Iona heard the door click closed behind them. It's not even how made her mom is going to be. She knows what she's going to say to her. No, the pit in her stomach is hollowed out by the thought of her dad...how he'll react. She's already resigned herself to the aftermath, but getting there is the worst part for her. She hates that she knows that Mike is right, and she shouldn't be taking a day off just because the weather is nice and she felt like swimming instead of going to school. She can't help thinking that this would all be easier if it was Jack standing next to her instead of Mike. She almost laughs at how right as she's about to get in trouble for skipping school for the first time in her life, all she can think of is the boy who got her here.
Nick runs upstairs, and her dad and Mike get to talking in the lounge about uni and how's Mike's family has been. Her dad shoots her a look she knows is his way of telling her that she needs to talk to her mom first and that he'll be there soon. It doesn't matter that his tone is light and friendly with Mike, she's still in a lot of trouble. She just nods and leaves to go find her mom.
She walks alone into the kitchen where her mom is waiting for her. 'Why can't you be here with me right now?' It doesn't matter that she's Mike her whole life, something inside her is calling for Jack. He's what's safe, he's...home. Yes Mike is a great friend and he's always been around but she knows that she's never felt what she felt with Jack today, with him.
Her thoughts call out to Jack, and for a second she's almost sure she hears him. 'I'm walking over right now,' a desperate sounding thought that rings through her in his voice. She brushes it off. Back in the here and now she sees her mom sitting at the kitchen table looking small. Her shoulders hunched forward over a cup of tea. She looks up as soon as she hears Iona, "Mom..."
"Iona!" Her voice sounds more relieved than angry and something inside Iona breaks off. A small fracture. She feels guilty for skipping school. For making her worry. It only waivers for a second when she's taken back to everything that happened since she climbed on that bike this morning. It's enough to make her question if she really regrets it. If she would trade any of it to make up for all of this, and she doesn't know if she would. That being said guilt and regret are not the same thing, and she still feels guilty.
"I'm sorry Mommy. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm really sorry."
"Are you alright?" she asks getting up from the table. Iona notices how clean the kitchen is, she sees the rings in the cup and she can tell her mom's been sitting there a while. She can tell that she made the wrong choice, but she hopes that maybe half-truths can set her free. Hannah holds her at arm's length. Her critical eye, looking her over, 'As if she would be able to see how I am at a glance.'
"Yes, I'm alright. I just wasn't feeling too well this morning," The first half-truth, the first lie, but she justifies it by asking herself who wouldn't be shaken up after being seen in only a towel by your new neighbor? She adds her next half-truth, spinning her story. "I got home and just needed to get out for a bit."
"I see." Hannah sees straight through it. A scary calmness settles over her. Her dad and Mike have just moved into the kitchen and Iona jumps straight to wondering what Mike told them. She's overwhelmed feeling betrayed by him, defensive because she knows she's making things worse by hiding things, and guilty. Guilty for trying to keep the truth from them, for leaving school, for playing a risk not even a week after her dad got her into this school.
"So, is that all?" Hannah tests.
"Mmmm," Iona still doesn't really want to give away anything about Jack and risk not being allowed to leave the house again. She changes to apologizing, trying to smooth things over. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell anyone I was going out for a bit or leave a note."
"Iona!" His voice lowers, "Don't you dare think your mother and I are idiots, don't you try to lie to us." She never could understand how he knew when she was lying, and she feels worse for even trying to hide it from them. She's still not sure why she even thought she could, or needed to. A part of her just wants to protect Jack. Protect her being allowed to see him again because a part of her needs to see him again. She just can't understand which part, or why but some part of her feels connected to him.
"Please, Mr. Blake, don't be too mad at her." Mike steps in between them. She can swear that she hears Jack's footsteps outside the kitchen door. She can't explain how she knows that it's him, or why that's what's tugging at her attention but she can't focus on that now. Something keeps pulling her back to him, and she's starting to get annoyed at herself for not focusing on what's going on. Mike carries on in an overly charming voice he used to use when asking if they could stay up a little longer, "It's more my fault for keeping her away, this long. I saw her at the beach, and she just looked like she needed some downtime so I kept her out until now."
He lies for her molding his story to match hers better, but the fact that he doesn't say anything about Jack makes Iona uncomfortable, but she can't understand why. After all, only a second ago she was trying her best not to even mention that there was someone else with her.
"Alright," Her dad slows down for a second considering what Mike just said. He then turns his attention back to Iona looking past Mike as though he wasn't even there. "Well, what about that boy that left the same time you did? You don't know anything about him do you?"
Mike answers for her. "No Sir. Just that he helped her get home and then brought her out to the beach. I didn't like the look of him much. Looked like trouble. That's why I helped Iona here get home. You know I'm always looking out for her."
Iona is starting to see why Mike seemed so determined to get her home quickly and get her out of trouble. If her parents don't like Jack then she can't see him, but she can't understand why.
Her dad noticeably irritated at Mike repeats his question, not taking his eyes off her. "I got the email this morning. I know you left school with someone. So are you going to tell us the truth now or do I need to ground you for the next month before you'll tell us and we can repeat this then?"
Hannah looks back at Iona, studying her daughter's face, and her husband. "Mark." her tone is soft and quiet. She's always known what Iona needs, what anyone needs in that very moment, and now is no exception. She rests her hand on her husband's arm, and this seems to calm him down a bit before he stands with his hands pressed down on the kitchen table looking even angrier, almost anguished and it confuses Iona because really skipping out of school shouldn't cause this much trouble. Hannah turns her head to Mike and nicely proceeds to tell him to get out, "Mike would you mind leaving? I think this is something Iona needs to tell us on her own."
Mike looks a bit taken back by Hannah's words and maybe a bit hurt that he's being kicked out and not given the chance to show how he can make it better for Iona. Which is a lot for him to look like all at once, but there he is. Standing right there, looking like that.
"Yes. Sure...of course," he recovers from his down cast look and his face turns blank, "Aunty Hannah, Sir." he turns to face Iona. He gives her a small hug, and a reassuring smile, then whispers to her," If you need anything just give me a call."
Iona smiles back feeling a little hopeless and she doesn't have the strength for words right now. She just nods a thanks before he shows himself out.
She watches the door a bit longer as Hannah pours Mark a cup of coffee. Then they both sit down on the same side of the table. Iona moves to sit opposite them. 'And so it begins, the end of me, the me I've always been. How am I going to explain this to them? I have no idea how to start.' She thinks looking back and forth between her mom and dad. Her dad takes a sip of his coffee and sits back. 'Lucky me I don't have to, 'cause it looks like Dad's starting for us.'
"So are you going to tell us the truth now?" He asks sounding a little less angry and she knows that this is her last chance to tell them the truth. There's no point in lying to them and hurting them more. Her mom...and her dad, both look hurt, and maybe even a little sad. Since Mike's no longer there to take what she says and use it to paint Jack as the bad guy she has nothing to lose.
She takes a deep breath to put everything the right way round in her head again before she answers, "Yes."