Angel Kiss by Laura Jane Cassidy Page A

‘Oh … you were great too, Sarah.’
    She looked at him blankly.
    ‘Seriously though,’ said Colin, turning to me. ‘I’m your new number one fan. Can I design your album cover when you’re famous?’
    ‘Ha, sure,’ I promised.
    ‘Simon just texted me,’ said Nick. ‘Himself and the lads are having a few cans up in the forest. Will we head up to them?’
    ‘All right,’ said Colin. ‘You’ll come too, won’t you, Jacki?’
    ‘Where?’ I asked.
    ‘The forest. There’s a clearing up behind the mines, just past your house. We hang out there sometimes.’
    ‘Yeah, sure, I’ll come.’ I couldn’t help thinking back to Beth Cullen. Not that it mattered – I was hardly going to be wanderingaround there in the dark on my own. Anyway, there was nothing to be afraid of.
    Nick’s phone buzzed again. He stared at the screen for a few moments, a look of confusion on his face. Then he turned to Sarah.
    ‘Babe, what’s this?’ he asked, showing her the phone.
    She took a few seconds to answer, and suddenly looked very flustered.
    ‘Em … I … I can explain; it’s not what –’ She put her hand on his arm.
    ‘Is it a joke?’ he said, looking at the screen again.
    ‘Listen, Nick, I was wasted … I didn’t –’
    ‘So you’re not even denying it?’ he said, pushing her hand away. ‘I don’t believe this.’ Then he stuffed his phone in his pocket and hurried towards the door.
    ‘Nick, wait!’ shouted Sarah, running after him.
    ‘What was that all about?’ I said.
    ‘Dunno,’ said Colin. ‘They’re always fighting. Come on, let’s go to the forest. They’ll catch up.’

Chapter 9
    We turned left before the disused Avarna coal mines and followed a path that led to the forest. It was so dark I could hardly see beyond the narrow conifers in front of me. Once we ventured into the forest, the path wound and turned and I couldn’t tell in which direction we were heading. I struggled to keep up with Colin, who knew this section of the forest so well that he could find his way easily in the darkness. I followed a metre or so behind, using my phone as a torch, careful not to trip over any protruding roots. Twigs snapped under my feet and the occasional sound rustled in the treetops above my head.
    There was still no sign of Nick or Sarah. If that fight was anything like the ones Cian and I used to have, it would probably go on for ages. I still couldn’t believe how much time I’d wasted arguing with him. Deep down I must have known I was unhappy, but I just couldn’t let him go. And when I finally broke up with him I wasted even more time. I locked myself in my room and did nothing except eat giant chocolate buttons, listen to non-love songs and read music biographies. Mum had tried to coax me out with the promise of shopping trips, but eventually she’d given up.
    Hannah had wanted to throw me a break-up party (she’dnever liked Cian), but I refused to leave my room. That’s a week of my life I’ll never get back. Although I did get through quite a few biographies. I now know that Patti Smith was superstitious and that Kurt Cobain liked to collect heart-shaped boxes. If I ever get famous, I pity the person who has to write my biography. When they look through my life they won’t find many interesting facts or quirky details. But I suppose I do have the standard dysfunctional relationship to my name.
    I’ve always been amazed at how strange a thing love can be. It can steal all sense of logic from even the smartest of people. I was pretty sure Sarah was not ‘the one’ for Nick, but I knew how relationships worked, so I wasn’t expecting him to realize that any time soon. At least Colin agreed that she wasn’t right for him. But who was I to know what was really going on? I barely knew either of them.
    ‘Hey, wait up,’ I said as I hurried through the darkness. Colin was resting against one of the tree trunks, waiting until I caught up.
    ‘What’s that over there?’ I