All That Is Lost Between Us (25 page)

He watches her end the call before he speaks again. ‘So how did that woman get into our house?'

‘Through the unlocked back door. I don't suppose you know anything about that?'

Zac's mind rifles through memories and pounces on one in which he let Arthur in and out. He doesn't recall relocking the door afterwards. He reddens, wondering if he is expected to confess. His mother gives him a long, assessing look, but before he can open his mouth she speaks first.

‘Zac, do you know what's going on with Georgia?'

In his mind's eye he sees a gun moving towards him, the safety uncocked. It brings him to full alert. He tries to arrange his face into a neutral expression while he considers the answer she might accept, the one that will buy him time. Is she referring to the hit-and-run, or has she discovered Georgia's secret for herself?

‘What do you mean?' he asks. He's so tempted to divulge what he knows, but such a stand will mean taking sides. He isn't ready to give Georgia up, although he's not sure which of their skins he is trying to save.

He isn't off the hook. His mother's eyes have narrowed, scrutinising him, searching for any nervous tic that might betray weakness. Right now she is a bloodhound, sniffing for the scent of a lie. Any sign of it and she'll attack.

He ignores the temptation to cower and forces himself to relax.

‘I'm asking whether you know if Georgia is in any trouble.'

‘Why don't you ask her?'

‘Don't worry, I will. But I'm not sure she'll talk to me.'

Does she realise he had avoided answering the question?

Before they can say any more to one another, there are lights on the driveway, stealing into the lounge. Anya goes to the window. ‘It's Dad – and Georgia too.' She takes a deep breath. ‘Don't mention anything about what just happened here to Georgia until I've talked to Dad. Okay?'

‘Okay.'

She marches through to the hallway. Zac follows. There are footsteps, shadowy figures beyond the glass pane at the front door. His mother waits just behind it, as taut as a tiger ready to pounce.

His dad walks through first. ‘Hello,' he says, seeming bemused at seeing them both standing there. ‘Not often we get a welcome committee, is it, Georgia?'

‘Nope.' Georgia doesn't look at any of them, just unloops her scarf from around her neck and hangs it on a hook, then begins to unbutton her coat.

‘How was Bethany's?'

Georgia stares at her mother. ‘Fine.'

‘So,' his dad says as he swaps his shoes for slippers. ‘What's been going on here, then?'

As he asks the question, he looks at Zac, who realises that if he is to say anything it will have to be a lie. He can't bear it. ‘I'm going to my room,' he announces, backing away before anyone can object, anger overtaking him on his run up the stairs.

Why is he being drawn into everyone else's crappy games? He shuts the door and throws himself onto his bed. All their secrets are manipulating him, as surely as Jacinta's knowing glances had forced him from his own bedroom a few hours ago, when he'd had to leave Maddie and her friend to gossip behind his back, while sitting on
his
bed, among
his
belongings. He had tried to wait it out, but every time the conversation took a turn towards something he could join in with, Jacinta seemed to distort it into an in-joke, leaving the girls doubled over with laughter. At first he had tried to smile, but since he had no idea what they were talking about, that made him look just as strange as the poker face he ended up with.

He expected little more from Jacinta, but what a disappointment Maddie had been. The only time she had spoken to him was to ask him if he would go downstairs and get them drinks. He wanted to tell her he wasn't her butler, but he had a feeling that whatever he said or did would result in eye-rolling and more laughter. He had made them tea in the kitchen, and let a little bit of spittle fall into the cup decorated with barn owls, intending to hand it to Jacinta. He'd imagined the satisfaction he'd get from watching her drink it. But upstairs Maddie took them from him before he could hand them out, and he had left the room as Maddie raised the owl cup to her mouth.

Downstairs he'd had schoolwork to do, but he couldn't focus. He'd switched on the TV and ended up watching a program about the behaviour of lemmings for a good half-hour before he decided to trawl the internet instead. Only then had he realised with a shock that he had left his phone upstairs.

