Page 34 of Wanting Daisy Dead

Lauren

Maddie’s on edge. She reckons a breakfast hamper will land any minute, and she keeps going to the door to check.

She’s like a cat on hot bricks, and after last night’s dramas she’s adding to my jumpiness.

I had to stand under a hot shower for a long time to get the stench of the red wine out of my hair.

‘Are Georgie and Dan still in bed?’ Alex asks.

‘I’ve no idea,’ I lie, my stomach lurching. It was early morning, and still dark, when I woke to see someone standing by my bed, watching me. I screamed, but he put his hand on my mouth to keep me quiet, and that’s when I knew it was him.

I was still angry about what Georgie had done, and even angrier that he hadn’t tried to stop her. I told him to get lost, but he pushed his face in my neck, and whispered that he was missing me. Within seconds I could feel my anger, and my willpower, drifting away in the darkness.

‘I can’t bear for you to be just inches away and I can’t have you,’ he panted in my ear, and that was it.

I’m dragged away from this delicious memory by Alex asking if I want coffee.

‘Yes please.’ I flop on to a chair, exhausted from lack of sleep, but it was worth it.

‘You okay? You tired?’ Maddie says.

‘Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep last night.’

Maddie puts her head to one side in sympathy. ‘Was it the thing with Georgie?’

‘Yeah. I have to warn you guys, breakfast may be as unpleasant this morning as she was last night.’

‘Yeah, we all ducked when that wine hit the air.’ Alex smirks, which isn’t quite the support I’d hoped for. My only consolation regarding what happened is that it will be in my book – and probably the podcast too.

‘Try not to take things too much to heart,’ Maddie says sweetly. ‘I think Georgie was just feeling attacked.’

‘I’m sorry, Maddie, but you can’t justify the fact that Georgie assaulted me last night.’

‘It was just a glass of wine,’ she sing-songs, blonde ponytail swinging, smile big and bright.

‘Maddie, it’s a stressful situation for all of us, but you didn’t see anyone else throwing wine over their fellow dinner guests last night.

She’s out of control, like a wild animal.

Georgie’s always angry with someone, and her rhetoric was violent and unforgiving.

She scares me!’ I add, just to drive it home. Maddie’s so bloody slow on the uptake.

Alex smiles at this. ‘Yeah, she hasn’t changed.

She used to overreact to everything. It always made me laugh,’ he says like we’re ambling down memory lane together.

Do either of these zombies get how serious it was last night?

‘Like, she’d come storming into the house threatening to decapitate someone because they’d pulled out in front of her on the road,’ he says, still smiling.

Maddie laughs. ‘Yeah, she once threatened to stab a waitress because her coffee was cold. Not to her face, but she muttered it as she walked away.’

I don’t laugh; I want them to see that Georgie isn’t funny, she’s deranged!

‘Christ, who knows what she’s capable of,’ I say pointedly, hoping these two pick up what I’m saying. ‘Daisy used to impersonate her, you know – I can see her now, heavy frown, arms wrapped ludicrously around herself, pacing around her room wiping surfaces with a kitchen towel. So funny.’

‘Oh yeah, I just remembered another one,’ Maddie says. ‘She yelled at the lady in the campus canteen, threatened to “smash up” the kitchens because they’d run out of cheese-and-onion tart.’

‘Joking aside, though, she once took a knife to Daisy because she wouldn’t turn the TV over,’ I say, and wait for their shock and outrage.

But Alex ruins my proof of Georgie’s violent nature by correcting me because, annoyingly, he was there.

‘I don’t think that’s quite how it happened,’ he starts, and my heart sinks.

‘Georgie was chopping peppers, had the knife in her hand and wandered in to ask Daisy if she could watch another programme. Daisy was so scared of her she freaked out. It was so funny, but even Daisy laughed about it.’

‘I remember it differently,’ I reply. It bothers me that they’re talking about her like she’s harmless and hilarious.

I need to impress upon them that she’s dangerous and violent.

But they’re both so slow-witted they just assume we’re reminiscing with affection about funny Georgie.

Where are the others? Bring on the adults, not the clowns!

I refuse to let this go, and move the conversation back to last night.

‘I’d done nothing, I was just having dinner, and .

.. and she openly attacked me. It was frenzied ,’ I say, deliberately echoing a word the police used to describe Daisy’s murder.

I’m keen to push the idea of Georgie as a violent, out-of-control potential killer.

‘I think you handled it very well, Lauren,’ Maddie says, patting my shoulder. ‘By the way, I googled it and apparently putting rice on wine stains can help. We could try that on your dress if there’s any rice in the cupboards.’

‘No, there isn’t,’ I say, just to stop her talking about this.

It’s boring. I’m so over the stained hire dress.

I have no idea if there’s any rice in the cupboard – and what’s more, I’m not interested.

I don’t even care about the very expensive hire dress.

What I am interested in is ensuring that everyone, including these two bozos, believes Georgie is capable of murder.

‘I’m not angry with Georgie, I’m genuinely concerned for her and her mental health,’ I say with a pious smile. ‘The woman has serious anger issues.’ I pause a moment, then lean forward and speak quietly. ‘I think she needs help.’ I’m nodding as I say this. ‘I mean professional help.’

They look at me, then each other, but I still don’t think they’ve bought into it. I have to remember I’m not talking to Dan or Daisy or even Georgie, and I desperately try to think of simple anecdotes that they can understand.

‘She can be a bit crazy,’ Alex confirms.

Finally! I’m seeing a chink of light, and want to yell, ‘Hallelujah!’

