Sleeping Angel (Ravenwood Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

creatures with long teeth and claws. April suddenly felt a crushing sadness as she realised that nothing her mother could say or do could bring the old certainties of a normal family life back.
    ‘I do miss you, you know,’ began Silvia. ‘Please come back; your old room is ready for you.’
    ‘Oh no,’ said April, ‘We are not having that discussion. If you want to talk about what’s happened to dad’s body, fine, but let’s not get into this. You know very well why I’m not living here anymore.’
    ‘No, April, I don’t,’ said Silvia, turning to look directly at her. ‘I really don’t understand it.’
    April was surprised how angry she felt. ‘Because you lied to me,’ she cried. ‘Because you lied to dad , because you lied about your affair with a man who tried to kill me. Is that enough?’
    ‘All right,’ said Silvia, ‘Perhaps I’m not the model mother ...’
    ‘The model mother? You’ve barely even tried to be a mother. When did you ever act like a mother? I can’t remember one instance of you making me a packed lunch, helping me with my homework, even tucking me in at night.’
    ‘But I did!’
    ‘No – dad did everything like that. You never even came to see me in school plays.’
    Silvia frowned. ‘I’m sure I remember seeing a nativity play. Weren’t you Mary?’
    ‘That was your friend Amanda’s daughter Sophie,’ said April, tight-lipped. ‘You went to her play because it was at some swanky public school where you might meet important people over cocktails.’
    ‘Fine. I’m a terrible parent,’ said Silvia, crossing her arms. ‘It’s clear you’ve made up your mind about that. But however much you hate me, it won’t change the way I feel about you, April. I love you. And I want you to be safe.’
    ‘How are you planning to achieve that exactly? Move me back in here? It wasn’t exactly safe for dad, was it?’
    ‘That’s not fair,’ said Silvia.
    ‘Isn’t it? You said it to the policeman yourself – they haven’t got a clue what’s going on in Highgate and they’ve no way of protecting me – of protecting any of us. So what makes you think you can protect me here either?’
    ‘I’d never let anyone hurt you,’ said Silvia, her eyes fierce.
    ‘Really? You’ve done a pretty good job of that on your own.’ April regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Her mother flinched as if she’d been slapped.
    ‘Look ... I didn’t mean it like that,’ April said, but Silvia had turned away shaking her head.
    Great. Now I’m the bad guy, thought April.
    The odd thing was, April had never really minded that Silvia wasn’t a conventional Barbies-and-baking sort of mother. That was just the way she was – self-absorbed and irresponsible. It certainly wasn’t Silvia’s failings as a mother which had pushed April away – it was her lies.
    ‘If only you could understand how hard it has been for me,’ said Silvia, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
    ‘Hard for you?’ said April. ‘You brought this on yourself, mum – be honest.’
    The last thing April wanted right now was to get into a war of words about the ins and outs of her mother’s infidelity, but ever since that night in Sheldon’s house, April had been haunted by his words: ‘Your mother came crawling after me like a dog on heat’.
    Silvia had always maintained that moving to London was William’s idea, that she was only here under sufferance, yet Sheldon had laughed at that, said Silvia had talked her father into it, then begged Sheldon to start a relationship. April wanted to know the truth even though nothing could bring her father back.
    ‘Look, I think I’d better go,’ said April, reaching for her coat. ‘Besides, grandad will be worrying.’
    ‘April, can’t we talk about it like adults?’ said Silvia, turning back to her, a note of pleading in her voice. ‘I want you to understand what happened with your father and what happened with Robert and ...’
    ‘No,