I Found You by Lisa Jewell Page A

was a baby and he was cross because he lived in London and he wanted to see me more. And Mummy said he couldn’t because of . . . things . And he got really cross and shouted and stuff and then one time I went to stay with him in London he took me somewhere. I think it was, like, a hotel or something. And even though he was really nice to me and bought me loads of presents and sweets I knew it was bad and I was scared. And then the police came and it was so scary. And I remember everything. Everything .’ She turns to face the table as he places the bagel in front of her.
    Frank doesn’t know what to say. All the stories, he thinks to himself, the world is full of stories. Butthe one story he really needs to know is buried somewhere so deep inside him he’s scared he’ll never get to it.
     
    ‘Oh!’ Alice is slightly startled to see Romaine nestled on the sofa between Hero and Frank. The TV is on and they’re watching The Octonauts .
    ‘Good morning,’ says Frank. ‘We thought we’d let you sleep a while.’
    It’s nearly nine o’clock and Alice can’t remember the last time she slept this late. ‘How totally brilliant,’ she says, leaning down to greet Griff. ‘That’s worth a night’s rent on its own.’
    She glances at Romaine. She’s a gregarious child, nothing like her older sister, who has always treated anyone not directly related to her with appalled disdain. But even so, it’s strange to see her so comfortable with a strange man. And not just as in a man who is a ‘stranger’, but a man who doesn’t know who he is. Alice, feeling suddenly horribly culpable, goes to the sofa and pulls Romaine’s head towards her mouth and kisses her crown. ‘Are you hungry?’ she says.
    ‘No,’ says Romaine, ‘Frank made me a bagel. Except he tried to put it in the toaster without cutting it. It was so funny!’
    ‘Silly Frank,’ says Frank.
    Kai appears at the gap in the door. His eyes are swollen with sleep and he looks slightly angry. Heimmediately throws his mum a look when he sees Frank on the sofa, a look that says, What the fuck is he doing here?
    Alice chooses to ignore the look and instead says, ‘Morning, gorgeous, what are you doing up so early?’
    ‘I heard voices,’ he says. ‘A man’s voice.’
    ‘Yes,’ she says, ‘Frank turned up late last night. He’s started remembering things!’
    Kai clearly couldn’t care less about Frank’s lost memory and slouches away and back up the stairs.
    ‘Sorry,’ says Frank. ‘I suppose when you’re a teenager it’s a bit weird finding some stranger in your house.’
    ‘Honestly, Frank, they’re used to it. We’ve always got people in the house. And stranger ones than you.’
    ‘Remember Barry?’ says Romaine.
    ‘I most certainly do.’
    ‘He ran away,’ says Romaine. ‘He left all his stuff and his dog and he owed Mummy loads of money and he just disappeared.’
    ‘He was a nasty man.’
    ‘Yes,’ Romaine agrees. ‘He was a nasty man. Except he always bought me comics. And chocolate.’
    ‘He shoplifted it, Romaine.’ She turns to Frank. ‘He gave a tiny girl stolen chocolate. Can you believe it?’
    ‘God, well, I hope I don’t find out that I’m a nasty man who steals chocolate and gives it to little girls.’
    ‘No,’ says Romaine, nestling closer into his body. ‘You’re definitely not a nasty man. You’re a nice man.’
    Alice looks at her daughter, the way her tiny body is pressed against Frank’s big man body. She’s allowed Romaine to be hurt before. She’s taken risks with the safety of all her children and she’s come terrifyingly close to paying for it. She searches her psyche for some sense of alarm or primal fear. But there’s nothing there but warmth.
    She says, ‘I was thinking, after what you remembered yesterday, maybe I should take you for a walk around town. See if you remember anything else.’
    ‘Can I come too?’ says Romaine.
    ‘You can come too,’ she replies. ‘And also, Frank,