cynthia’s house; it was clean, and it was orderly, and best of all she couldn’t smell the blood here. She couldn’t get that smell out of her nostrils and she couldn’t get the picture of Kevin Bryant out of her mind. The fact that her sister had killed him didn’t bother her one bit; she knew Cynthia had done it to save her life, and that she could brutally kill a man wasn’t something she thought about. Cynthia was her saviour and that was that.
Today, with her mum there too, and the kids squabbling on the kitchen floor, she felt the best she had felt since it had happened. Gabby got on to her lap and Celeste hugged the child to her tightly. She needed the warmth of these children to make her believe that life was normal once more, even though inside herself she knew it could never be normal again.
Jonny was looking for a new house for them because she refused to ever set foot in that other one again as long as she lived. She knew that Jonny was annoyed with her, not that he said anything of course, but she could feel his impatience with her. But she wasn’t like him, she couldn’t shrug this off as if it was an occupational hazard – it might be for him, but for her it was a nightmare he had brought on her and she didn’t know if she could ever forgive him. She hoped so, because she loved him with all her being. But his actions had caused this turmoil and upset, and she couldn’t quite get over that yet.
Gabby seemed to sense her auntie’s upset and she snuggled into her like she was trying to take it on herself. Celeste hugged her little body as if it was a life raft. James Junior watched them silently, and Celeste felt the tears prick once more, at the innocence of these children. The same innocence she had once possessed, and now it was gone from her. She had seen death in its rawest form, and it had blighted her life.
Crying silently, she didn’t see the look that was exchanged between her mother and sister. She didn’t understand that they thought it was time she let it go and sorted herself out. Celeste had never been strong like them, and that was why she couldn’t forget the sight of Kevin Bryant with half his head gone, the blood seeping out of his body and making a heart shape on the concrete floor. For the thousandth time, she wondered what his wife and children were going through, and how they would ever come to terms with his disappearance. Four little children and a wife. Everyone said Kevin Bryant’s wife was a nice girl. Why was it always the nice girls who had their hearts broken?
Gabby was trying to wipe her auntie’s eyes, as she felt herself being lifted off her lap. It was obvious her nana was going to take them back to her house, but Gabby wanted to stay here. So did James Junior, who was beginning to kick up his usual fuss. For once though her mum was being nice to him and wasn’t shouting at him. In fact, her mum was being nice to everyone and they were calling Cynthia a ‘Brahma’, and she knew that the way they said it meant it was something good. But Gabby allowed her nana to put her coat on, and take her and her sobbing brother back to her house. After all, she was a kid and she had to do what she was told.
Whether she wanted to or not.
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘Come on, Celeste, you have to at least look at the