“No!” I said, a little too loudly. “I just meant… that they couldn’t ditch the girls is all.”

  “Oh, so it’s like a date then?” Tammie piped up slyly.

  Aaron laughed. “Nah, they just won the vote this time.” He slapped his palm against Nathan’s shoulder. “Come on, bud. We’ll be bored stiff in there. At least, this way, we get to see what we want and still get the benefits after.”

  I felt like throwing up. Benefits? Nathan shrugged. “You can’t just invite yourself along, Aaron.”

  “You go watch the chick-flick then. Joey doesn’t mind if I tag along, do ya, Joey? I’ll sit in between these two ladies,” he said, gesturing toward Amelia and me with a creepy leer. We glanced at each other in mock horror behind his back.

  “Maybe I’ll tag along too then,” Nathan said.

  They went to get tickets and break the news to their friends. The other boys seemed disgusted they hadn’t thought of the idea first, but they had already bought their tickets to the other film. It was almost worth sitting beside Aaron in the dark to see the look on Dawn’s face. I couldn’t help giggling.

  “She’s absolutely raging!” I whispered to Tammie. Tammie grinned. Anything that pissed off Dawn made her happy.

  “Pity you and Amelia wouldn’t go out with Nathan and Aaron. That would really sicken her,” she whispered back. I gave her a filthy look in return.

  We all took our seats before the trailers had even started. Tammie insisted we sit right at the back. She also made sure she and Joey sat next to each other. Amelia followed, but Aaron pushed past me to sit between us. Nathan sat on the other side of me. Amelia looked around Aaron with the most panicked look I had ever seen, so I bit the bullet and spoke to Nathan. I leaned in close, so I could whisper without Aaron hearing me.

  “I’d swap with Amelia if I was you. So she doesn’t have to sit beside him.”

  “What about you?”

  “Who would you rather he sat next to? Me or your sister? Move.”

  His eyes softened, and for that second, I seriously believed Amelia had been right, and he really did like me.

  “I’ve a better idea,” he whispered back. “How about I swap with you and make out like I have to tell Aaron something, and then you could call Amelia over to you like you have something important to tell her. The lights will go out, and Amelia won’t bother switching back.”

  “Evans, that is a fabulous idea.”

  “Rivers, I know.”

  He made a show of asking me to swap for a minute. While he distracted Aaron, I threw a piece of popcorn at Amelia and beckoned her over. She sat next to me, looking relieved.

  “What’s up?” she said.

  “Your brother’s idea,” I said. “Want to sit next to him now?”

  “No, thanks, you’re both fine where you are,” she said with a smirk. “Thanks by the way. I so didn’t want to sit beside Aaron or those other two.”

  “Why not?”

  “Something is definitely rumbling over there.”

  I glanced over at my cousin and friend and saw them sitting particularly close together.

  The lights went down as the trailers started. Nathan leaned across me to ask if Amelia was okay. She nodded and waved him away, suspiciously engrossed by the ads. Nathan raised his eyebrows quizzically.

  “Is she okay?” he whispered to me. I nodded in reply, still quite mad at him despite his brilliant plan.

  “Are you okay?” he persisted. I glared back at him.

  “Why are you mad at me?” he said, after a minute.

  I could hardly tell him.

  “Perdita?”

  “I’m not mad,” I hissed back.

  “You look nice.”

  I shot him a nasty look. He ruined the effect by grinning back at me. I decided to ignore him. It was more difficult than I imagined. His arm tipped off mine so many times that it couldn’t be accidental.

  “Stop nudging me!”

  “Stop ignoring me.”

  “I’m not!”

  He turned in his seat to face me. “Why are you mad at me?”

  “I’m not mad at you. I don’t even know you. We’re not friends, therefore, I cannot possibly be mad at you.”

  Even in the dark, I could see he was grinning at me. It was tremendously exasperating. Even more so when he leaned across me to speak to his sister.

  “Amelia, why is your friend mad at me?”

  She stared back at him. “Because you’re a jerk.”

  He sat back in his chair with a sigh. I had completely lost the plot of the film by then.

