Verity

  As soon as Gran left the room, I grabbed the opportunity to ask Dad about the cat. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  “Do you really think a stray dog did that?”

  “Of course.”

  “It just seems weird. Maybe some sicko could have done it?” I wasn’t sure why that thought was in my head, but lately, I hadn’t felt as safe as usual.

  Dad smiled. “Don’t be so melodramatic, Perdy. I know you’re upset, but keep that imagination under control. Your Gran told me how scared you were last night when you came in. Besides, you said yourself you thought you saw a dog.”

  I scowled. I had been silly the night before, but it didn’t mean he should discount my opinions straight off.

  “Come on, Perdy, cheer up. It was just a one-off.”

  Something about the whole thing didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, so I smiled back at Dad and tried to forget about it.

  Gran went out that afternoon, leaving Dad and me at home. I figured it would be nice to spend some time together for a change.

  “Hey Dad, wanna watch a DVD with me? I’ll let you pick. I won’t even hide the Jean-Claude Van Damme DVDs this time.”

  Dad cleared his throat and fidgeted with his watch. “Actually, I have plans with Erin today. Why don’t you go over to Tammie’s house or something?”

  My face fell. The one day I didn’t want to be alone. I straightened photo frames on the mantelpiece to distract myself.

  “Erin? Again? What’s the story with you two, Dad?” I pinched my bottom lip with my teeth in an effort to keep my face expressionless.

  “It’s no big deal. Is it?”

  He met my eyes, and for the first time, I saw him looking for my permission or blessing or some sign I wouldn’t make things awkward for him. Since my mother left him, he had put me and his job before personal relationships. Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t be fair to ruin his chances now.

  “You’re the only one who knows if it’s a big deal or not, but in my opinion, it’s about time you had some fun. You were getting a little boring there for a while, you know.”

  His face lit up. It reminded me of when I was younger, before Dad had started worrying about boys or alcohol or failing in school. He had always been protective, but once upon a time, he had also been fun to be around. If he rediscovered that side of himself with Erin, then who was I to interfere? Still, when he left I felt completely alone. It was surprisingly hard to shake that left behind feeling.

  I tried to paint, but after staring at a blank canvas for twenty minutes, I decided to give up on that idea. I turned to cleaning to distract myself. I worked on scrubbing away the niggling fears in the back of mind. No more murdered cats, staring strangers, and brown-eyed boys.

  Tammie popped around for a while to make sure I had gotten home okay.

  “Well, if I hadn’t, it’d be a bit late now to check up on me,” I said, mopping the kitchen floor aggressively.

  “As if anything could happen to you five minutes away from your house,” she scoffed. “Stop cleaning. Why are you cleaning?”

  I rolled my eyes and put everything away. “So?” I said when I sat down next to her.

  “So, what?”

  “Little Miss Innocent today? So, what’s going on with you and Joey?”

  “Nothing, why?” she said, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Tammie...”

  “Seriously, nothing happened. We flirted a bit, which was a nice change, but he didn’t do anything or try anything or say anything important.”

  “Disappointed?”

  She stretched her arms out behind her head. “Nah. Progress is progress and all that.”

  “Looked like progress, all right. We were all afraid to sit next to you in the cinema.”

  “But do you think he’ll make a move soon?” she said, her forehead creasing with worry.

  “No, Tammie. I told you before. You’ll have to make the first move. You know what he’s like.”

  “What about you and the Evans chap?”

  I felt like getting the mop out again. “What about me and… him?”

  “Anything interesting happen?”

  “Ha. Yeah, right.”

  “You sat next to each other.”

  “So? Amelia sat on the other side of me, and you’re not asking about me and her.”

  Tammie laughed. “The lady doth protest too much. Are you disappointed then?”

  “No. I know better than to expect anything.” I smiled at her. “Dad was morto this morning by the way.”

  She chuckled with unbridled glee. “Oh, yeah! Who would have thought Old Man Rivers would be getting more action than you? Oh, the shame!”

