The booming of the gym music still vibrated but something had changed. The keyboard clicking had stopped. Neo was staring at Sunny wide-eyed.
‘I’m okay, Neo,’ she called across to him, her voice softened. He said nothing but continued to stare at her. ‘Seriously. I’m okay.’ She poked her tongue out at him and laughed at his surprised response. ‘I’ll raise your commission to sixty per cent on that top if you sell it.’ Neo held her look for a long time and then reluctantly went back to his trading.
It was time to come clean. ‘Look, Sunny. I’m not here to defend Karen or put her case to you or anything like that. I hardly knew her.’ She was about to say something but stopped herself. ‘I think Karen did a dreadful thing and maybe you can never forgive her for that.’ Her eyes flashed up at me. ‘That’s none of my business,’ I added quickly, ‘and not why I’m here. The truth is, Karen hired me to check that you were okay. She thought you weren’t safe.’ Sunny had gone very still, very quiet. The keyboard clicking had stopped again. These two were uncannily tuned to each other.
‘What else did she say? About me, I mean.’ She turned her head away. ‘Did she tell you she hated me?’
‘What? No, of course not. She didn’t hate you, Sunny.’ I stopped myself from reaching a hand out to her. Her head was turned away but her profile was calm. I reminded myself Sunny had lived with these demons for seven years. Almost her entire life. ‘She didn’t think you’d want to see her again but she was really happy when you decided to.’ It was all I could think to say.
She turned back to face me, her eyes still dry. ‘What did she mean I wasn’t safe? What did she think was going to happen to me?’
‘She never said,’ I admitted. ‘It’s possible she just told me that so I’d go all out to find you. Maybe there was no reason at all for her to think something was wrong.’ I waited, giving her the opening. Nothing. Nothing at all. ‘But if she was right and there is something — if you feel you’re not safe — you can tell me. I promise I’ll help.’ Still nothing. That was as far as I was prepared to go. Suspicious as Karen might have been, I wasn’t going to ask Sunny directly if Justin was sexually abusing her. ‘If you don’t need my help, I promise I won’t bother you again.’ She stared across the room for a long time without moving or saying anything. Just when I was about to stand she spoke.
‘Friday night I wanted to hang out with my friends so I wouldn’t have to, you know, think about meeting … think about seeing Mum the next day.’ Apart from the falter over what to call her mother, Sunny’s voice was calm and steady. ‘But Salena said I wasn’t allowed to go out and I wasn’t even allowed to have anyone to stay because I had to look after Neo. She always does that when Dad’s away. When he’s here, she’s all kissy to me like she actually cares. She’s such a selfish moron.’
I waited for more, but that was it. Was this code for something? Or was the concern for her safety, coming as it did from the woman who had tried to kill her, so ludicrous Sunny refused to even acknowledge it? Sunny was looking at me now, her face still and thoughtful. I looked back, willing her to explain. She didn’t.
‘Okay,’ I said, even though it wasn’t. ‘I’ll go away.’
I gave it a moment, but she didn’t try to stop me. Didn’t say anything to make me stay. Enough. What the hell was I doing with this girl, chasing her around, insisting something was wrong. Sunny was as okay as any fourteen-year-old girl; in fact, she was more than okay, given her history. I was behaving like a stalker and worse still I’d been using her as an excuse to avoid facing my own life. Shame rose in me and I blushed. It pushed me up from the sofa.
‘Can I use your computer? I want to book a flight back to Wellington.’
Sunny retreated to the upstairs room and Neo slumped on the sofa with his iPad. Using the computer at reception I checked both airlines. Same-day flights back to