The Keeper of Secrets by Amanda Brooke Page A

target. Angie was looking in the opposite direction and Elle followed her gaze. Rick was playing nervously with his cutlery and she couldn’t help but feel some vicarious satisfaction. She wished she could make him that unnerved.
    â€˜Do you remember what it was, Chris?’
    â€˜Angie,’ Chris warned.
    There was a gentle thump upstairs and all eyes were raised to the ceiling. Rick jumped up but Elle was faster, her fight-or-flight instinct paying dividends. ‘I’ll go,’ she said. ‘Angie, I hate to do this again, but do you mind checking on the main course?’
    It was a poorly disguised attempt to separate the warring factions and although Angie agreed she didn’t look defeated.
    There was a rustle of cotton sheets as Elle came into the bedroom. Charlie had tried to scramble back into bed but misjudged the jump and was slowly sliding off the opposite side of his rocket ship towards outer space.
    â€˜Come here,’ she said. Far from being angry she was only too happy to dodge the hostile environment downstairs and would have liked nothing better than to spend the rest of the evening cosying up with her son.
    â€˜Sorry,’ he said with a yawn.
    â€˜If you’re so tired, Charlie, then why aren’t you asleep?’
    He shrugged. It was his usual response.
    â€˜Not good enough,’ Elle said. She was trying to absorb some of Angie’s defiance. Whatever her weaknesses, surely she could assert her authority on a six-year-old child. ‘What is it?’
    Charlie didn’t reply but this time there was no dismissive shrug.
    â€˜Is there something you think you’re missing out on?’
    He shook his head.
    â€˜And you’re not having nightmares, are you?’
    Again a shake of the head.
    â€˜Then why are you so terrified of going to sleep?’
    Charlie squeezed himself closer to her, tensing his body and closing his eyes shut. Her heart beat a little faster as she realized he was preparing for a confession.
    â€˜I might not see you again,’ he said in one quick gasp.
    Elle blushed. Had Charlie picked up on her unhappiness? Did he think she was so desperate that one night she might run away? She couldn’t deny it was tempting. ‘I would never, ever leave you Charlie, not ever.’
    Charlie shook his head. ‘But what if I left you?’
    â€˜And where would you go?’
    â€˜To heaven with Nana and Granddad.’
    She pulled away slightly and hooked a finger under his chin to lift his head. His eyes were glistening and his lip trembled.
    â€˜Nana and Granddad were both very sick and then their bodies stopped working. That was why they died and that was why they went to heaven. You’re not old and you’re not sick.’
    â€˜But Daddy said that Granddad went to sleep. He said he dreamed about going to heaven to see Nana and never came back,’ Charlie explained as he gasped for air. He was terrified. ‘What if I have a dream about going to heaven and I stay there and never see you again?’
    Elle imagined Rick standing in front of Charlie, telling him to man up and imparting his nuggets of wisdom. It was the same stance he always assumed when engaging with his son. He never cuddled Charlie and only ever picked him up to put him down somewhere else. An image of Rick with that familiar sneer on his face came to mind, along with an imaginary fist smashing into it. It made her feel good.
    â€˜Daddy was wrong. That isn’t what happens, Charlie. The doctors said Granddad was very ill and he should have stayed in hospital, but he didn’t. His body was broken and he didn’t want it fixed. He didn’t dream of being in heaven, he stopped wanting to live,’ Elle said bluntly. It was time to abandon euphemisms and be as truthful as she thought Charlie could cope with. ‘Your body isn’t broken, Charlie and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to die. I promise you that even if you do