  “If I don’t know what I’m doing to annoy you, then I can’t stop doing it, can I? So tell me.”

  I heaved an aggravated sigh. “Okay, fine. You’re acting like you’re mentally unbalanced or something. One minute you act like you don’t know me, next minute you act like we’re friends, the next like we’re… something else and then, oh, look, you’re back to not knowing me again. I do not like it. So pick one, and leave me out of the rest. I don’t appreciate being used to suit your mental mood swings.” I sat back in my seat, sort of liberated I had said my piece, sort of mortified I had been so outspoken (for me) about it.

  He was quiet for ages, so I figured he got the hint. But eventually, he leaned toward me again.

  “I’m sorry, Perdita,” he said, so softly I barely heard him. He patted my arm once or twice and then left me alone for the rest of the film. For some reason I was even more aware of his presence than before. Even when his hand was inches away from mine, my fingers pulsed and itched like they wanted to touch him.

  I didn’t have much experience with boys. None, actually. But he was complicated even for a boy. I didn’t get him, nor did I understand his motives. He didn’t act like anyone else I knew. I was completely and utterly confused and yet intrigued by him. Whatever he was playing at kept me interested. And he often looked at me like he was drawn to me, too.

  Nathan caught my eye and held my gaze a little too long. He leaned toward me, and for a split second, I felt sure he was going to kiss me. Before my heart even had the chance to race, I noticed people stirring in their seats. The end credits were rolling, and I hadn’t watched fifteen minutes of the film. Nathan looked bewildered at the sudden movement and backed off, so I knew he hadn’t been paying attention either.

  “Great film,” I said.

  “Um, yeah, wasn’t it? What was it about again?”

  “No idea.”

  He grinned at me, and I couldn’t help smiling back. Aaron stood and waited for us to move. Tammie and Joey still hadn’t noticed the film was over, they were so absorbed in each other.

  “Bucket of cold water,” Amelia suggested, seeing my hesitation. “Only way they’ll notice we’re going.”

  Aaron solved the problem by clicking his fingers in front of their faces. They both blinked in surprise before it dawned on them the film was over. Looking sheepish, they followed us out. Our film had finished first, so it seemed polite to hang around with Aaron and Nathan while they waited for their friends. Nathan and I stood as close together as possible without actually touching.

  Tension fissured the space between us every time he looked at me, but we didn’t say a word.

  The first batch of people finally trickled out of the screen-room. Among them was my father, holding the hand of a young blonde woman. I stepped toward him in shock, completely forgetting I was supposed to be at home.

  “Dad?”

  His whole face flushed red. “Uh, Perdy,” he stuttered before getting his act together and becoming all Dad-like. “What are you doing here? I thought you were watching a film at home.”

  “And I thought you were working,” I accused, hoping to deflect attention away from me. Dad glanced at his lady friend with guilty eyes.

  “This is my friend, Erin. I, uh, I thought I was working tonight, but they, uh, didn’t need me in.” His eyes darted around shiftily. His ‘friend’ held out her hand to shake mine.

  “Hi, Erin. Dad, don’t lie. Why didn’t you just tell the truth?” I wasn’t sure if I was icked out or amused by the whole thing.

  “And what about trusting you to do the right thing?” he replied in a sterner tone.

  Erin looked surprised. She had obviously only met nice, charming Dad. Now she was being introduced to the rule maniac.

  “Gran gave me permission. Besides, I’m only at the cinema.”

  “With boys.” He said it as though they were disease carrying monsters.

  “Eh, no. Not with boys. I came with Joey, Tammie and Amelia, actually. Joey doesn’t count as a boy. The others just happened to be at the cinema, too. They’re only standing here waiting on their other friends. This is Amelia by the way. And that’s her brother, so… so it’s legit.” My voice had risen a little with desperation. I didn’t want to get into trouble in public.

  Dad gave me a look that said who are you kidding, but he shook Amelia’s hand nonetheless. He looked Nathan up and down a couple of times before he shook his. Nathan looked my father right in the eye and even spoke to him. I was majorly impressed, especially considering Aaron had run off and hidden in the toilets as soon as my Dad opened his mouth. Even Joey had backed away and half hidden himself behind a tall plastic fern.

