Plan B

Chapter Nine

Phil’s little brother was adorably cute.  He was home alone when the girls arrived, and when he answered the door, it took everything Fran had not to pinch his cheeks and coo over him.

“You’re Frankie,” he said before anybody could get a word in edgeways.  “Phil likes you.”

Philippa flushed and turned away, but her little brother blinked his enormous brown eyes earnestly.

“I like Phil too,” Fran said with a smile.  “She’s a good friend.”

Philippa’s little brother wrinkled up his nose as though to dispute it, but Philippa took charge and shooed him back over the doorstep.

“Come on, Duncan, it’s cold out here and Megan’s not arriving for another hour or so.  We don’t want to freeze on the doorstep.”

“Okay.”  Duncan obligingly trotted inside and held the door until they were all in.

“How old is he?” Fran mouthed over the boy’s head to Philippa.  Philippa discreetly held up five fingers.

“Big age gap.”

Philippa shrugged, ruffling Duncan’s curly fair hair as he passed her and disappeared through a door on the left.  “My dad remarried after my mum walked out.  Mel’s about a decade younger than Mum and a lot nicer.”

Fran was reminded briefly of the blazing rows that had been common between her parents, and she winced.  “My mum filed for divorce a few weeks ago.  It’s one of the reasons I went to boarding school – I just couldn’t stand being in the house anymore.”

Philippa smiled sympathetically.  “Yeah.  I used to run away.  Only stopped when Mum started calling the police in to find me.”

Fran’s blood froze.  Thinking about the divorce was bad enough, but the police hunt for her was so much worse.  I don’t want to know what would happen if they found me.

“Anyway.”  Phil clapped her hands together and grinned brightly.  “What do you want to do?”

“Food?” Fran suggested with fake cheeriness in an attempt to think about something else.  Dear God, what if they find me here?  I’d be trapped inside this building.  I don’t even know it.  Subconsciously, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.  I need to plot out escape routes.  What if Duncan recognises me and calls the police?

“…Frankie?  Earth to Frankie?”

A hand waved in front of her face and Fran jumped violently.

“Are you feeling okay?” Philippa asked in concern.

“Oh yeah.  Fine,” Fran said distractedly.

“You just went white and started hugging yourself and shivering.”

Fran looked down at herself.  Philippa was right.  For a moment, Fran just stared at her arms.  What if Philippa recognises me?

She glanced up to see Phil staring at her and obviously waiting for some kind of response.

“I… do this when I’m hungry… and cold,” Fran said defensively.

Phil raised an eyebrow.  Unable to help herself, Fran gave a sulky pout.

There was a second or so before Phil’s serious, disbelieving demeanour dissolved into laughter.

“You’re so weird,” she giggled, patting Fran on the back.  “C’mon.  What do you want to eat?”

Fran’s eyes lit up, even though she wasn’t that hungry.