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Half Truth - chapter 18

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Chapter Eighteen

Hannah wakes up with a frown on her face, before she’s even remembered what she is frowning about.

She leans over to her bedside table to check her phone, but there is no message from Grace. And Hannah can’t help but think that maybe that is because it should have been Hannah who initiated contact first.

But Mamrie had asked her not to.

She does trust her sister.

But that thread feels like it is being stretched to breaking point, and there is a frosty silence over the breakfast table, as their mom looks between the two of them with concern.

“Everything okay, you two?”

Hannah says “fine” just as Mamrie says ‘never better”, in the least convincing performance the world has seen. Their mom observes them for a second longer, and then shrugs, clearly deciding that she hasn’t got time for this, this morning.

“Go on then, champs, out of the house, you’re going to be late. Mamrie, give your sister a ride, will you.”

Hannah traipses out to the car, following her sister, and gets in without a word, sticking her earphones in and staring steadfastly out of the window. Mamrie ignores her, and starts the engine, reversing them off their driveway smoothly.

She’s now angry at the lack of information, because Mamrie clearly has no intention of telling her why she shouldn’t go near Grace, but instead just expects Hannah to swallow the pill, no questions asked. She decides that the first thing that she is going to do when they arrive is go and find Grace, apologize for not calling, announce that her sister is crazy, and try and smooth things over. And if Mamrie explodes, well it isn’t as though Hannah hasn’t tried to give her time to explain.

Just as Hannah firms up her intentions, something drifts across her consciousness, calling attention to the fact that something isn’t happening as it should.

“Mamrie - this isn’t the route to school?”

Mamrie shrugs, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel.

“No, I know; we’re bunking off.”

Hannah gapes at her for a second, as Mamrie glances over blankly, and then checks her mirror.

“What? No we are not - you can’t do that.”

Mamrie takes a right, and now they are one hundred percent heading in the opposite direction to school, and at the very least going to be late, because the next exit is ten minutes away in the rush hour traffic.

“Yeah I can - I’ll take the blame for it. Nothing I haven’t done before. You can claim that you were kidnapped, if you want. With your unblemished record, you’d definitely get away with it.”

Hannah realizes that this is the moment when she knows for certain that her sister is actually crazy.

“But you are my sister -they’d never believe you kidnapped me.”

Mamrie snorts, and gives her a look to say do you not know of my reputation at all?

“Well, unless you are up for jumping out of a moving vehicle, it is pretty much the truth, because I’m not stopping.”

…

The rest of the journey is completed in silence, and Mamrie thinks that the only reason that she is getting away with this is because Hannah’s need for answers is outweighing her need for education.