Gold Digger
: Chapter 27

Lottie

“Do you play, Charlotte?”

I smiled at the woman in front of me, clutching my glass of champagne in a death grip. Since the little run-in earlier with Claire and her scary husband, she’d been avoiding me, which felt a little like feeding me to the wolves, to be honest. I mean, all I did was object when her husband was about to break her fingers. I’d even caught sight of her cradling her hand when her family weren’t looking earlier. It wasn’t as if I imagined it.

“Er… no,” I replied, forcing myself to smile. “The closest I’ve got to a horse was a donkey ride when I was nine,” It had been one of my better memories of Mum. She’d been sober for a year, and we’d gone to Wales for a holiday. I remember being totally ecstatic to be out of London. I loved the sea, even if I wasn’t brave or competent enough to go in it, and I thought the tiny caravan we were staying in was the lap of luxury. Unfortunately, there was a pub around the corner, so it all went to shit fairly rapidly. The stench of alcohol coming off Mum on the train journey the next day was horrendous and acutely embarrassing. I glanced at the glass of champagne in my hand and sighed.

“I’m sure Ollie will teach you to ride, darling,” Margot put in. My eyes went wide, and I had to press my lips together hard to stop a startled laugh from escaping.

“Yes, of course, I will,” Ollie said smoothly as he rejoined the group, having been commandeered by various cousins for the last hour. His eyes were twinkling as he made that comment, and I couldn’t help it – I snorted out a laugh and had to cover it with a cough.

“Oh, you really should,” Cecelia, his horsey cousin, continued, completely oblivious. “It’s such tremendous fun. Don’t you think Ollie?”

“Yeah, Cece,” he said through a smile, his hand settling on the small of my back and his fingers flexing in the material of my t-shirt. “It certainly is tremendous.” My lips were trembling, but I forced the giggles back. In fact, I was so involved in my battle against laughter that I didn’t pay attention to Vicky. I really, really should have done.

“Okay, I can get this one,” Vicky said. When I looked at her, I could feel the gears in her brain turning. “Cece is talking about riding horses,” Vicky started. Fraggle Rock, I was too late. “But Ollie means the sexual type of riding. That’s a double meaning. That’s why you’re trying not to laugh.”

There was a shocked silence. Ollie’s shoulders were shaking, and he had his hand over his mouth.

“What?” Vicky asked, bewildered, then turned to me. “You taught me about double meanings the other day. And I know that your face looks like that when you don’t want to laugh. I asked you about it last week when you were trying not to laugh at that man in the meeting and I thought you needed the toilet for a number two.”

Cecelia gave a nervous titter and then backed away with a vague but still horsey excuse – something to do with going on a hack .

“Nice one, Vics.” Ollie said.

“What are you teaching her, Lottie?” Margot was looking at me with suspicion again. Grumpy barnacles, I was tired of this bloody party. I was wearing the wrong clothes – everyone else looked like they could be going to a wedding. I was the only one in cutoff shorts, a Taylor Swift t-shirt and flip-flops. I was absolutely parched but only had the now warm champagne, which I wouldn’t touch because I didn’t blooming well drink. I didn’t know where Hayley was and I was starting to get worried. Everyone asked me where I went to school and looked puzzled when I told them Southwark Comprehensive. I mean, Cecelia was nice, but really? Did I look like I played polo? Then there was my name. I was not called Charlotte, but for some reason, that’s what Margot was introducing me as. I wanted to be at least called by my own fudging name. I levelled Margot with a don’t fudge with me look.

“She just likes working things out. Vicky hates all the hidden meanings that go on around her. I didn’t tell her to go around pointing it out. I just explained the concept.”

“Are you implying I don’t know my stepdaughter?” I’d clearly hit a nerve with Margot who had been going out of her way to try and win back my trust over the last two weeks.

“That’s enough, Mum,” Ollie snapped, but I was done.

“Excuse me,” I muttered and walked away from them towards the pool. Margot had clearly tired of trying to win me over. One time questioning her about her family and her back was up.

