Holly heard the front door opening and the murmuring of conversation. She sucked in a deep breath and put a smile on her face as she walked out of the study and into the hallway.
“Holly!” Alexia ran towards her and pulled her into a hug.
Holly was surprised by the reaction. She knew from her journals that she looked after the kids once or twice, but she had no idea that Alexia was so fond of her.
“Hey,” Holly greeted.
Victoria had a shocked expression on her face, too.
“Hey Holly,” Hugo said. “Cool hair.”
“Thanks,” Holly smiled.
“Yeah, really cool hair,” Alexia said as she stood back and gazed up at Holly in awe. “Holly, will you watch a movie with me tonight?”
“Alexia,” Victoria said in a warning tone.
“It’s fine,” Holly reassured her. She loved how friendly Alexia was, it felt so good to have someone look up to her. “Absolutely, but remember you have school tomorrow.”
Alexia’s face became serious. “Do you not remember me at all?”
Holly bit her lip and shook her head sadly. “No, I’m sorry, honey.”
“Do you remember Hugo?” Alexia asked.
“Of course she doesn’t,” Hugo said. He rolled his eyes and picked up his suitcase from where the driver had left it by the door.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember anyone,” Holly said.
“But—”
“Alexia…” Victoria warned again.
“It’s fine, Victoria.” She looked down at Alexia. “I don’t remember anyone. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t hang out and have fun like we used to. Maybe my memories will come back one day, maybe they won’t. I’m okay with that.”
“Mom said you remembered Izzy,” Alexia pointed out.
Holly looked up at Victoria who was looking more and more uncomfortable.
“Well, erm, yes, I did. I had a flashback, of sorts…”
“Like in the movies?” Alexia asked.
“Was there a flash of light when you remembered?” Hugo asked. He was on the first step of the staircase, but the news of a potential flashback had him interested.
“No, unfortunately it wasn’t that dramatic,” Holly deadpanned.
“What about banging you on the head again?” Alexia asked. “Has anyone tried banging you on the head?”
“No one is hitting Holly on the head. Now, both of you go to your rooms and unpack.” Victoria said sternly. It was clear the conversation was over.
“Fine,” Alexia said.
“We’ll talk later,” Hugo said. He started to climb the stairs.
“I still think you should talk to your doctor about it,” Alexia grumbled quietly.
“I’ll be sure to mention it,” Holly agreed. She walked over to Alexia’s suitcase. “Come on, I’ll help you unpack.”
“Holly, do you want to play on the Xbox? I could set it up, if you like,” Hugo called down the stairs. “I mean, you used to play. Maybe you’ll remember something?”
“Sounds great,” Holly said.
“Yay!” Alexia cheered. “I’m so glad you’re back, Holly. You’re so cool.”
Alexia picked up her suitcase and handed Holly her backpack. The young girl ran up the stairs.
Holly turned to Victoria and smiled. “I’m cool.”
“Oh, shut up.” Victoria grinned.
“And my hair… is really cool,” Holly added.
“Go away. Play your game.” Victoria shooed her away with her hands, but the smile remained on her face.
“Mom said we can have pizza!” Alexia announced.
Hugo paused the game they were playing and turned around to look at his sister in astonishment.
“Mom said we can have pizza? Like… our mom?” he asked.
“Yep.” Alexia placed the glass of juice she had gone to get on the coffee table and sat on the sofa.
Holly looked from Alexia to Hugo. “I take it that’s unusual?”
“She said we can eat it in here,” Alexia added.
Holly thought that Hugo’s eyes were going to fall out of his head.
“Seriously? Are you joking with us?” he demanded.
“Seriously. She was working and I asked her what we were doing for dinner and she gave me this.” Alexia produced a black credit card from her back pocket. “She said we can order pizza and eat it in here. She said the smell of the pizza would make her ill so she’s going to eat on her own.”
Hugo dropped the controller to the floor. “I’m gonna speak to her.”
“You don’t believe me?” Alexia asked.
“Nope.”
Holly laughed. “Is it that unusual that she’d let you do this?”
Hugo nodded his head seriously. “Yeah. Like, alien abduction unusual. I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t touch the game.”
“I wouldn’t dare, I’m beating you,” Holly said with a smirk. It hadn’t taken her long to discover that she was good at video games.
“For now.” Hugo grinned. He left the games room in search of his mother.
“You’re going to be in big trouble if you’re lying,” Holly nudged Alexia softly.
“I’m not lying,” Alexia said. “Mom’s in a weird mood. I asked if she wanted to come up and play, but she said she didn’t want to get in the way.”
“I hope you told her she wouldn’t be in the way,” Holly pressed.
Alexia nodded quickly. “I did. But that’s when she said we were having pizza and the smell makes her sick.”
Holly wasn’t so sure that was the truth of the matter, but she also didn’t want to discuss it with Victoria’s eight-year-old daughter.