  “Sorry, sir. Perdita would be on her way home by now, but we wanted to wait until the others were finished so we could make sure everyone got home safely.” Disgustingly smooth.

  Most parents can’t resist a responsible line about getting everyone home okay, and apparently, my Dad was no different.

  “Oh, well, take your time then Perdy. Of course. Nathan, is it? I’m holding you responsible for everyone here. Well, uh, we’re off. I’ll see you at home later on, okay?” He gave me a quick hug before dragging Erin away. She waved goodbye to us all.

  I whirled around to face Nathan. “What the hell did you do? Hypnotise him? Tammie, did you just see that? My Dad was all… reasonable!”

  “Wow.” Tammie looked impressed. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Perdy, he told you to take your time.” She burst into fits of giggles. Amelia and Nathan didn’t get it, but my Dad never said anything like that. Then again, he had never been reasoned with before either.

  “Is he really that strict?” Nathan sounded doubtful.

  “Um, understatement,” Tammie scoffed.

  “I’m not usually allowed out when it’s dark or late or when he’s working or, like, ever. My Gran persuaded me to go out tonight, so he didn’t know. Usually he would flip out at something like that. He must have been trying to impress his lady friend,” I said.

  “Yeah, that was weird. Since when does your Dad go on dates?” Tammie made a face.

  “Who knows? Wait until I tell Gran. I’m surprised he didn’t beg me not to.”

  The others wandered over, and Dawn managed to find the time to throw me the evil eye. A perfect reminder of how things were meant to be.

  “Anyway,” I said, directly at Nathan but loud enough for the rest to hear. “We’ll make sure Amelia gets home okay.”

  “Good idea,” Dawn said, slithering up beside Nathan like she was going to lick him or something.

  “Nah, I’ll go with Amelia, once the rest of you are all back at home safe,” he said.

  “It’s fine. Just do whatever you would have been doing if we didn’t turn up; she’ll be safe with us. Joey, Tammie, you ready?”

  My friends gathered around me, half-heartedly saying goodbye to the others. Nathan hesitated for a few seconds before letting us go.

  “Bus or taxi?” I asked outside.

  “Taxi is safer,” Joey said.

  “Yeah, but the bus is cheaper,” Tammie argued.

  Tammie won. We got off near Amelia’s house and stood outside her driveway until she went inside. I saw a dark haired man watch us from an upstairs window. Amelia’s family were all kinds of strange.

  As we walked to Tammie’s house, my cousin and friend made eyes at each other, so I told them I was heading on by myself. They made an unenthusiastic attempt to stop me, but I insisted, so they went back to paying attention to each other.

  I wasn’t far from my own house. I had made the journey a million times. Not once had I been afraid. This was different. Something about the night kept the goose bumps raised on my arms. I instinctively looked behind me every few yards, convinced someone was there. I couldn’t hear footsteps, but I didn’t feel alone. The wind made strange whispers and howls, unexplainable shadows darted across my path, and my imagination ran wild.

  Dark clouds swept across the moon. A streetlamp flickered on and off, unnerving me. Shivering, I crossed my arms, almost feeling as though I had to guard myself.

  The walk seemed to last an eternity. My pace quickened along with my anxiety. A couple of times, I thought I heard a dog padding along behind me, but every time I looked around, there was nothing to be seen. I had my keys out before I even reached my house, but I worked myself up into such a panic that I couldn’t fit the key in the lock.

  My heart pounded in my ears, fooling me into hearing scarier noises. I pressed the doorbell urgently and backed up against the door, staring out into the dark. A black shadow in the distance seemed to bolt toward me. I fell backward as the door opened behind me.

  I pushed against Gran and slammed the door behind us. Gripping her arm, I closed my eyes and released a long sigh of relief, feeling completely safe. Nothing was after me, and I was too old to get spooked by the dark.

  “Are you okay?” She looked me over with concern.