Now, I didn’t want to go anywhere near the blinking pool, but I was boiling and dying of thirst, and all the drinks were set up over there. Once I got some water down me I was going to replace Hayley and get out of here. I just hoped that Uber came out as far as Little Buckingham.

I gave the bartender a brief smile as I swapped my champagne for iced water. Stepping away from the makeshift bar, I drank it down past my dry throat and closed my eyes in relief. But then something slammed hard into my ribs, shoving me to the side. My eyes flew open as I stumbled backwards. My balance was rubbish at the best of times, and with a sharp jab like that, the force of it nearly winding me, there was no chance of me staying upright. But instead of hitting the hard patio, I gasped as my body crashed into the water. There wasn’t even time to suck in a breath before I went under. Everything seemed blurry and upside down. My lungs were burning. I kicked my legs haphazardly and flapped my arms around. When I broke the surface, I sucked in some much-needed air, but then I was under again. Crap, what had Hayley’s teacher said? Legs like flippers? Kick from the hip? I could see blurry figures above me. For the love of Marmite, I was going to die at the bottom of this pool with posh people watching me drown like it was some sort of sport. When I came up again to breathe, I heard someone say:

“What is she doing?”

“No idea. Some sort of synchronised swimming?”

Cheese and rice, I was doomed. None of this lot would ever think that a grown adult woman wouldn’t be able to swim. I sank under again. My movements seemed to be pushing me downwards more than they were helping me break the surface now. But before I could reach the bottom of the pool, a strong arm closed around me, and suddenly I was surging up to the surface. When my face was back in blessed air again, I coughed and spluttered all the water I’d swallowed between deep, stuttering breaths. That strong arm was dragging me from the deep end, and then I was lifted up out of the water, cradled in Ollie’s arms.

“By Jove,” an older man said from the gathered crowd. “Is she alright? We were wondering what she was up to.”

“She can’t fucking swim, you idiots,” Ollie snapped, and there were various gasps of surprise. Ollie then walked out of the pool up the steps from the shallow end and over to one of the wicker chairs at the side where he sat down with me in his lap.

I was still coughing and choking, and he alternated between giving my back firm slaps when I was choking and rubbing gentle circles when I took deep breaths. Tears were streaming down my face and I felt utterly humiliated. Then, just as I was starting to get my breath back, a little girl missile flew across the courtyard, her arms closing tightly around my neck, her little body shaking with sobs.

“Hey, hey, hey,” I chanted in a croaky voice. “I’m fine, lovebug.”

But however much I tried to reassure her, she just sobbed harder. It was only when Ollie’s gathered us both to him and he spoke in his firm voice, ringing with certainty, that she started to settle.

“I would never let anything happen to either of you. Lottie’s swallowed some water, but we’re going to take care of her now. And you’re both going to learn to swim so that this will never ever happen again.” Hayley stiffened at that, but Ollie’s arms gave us a squeeze before he pulled back slightly to make eye contact with her. “Hayley, both of you are going to learn to swim, and neither of you are going to be scared of water ever again. Understand me?”

To my absolute surprise Hayley nodded slowly.

“Good girl,” Ollie said.

“Lottie?” I turned towards Claire who was standing next to us, holding out a towel, her face pale. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry I was out on the lawn and?—”

“Quite the drama,” Blake interrupted her as he came to stand next to her.

I took the towel from Claire with a low, “thanks”. I was wiping the tears and water from my face so it took a moment to notice Hayley’s reaction. But when I glanced down at her I saw she was staring up at Blake, her eyes burning with anger, and her mouth set in a thin line.

“Hails?” I croaked and she tore her furious gaze from Blake to look at me. I frowned and tilted my head to the side. She looked between me and Blake with jerky movements of her head, her little hands were fisted at her sides. My eyebrows went up and she nodded once. Okay, so now I knew who that blow to my ribs was from.

