WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?

(3)

We'd only brought a couple of bags each so it didn't take us long to unpack. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already eight o'clock.

I wasn't hungry but Nate, being the growing teen he was, needed some dinner.

"How about we go out for dinner?" I suggested, hoping it would cheer him up a bit. "We could go to Ginger's if you want..."

Ginger's was a popular diner that stood right on the border between Rochester and Brading.

Two years ago, Ginger, the owner of the place was so fed up with the rivalry between our towns and the many fights that she witnessed daily in her restaurant, that she'd decided to open an under21 club at the back of her restaurant.

I'm not going to say she stopped the war that had been going on for generations, but her club certainly helped appease things. Mostly, it helped us realize that in the end, once dressed up in our party attire, we were all teenagers looking to have a good time.

Of course, as soon as the lights were back on at the end of the night, the differences resurfaced. We didn't wear Louboutins and they hardly ever drove second-hand cars, but for a few hours, we'd danced together, and that in itself was a small victory.

The food had always been good – and cheap! – but with the opening of the club, the diner was always packed.

Now that I thought about it the presence of the most popular kids from each school was probably another factor explaining the popularity of the place, but it wasn't the reason why I'd suggested we went there.

If anything, after what had happened that afternoon, I should probably avoid going there really, but Nathan was more important, and he'd loved the place since I took him there the year before to celebrate his eleventh birthday.

That's where I took him whenever life got too crappy. I was well aware that a burger and some fries wouldn't change anything but he always smiled when we went there, and I strived for his happiness.

"Are you sure?" He asked me with his bottom lip between his teeth. I knew he was worried that we'd run into him or people who'd witnessed that afternoon's incident so I quickly reassured him.

"Positive." And I truly was. There was no way I would let him, Steph or anyone dictate where I would or wouldn't go. No way would I hide from them because they'd decided that I was too pathetic for their liking.

"No need to lie..." He looked hurt. "Not to me, Pops!" I lifted my hand to his face and grazed the two small lines that appeared above his nose each time he was angry or sad.

"I'm not lying, Little Bro." I told him truthfully before tapping the tip of his nose softly. "Let's go..."

I didn't even bother changing or checking how I looked in a mirror. I simply picked my purse and my car keys, and headed outside.

At the end of the long corridor, we both paused.

Neither of us said a word but I knew we were thinking the same thing.

This wasn't our home.

I took a deep breath and pushed the door that led to the central hall which crossed the block. It was empty.

"The coast is clear..." I murmured, hoping nobody would hear us and speed-walked in silence.

As soon as we were on the outside wooden porch, I let out the breath I'd been holding.

Unsurprisingly, Ginger's carpark was packed when we got there, and I had to drive all the way around the building to find an empty spot.

A group of younger girls was already queuing to get inside the club as we walked back to the front of the building where the main entrance of the restaurant was. I smiled when Nate straightened up slightly when he saw a couple of them look his way.