How could he have been so careless, he'd thought, charging up the stairs two at a time, worry giving him the courage to enter his own room without knocking. The girls had been lying on the bed, transfixed by the phone in Maddie's hand, and for a second his worst fears had come true. But then he'd spotted his own phone on the table where he'd left it, and he had snatched it up and walked out again. Neither of the girls had bothered to acknowledge his presence.

Once in the lounge room he had turned the phone over in his hands for a while, thinking through his options. Then he brought up Georgia's secret photo and pressed the delete button as quickly as he could, relieved to see it swallowed by the screen. That thing was dynamite – best kept as far away as possible, or you were asking for trouble.

After a while his dad had come in. ‘Your mum's just called, she needs a lift,' he'd said. ‘Will you be all right here?'

‘I might go to Cooper's for a while.'

‘Okay.' Was he making it up, or did his dad seem sympathetic? ‘The girls still upstairs, are they?'

‘Yep.'

‘I'll go and have a word.'

A short time later he'd heard feet on the stairwell. He wasn't planning to get up, but Maddie appeared in the doorway, with Jacinta close behind.

‘We're going to Jax's house for a while,' she'd said to him.

‘Right.' He had kept his eyes fixed on the telly.

Maddie had paused, then he saw her moving away out of the corner of his eye.

‘See you later, Romeo,' came Jacinta's voice from the doorway.

He had heard Maddie hiss ‘Jax,' and the high cackle of Jacinta's laughter. He had a feeling she knew about the kiss in the forest. He also suspected that it had not been described to her in the way he'd experienced it. He wondered if Maddie had been kind or cruel. Asking himself the question made him realise how far apart he and Maddie had grown. He no longer felt good about that kiss.

At Cooper's house he had tried to distract himself from the trauma of the afternoon, but it hadn't worked. Cooper had been determined to keep his music loud enough to annoy the rest of his family, and Zac could barely think, let alone talk. They'd sat side by side for hours in Cooper's room, staring at the same screen, two wired pilots on a relentless succession of search-and-destroy missions. Music and adrenalin made him dizzy and more dangerous. He tried to lose himself in the action of the game, honing his reflexes, his fingers and thumbs dancing against the plastic controls while he counted his kills. He usually spared the women, but today if they were tall and beautiful he immediately took them down.

When his phone had vibrated in his pocket he had struggled out of his delirium, but he could tell from his mum's text that something was wrong. He had switched the music down and held the phone to his ear as he returned the call. As he waited he watched the screen, saw Cooper's crew swarming towards his men, the splatters of blood as they were swiftly despatched without mercy.

He had been relieved to get out of there, but now he wishes he could skulk away again. He can't make out the words downstairs but the fretful tones are clear enough. Moments later his mother yells, ‘Georgia, come back here!' and Georgia shouts back ‘
Just stay out of my life!
' accompanied by the sound of angry footsteps on the stairs, after which her door is slammed hard enough to make his posters shudder.

He puts his headphones on and thinks about which game he might play. He's not sure any of them will distract him, but it has to be worth a try.

His phone buzzes. It's a text from Maddie.
I'm so sorry, Zac.

He frowns. Does she mean the kiss? Her attitude after it? Or has she realised that she turns into a bitch when she's with Jacinta?

What do you mean?
he keys in.

You haven't seen Facebook?

No.

You better look. It was Jacinta. I didn't realise she would share it. I'm truly sorry.

He has a terrible feeling he knows what has happened. He logs in to his Facebook page, scans through the news items, desperately hoping that he is wrong. He has spent all day trying to protect his sister, despite his horror at what that photo might mean. But if his fears are realised, he has just let her down in the worst way possible.

As the screen flashes in front of him, downstairs his mother and father begin to fire volleys of anger at one another. Each phrase is a burst of fireworks – the grand finale of a day he will never forget. Their voices get louder, there's explosion after explosion as he scrolls down the screen.

And there it is. Georgia's picture, shared for the world to see. With comment after comment already.

Georgia's secret life exposed. Potentially in ruins.

And everyone is laughing.