  “Shut up! Anyway, have you heard from my cousin today?”

  She shook her head. “I might knock over to him.”

  “Alone?”

  She avoided my eyes. “Well, maybe.”

  “It’s cool. Go on. You might want to do something about your hair though.”

  She touched her fringe, horrified at the thought there was something wrong with it.

  “I’m kidding!” I said, laughing. “Go on, I’ll meet you at the bus stop in the morning.”

  When she left, the house felt empty. Lonely. It was only a matter of time before Tammie and Joey started going out together. I figured I should get used to it.

  The landline rang; I answered, hoping it was Tammie, but nobody said a word. I heard breathing, so I said hello a couple of times before hanging up and putting it down to a wrong number. Maybe I was still freaked out over the dead cat, but I couldn’t ignore the cold feeling in my gut when I put down the phone.

  I wandered around the house not really knowing what to do. I was so grateful when my own mobile rang that I raced up the stairs to answer it.

  “Hello?” I said, panting a little.

  “Perdita? You okay?”

  “Oh, hey Amelia. Yeah, I just ran up the stairs to get the phone. How are you?”

  “Good, thanks. Any news on Tammie and Joey?”

  “She popped over for a minute. She’s gone to his house now, working on it. She reckons she’s getting there.”

  “Ah, good. So, what are you doing?” She sounded chirpy enough to turn my mood around.

  “Em, nothing really. On my own here. You?”

  “Nothing either. Wanna come over?”

  I hesitated. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go over if Nathan was around. Being honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go over if he wasn’t.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to be shy or anything. If you don’t want to see… anyone in particular then we can hide out in my room.”

  I couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll just ring my Gran and ask is it okay first, yeah?”

  “Sure, see you.”

  It was pretty sly of me to ask Gran, knowing my Dad would say no. She agreed readily when I asked if I could go. She even encouraged me to stay for dinner if I was invited. I rang Amelia again; she told me to hurry up. I took a couple of minutes to stress out about meeting Amelia’s family, and a little part of me was afraid to go outside at all, but I put it to the back of my mind.

  Before I even made it to her door, Amelia ran out to greet me, followed by a huge grey dog. It was almost as big as the one I’d seen outside my house. It walked straight up to me and nuzzled my hand.

  “What’s this? A horse?”

  “No, one of our dogs, King. Isn’t he handsome?” she enthused.

  He was a bit scruffy looking, but he had beautiful, loyal, trusting eyes that reminded me of Dolly.

  “He’s pretty nice, all right,” I said, giving the dog a scratch behind his ears. He whined appreciatively. His hair was shaggy, sort of wiry, but he was well groomed. I was used to Dolly being bouncy and hyper, so this calm giant didn’t intimidate me at all. When I stopped giving him attention, he nudged me repeatedly.

  “Okay, you’re more than nice,” I told him. “What di
d you say he is? A wolfhound?”

  “Yep. He’s my favourite.”

  “He seems to like you.”

  I looked around to see who was speaking. A tall, broad man, who looked remarkably like Nathan, except with curly hair and a slightly darker shade of skin, approached us. The same man I had spotted watching us the night before. A shiver ran down my spine when he looked at me.

  “This is my uncle, Byron,” Amelia said, tugging him by the arm.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said. He didn’t hold his hand out to be shaken.

  “He doesn’t usually like strangers,” he said, nodding at King. Byron’s voice was rich and deep, but his eyes were cold, almost completely devoid of emotion. Even though Amelia clung to him, he didn’t respond in any way.

  “Lucky me.” I wasn’t sure what to make of Byron. He seemed so stern and aloof.

  “Indeed. Amelia, take her inside to meet your grandmother. She’s waiting in the kitchen.”

  Amelia linked my arm and led me into the house, chatting away excitedly. King padded after us. I looked behind me to see Byron standing very still, watching us intently.

  “Where are your other dogs?” I whispered, trying to forget about her strange uncle.

