Burning Bright (2 page)

‘You sure you want to do that?’ he snarled. ‘Remember what happened yesterday . . . you know, at school, during the snowstorm?’

Flynn hesitated. His eyes flickered over to me.

I frowned. What was Alex talking about? ‘What happened yesterday?’

‘Oh, doesn’t River know?’ Alex said, his voice all mock concern.

‘Shut up,’ Flynn snapped. He turned to me. ‘Don’t listen to him.’

‘Oh, what’s the matter? Lost your nerve?’ Alex said. He folded his arms. ‘You were happy to lash out before. You have a serious problem.’

This was so unfair, I couldn’t keep quiet. ‘Stop it,’ I said, my voice shaking with anger. ‘Flynn didn’t do anything to provoke you. We were together and you just
came over and—’

‘Flynn doesn’t need a reason to lose it,’ Alex said nastily. ‘Like I said, he’s got a serious problem – and it’s not just the violence.’

I stared at him. What was Alex talking about? I was beside Flynn now. Flynn was glaring at Alex, his whole body tensed with rage. Any second now he was going to lose his temper properly.
I’d seen him hit people before and I knew that shove he’d given Alex before was nothing compared to what he was capable of.

‘It’s time to get out now anyway,’ Emmi said, materialising at the poolside just above Alex’s head. ‘Come on, babe.’

Alex glanced up at her and Flynn turned away.

‘We’ll get out when we’re ready,’ Flynn spat.

Alex gave a disgusted snort. ‘You know you’re only here because of
her
.’ He pointed to me. ‘If she wasn’t Emmi’s best friend . . .’ With a shake
of his head, Alex hauled himself out of the pool. As he stalked off towards the changing rooms I caught Emmi’s eye. She looked relieved – but also embarrassed. The people watching the
scene were drifting away – the boys who’d been laughing before, started splashing at each other. Noise rose up, echoing off the swimming bath walls. It was over.

‘Come on, River,’ Flynn said. He splashed noisily across the pool.

I hesitated. It wasn’t nice to hear Flynn was only at the party because Alex felt he
had
to invite him, though I wasn’t surprised. But what really bothered me was Alex’s
reference to Flynn’s ‘problem’. What exactly was he talking about? I had the strong sense that Emmi knew, just like Flynn did, but that neither of them wanted me to find out. Emmi
turned to follow Alex.

‘Wait, Emmi,’ I said, pulling myself half out of the water.

She stopped. Turned back to face me. Her expression was guarded.

‘What did Alex mean when he said Flynn’s problem “wasn’t just the violence”?’ I asked. ‘What did Flynn do yesterday that made Alex attack him just
now?’

Emmi shrugged. ‘No idea.’ She walked away into the changing rooms. A shiver ran down my spine. She was lying, I was sure. But why?

All over the pool, people were emerging, dripping, from the water. I slid back in and swam over to Flynn. By the time I reached him, we were the only two people left. A few minutes ago that
would have seemed romantic but the magic of the moment when Flynn found me had gone and I was only aware of how cold the water was, full of stinky chlorine, making my skin pucker. Flynn was
treading water in the deep end, his face still thunderous. I took a deep breath. I knew from experience, asking Flynn difficult questions at the wrong moment was likely to make him explode.

‘About what happened yesterday . . .’ I began.

‘It was just Alex trying to wind me up, okay?’ he snapped. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Right.’ I was sure there was more to what had happened than that, but equally aware there was no point pushing Flynn right now. ‘Shall we get out?’

Flynn’s face relaxed. ‘In a second.’ He put his hands back on my face. ‘You look so beautiful.’ His eyes were sparkling, so intently focused on me that I felt my
neck and face above the water burning. Flynn thought I was gorgeous. Which meant that, surely, I must at least look better than I’d thought. The water was bringing out the emerald in his
green-gold eyes. He ducked lower in the water, so it lapped against his chin, then he pulled me right up against him. I forgot where I was as he kissed me. His kisses were perfect – hard but
soft, pushing, yet pulling – always listening to the way I kissed him back.

I ran my hands up his wet, smooth back. My fingers reached his shoulders and I felt the jagged line of the scar where his da had glassed him. He told everyone else it was a scar from a fight. I
was the only person who knew the truth – that his family have no money and his dad’s a violent drunk who’s not supposed to come near Flynn or his mum or sisters.