‘But not crazy as in kooky, I mean really crazy,’ I add, just to confirm we’re all in the same ball park here.

‘Yeah. I find that wild-eyed craziness strangely sexy,’ Alex announces.

I’m horrified. ‘Alex, psychopaths are not sexy!’

‘Nah, she’s a pussycat,’ he says, in an almost admiring tone. Unable to compete with Alex’s apparently still-surging hormones, I bring out the big guns to get them onside.

‘Guys ... I’m writing a book – but not fiction, this time it’s true crime. It’s about Daisy, and us, and I’m going to include stuff about this weekend and—’

‘ Everything? ’ Maddie looks doubtful.

‘Man, that’s heavy.’ Alex’s eyes are wide in wonder at this, like he’s suddenly woken up.

‘Yes ... A memoir of my time here, as Daisy’s best friend. Then and now ... Actually, I quite like that title,’ I murmur.

‘Wouldn’t you have to ask permission from Daisy’s mother?’ Maddie asks.

‘No. I won’t be asking anyone’s mother!’ I snap.

Honestly, I’d forgotten how irritating Maddie can be.

Then I realise by her face that I just snapped at her, so say in my ‘kind teacher’ voice, ‘I would need some people’s permission, and I’d have to be careful about what I write, of course.

But as long as it’s true and there’s nothing slanderous, I’d just be giving my account of the weekend.

And I hate to say it, but Georgie hasn’t exactly covered herself in glory these past two days, and it’s all going in the book. ’

Hopefully I’ve done enough here to point them in Georgie’s direction, and get any heat off me. After all, if I was guilty of murdering someone, I’d hardly write a book about it, would I?

‘I need to call Richard and my daughter,’ I lie. ‘I won’t be long.’ I stand up.

‘Oh, but the breakfast should be here soon.’ Maddie’s clearly still dealing with her eating disorder, and I stroke her ponytail affectionately, but she moves away.

‘Sorry,’ I say, unsure what I’m apologising for.

‘I just don’t like ... to be touched,’ she says. I reckon there’s a lot to unpack there; I hope one day she’ll let me help her, but for now I have to call Finty with all the book news.

But before I can move from the kitchen, I’m suddenly face to face with my aggressor. She’s in full make-up and a red jumper, with matching tight red lips and her arms folded. Ready for battle?

We face each other in silence, both standing our ground.

‘Duck!’ Alex suddenly says under his breath, and for a moment we continue to stare. But Maddie and Alex are sniggering at his joke, and the implication that Georgie may randomly hurl more wine at me is vaguely amusing.

Her eyes are flashing fire, but then seem to soften, and a half-smile plays on her lips.

‘Okay, Alex, you’re a funny guy,’ she concedes, and when she turns back to me her smile fades as usual, but she seems to be struggling to say something.

‘Lauren ... I ... I’m sorry,’ she blurts out, opening up her arms awkwardly.

‘It’s okay,’ I mutter, stepping forward with caution to receive the coldest, stiffest embrace I’ve ever endured.

‘I completely overreacted, it was a ... tense evening, but no excuses. I lost control, and – I’m embarrassed.’

‘Don’t be – it’s ... it’s okay. Just a shame it had to happen.’

‘Yay! Breakfast has arrived,’ Maddie yells, breaking into the awkward aftermath of the apology.

‘How does she know the breakfast’s here?’ I turn to Alex as she skips to the front door.

‘Maddie can smell baked goods from twenty miles away.’ He smiles, watching her fondly as she runs to the door.

I decide not to escape on the pretext of calling Richard; Finty can wait.

Besides, it would seem rude to go now, after Georgie’s apology.

So, I sit down again to join them as Maddie returns with the hamper, her face pink with pleasure at the prospect of breakfast.

When Dan finally appears, Georgie and I are playing nice over maple pecan plaits.

His hair is all mussed up, and I’m surprised again how good-looking he is and how attracted I am to him; it hits me every time.

I watch discreetly as he plonks himself down at the table and takes a croissant, then looks straight at me, eyes on mine, a little secret smile.

I get a flashback to this morning, his hands all over my body, silently pulling off my T-shirt and lifting me up as I wrapped my legs around him.

God, it was so good. The fact we had to be silent so no one would hear made it all the more thrilling.

And later, when we lay on the floor, my head on his chest, damp with sweat despite the cold morning, I felt such bliss.

‘I can’t wait until we can be together forever,’ I sighed.

‘Me too,’ he replied huskily. And sitting at this table with him now, so near and yet so far, I feel warm and fuzzy and girlish.

I haven’t felt like this in years, and I hold his gaze, licking my lips suggestively.

After what happened just a few hours ago, and his reassurances about our future together, I feel brave.

I don’t care if anyone sees me flirting so openly; he’s got my back and I’ve got his.

We’ve been seeing each other in secret since I bumped into him in London just a couple of months ago.

It was late September. He suggested we go for drinks, and told me he and Georgie had had a difficult summer – he didn’t say why, but he didn’t need to.

I imagine being married to her is very difficult, regardless of the season.

It wasn’t long before we were meeting in hotels, and it wasn’t the first time we’d slept together.

We had a fling as students, and I’ve always had a crush on him, but now it’s developed into something real.

I can’t drag my eyes away from his laughing blue eyes and the mouth I long to kiss. Georgie’s looking at me, I can feel her gaze from the side, but I’m not hiding anymore. She’ll know soon enough, because when we get home I’m asking Richard for a divorce, and Dan’s asking Georgie.