Defy the Stars (17 page)

Flynn’s eyes lit up. ‘D’you mean it?’

I nodded. We sat for a few moments longer, then wandered along the stony beach, keeping the tumbling waves on our right as we headed towards Starhaven. I was still limping a little, but I barely
noticed, my heart was so full. A whole day more before I had to face the police. And reality.

We held hands and chatted as we walked. ‘We’ll buy some food as soon as we can,’ Flynn said. ‘I want two hamburgers and a big bag of chips.’

‘I’d like a cheese sandwich and some lemonade.
Proper
lemonade,’ I added. ‘I’m so thirsty my tongue feels swollen.’

We rounded our bay, then the next. Starhaven was only a mile or so away now. As we wandered hand in hand, a tramp appeared in the distance. His hair hung long over a stained orange T-shirt and
his trousers were tied at the bottom with string.

‘D’you think it was his blanket we used in that hut?’ I whispered.

‘Maybe.’ Flynn put his arm protectively around me.

The man gazed at us as we passed him. He had a thick beard and leathery-brown skin. His eyes were a striking pale blue with dark rings around the irises. He stopped as he saw Flynn.

‘Hello,’ he said, as if he knew him.

‘Hi,’ Flynn said uncertainly. His grip on my shoulder tightened.

I looked at the tramp. His hair was completely matted, but his face was clean and his eyes were calm. I was sure he didn’t intend to hurt us.

‘Hello.’ I smiled.

The tramp glanced at me, then back to Flynn. He waved his hand in the air, as if gesturing to another person.

‘Do you see him?’ he asked Flynn, tilting his head to one side.

Flynn frowned. ‘See who?’

There was a long pause. The waves crashed in my ears. The tramp sighed. ‘Death,’ he said. ‘He’s there, just behind you.’ He pointed at an empty space on the beach
behind Flynn. Then he moved closer so I could see the brown and yellow of his teeth. He smiled, like he meant to be friendly. ‘He’s in the shadows, waiting.’

Flynn’s mouth gaped.

‘Go away,’ I said firmly.

The tramp ignored me. He was still gazing at the empty patch of beach.

‘It won’t be long,’ he said, in a matter-of-fact way, as if he were talking about when the next bus might arrive.

Flynn and I stared at him, but he no longer seemed aware we were there. A moment later a seagull squawked overhead and he wandered away, leaving the two of us alone.

I turned to Flynn, feeling shaken.

‘What a weirdo,’ I said.

‘Yeah.’ Flynn shrugged. The shock had gone from his face, his expression now one of mild irritation. ‘Probably high.’

‘Right.’ I looked at him carefully. Despite his apparent unconcern, I could see the shadow of anxiety behind his eyes. ‘He was just some crazy guy, Flynn,’ I said.

‘Sure.’ He smiled. ‘I know.’

I took his hand and we walked on, along the beach. Soon I forgot all about the tramp. It was just so lovely to be with Flynn, the sea sparkling and the sun shining. My ankle still ached a
little, but not enough to spoil the walk. All the bad stuff that had happened last night felt like it belonged to some horror film. I knew that I was going to have to face the whole drama of Cody
and the shooting eventually – but that would be tomorrow. Today stretched ahead of us.

And tonight. A night in a proper room. Together.

As we neared Starhaven, Flynn checked his phone again. ‘I’ve got a signal,’ he said. ‘D’you want to call your mum or dad again? I think they’ve left
voice-mails.’

I took his phone and searched the call log. Three unidentified mobile numbers appeared as missed calls from last night. There were five voicemail messages. I handed the phone back to Flynn.

‘I don’t want to speak to Mum and Dad right now.’

Flynn peered at the call log. ‘Whose is the third number?’ he asked.

‘Leo’s, probably, but I can’t be sure.’ I sighed.

‘Leo was calling you?’ There was a sharp edge to Flynn’s voice.

I looked up. He was frowning.

‘I told you,’ I said. ‘We’re friends.
Good
friends.’ I thought of Leo’s unhappy face when I’d told him I couldn’t see myself ever going
out with him. ‘
Just
friends.’

‘He’s in love with you, isn’t he?’ Flynn stopped walking and stared at me.

I hesitated. ‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘Yes, he hasn’t said it but I think he is.’

Flynn gave a low growl.