‘We should go,’ I said.

‘I’ll just swim a couple of lengths first,’ Flynn said. ‘See you outside?’

I nodded and Flynn splashed away. I watched as he got into his stride, hurtling furiously down the pool. Despite our kiss, it was obvious he was still angry – you could see it in every
pull of his arms, every kick of his legs. All my previous anxieties surged back. What was Flynn so mad about? What ‘serious problem’ had Alex been talking about before? And what had
happened yesterday?

I got out and trudged, alone, to the changing rooms.

I showered and changed into my jeans, still puzzling over what Alex had said. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe Alex was just trying to wind Flynn up. They didn’t like each
other, after all. The tension between them had started because of Emmi: just before Christmas, Emmi had played Juliet in the play at the boys’ school. Flynn had been Romeo and I know Alex had
wondered – like I had done – whether Emmi and Flynn had enjoyed kissing each other in the play more than they let on. I knew now that my fears had been groundless but, even though Alex
must know this too, it was clear he had disliked Flynn ever since.

I pulled my top over my head and hurried out of the cubicle, determined to find Emmi as soon as possible and force her to tell me what she knew. But there was no sign of her. In fact the
changing room was almost empty. I scurried over to the hairdryers to dry my hair. Grace was already there, tugging a comb through her sleek blonde bob.

‘Hey, Grace,’ I said casually. ‘I was just wondering. Did James tell you anything that happened at the guys’ school yesterday? Something to do with Flynn? During the
snowstorm?’

Grace blinked round at me. ‘What?’ she said. ‘Why?’

I told her what had just happened by the pool.

Grace blushed. ‘Oh, Riv . . .’ She stopped.

‘What?’

‘Well.’ Grace squirmed. ‘James did say something earlier . . . about Flynn getting into a fight at school yesterday afternoon. He pushed some boy into a hedge or
something.’

I nodded. It wasn’t the first time Flynn had been in a fight. He’d never hurt me – or made me feel scared that he might – but I’d seen him fly off the handle at the
slightest provocation. It was hard to predict when it was going to happen, so many things made him angry.

‘What was the fight about?’ I asked, still confused as to why either Flynn or Emmi would want to keep the details from me – and why, in particular, Alex mentioning it just now
had stopped Flynn from hitting him.

Grace looked across the changing room. I got the strong impression she didn’t want to look me in the eyes, much like Emmi earlier. ‘Grace?’ I said.

‘Didn’t Flynn tell you
any
of this?’ Grace bit her lip. ‘God, James is gonna kill me.’

‘So what happened?’ I said, not knowing whether to feel more angry or bewildered. ‘Why the big secret?’

‘I don’t know the whole story.’ Grace took my hand. Hers felt warm. I realised I was shivering. ‘James just said the fight was over a girl.’

‘A
girl
?’ The words came out of me in a tiny voice. After all my suspicions at the end of last term, that Flynn really liked Emmi, I’d convinced myself he was totally
into me. Okay, so we hadn’t gone as far as most of the couples I knew, but Flynn was cool with that. At least I thought he was.

‘James didn’t know the details,’ Grace went on. ‘It was . . . Flynn had upset someone’s girlfriend and the guy had a go at him. James didn’t think it was a
big deal . . . Flynn’s
always
upsetting people. You know that.’

‘Upset her how?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Grace stammered.

‘Right.’ I felt numb. There could be loads of explanations for what Flynn had done. But why didn’t he want me to know about it? Why had Alex’s mention of it in front of
me made him back away?

Grace turned her attention back to the mirror, applying a little eyeshadow and a dash of pale pink lipgloss. Unlike Emmi, who favoured dark, dramatic make-up, Grace usually went for a completely
natural look.

‘That’s pretty,’ I said, indicating the lipgloss.

Grace glanced sideways and offered me a shy smile. ‘Thanks, Riv. Er, are you okay?’

‘Sure.’ I stroked mascara onto my eyelashes, trying to put what I’d just heard out of my head.

Grace shuffled from foot to foot.

‘I’ll see you outside,’ I said.

‘Okay.’ She sounded relieved.

Alone in the changing room, I took my time brushing my hair and putting on the rest of my make-up. Why did everything with Flynn always have to be so complicated?

I trusted him.

I loved him.

He barely had to touch me before I was off my head, totally overwhelmed with how much I wanted him back.