  I laughed out loud, feeling silly. “Oh, don’t mind me. Just scaring myself. Is Dad back yet?”

  “No, not yet. You’re safe.”

  “He saw me already. You’ll never guess what happened; he wasn’t at work at all, and he was on a date in the cinema with some woman.”

  “Really? Was she pretty?”

  “Yeah, actually,” I said, remembering. “Pretty, young, blonde. Hey, is Dad going through a mid-life crisis?”

  I forgot all about how scared I had been outside as I scandalised my grandmother with tales of my straitlaced Dad’s deceit. We tried to wait up for him to get some gossip, but he stayed out too late, and we were already tired. Before I went to bed, I glanced out of the window and was almost certain I saw a huge dog run up the road. Except it was so big, I found it hard to believe it was just a dog. I stayed at the window for ages hoping to see it again.

  That night, I dreamt that a gang of gigantic, wild dogs were chasing me, but a boy with lovely brown eyes came and sent them away. As far as dreams went, it wasn’t too bad.

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning, I got up bright and early, feeling thoroughly refreshed. I went outside to get our Sunday papers while Gran and Dad finished their breakfast. Instead of the papers, I found something else. I gave a little shriek that sent Dad and Gran running outside after me. A dead tabby cat, its eyes wide open and glazed over, lay on our doorstep.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I just got a fright.”

  “Oh, the poor thing,” Gran said. “It must have lain there to die during the night.”

  Dad leaned over, his forehead creasing into a deep frown as he peered at the cat. Straightening his back, he nudged the cat with his foot. A slight movement was all it took for me to realise it hadn’t picked our doorstep to die on. Before Dad could push us back inside, I saw the animal’s insides spill out from the gaping hole in its torso. Blood drops trailed from our gate to our front door. Feeling sick, I backed into the house with Gran, who was more than a little shaken judging by the paleness of her cheeks. I made her a cup of coffee while Dad disposed of the body and cleaned up outside.

  “What happened to it?” Gran asked when he came back inside.

  His face was grim. “It looks like some sort of animal ripped open its stomach and then carried it to our door, for some reason. I don’t know how it did it so neatly.”

  “Could a dog have done it?” I said, thinking hard. “I thought I saw a dog outside last night.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded as he scrubbed his hands. “Still seems strange. Why carry it here and then leave it? And so carefully. Bizarre.”

  “Poor kitty,” I said sorrowfully.

  “Do you still want a dog after this?” Dad said.

  “Yeah. But we should rescue a kitten too.”

  “Don’t push your luck. Especially after last night.”

  Gran almost crowed with excitement, immediately distracted. I tried my hardest to force the image of the slaughtered cat out of my mind, but I wasn’t as easily side-tracked as my grandmother.

  “Oh, yes, last night. How was work?” she teased.

  Dad’s face turned pink. “Aw, leave him alone, Gran,” I said, forcing a smile. “But you won’t get away with not telling us anything, so you better spill, Dad.”

  He rolled his eyes, knowing full well we would gang up on him all day if he didn’t talk.

  “Okay, okay! I lied about having to work. Erin is a medical secretary in the hospital, and we decided to go to the pictures together. As friends. Perfectly normal. No big deal.”

  “I don’t hold hands with my friends. Grandmother, do you?”

  She shook her head in mock seriousness. “No, granddaughter, I don’t.”

  “Oh, stop it.” Dad tried to sound stern, but I could hear the laughter in his voice. “And you’re one to talk Perdy. You just happened to bump into Amelia’s brother last night?”

  “Eh, yeah actually!” I said as indignantly as I could manage.

  “Amelia’s brother?” Gran’s eyes gleamed with this new piece of information.

  “Don’t turn it around on me, Dad! What were we supposed to say? No Amelia, your brother can’t be seen with us? Pfft.”

  Dad laughed heartily, a rarity in our house. Gran and I glanced at each in bemusement. He hadn’t given me any grief for going out without his permission. Maybe this Erin woman was a good influence on him. I wasn’t sure if I liked the idea of him having a girlfriend, but if it helped him lighten up then I had no problem reaping the benefits.

 

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