T
he omens are there when she wakes up: the fog, the drizzle, the dark grey light masquerading as day. It's been a miserable, restless night – she has struggled to sleep but hasn't dared to leave her room in case her mother accosted her again.

And now her phone is ringing.

She grabs it, the screen showing that it isn't yet seven. Sophia's name is glowing, and those familiar smooth white letters make her nervous. Yet she doesn't hesitate to pick up.

‘Georgia, it's me!'

The timbre of her cousin's voice is an instant comfort. Sophia sounds so like
Sophia
that for a moment Georgia imagines her friend ringing from home, sitting up at the breakfast bar, the fingers of her free hand playing with an earring while her parents rush around each other in the kitchen, doing the usual morning do-si-do.

‘Sophia, it's so good to hear your voice. How are you?'

‘Well, my head hurts like hell,' Sophia replies. ‘I felt sick as a dog when I came round yesterday, but they gave me an injection and that helped a lot. My leg looks like a tree trunk, and I think I'll go insane if I have to lie like this for as long as they're suggesting – but that's not why I'm calling.'

For the first time Georgia catches an urgency in Sophia's tone that causes her to grip the phone a little harder.

‘What is it?'

‘Dad showed me a photo, taken in the hospital. Then he and Mum had a belter of a row, but that's another story. Anyway, this woman was snooping around here, the night after the accident, and he thinks it might be the person who drove into us.' There's a pause. ‘I'm worried he could be right, but first I have to tell you something.'

Sophia stops again. Is she preparing herself, or waiting for permission? ‘I'm here,' Georgia says uncertainly. ‘Tell me.'

‘Look, I'm going to have to say all this in a rush, because Mum has hardly left me alone. She's just gone to the bathroom, so I took the chance to call. That's why I'm going to say sorry first, okay? I'm really, really sorry.'

‘O-kay. Sophia, I don't know what—'

‘Sssh – listen. I need to tell you this. I should have told you earlier, but you'll see why I didn't in a sec. I've been seeing someone, Georgia, for about six weeks – and it was great, until a few days ago.' There's a brief silence. ‘Oh, shit.'

Georgia listens as Sophia's voice becomes distant. ‘Yes, I've already taken them. No, I don't need to go at the moment. Look, I'm just on the phone – can I finish . . .'

Then Sophia's voice is loud in her ear again. ‘I'm gonna have to ring you later, the nurse is here and Mum will be back in a mo.' Her frustration resonates down the line. ‘First chance I get, okay? Sorry.'

‘It's the race today . . .' Georgia starts to say, but Sophia has already gone.

Georgia sinks back against her pillow, replaying her friend's words. How could Sophia keep something like this from her?

The irony surfaces in seconds. How had so many secrets sprung up between them in such a short time? Were Sophia's feelings for this man as strong as Georgia's for Leo? Did Sophia know what it was like? To feel yourself remoulded by someone else, to let the fragile promise of love make kaleidoscopic daydreams of your every waking minute, before it all collapsed into chaos as fast as it began? Does she finally have a friend who would see past the petty details and understand something of the nightmare she has been through?

She has to stop speculating on the unknown facts that Sophia hadn't had time to divulge. Nor must she start guessing why Sophia had apologised, or she might get carried away.

Instead she turns her thoughts towards the day. She's surprised that she has slept long and deeply, and a little dismayed at how groggy she feels. Nothing about the past forty-eight hours could be called ideal preparation for an endurance event, but she is out of time. A small voice is telling her to sacrifice the race, and beg for the sponsorship anyway – but she refuses to listen to it, no matter how insistent it gets.
Just let me be on form today
, she prays.
And tomorrow I'll take what comes
.

She has tried to keep her race preparation and her emotions separate, but she's not sure how long she can keep going. She has taken part in the interschool fell-running championships every year since she was twelve, and has never come away without a medal. She has been crowned the victor two years in a row – this is her one shot at a hat trick, something no girl has achieved before. This will be her last schools championship; next year she will go to university and join a new running club, and racing over the fells might be confined to breaks between semesters.