“Mom really missed you when you were gone, she didn’t say anything, but it was obvious to me,” Alexia said.
“I bet she had a lot of work to do without a good second assistant,” Holly agreed.
“It was more than that. Mom liked you. You made her happy.”
Holly laughed heartily. “I doubt that. Maybe I made her life easier and that made her happy.”
Alexia shook her head. “No, that wasn’t it. I hope you stay.”
“Stay?” Holly asked.
“Yeah, stay with us. For a while at least. Mom might be grumpy sometimes, but that’s just how she is when she’s nervous. She probably doesn’t want you seeing that she’s nice. Because you were her assistant and she had to be strict and stuff.”
Holly thought that Alexia’s childlike analysis was fairly spot on.
“Well, I know that your mom is nice,” Holly admitted. “I know she hides it.”
“Were you friends?”
“Well, no… no. But I knew. I worked closely with her, so I knew her well.” Holly cringed at how that sounded. Especially knowing the secrets that lurked in her journals.
“Maybe you can be friends now?”
“Maybe,” Holly agreed. If friends draw erotic pictures of each other, she thought.
“Why are you blushing?” Alexia asked, her head cocked to the side in curiosity.
Holly felt her cheeks heating up. The slight blush was becoming a full-on fire now that Alexia had pointed it out. She didn’t know what to say. Her blush was getting more and more out of control, and her brain wasn’t providing her with any words.
“You like her!” Alexia whispered, her mouth and eyes opening in shock.
Holly put down her game controller and leaned towards Alexia and shushed her.
“You do, you like Mom!” Alexia said a little louder as her excitement grew.
“Alexia, please, you have to be quiet. You know what your mom’s like, she’ll get embarrassed and then she’ll get mad.”
Alexia nodded. She turned to look at the open door onto the upstairs landing. She quickly jumped over the back of the sofa and slammed the door closed. She rushed back and stood in front of Holly, clapping her hands with excitement.
“So, she doesn’t know?”
Holly debated denying everything, but she suspected that Alexia wouldn’t believe her. She seemed to be as detail-oriented as her mother, she’d seen right through her. Denial would simply stoke Alexia’s curiosity. Admission would help to bond them, and therefore help her keep control over the situation.
“No, and I’d prefer if she didn’t,” Holly said firmly.
Alexia frowned. “Why not? If she doesn’t know, then you’ll never be together. You want to be together, don’t you?”
Holly let out a frustrated sigh. She took Alexia’s arms and gestured for the girl to take the seat beside her.
“Sometimes, it’s hard for adults to be honest with each other. Especially with stuff like this. Your mom, she doesn’t exactly wear her heart on her sleeve. And she gets embarrassed easily, and then she gets angry. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable in her own house. Do you see what I mean? I think it’s best to keep things quiet. Does that make sense?”
Alexia nodded. “Yeah, I understand. You’re a coward.”
Holly blinked. Suddenly she remembered that this was Victoria Hastings daughter in front of her.
“No, well… I…”
“No, you’re a coward,” Alexia repeated. “You obviously have feelings for Mom, but you don’t want to say anything in case it goes wrong.”
Holly opened her mouth to refute the claim but found she couldn’t. Alexia was right.
“I won’t say anything, don’t worry,” Alexia promised. “If you want to be sad all your life, then that’s up to you.”
“Low blow,” Holly mumbled.
“But I could help you, if you wanted,” Alexia pressed.
Holly narrowed her eyes. This girl was already a master manipulator and negotiator. Victoria would be proud.
“Help me how?”
“I could give you advice. I won’t say anything because then Mom would really be mad. But I could tell you what to say, or what to do. I know her favourite food, chocolates, flowers.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course! You did make Mom happy before, even if you don’t think so. After you left, she got really sad for a long time.”
Holly’s heart clenched at the thought of her disappearance upsetting Victoria. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her again. She tried to look as stern and serious as possible as she turned to look at Alexia.
“Alexia, look… I… I do like your mom. A lot. And maybe she likes me. But I need you to know that sometimes things just don’t work out. I don’t want you to think that this will, because it might not. And me and your mom…” Holly let out a sigh. “It’s practically impossible. We’re from different worlds, there’s the age gap, you guys, my illness. I’m just saying, don’t be upset if nothing happens, okay?”
Alexia nodded. “Holly, my mom and dad got divorced when I was six, it’s fine. I’m not a baby.”
Holly grinned to herself. “Gotcha.”
“So, Mom totally won’t make the first move. And she won’t notice unless your moves are, like, really obvious.”
Holly wasn’t sure if taking dating advice from an eight-year-old was the best idea, but she didn’t have any of her own. And if anyone was going to have advice on wooing Victoria Hastings, it was the girl on front of her.
“Okay. Hit me,” Holly said.
Alexia gave her an appraising look. “Maybe you should be writing this down?” she suggested.