Burning Bright (7 page)

I hurled myself into his arms. As we kissed, I felt all the tensions of my ongoing argument with Mum seeping away. So what if she didn’t want me to be with Flynn? He loved me. And that was
enough for me.

Our kiss became a hug. I opened my eyes. Across the road, Emmi and Grace had just walked into view. They were deep in conversation, looking down the road in the opposite direction from where we
were standing.

‘So you like the bracelet?’ Flynn asked, standing back and peering anxiously at me.

‘I love it,’ I said. ‘But how did you afford it?’

Flynn smiled. ‘A few extra shifts, that’s all. I had a free period just after lunch. I went out to buy it then. Came here as soon as the bell rang to give it to you.’

I nodded. Flynn looked pleased. ‘Go on, ask me anything you want.’ He put on a sllly voice. ‘I have nothing to hide, babe.’

I gazed into his eyes, burning bright with love, and I thought how lucky I was.

‘Okay,’ I said, my mind running over the things we hadn’t talked about in the past few weeks. ‘You never told me how you felt about being suspended – or what
happened afterwards, when you went back to school.’

‘It was fine,’ Flynn said. ‘Surprisingly fine. I got a lot of work done and nobody said anything when I went into school the next day and it’s all over now and I
haven’t been in a fight since.’

He tilted his head to one side and peered at me, his fringe flopping over one eye. ‘How am I doing with the opening up thing?’

He looked so cute, his eyes all full of laughter, that all I wanted to do was kiss him again. ‘I’m so—’ I started.

‘Hot.’ Flynn leaned closer, brushing my lips with his. ‘Unbelievably hot. You
are
.’ He drew back and stared at me, right into me, full of wanting me. My heart
started thumping. ‘And I’m unbelievably lucky.’

‘Oy!’ a loud male voice shouted. I started back, my eyes springing open. Alex was beside us. He grabbed Flynn by the shoulder and swung him around.

‘What have you done with it?’ he raged.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Emmi and Grace rushing across the road towards us. Alex shoved Flynn backwards. Flynn looked totally shocked. He clearly had no idea what Alex was angry
about.

‘Hey!’ I said. ‘Stop it!’

‘Alex!’ Emmi rushed up, her eyes wide. ‘What’s going on?’

Alex said nothing. Just stood, glaring at Flynn.

‘What’s your problem?’ Flynn demanded.

Grace grabbed my arm. ‘I got a text from James a few minutes ago. He said Alex was mad.’

‘I can see that,’ I said, ‘but why?’

Alex pushed Flynn in the chest again. This time Flynn grabbed Alex’s school blazer and pushed him back. They were seconds away from a full-on fight.

Emmi and I looked desperately at each other.

‘Stop it!’ I shouted at them both.

‘Alex, what’s the matter?’ Emmi pleaded.

Alex took a deep breath. ‘He stole my iPad.’

There was a terrible silence.

‘
What?
’ Flynn’s lip curled with contempt. ‘No I didn’t.’

‘Yes you did.’ Alex was so angry he was shaking. ‘I had it this morning, at school. When I went to my locker at the end of the day it was gone. You rushed out when the bell
rang. It was you. It had to be.
You
took it.’

‘No I freakin’ didn’t,’ Flynn said. ‘I was rushing cos I was coming here to see River.’

‘I bet it’s in your bag right now.’ Alex lunged for the bag slung from Flynn’s shoulder, but Flynn was too quick. He skipped backwards and Alex stumbled, arms
outstretched. He turned on Flynn again, furious.

‘Show me!’

‘No freakin’ way!’

‘Flynn,’ I said.
For goodness sake.
‘Why don’t you just show him what’s in your bag.’

Flynn threw me a furious glance. I was dimly aware of Emmi beside me, and Grace on Alex’s other side, but I kept my focus on Flynn.

‘You didn’t take the iPad,’ I said calmly. ‘Showing him your bag will prove it.’

Flynn made a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and a growl. Angrily, he swung the bag off his shoulder and opened it up.

‘There,’ he said, shoving it at Alex. ‘Go on, look.’

Alex snatched the bag and rummaged through it. He looked up, his eyes still livid. ‘Okay, so it’s not here. That just means you’ve already stashed it somewhere.’

‘No,’ I said quickly before Flynn could respond. ‘Flynn came straight here. He wouldn’t have had time.’

‘Baby,’ Emmi said, twisting her arm through Alex’s. ‘It does seem like you’re jumping to conclusions a bit. I mean, why blame Flynn?’

