"What? Oh yeah, Eed's my little sister," she says. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm Eve," I say.

"Oh."

That little word says it all. That she knows who I am somehow. Somehow? It's obvious. Eden and I have known each other since primary school, we were the two people who went to Dugray. Maybe her mentioning me makes complete sense. Maybe it wasn't when she confided in her sister about a twisted murder deal.

"You're the one she had that deal with," she says out loud. "I'm Erin, by the way, but I'm guessing you knew that?"

I nod. "The police thought I killed Granger. And they told me about, um, why Eden wanted him dead."

"Are they supposed to do that?" Erin asks. "But yeah. Bastard couldn't be a decent human, but it's my fault too. Should've recognised him or figured that he was a married sleazeball."

"What happened?" I pause. "If you don't mind telling obviously."

She shrugs. "I met him in a bar in town and I guess it just started from there. It wasn't a proper relationship but, I don't know, he was older and sophisticated, you know? I couldn't help but kind of fall for him."

I listen carefully as she talks, my respect for Granger joining him in death with each second that passes. He was having an affair with an eighteen-year-old girl. The thought makes me sick. Sure, that's two years older than the age of consent but men who wait for girls to hit eighteen are disgusting lowlifes who deserve to locked away with the key thrown into the ocean.

"Eden found out when I tested positive." She twists her ring around her finger. "I gave her up for adoption." Her voice sounds oddly thick at that, like she's trying not to cry.

"Do you want a hug?" I ask. It's the first thing that comes to mind.

"I think you need a hug," she corrects.

The hug is a nice gesture I suppose. All passers by will see is a girl with blue hair hugging another girl as they both try desperately not to cry before the hug ends.

"That's why she brought him up," I realise out loud, pulling away. "And when you... when you gave, um—"

"Birth?" Erin says. "You can say it, y'know."

"When you gave birth, she must've been angry. That's why she took her chances with Josh when she saw him." I bite my lip. "And now they're both dead."

"Eden's not allowed to leave the flat," Erin tells me. "I have no idea what'll happen to her."

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "She scared me and I just couldn't let her get away with it and I know that probably means you have every reason to hate me but—"

"—I don't have you. If I have to hate anyone, it's Granger. And me. If I hadn't been so stupid enough to sleep with a married sleazeball then Eden wouldn't have found out and she wouldn't have wanted to kill him when I got pregnant. There's something not right with her and that's not your fault."

"So she didn't kill Granger?"

Erin shakes her head. "She hasn't been allowed to leave. They're going to put her on trial as soon as possible, Mom's going insane."

"Somehow someone killed him and it wasn't me and it couldn't have been Eden." I'm just saying my thoughts out loud at this point. "Did Eden call anyone yesterday?"

Erin narrows her eyes as she thinks. They're a lot like Eden's, the same shade of dark brown. But instead of piercing bullets, hers have a kind of warmth to them. "Just one person. I have no idea who it was though, probably a friend."

"Thanks for talking to me," I tell her. "I hope everything gets better for you."

I really hope everything does get better for her. That one day she meets someone who doesn't take off their wedding ring just to get her into bed and lie to her face without any consequences for his selfish, disgusting actions. That one day she meets someone who looks at her like she's the fucking sun and they feel like they would do absolutely bloody anything for her because that's how much they love her.

My phone buzzes.

can we talk?

There's not a kiss at the end. There's always that little letter x at the end of the first text either of us send. It's just a pleasantry, a mindless one that I don't even think about. But Jenny didn't put it.

when?