“Hayley!” Florrie called as she skipped over to us. She was smiling and had a whole gaggle of other children with her. “Oh good, you found Lottie. Did you tell her that we want to go out to the backfield and?—”

Florrie’s words cut off as she turned to me. “Oh, did you jump in with your clothes on? Richie did that earlier. His mum was super cross.”

“Lottie had a bit of an accident, darling,” said Ollie. Hayley was shaking her head furiously and for once I was grateful that she wouldn’t speak. This was not the time to throw accusations around.

“Hails, why don’t you go with Florrie a minute. I need to have a quick chat with Ollie and then we’ll have to get going soon, okay?”

Hayley looked between me and Blake, the anger in her expression morphing to concern.

“It’s okay, lovebug,” I said, trying to make my voice as reassuring as it could be with the croakiness still there. “Ollie’s here.” She looked to Ollie who was frowning slightly, not quite understanding the interaction.

“Yes, it’s fine, stowaway,” he said gently. “You go and see Legolas with Florrie.” It took a moment but with Florrie tugging her hand and me encouraging her she did go. The party had resumed around us now, so it was just the four of us. I stood up, not wanting to do this from Ollie’s lap. I needed to stand my own ground. Unfortunately, Margot chose that moment to bustle over.

“Darling, I heard what happened,” she said, pulling me into a hug, seemingly uncaring that I soaked her outfit. And, just like that, I was reminded of the warm, wonderful mother she really was underneath the whole bribery and changing my name thing.

“Lottie tripped into the pool, Mum,” Ollie said, and I stiffened slightly as he spoke for me. “If the goddamn drinks weren’t so bloody close to the edge, then?—”

“Actually, Ollie,” I started as I pulled back gently from Margot. “I didn’t trip. Someone jabbed me and knocked me into the pool.”

There was a stunned silence for a moment. “What the fuck?” snapped Ollie.

I was staring at Blake. His eyes flashed and I raised an eyebrow in challenge. I see you, arsehole , I communicated silently.

“Er… Lottie, are you sure?” Margot asked. “I mean, you have been known to be a little on the clumsy side. There’s no shame in just having tripped.”

Claire was looking between me and Blake, her face draining of colour.

“Did you see who it was?” Ollie asked, still furious.

“No,” I said slowly. “But I think Hayley did.”

“What a load of bollocks,” Blake said, dismissively. “You didn’t even speak to the kid when she was here.”

“Hayley and I communicate just fine without words.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, if she’s going to go around making up stories, perhaps she shouldn’t be playing with my stepdaughter.”

“Blake, what the fuck’s crawled up your arse, mate?” Ollie said, anger and confusion running through his tone. But Blake’s eyes were locked with mine and I could see everything he was trying to say: this is my family, back off or I will annihilate you .

So I had a choice to make: should I say something now, and trust Ollie to choose me if I went up against this psychopath? Or should I stay quiet? In that moment, I ran through everything that I had to lose here. I’d had another family meeting summons from social services this week. As much as I’d protested against the fake engagement, I now acknowledged that it really was my best chance at keeping Hayley. It was a lifeline. Yes, this guy needed calling out. Yes, I was worried about Claire and Florrie. But I simply wasn’t in a position of power here. This was their family. I wasn’t family. I wasn’t blood. And I’d experienced over and over again how people would prioritise their real family over some random foster kid. I might not be the foster kid anymore, but that didn’t change the dynamic. And Florrie was the first friend Hayley had ever spoken to. I couldn’t take that away from her. So, in the end, I was the first to break eye contact with Blake.

“Maybe I did trip,” I muttered at my feet. “And it was pretty crowded over there. It was probably an accident.” The words felt bitter on my tongue. That was no accident – my ribs were still throbbing.

Ollie closed his hand around mine and squeezed.

“You sure, darling?” he asked, and I nodded. Maybe I’d tell him later, but with the memory of Margot’s hug fresh in my mind, I decided that fitting in would be better. Giving in would be easier.

I caught Blake’s smug look as Ollie led me away from the pool and took the opportunity when nobody was looking. Just because I didn’t say swear words didn’t mean I couldn’t mouth them.