I threw her a grateful glance.

Alex wrested his arm away from her. ‘Because it’s
got
to be him,’ he said. ‘It’s just like with Nikki’s purse the other day.’

‘Rubbish,’ Flynn said. ‘I didn’t take anyone’s purse.’

‘Are you calling me a liar?’ Alex drew himself up.

‘Stop it,’ I said, taking Flynn’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ I threw Grace and Emmi a despairing look.

‘Yeah, come on.’ Emmi gripped Alex by the elbow and, much to my relief, steered him away.

Flynn let me lead him along the street in the opposite direction. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes. Now we were away from Alex, I couldn’t stop thinking about the silver bracelet
Flynn had bought me. Flynn never had any money. He’d never given me anything before. Was it really a coincidence that he should be accused of a theft on the very day he’d bought me a
relatively expensive present?

‘River?’

I looked up. Flynn glanced sideways at me. His expression was far more vulnerable than before.

‘I didn’t take the iPad,’ he said miserably.

I stopped and took his face in my hands. ‘I know.’ But inside I wasn’t sure. Flynn had said he’d done a few extra shifts to pay for the bracelet, but was that really
true? He could have taken the iPad from Alex’s locker this morning, then sold it and used the money – or some of it – to buy my bracelet during his free period from school.

Flynn pulled me to him in a hug, burying his face in my hair. ‘Thank you for believing me.’ His voice cracked. ‘I think you’re the only one. I . . . I don’t know
what I’d do without you.’

‘Of course I believe you,’ I said, hugging him back. I pushed my doubts away. What was I thinking? Flynn was no thief.

‘I love you, River.’

I breathed in his words. This was exactly what I’d wanted. At last, Flynn was really opening up. A minute later we reached the end of my road. Flynn had work in half an hour – his
organic vegetable delivery job – so we kissed, a long, lingering, beautiful kiss, and said goodbye.

I drifted home in a dream. And yet, happy though I was, shards of doubt still pricked at me. Could Flynn have stolen from Alex? If he had, it would hurt even worse than him getting provoked into
fights where at least I could understand his anger. But stealing was a cold-blooded thing to do. Which – now I thought about it – surely meant Flynn
couldn’t
be
responsible. He was
never
cold-blooded.

Neither was I. In fact, if I was honest, the intensity of my feelings scared me. Whether Flynn was getting into fights or telling me he loved me, he dominated everything in my life. Nothing
seemed real apart from being with him.

I met Flynn again the next day after school. We hung out in the park, then I went with him to the hair salon to pick up Siobhan. It had just gone six, but Siobhan was still
washing a woman’s hair. She signalled she’d just be a couple of minutes, so Flynn and I sat down by the door. Flynn chatted to the receptionist while I looked round, wondering which of
the two male stylists was the guy who’d been with Siobhan the other day, Gary. One of the men was short and stocky with spiky blond hair. The other was tall and black with broad
shoulders.

Flynn nudged me. ‘Just going for a pee.’

He wandered off to the back of the salon and the stairs down to the staff area.

I watched Siobhan expertly rinsing off her client’s hair. Her own red hair was tied neatly off her face. She looked up, caught sight of Flynn disappearing into the staff area, then smiled
over at me. I smiled back.

Siobhan’s eyes flickered over to my left, to the salon front door. Her eyes widened. The smile slid off her face.

I looked around. A tall, middle-aged man stood in the doorway. He was wearing a cheap grey suit that was too long in the sleeves and very worn around the collar. I frowned. There was something
familiar about him – about the slope of his nose, the curve of his lip. But his face was fleshy and his skin red and shiny.

I looked back at Siobhan. She looked terrified.

Some instinct told me it had to be her and Flynn’s dad.

I watched, open-mouthed, as the showerhead in Siobhan’s hand drifted forwards. Water sprayed over the client’s face. Siobhan didn’t notice. She was still staring at the man in
the doorway.

The client spluttered and sat up with a shriek.

Siobhan dropped the shower head in the sink and stepped backwards. Water was now spraying all over the floor. The client was still shrieking. All the other clients and stylists were looking
around, bemused.

Siobhan covered her mouth with her hands. Even at this distance I could see her whole body was shaking.

I jumped up and turned towards the man. He was just inside the salon now. As I moved, his gaze shifted from Siobhan to me.

He smiled at me. And there was so much of Flynn in that smile that any remaining doubts I had about the man’s identity disappeared.

‘I’m Patrick Hayes,’ he said, holding out his hand and completely ignoring the chaos going on in the salon behind us.

