Chapter 31
Sophie pulled up outside the pharmacy and leaned across, reaching under the passenger seat for the paper bag containing the Clairol box. Her fingers brushed against it. She leaned further, grasping for it, grimacing as her cheek pressed against the upholstery.
‘Fuck,’ she muttered, wincing, as she sat back up.
She put the bag on the seat then covered her bruised cheek gently with her cold fingers, trying to soothe the ache.
When the pain subsided, she adjusted the rear-view mirror to study the spot where her face had hit the coffee table.
She’d done her best to cover it with makeup.
Turning her head from side to side, she decided that if you didn’t know it was there, you probably wouldn’t notice it.
She’d fallen asleep in Jasmine’s bed after the argument.
Eventually. She’d replayed the incident over and over in her mind as she lay beside her daughter, berating herself for letting it happen.
She shouldn’t have mentioned money or Nel offering her work.
She should have made something up, or played dumb, or thought faster.
Each time she felt herself drifting into sleep, she would hear brave Charlie’s little voice—Leave Mum alone.
Don’t hurt her—and jolt back to consciousness, only to replay the awful scene once more.
Ryan must have gone to Lachie’s place, but he was back by the time she woke up, her face throbbing. The house smelled of coffee. Ryan didn’t drink coffee anymore, so he’d made it for her. A peace offering. When she went into the kitchen, he’d pulled her into a tender embrace.
‘I hate it when we fight,’ he’d whispered, kissing her gently on her forehead like she was a beloved child.
Feeling tears threaten now, Sophie blinked a few times and looked out the window at Anderson’s Pharmacy. She picked up the paper bag and opened the car door.
Edwin glanced up from behind his computer as she made her way to the counter. There was no sign of Jen, Sophie noted with relief.
‘Morning, Sophie,’ Edwin said.
‘Hello,’ she replied as a blonde head popped out from behind a display stand laden with hair accessories.
‘I’ll help Sophie!’ Jen said.
Sophie suppressed a groan, working hard to keep her expression neutral.
‘You keep going with that, Jen,’ Edwin said. ‘How can I help you?’
Sophie could feel Jen watching as she took the hair dye from the bag.
‘I bought this the other day, but I’ve had a change of heart,’ she said.
‘What? You don’t like the colour?’ Jen said. ‘But you’d look stunning as a brunette. Imagine how your gorgeous eyes would pop!’ She put her hands at her temples, flicking her fingers out to resemble tiny explosions.
Sophie smiled politely, wishing Jen would get back to stocking the shelves.
‘I can do an exchange for you,’ Edwin said. ‘Just pick out the one you’d like and I’ll fix it up.’
‘Actually … I’ve decided not to dye it after all. Could I get a refund, please?’
Jen shrugged and turned back to the shelves, losing interest now that her styling expertise was no longer required.
‘Did you pay on a card?’ Edwin asked.
Sophie nodded and passed over her debit card.
She bit her lip as he processed the refund, evaluating her options.
She felt confident in Edwin’s discretion, but even if he served her, there would be nothing stopping Jen from looking through the sales record to determine what she’d purchased.
The last thing she needed was Jen Henry knowing she was possibly pregnant.
There was no way she could buy the pregnancy test from this store.
And going up to Mount Clare wasn’t an option.
Ryan would find out somehow and interrogate her with a million questions.
Besides, she couldn’t afford the petrol.
There was only one way she could get that test.
‘Done,’ he said, handing back her card.
‘Thanks.’ She took her time putting it back in her wallet as Edwin returned to his computer.
Jen was unpacking loofah brushes. Sophie took a steadying breath and moved her bag onto her right shoulder, then walked calmly to the far aisle where the pregnancy tests were.
She slowed down as she reached them and glanced back at the counter.
Edwin had no line of sight to her. Her heart pounded as she reached for the seventeen-dollar test she’d been about to purchase a few days ago, and dropped it into her bag.
It was only then that she realised someone was watching her from the end of the aisle.