Dark Heart Surrender by Lee Monroe

through me.
    Polly was looking around her, though I didn’t know how she could actually see anything through her black lenses. She was annoying me more and more these days.
    ‘So,’ I said, ‘your brother was round at our place the other night. Ingratiating himself with my mother.’ I watched as she removed her glasses.
    ‘Really?’ she said, her lips widening. ‘Well, that’s Ade. Every mother’s favourite.’
    ‘Yeah. He’s got that charm thing down all right,’ I said casually. ‘He almost had me thinking he was decent.’
    The smile disappeared from her face. ‘He is decent. I told you that.’
    ‘I know what you told me.’ It was difficult to keep the ice out of my tone. ‘But you’re not the most reliable of sources, are you, Polly?’
    She studied me, her eyes cold and unforgiving, before that supercilious expression returned.
    ‘You think you’re happy, Jane. You think you can hold on to this little relationship of yours. That everything will work out. But things change. People come into your life and they change things.’ She cocked her head almost sympathetically. ‘You have so much to learn.’
    I opened my mouth to respond but she had already turned away, waving at some other hapless guy.
    ‘Gotta go now.’ She turned to give me one last fake smile. ‘But I’ll see you later. We’re stuck with each other now – whether you like it or not.’
    She flicked her red hair over her shoulder as I watched her walk away, self-entitled and confident beyond her years.
    Something about Polly and Ade seemed to hold me in their spell and made me feel powerless to fight it. The moment Polly was out of sight the anger came, but more than that, cold fear.
    Why was Polly so vicious and scathing about my relationship with Luca? She had never even met him. How could she know so much about us? It had to be from Ade.
    I sank down on to a chair and grappled in my bag for some aspirin. I had another headache coming. I hadn’t been able to focus on college work lately, as though there was a fog between me and my coursework. Between everything.
    ‘Jane?’ A pair of stockinged feet in sensible footwear stood in my line of vision. I looked up to see Mrs Connelly peering at me. ‘Is everything all right?’
    I closed my bag, mustering up the biggest fake smile I could manage.
    ‘Everything’s fine,’ I told her. ‘I was just looking for something in my …’ I trailed off, noticing that Mrs C had removed her glasses. She had beautiful eyes, a golden-brown colour I had never seen before.
    ‘Jane?’ she said again, softly. ‘Are you sure you’re all right? You don’t look—’
    ‘I do feel a little woozy,’ I said, realizing it was true. Everything seemed to be slipping out of focus. I tried to get up, but couldn’t seem to find my footing, as though the floor was moving.
    The last thing I felt was Mrs Connelly’s hand gripping my arm before everything disappeared.
    ‘… under severe stress,’ a voice was saying, faded in the background. I opened my eyes, taking in a set of scales and an empty bookshelf. A light without a shade, a harsh bulb only, hung from the ceiling. I was lying on my back on a bed in the nurse’s office. I sat up quickly.
    ‘What happened?’ I said. Mrs Connelly had her back to me, in front of her was my mother – and Polly.
    My mother looked over at me, smiling but concerned.
    ‘Darling.’ She moved beyond Mrs Connelly. ‘You fainted.’
    ‘Oh.’ I swung my legs over the bed. ‘I feel fine now. I must have picked up a virus or something …’
    ‘But you haven’t been yourself for a while.’ This time Polly spoke. Her usual stinging tone was replaced by something much softer and more friendly. ‘I’ve been really worried about you.’
    ‘Really?’ I was trying to sound sarcastic but it came out as something much more submissive. ‘You never said.’
    ‘We’ve both been worried,’ Polly went on. ‘Ade and I.’
    My mother looked at her, then back at me.