I shook it, my heart pounding. This was Flynn’s da. The man who had beat his mum. Who had terrorised Siobhan. Who had left Flynn with a long scar across his shoulder.

‘You’re the girl Patrick is going out with.’ He looked around. ‘Patrick not here, then?’

Patrick. Flynn’s first name. The one he refused to answer to because it was his da’s name.

I stared at the man, unable to speak.

‘It’s nice to meet you,’ he smiled. ‘I’ve seen you out with Patrick before. He’s got good taste.’

I swallowed. I’d expected a monster, but the man in front of me looked pretty normal. Charming, even. Okay, so his face was flushed and there was something clouded about his eyes, but he
certainly didn’t seem drunk. And his whole demeanour was humble. He was almost shuffling as he spoke to me, as if he were slightly ashamed of something.

I looked at his hands. They were shaking slightly. I was dimly aware of people talking rapidly across the room, though the client Siobhan had sprayed with water had stopped shrieking.

I opened my mouth, but still no sounds came out.

‘I daresay you’ve heard about me?’ Flynn’s da said.

I nodded. He glanced towards the sinks. I followed his gaze. Most of the stylists were crowded around the sopping client, who was wiping her face with a towel. Someone was mopping the floor.
Siobhan had shrunk against the far wall of the salon. She was still shaking. The black guy I’d noticed before was standing beside her, his hand on her shoulder.

‘I was hoping for a word with Siobhan,’ Flynn’s da said.

I blinked at him. ‘Now?’ I stammered.

‘Well . . .’ Flynn’s da looked towards the back of the salon. A look of alarm crossed his face. I followed his gaze. Flynn was there, in the doorway leading from the staff
area. He was staring at the scene by the basins, at Siobhan in the corner. She was rushing towards him, pointing at the door.

I turned back. Flynn’s da had gone.

Suddenly my legs felt wobbly. I sat down hard on the seat by the door.

Seconds later Flynn was at my side, his hand gripping my elbow. ‘Are you okay, River? Are you all right?’

‘Yes.’

Flynn raced to the door and peered along the street. Then he darted back to me and sat down, wrapping his arms around me. ‘Oh, my . . . Are you . . . ? What did he do?’

I looked up at him. ‘I’m fine. He didn’t do anything. I . . .’

‘Oh man, I don’t believe it.’ Flynn hugged me so tightly I could hardly breathe. ‘I can’t believe he was here. That he talked to you.’ He rocked me in his
arms, then sat back and held my face in his hands. His eyes blazed. ‘Tell me what happened.’

As I spoke, Siobhan came over and sat down beside me, on my other side. She was still shaking.

Both she and Flynn were acting as if I’d gone through some terrible ordeal. I tried to reassure them.

‘I’m fine,’ I said. ‘Honestly. He wasn’t even drunk. At least, I don’t think so. He said he just wanted to talk to Siobhan.’

Flynn and Siobhan exchanged glances. ‘D’you think he knows about Sunday?’ Siobhan said.

Flynn gritted his teeth. ‘We’ll have to cancel it.’

‘We can’t,’ Siobhan said. ‘Caitlin had to miss her original First Communion because she was ill last June. If she doesn’t do it on Sunday, she’ll have to wait
until after Easter. She’ll be devastated.’

‘I don’t think he was going to make any trouble,’ I said. ‘I mean, look how he left without any fuss.’

Flynn pulled me closer towards him again. ‘Oh, man . . .’ His voice tensed with anger. ‘If he’d hurt you. If . . .’

‘He didn’t, Flynn.’ I squeezed his hand. ‘He was fine. Really. Nice, actually. He said he’d seen me with you. Thought you had good taste.’

I was trying to make Flynn smile, but instead his face twisted with fury. ‘He’s seen us together? Freakin’ hell, Riv, he’s been watching us. I bet he’ll come after
you now.’ He thumped the seat beside him so hard that it jumped.

I frowned. ‘Flynn, you’re not listening. He didn’t
want
anything. Just to talk to Siobhan . . .’

‘And what d’you think he wanted from her?’ Flynn said. ‘
Money.
That’s what. Freakin’ money for a freakin’ pint.’

I opened my mouth to try and explain again, but Siobhan put her hand on my arm. She shook her head, then indicated the salon behind her. Everyone was watching us.

‘We should go,’ she murmured. ‘You take River home, Flynn. Gary said he’d drive me back in his car.’

Flynn looked suspiciously into the salon. The black guy was gazing over at us. So that was Gary.