It was terrifying how much I felt for him.

Which of course was part of the problem. It all mattered so much – what he did, what he said, how he felt about me.

Somehow, when I was around Flynn, it was all too easy to lose myself: to feel that all I was, was reflected in his eyes. Like being with him was a brighter, sharper reality than everything else
in my life.

By the time I got outside the swimming baths, everyone apart from Flynn was already halfway up the road. He smiled when he saw me, his breath misting into the chilly night air. Most of the snow
from yesterday’s storm had melted now, but it was still really cold.

‘What were you doing in there?’ he said.

‘Thinking.’

Flynn hesitated. ‘Thinking that maybe we didn’t have to go for this stupid pizza with everyone?’

I stared at him. ‘It was only
Alex
being a jerk,’ I said.

Flynn rolled his eyes. ‘It’s Alex’s party.’

‘What happened yesterday?’ I said. Images were now flashing through my head: Flynn flirting with someone’s girlfriend . . . Flynn holding
her
by the waist, looking into
her
eyes, kissing
her
lips . . .

‘I told you – nothing,’ Flynn growled.

‘But it wasn’t nothing, was it?’ I said. ‘You got in a fight yesterday at school, during the snowstorm. You pushed some boy into a hedge because he was angry with you.
That
was what Alex was talking about before, wasn’t it?’

Flynn met my gaze. He said nothing, but the sullen look in his eyes told me that I was right.

‘The boy you pushed was mad with you over some girl?’ I said, anxiety now knotting my guts.

‘Who told you that?’ Flynn snapped.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ I said, tears threatening to well up. He wasn’t bothering to deny it. ‘Who was she? What had you done with her? Why don’t you want to
tell me about it?’

‘It was nothing, nobody was hurt,’ Flynn insisted. ‘It was just a misunderstanding.’

‘Right.’ Angry, terrified misery filled me. I turned and stalked up the road after the others. I didn’t look round to see if Flynn was following me. What was the point? If he
couldn’t trust me with whatever had happened, we didn’t have much of a relationship anyway.

Flynn caught up with me as I reached Amore Pizza. Everyone else was already inside the restaurant, taking off their coats and finding seats around the long table.

‘River?’ he said, touching my arm. ‘I just don’t want to talk about it, right now, okay?’

I shrugged and went inside, feeling hurt and angry. Okay, so Flynn didn’t want to talk. Maybe I was overreacting, but what with school and all his jobs, we had so little time together . .
. so few opportunities to be close. And he was spoiling what should have been a really nice night.

I deliberately sat apart from him while we were having our pizza. He looked over at me a couple of times, but didn’t say anything. Later everyone started getting tanked up on beers and he
pulled out some money – I knew it would be the exact money for what he’d eaten. As usual, he couldn’t afford to pay a split of the bill, and anyway – because of his da
– Flynn never drank alcohol, so he’d have been paying for other people’s booze.

Despite the fact that it was fair, I knew that Flynn hated having to do it. I could see his eyes hardening as he left his cash with James. He looked over at me one last time – a long,
resentful look. Then he got up and walked away from the table without saying goodbye.

My stomach twisted into knots as I watched him leave. I caught Grace’s eye. She was smiling at me sympathetically. Then I looked up the table to where a very drunken Alex was chewing
Emmi’s face off.

It was crazy. Grace was fond of James. And Emmi certainly fancied Alex. But I was sure neither of them felt like Flynn and I did about each other. So why was it always so difficult with him? Why
did he get so angry and moody about everything? Why did I get so upset?

I stood up and stomped out of the restaurant. Everyone would know I’d gone after Flynn, but I didn’t care. I wanted to tell him how furious I was. How stupid he was being.

Outside it was still bitterly cold. My breath whirled in front of my face as I glanced up and down the road.

Flynn was leaning against the wall of the bank next to the pizza restaurant looking across at me. His eyes glinted gold in the street lights as he pushed himself off the wall. Then he strolled
lazily over, his hands in his pockets, a smile creeping round the edges of his mouth. How annoying! He’d
known
I would follow him outside. He was infuriatingly sure of himself.

And so unbearably sexy that I couldn’t look away.

He stopped just in front of me. ‘Thanks for coming out,’ he said.

‘Why are you being so horrible?’ I snapped, angry at him for being able to predict my behaviour like that.