Chapter 40
40
CRYSTAL
How the hell had I let that happen? It wasn’t what Gemma thought. I’d never set out to pretend to be Poppy’s mother – although I couldn’t deny not bothering to correct Nicky in the park, who had just assumed that was the case, or the woman in the post office who – just as innocently – thought I was her auntie. But as for the woman on the bus, I suppose it was inevitable really that she’d make the assumption she did. I should have known that this would happen one day. Now Gemma was angry and upset with me, and she’d hinted that I wasn’t going to be allowed out with Poppy on my own any more, and I had no excuse to offer her this time. I knew I couldn’t argue or make a fuss about it – that would have only made things worse, made her even more convinced I was not to be trusted with Poppy at all.
And it was all her parents’ doing. Gemma had never had any doubts or suspicions about me until her mum had started getting involved, and then told her dad about it. They’d been drip-feeding her their own jealousy and resentment until she started believing them. I didn’t know what I could do to counter it – after all, I was just the new friend, while they were her parents, the main guiding forces in her life, especially since Jack had deserted her. He’d left her weakened and defenceless, and I liked to think I’d tried to rescue her, to give her back some stability and support.
I loved Gemma, she was my best friend, I wasn’t faking it. But… of course, I knew perfectly well, right from the start that she wasn’t the main attraction. Poppy was.