Part 78 (2/2)

California before. She'd been allowed to go to the studio a few times.

Once Bev had brought Darren.

She didn't want to think of Darren because it hurt too much. Then she

was struck with a miserable wave of guilt because she tried to block him

out.

She missed Charlie, too. She'd left him behind in London in Darren's

crib. She hoped Bev would take care of him. And maybe one day, when

they went back home, Bev would talk to her again, and laugh, as she once

had.

She didn't understand very much about penance, but she thought leaving

Charlie behind was only right.

Then there was school. She was certain that having to go to that place,

so far away from everyone she loved best, was her punishment for not

taking care of Darren as she'd promised.

She remembered being punished before, the slaps and shouts. It seemed

easier, she thought now, because once the slaps were over, so was the

punishment. There seemed no end to her current banishment.

Dad didn't call it a punishment, she mused. He said she was going to a

good school where she would learn to be smart. Where she would be safe.

There were men there to watch her. Emma hated that. They

were big, silent men with bored eyes. Not like Johnno and the others.

She wanted to go from city to city with them, even if it meant going on

airplanes. She wanted to stay in hotels and bounce on the beds and

order tea from room service. But she was going back to school, back to

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