‘But I don’t love him, Flynn.’ I took his hand. ‘And I’ve
never
let him think I did. I—’

‘It’s not that.’ Flynn frowned. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think I was mad.’ He kept hold of my hand as we started walking again. ‘I was just
thinking maybe you’d be better off with . . . with someone like Leo.’

My heart flipped over in my chest. ‘No,’ I said. ‘That’s not how it works. You can’t choose who you love. The universe just tells you.’

Flynn snorted. ‘You’ve spent too much time on that hippy commune, Riv.’

I grinned. ‘Whatever, you’re still stuck with me.’

We walked on. In the end I decided to send a text to all three phone numbers to reassure them I was still okay. My message just said:

Got delayed but I’m fine. Don’t worry. Home tomorrow. Love Rxxx

I pressed send, then told Flynn to turn the mobile to silent, so we could ignore any further attempts to contact us.

A few moments later we reached the outskirts of Starhaven. We slipped inside the public toilets on the seafront car park. I was shocked by how grubby my clothes and face were. I did my best to
wash off the worst of the dirt and to scrape my filthy hair into a ponytail.

‘I so need a shower,’ I said.

‘Food first,’ Flynn said. ‘I’m beyond starving now.’

We found a little café just past the car park. Neither the burgers nor the sandwiches looked great, so we ate a breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. My ankle was starting to feel sore
again now, so we didn’t waste any more time searching the area, but went into the first B & B we came too. Luckily it was perfect – clean and basic, with white curtains and wooden
furniture. Our room was on the first floor overlooking the sea. We showered together, washing each other’s hair. I made Flynn scrub at mine until the skin smarted.

After he’d finished he drew me close, kissing me as the water ran down our faces. Later, we sponged the worst of the dirt off our clothes, then lay down on the bed. We talked and we made
love all afternoon. In the end we got hungry again. We didn’t have much money left – just enough for fish and chips, which we ate on the harbour beach, looking out at the boats.

We finished as the sun set, then leaned against each other watching the moon over the water.

After a while I shivered and Flynn took my hand and led me back to the B & B. It had been a beautiful day and we had talked about everything that mattered – our friends and families
and work and college. Everything except the future.

Back in our room, I brought the subject up. ‘Tomorrow morning, should we go to the police ourselves, or call my dad first?’

‘Your dad, I think,’ Flynn said. ‘Maybe he’ll meet us at the police station. We can try and explain everything to him there.’

‘Afterwards,’ I went on, ‘what do you think will happen? To you, I mean.’

Flynn shrugged. ‘I’ll probably be arrested for all the work I did for Bentham. I can try explaining I didn’t know what he was involved with until he asked me to hide the first
gun for him, but that was months ago. Even if I give them information on Bentham’s operation, I’ll probably be charged.’ He sighed. ‘And even if I plead guilty, it’ll
almost certainly be a custodial sentence.’

‘You mean
prison
?’ The possibility that Flynn might be arrested and charged had crossed my mind before, but I hadn’t seriously thought he would end up in jail.
‘How long for?’

Flynn shrugged again. ‘Several years, I expect.’

‘What?’ I couldn’t believe it. ‘But you didn’t
do
anything with the gun.’

‘I hid it for people who did. Which makes me partly responsible for whatever
they
did.’

‘It won’t stop me seeing you,’ I insisted.

Flynn hesitated. ‘Maybe it should.’ He frowned. ‘Anyway, your parents definitely won’t want you to.’

‘I don’t care.’ I wandered to the window. It was hard to believe things would be so different tomorrow. ‘I wish everything didn’t have to change.’

‘I know.’ Flynn sat up on the bed. ‘Let’s not talk about it any more. Hey, I wish we had some music.’

I stared at him, suddenly remembering his present to me. ‘We do.’

I fished the tiny iPod out of my pocket and we stood by the window, one earphone each, and swayed through all ten of Flynn’s River songs, gazing out at the waves as they swept into the
harbour. We danced until it grew dark outside. Afterwards we lay on the bed and kissed. Soon, I knew, it would be the last kiss before the spell broke and we had to face reality again. I held Flynn
more tightly than ever as he whispered his feelings in my ear. I felt so full of love for him, and yet the shadow of tomorrow loomed over us – dark and threatening. And when we made love it
was furiously, as if bombs were falling all around us and this was our final defiant act on earth.

