Laura Cassidy - Eighteen Kisses

‘Where’s your mum?’ asked Des.

‘I think she’s in the bathroom,’ I said. ‘Morning sickness…’

‘I wish I could have it instead of her,’ he said, rushing into the house. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Des and Mum were so disgustingly in love that it almost made me sick myself. I never thought I’d have a little brother or sister, not after my dad died. I’d found it difficult to accept Des and Mum’s relationship at first, but I was really happy for them now – at least when they weren’t being super cringey. Des is very nice and would do anything for Mum, and come to think of it, he does a lot for me too. One night I was playing a gig in Galway, but the hostel I was staying in was absolutely rank. I’d got the slot at the last minute, and it was around New Year so there was nowhere else available, at least not anywhere that I could afford. At 2 a.m. I just couldn’t stick it any more, and although I felt bad for waking him, I caved and rang Des. He drove the whole way to pick me up in the middle of the night. He’d jumped into the car the minute he got the call, and hadn’t even stopped to change out of his pyjamas (which was totally mortifying, especially when we went to the McDonald’s drive-thru on the way back, but I couldn’t really give out to him). Even after that experience, I still go gigging practically every weekend. Sometimes I wonder if it’ll be worth it, playing in all these random places, hardly ever getting paid, often singing to no more than a handful of people. But then I remember that I love singing and playing music – they’re my passions – and I’ve always wanted to make them my career. Although I did seem to be taking an entirely different direction at the moment – I never imagined I’d be working with the police. Maybe my other, more unusual skills would take over.

‘Jacki, Jacki!’ I could hear Colin shouting before I saw him.

‘Oh, I’m glad you’re still here.’ He ran up the driveway and bent over the car, trying to catch his breath.

‘You OK, Colin?’ I said, throwing my make-up bag in on top of my suitcase.

‘You know how you’re going up to Dublin, fighting crime and stuff – will you be back by Thursday?’

‘No, I don’t think so,’ I said, pushing the suitcase further in so that I could fit my laptop beside it.

‘Jacki, it’s my second date with James on Thursday. You know that second dates are make or break! I need you to help me prepare. I need to come over here beforehand and you need to tell me what to wear and what to say and how to -’

‘Colin,’ I said. ‘You don’t need me. You’ll be fine.’ Their first date had gone really well. I’d heard every single detail multiple times. He and James had gone bowling, and then for dinner in an Italian restaurant in Sligo. James had walked him to the bus stop, and then they’d kissed. (Colin reckons it lasted about four seconds, but he can’t be sure.) He thinks James had fun, but he can’t be sure about that either, even though James texted him that night saying, I had lots of fun today, we should do it again next week. Immediately after he’d got that text Colin had run all the way up to my house, just like he’d done now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look that happy. Except maybe the time we’d visited the Hoshino Yukinobu manga exhibition.

‘Maybe I should come to Dublin with you,’ he said. ‘I don’t like the thought of you doing this by yourself.’

‘I’ll be OK,’ I said with a smile.

‘Ring me if you need anything.’

‘I will,’ I said, just managing to close the car door. ‘You should come up to Dublin for Hannah’s play on Friday.’

‘Yeah, she texted me about it,’ said Colin. ‘I can’t wait.’

I liked that my Dublin friends had got to know my Avarna ones, and how we sometimes did things together. Hannah and Colin got on particularly well – they’d bonded over their mutual love of horror movies and their mutual dislike of boys who wore really tight skinny jeans. But then again, everybody loves Colin.

He hugged me. ‘Some sidekick I am.’

‘Don’t say that,’ I said. ‘You’re the best.’ My phone beeped with a text. I took it out of my pocket and saw that it was from Sergeant Lawlor.

Kayla’s sister Libby will be home this afternoon. I told her you’d call by. Address is in the file. M

‘Ready to go?’ said Mum from the doorway. She was wearing a pink dress and looked beautiful as always.

‘Yep,’ I said. ‘I’m ready.’

I said goodbye to Colin, then turned round. In less than three hours I was going to be in Dublin – working at the magazine that I had always dreamed would discover my music, and using and learning even more about my supernatural abilities.

I couldn’t wait.

Kayla’s road was only a short bus ride away from Gran’s and I found it pretty easily. It was lined with sycamore trees, their leaves in full bloom, shading the parked cars from the afternoon sun. There were two-storey, red-brick houses on either side of the road; some had ivy growing up their walls, others had potted plants on their porches. They all had wooden sash windows, gorgeous mature gardens and cobblestoned driveways. I saw the one I was looking for, number 25, and crossed the street.

Ivy was wrapped round its red-brick pillars and the black iron gate was open. I walked slowly across the driveway and up the steps to the front door. It was painted a pretty lilac colour, almost the same shade as my skirt. I tried not to look anxious; I really didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. I took a deep breath and rang the bell.

I waited a few moments, fidgeting with the buckle on my satchel, until a girl opened the door. She wore a loose grey T-shirt, jeans and pink ballet pumps. She had long shiny brown hair and tanned skin, artificially so, but beautiful nonetheless. I guessed she was in her early twenties.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘You’re Jacki, right? Sergeant Lawlor said you’d call by.’

‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘Come in.’ She smiled, which made me feel a lot better.

‘Thank you,’ I said, as I stepped inside. The interior of the house was just as impressive as the outside. The hallway ceiling was high, and sunlight flooded in through the window.

‘I’m Libby,’ she explained. ‘Kayla’s sister. Well, half-sister, to be precise.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ I said. Were those the right words to use? It wasn’t like they were nice circumstances and it wasn’t like she really had a choice in the matter.

‘You too,’ Libby said, not seeming to analyse it as much as me. ‘Sorry about the mess,’ she added as she led me into the huge kitchen. ‘Dad and Anna are away on holiday, so we’ve kind of let the place go a bit… I would have tidied up, but I have an exam tomorrow and I’m frantically trying to revise.’

‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry for disturbing you.’

‘No problem at all. I always have exams, nothing new.’

‘You mentioned Anna…’ I said. ‘Is that Kayla’s mum?’

‘Oh yeah, I should have explained. She’s my stepmum,’ said Libby.

She tidied up the chemistry books on the table into a pile and I looked around. There were lots of photos on the walls. Most were of Kayla and Libby and another girl with black hair, who I recognized from the video. The kitchen wasn’t even that messy; there were a couple of empty bottles beside the fridge and a stack of dirty dishes in the sink. It looked a lot like my house when Mum and Des left me alone for a night, which unfortunately was hardly ever.

‘Would you like tea or coffee?’

‘Tea, please,’ I said. I was relieved Libby was being so friendly. I’d wondered what her reaction would be like. It must be hard to have people interfering in your life all the time, to have to answer the same questions over and over again.