Casting Shadows (23 page)
Our lips touched – a light, sweet kiss like water on parched earth. I drew back.
‘I have to go now,’ I said. I still felt calm. Not numb. Not upset. Not even angry anymore. It all made sense, as if the world had shifted around me and I could suddenly see
everything clearly.
Flynn loved me in his way but his way was limited. And I didn’t have to feel bad about that.
I didn’t have to feel bad about anything.
‘Look after yourself,’ I said.
Flynn nodded. ‘You too.’
As I turned and walked away, the rain stopped and the sun came out, bright and brilliant, warming my face. I didn’t look back until I reached my front door. Flynn was watching me from the
end of the road. Tall and dark in his trench coat, the sun shone so fiercely that I couldn’t make out the features of his face. I gazed for a moment at his outline, silhouetted against the
steely sky. He raised his arm, casting a long shadow across the pavement, then turned and walked away.
I let myself into Mum’s house. The smell of chips wafted towards me across the hall. My silver bracelet slapped lightly against my wrist as I took off my coat. I fingered the tiny heart
then let it go and headed towards the kitchen, eager to get warm and to eat.
Flynn and River’s story continues in
Defy the Stars
, coming soon . . .
S
OPHIE
M
C
K
ENZIE
was born and brought up in London, where she still
lives with her teenage son. She has worked as a journalist and a magazine editor, and now writes full time. Her debut was the multi-award winning
Girl, Missing
(2006), which won the Red
House Book Award and the Richard and Judy Best Children's Book for 12+, amongst others. She is also the author of
Blood Ties
and its sequel,
Blood Ransom, The Medusa Project
series, and the
Luke and Eve
trilogy. She has tallied up numerous award wins and has twice been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