  “You don’t have to whisper,” she whispered back. “They’re out with my grandfather and Nathan. King always stays with me.”

  The house surprised me. It was so modern compared to the outside. The part that really caught my attention was the hallway because it was covered in photos and paintings of wolves. Most people I knew had pictures of their families on their walls. The effect was unsettling. Goosebumps covered my arms as I realised the large dog I had seen outside my house looked an awful lot like a wolf.

  In the kitchen, Amelia’s grandmother hugged me tight, as if I was a long-lost relative. Her hair was almost white, and she had plenty of wrinkles, but her bone structure was amazing, so she looked much younger than my Gran. Her skin was a dark mocha colour, and she smelled nice and fresh, sort of like violets. She was the opposite of the reserved Byron, so warm and friendly, that it was easy to see where Amelia got that from too.

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Perdita,” she said. Her accent was also mixed, but I caught hints of a French accent in there. “You’re welcome here anytime.”

  “Mémère, look at King. He’s following Perdita around.” Amelia pointed at the dog who nudged my hand with his nose, trying to get my attention.

  “King, out.” Amelia’s grandmother shooed him away.

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Evans,” I said.

  “Mrs. Evans, how sweet. Amelia was named for me, but you may call me Lia, if you like.” Lia looked at me a little too long. Now I knew where Amelia got it from.

  “Oh. Right. Thanks. Uh, Lia.” I felt awkward all of a sudden, but she led me into the room, her arm around my shoulders.

  “Sit down while I make a snack for everyone. Opa will be back soon. Amelia, pour yourself and Perdita a glass of juice while you wait for him.”

  We sat at the dining table with our drinks while Lia prepared a snack. The snack turned out to be huge omelettes filled with pretty much the entire contents of their fridge. She took the last of the mixture from the frying pan as Nathan walked in, his forehead streaked with muck. Four more dogs traipsed in but were ordered back outside by Amelia. As soon as Nathan saw me, he stopped in his tracks. He barely said hello before he backed out of the room. I wasn’t even a little bit surprised.

  “I’ll be right back,” Lia said, her smile never reaching her eyes. “Amelia, could you begin to serve the food, please?”

  An elderly man strode in, his back perfectly straight, and kissed Amelia on the forehead.

  “This is my grandfather, Perdita,” she said, her voice prouder than ever. “Opa, this is Perdita.”

  Amelia’s grandfather beamed at me. He took my hand and held it between both of his large ones, shaking it gently.

  “Ah, I didn’t know you would arrive today. Welcome to our home. We’re all delighted to meet you.” His voice was still heavy with more than a trace of a German accent, and his eyes twinkled as he spoke.

  Mr. Evans, or Jakob as he told me to call him, sat next to me. He pushed King out of his way and chatted easily to me. I couldn’t feel shy around him.

  Amelia set large plates full of food in front of us and sat on the other side of me. They both tucked in and encouraged me to join them. The portion on my plate was a similar size to Amelia’s, but I couldn’t imagine eating it all. The rest of the plates had double portions. I couldn’t understand how they were all so lean. Lia and Jakob were in much better shape than my Dad, never mind my Gran.

  Lia came back into the room followed by Byron and the now clean Nathan. Lia and Jakob carried the conversation. I was happy to eat and listen. It was strange to sit there with another family. My family rarely ate together, and even when we did, we didn’t exactly chat like Amelia and her grandparents.

  Lia and Jakob clearly idolised Amelia. They hung on to her every word and looked at her as if she was their most precious possession. I could see why she was so upset when anyone was mean to her; she hadn’t heard a bad word at home. Byron ate quickly and excused himself, saying he had to work. He was another Evans male who was hard to figure out.

  “He works very hard,” Lia said to me, as if to excuse him. He wasn’t rude or anything, but the contrast between himself and his own parents was dramatic.

  “So, Perdita, you are in the same year as Nathan, yes?” Jakob asked me.

  I nodded. Jakob seemed delighted.

  “And what is he really like in class?” he said.