I slept soundly, exhausted after the past forty-eight hours of tension and drama. And then, deep in the darkness of the night, something woke me: a noise or a feeling, I
couldn’t tell. But I sat bolt upright in the bed, gasping for air.

Flynn was already across the room, his ear pressed against the door.

‘What is it?’ I hissed.

He motioned me to be quiet with his hand, listened for a moment longer, then crept back to the bed. He sat down beside me. Moonlight shone in through a gap in the curtains, lighting one side of
his face. I stared at the slope of his nose and the way his hair fell over his eyes. The scar where his dad had wounded him so many years before was a puckered line on his shoulder. My heart
pummelled in my chest.

‘I heard a noise,’ Flynn whispered. ‘Someone’s downstairs in reception.’

I was wide awake now. ‘Do you think it’s Cody?’ I gasped. ‘How could he know we were here?’

Flynn said nothing, then he looked up. His eyes glinted like gold coins in the dim light. ‘I’m going to check it out, Riv,’ he whispered. ‘Stay here. Lock the door after
me. I’ll come back.’ He turned away, reaching for his top.

A shiver ran down my spine. Suppose it was Cody? Suppose he still had his gun? I caught Flynn’s hand as he got off the bed.

‘Promise me you’ll come back,’ I whispered.

‘I promise,’ he said. ‘Promise me you’ll stay here ‘till I do?’

‘Okay, I promise.’ Before I could say anything else, he was across the room and out the door. He made no sound crossing the landing outside. I tiptoed to the door and peered out in
time to see him vanishing down the stairs. I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear voices. Part of me wanted to follow him down to reception but my promise held me back. It was silly, but I
felt somehow that if I broke my word and left the room, Flynn would somehow be prevented from keeping his promise to return.

I locked the door, checked it, then crept back to bed. Flynn’s phone was gone from the side of the bed, but the B & B clock’s neon figures showed the time was three a.m. Outside
the sky was a dark grey, the first swirls of faintest pink just edging along the horizon. I shivered, pulling the covers over me, listening out for sounds from downstairs.

I couldn’t hear anything. Time ticked away. Anxiety crept through my chest, tightening my breathing. Where was Flynn? Surely he’d been gone long enough to see who was downstairs in
reception? If it was some random hotel guest or a member of staff, he would have come straight back. If it was Mum or Dad, there was no way they wouldn’t be up here already. If it was Cody .
. .

I didn’t want to think about what Cody might do if Flynn confronted him. I had promised Flynn I would stay here, but maybe he needed my help. I counted out another sixty seconds in my
head. That was it. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to see if he was all right. I threw the covers off and sat up. But, just as I swung my feet on to the wooden floor, a footstep creaked
outside the door.

I froze. Someone was there.

I held my breath, watching the door. Terrified thoughts raced through my head. Maybe it
had
been Cody downstairs. Maybe he had seen Flynn and attacked him. Left him
unconscious. Dead. Then crept silently up the stairs to find me.

A light tap on the door. I backed away, glancing around the room for something I could use to fend Cody off. There was nothing except the bedside lamp. That had a slim wooden stem; I
couldn’t see it being a very effective weapon. Could I jump out the window? We were on the first floor with a concrete pavement immediately below. I would probably break my legs if I
jumped.

Another rap on the door, more firm this time. I reached for the lamp. It would have to do.

‘River?’ Flynn’s urgent whisper sent relief flooding through my veins.

I set the lamp down and rushed to the door.

‘River?’

I turned the key and Flynn came inside. As he shut the door behind him I flung my arms around him.

‘Hey,’ he said, sounding startled. ‘What’s the marter?’

‘I thought Cody had found us,’ I said, a huge sob welling inside me. ‘I thought he was here, that he’d killed you.’

Flynn held me. He said nothing, just led me back to the bed. We sat under the covers, our arms around each other. At first I was so grateful he was alive, all I could do was hug him tightly. But
after a minute or two it struck me that, although Flynn was hugging me back, he seemed more distant than when he’d left. I pulled away.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked. ‘Who was downstairs?’

‘No one.’ Flynn didn’t meet my eyes. ‘Just someone looking for something . . . I dunno . . . nothing.’

I frowned. ‘You were a long time down there if it was nothing.’

Again, Flynn didn’t speak. Anxiety swirled inside me. Something was wrong.

‘Flynn,
please
, you’re worrying me.’