Someone Else's Life Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t wait very long, did you?” I gesture to the photo. “What? A few weeks? You couldn’t have loved me that much.”
    He falters.
    “ I was waiting for you ,” I tell him. “I couldn’t believe you’d gone without me. All summer I was waiting for you to call, to come and see me when you got back. I needed you.” I swallow hard. “But you never did.”
    He looks away. “I thought … I thought you’d dumped me.”
    “And I thought you’d dumped me,” I say sadly. “But I didn’t jump into bed with the next guy who came along!”
    “She wasn’t—”
    “And how dare you, how dare you try to tell me who I can and can’t be with now ?!”
    “What?”
    “You’re such a hypocrite, Andy. Here you are with another girl immediately after we break up, and yet now, a year and a half later, you go mental when I’m with someone else!”
    “That’s not what happened!”
    “What?” I ask incredulously. “You practically ripped Kyle off me!”
    “Well, yes—but only because I was worried about you!”
    “ Worried about me? Is that why you snogged me too?”
    “Actually, you snogged me ,” Andy reminds me.
    “Yeah? Well … I was drunk!” I retort bitterly, my cheeks burning.
    “Exactly!”
    “What?”
    “Rose … you were off your head. You didn’t know what you were doing, and … after last time …” He swallows. “I’m sorry. It should never have happened. It was a mistake.”
    A mistake . My heart crumples as I look away, my gaze snagging on a picture right at the edge of the montage, almost hidden behind the others. It’s me. Me and Andy. Our first date. We’d gone ice-skating, followed by fish and chips, of all things, sitting out under the stars with our newspaper wrappers. I stare at the photo. Our cheeks are flushed, our eyes bright with laughter. We look so happy. I close my eyes against the tears.
    “Rosie,” Andy sighs. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I was just trying to look out for you last night—I didn’t want you to do anything you’d regret.”
    I swallow hard.
    “But you’re right, if you want to go out with Kyle, with anyone …” He sighs. “That’s your business.”
    I screw my eyes up tighter. There’s only you. There’s only ever been you …
    “I know you’ve had a rough time lately, with your mum and everything …,” he says gently. “But I really wish you’d told me about her. I would’ve understood, Rose. I would’ve been there for you.”
    My throat swells with regret. If only I’d called him that day — explained. He’s right. What was he supposed to think? What did I expect him to do? This is all my fault — if I’d only told him the truth, things might’ve been so different …
    “But I understand why you didn’t,” he admits. “It’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it?”
    I look up sharply.
    “I just mean it can’t have been easy,” he says quickly. “Giving up Sixth Form to look after your alcoholic mother.”
    My jaw drops. “What?”
    “Rosie.” He hesitates. “I know you tried to keep it quiet, but we all saw her, okay? Staggering down the street, slurring and spilling things everywhere …”
    I stare at him, dumbfounded, an icy numbness gripping my insides. An image of Kyle’s stupid tottering walk floats through my mind.
    He sighs. “I know she couldn’t help it, it was an addiction, but look what she put you through. Missing your A levels, your friends—eighteen months of your life!”
    “What?! No!” I interrupt, my cheeks hot. “Andy, Mum was not an alcoholic!”
    “Rose, come on—”
    “I can’t believe —How could you!” I stare at him incredulously. “I mean, Kyle’s one thing, but you , how could you think she … You knew Mum. You knew her!” I push past him and thunder down the stairs.
    “Rosie!” He races after me. “Rosie, I’m sorry!”
    I fling open the front door.
    “Rosie, wait—” He catches my arm. “I’m sorry, I know she was your mum—you loved her—I