  “Same as right now, really,” I replied. They all chuckled except for Nathan who lifted his head to glare at me.

  “And my granddaughter, is she as bratty as her brother likes to make out?”

  I shook my head. “Not even a little bit. She acts like, well, you and your wife pretty much.”

  Jakob seemed pleased with that answer. “Ah, I must thank you, too. For making sure my girl came home safely last night.”

  “No problem. It’s pretty safe around here though.”

  “That’s partly why we decided to move here,” Lia informed me. “Amelia tells us you live with your grandmother, too?”

  “Yeah, and my Dad.”

  “He is a doctor, yes?” Jakob said.

  “Yes. He works in the local hospital.”

  “Enough questions,” Amelia said, yawning with boredom. “Can’t we go listen to music or something?”

  “You can’t. It’s your turn to wash up,” Lia reminded her.

  “I’ll help,” I offered.

  “No, guests don’t help! Nathan, take Perdita into the living room while she waits for Amelia, please,” Lia said.

  He hesitated long enough for me to expect him to refuse, but he eventually stood up and gestured for me to follow. It was as if he was grumpy that I was in his home. I was starting to think he was pretty rude. Yet again, he had done a complete one-eighty compared to the night before.

  The living room was large and bright, not much furniture, but what was there was attractive yet comfortable looking. They had a huge flat screen television on the wall. Nathan picked up a remote and stood there, flicking through channels.

  “Sit anywhere,” he said. I chose the corner of a large sofa. It was squishier than it looked. He sat at the other end of the same chair, still messing with the television. It was altogether too awkward. I opened and closed a button on my cardigan repeatedly, not quite knowing what to do. I prayed that Amelia would hurry up, but she took ages. We sat in silence for so long that I wondered if Nathan had an evil twin who kept charming me.

  “Did Joey walk you home last night?”

  I shook my head. “I left them at Tammie’s.”

  “They should have walked you.”

  I shrugged. I had gotten a bit freaked out the night before while I was alone, but that was a one off. I didn’t need to be walked to my door because of it.

&nbsp
; “You don’t have to sit here, you know,” I told him. His cheeks flushed a little.

  “I don’t mind.”

  I smiled at that. He was right on the edge of the chair, fidgeting. The epitome of the word uncomfortable.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” I said. He looked down at himself and made a visible effort to relax.

  “Sorry,” he blurted out. “It’s just… weird seeing you here. I didn’t know you were coming over.”

  “Amelia rang me and asked me to come over because I was at home alone. She said we’d stay in her room, so I said okay. Sorry to, like, disturb you and all.”

  He raised his hands in protest. “No, that’s not what I meant. I was just surprised. Nothing bad.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  As soon as Amelia came to get me, Nathan disappeared. Amelia and I headed outside to a pair of old swings in the long back garden. King followed us out and sat close to us. The fences around the neighbouring gardens were all gone, so there was one huge strip of land outside their home. As all of the other houses were empty, Amelia’s family had it all to themselves.

  “This is kind of cool,” I told her, swinging like a little kid. “All of this space to yourselves.”

  “It’s more creepy than cool,” she admitted. “Especially at night.”

  “Your brother doesn’t seem impressed that I’m here,” I said, hoping she would contradict me.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s always grumpy,” she said.

  I lay back and watched the clouds, swinging gently all the time. I forgot Amelia was there and started humming to myself.

  “Here he is now,” Amelia said, and I jerked upright with a fright, grabbing the rope to help keep my balance. Nathan approached us almost sheepishly, his hands in his pockets. He stood by Amelia’s swing and looked at the sleeping dog on the ground next to me.

  “What do you want?” Amelia said tartly.

  He shrugged. “King,” he called. King opened one sleepy eye and then completely ignored Nathan.

  “What a great dog,” I said with a smile and began to swing again.

  “Stupid animal.” Nathan shook his head. “He’s supposed to be a guard dog, and he goes asleep at a stranger’s feet.”

  “Dogs are a better judge of character than humans are, I’ll have you know,” I said.