Read Online Armani Angels by Cate Kendall - Free Book Online Page A

easier to let the whole thing bubble away under the surface and hope to hell it resolved itself. Well, clearly there was fat chance of that happening anytime soon.
    â€˜Thank you, Mrs Carruthers. It’s very good of you to spend your time helping us with Tyler. Perhaps a parent–teacher meeting is due next week?’ Gemma suggested, tapping her nails anxiously on the marble kitchen bench.
    â€˜Well overdue, I should think,’ Mrs Carruthers sniffed. The women rang off and Gemma sat heavily onto the kitchen stool and tried to breathe calmly. The now-familiar sense of panic churned within her and a sense of impending doom seemed to push down on her. She twisted her hands together, desperate for a good strong coffee.
    Dammit, Tyler. What am I going to do? Gemma put her head in her hands. It’s that bloody Mathew Gillespie.
    Bugger the caffeine-free diet; she needed coffee, now. She pushed the warm-up button on her Saeco. It shooshed into life. ‘Yes, please,’ Stephen called from his study. She rolled her eyes.
    She put a second glass on the warming plate and considered discussing Tyler with him, but what was the point? He’d only laugh and say his son was a rebel.
    As the comforting aroma of coffee filled her nostrils, she felt the panic slowly recede. She decided she’d call Mathew’s mum and see if they could find a way to get through to their sons. She dug through the paper pile in her nook to find the class phone list.
    â€˜Laura Gillespie.’
    â€˜Hi there, Laura, it’s Gemma Bristol.’
    â€˜Oh, hi.’
    â€˜Has Enid Carruthers called you yet?’
    â€˜Yep, just got off the phone unfortunately.’
    â€˜So, what do you think? Why would they do that? I didn’t know Tyler was even into graffiti. I’ve never seen spray cans in his room.’ Gemma paced the kitchen as she spoke.
    â€˜Yeah, it’s a bit of a pattern at this end, I’m sorry to say.’
    I knew it, Gemma thought, it is the other kid’s fault. But, deep down, she also knew that Tyler could have said no, could have stayed home and not gone to the school, could have done many things that didn’t involve defacing school property.
    â€˜Why would they do it, though? I don’t understand.’ Gemma was at her wits’ end. The coffee machine beckoned, offering false relief, but she turned away, determined not to weaken again.
    Tyler had been such a great kid through primary school. The perfect student. And such an angel. She’d hurried home from work every day to see him. She greedily guarded bathtime and bedtime as her domain. And his smile. She thought back to that infectious grin. Complete strangers would comment on it. Tyler was a happy, well-adjusted boy, a source of genuine pride.
    Then he hit fourteen and it was as if he’d been abducted by a grumpy, offensive-smelling stranger who only came out of his room for meals and to use the bathroom – though apparently not for washing.
    Now, at sixteen, he rarely spoke, except to make the occasional guttural sound under his breath.
    Gemma missed the little boy whose bright voice was once the soundtrack of their lives. Puberty seemed to have stolen his personality, and now, according to his last few reports, his school marks were dropping and he had become a troublemaker in the classroom. It was frightening.
    â€˜ I have no idea what they were thinking,’ Laura said. She sounded terse, almost rude, but Gemma knew to read sheer exasperation into it. She knew how she felt. Laura sighed heavily. ‘Look, I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m overwrought and sick of this whole thing. I don’t know what Matty’s problem is; it’s not like he talks to me.’
    â€˜Oh, I know what you mean,’ Gemma said. ‘I can’t remember the last time Tyler uttered a whole sentence . . . unless reciting the lyrics to My Chemical Romance songs counts?’
    Laura laughed.