First Light (13 page)

I found myself smiling at my little family throughout the day and wishing Kalen could have shared it with us. He’d said he didn’t have parents either and Christmas was not a time to be alone. I didn’t ask Rachel of course, I was skating on thin ice as it was.

Shortly after dessert, Rachel announced they had to leave. It was seven o’clock.

‘You’re welcome to come with us. We’re going to Jared’s parents, though, so you might be bored,’ said Rachel.

‘I’ll be fine here,’ I lied. ‘I’ll watch some movies and get an early night.’

‘Okay, call us if you change your mind.’

After a hug the click of the front door closing echoed inside me and I steeled myself to walk back into the empty front room. I hadn’t even pulled myself away from the door, however, when I heard a quiet knock. I peered through the frosted glass. The crystalised outlines of several people formed in front of me and I pulled open the door to the faces of Kal, Ace, Laith, Denver and Nash, staring back at me from beneath dark hooded jumpers. I pressed my fingers to my mouth to suppress a laugh. As pleasant as it was, it looked a lot like I was about to be robbed by the Grim Reaper & Co.

‘Hey, Ronnie,’ Ace said, his grin bright in the darkness.

I opened the door wide and they walked in, each nodding hello. Kal stepped in last and stood in front of me, his face was dappled with water. I glanced outside to see tiny droplets of rain catching the wind beneath a street lamp. There was no car in sight.

‘You saw them leave?’ I asked.

He cocked his head to one side. ‘We were... in the area.’

I nodded, fighting my smile. ‘Thank you,’ I whispered. I’d told him to leave me alone and yet, right when I needed him most, he was here. I couldn’t ignore that.

‘You shouldn’t be alone tonight,’ he said, lowering his eyes.

Not knowing how to respond, I led the way into the kitchen. The boys were already eating left over food, pulling apart the turkey, stuffing and cold potatoes.

‘I can make something extra if you like?’ I ventured from the doorway.

‘Na, that’s okay. Hope you don’t mind us dropping by?’ Denver replied with a mouthful of stuffing. ‘Wow, Ronnie, this is awesome.’

‘We brought you a gift,’ said Ace, holding up a brown cardboard box with a large red bow tied crudely around it.

Stumped for words, I took the box and opened it while they stared at me with interest. Inside was a pile of wires and black plastic.

‘Um–’

‘It’s an alarm system for your house,’ said Nash. ‘I made it.’

I looked at Kalen, who was watching me intently. I could see they were serious about the gift.

‘You made it?’ I asked turning back to Nash. ‘That is – quite amazing.’ I wasn’t lying. It was amazing. It was also the strangest gift I’d ever been given. ‘Thank you all,’ I added.

Ace looked pleased with himself and their attention went back to the table of food.

‘Sorry about the present,’ Kal whispered as we headed into the living room. ‘I do understand it’s not a standard Christmas gift.’

‘No, it’s – lovely,’ I answered quickly. ‘I guess I’ve never really felt unsafe here, but it’s good to have. Nash is obviously very talented.’

‘We just thought as you live alone now, it’s something that might put your mind at ease – and mine. It doesn’t call the police, of course.’

‘Really?’ I was confused. ‘Who does it call then?’

‘Me.’

‘You don’t have a phone,’ I pointed out.

He smiled widely. ‘Let’s just say I have the
alarm
part and I can be here in an instant if you aren’t safe.’

‘Why wouldn’t I be safe?’

‘I’m sure you will, but for some reason I find I’m incapable of worrying about anything else.’

His eyes bore into mine and, as usual, my heart rate accelerated, catching me off guard. Suddenly, a house alarm was the best gift I’d ever received. If I could have hugged it in bed that night, I would have.

‘Ace has never had Christmas, not a real one,’ he changed the subject.

‘Have you?’ I countered.

Immediately, his eyes turned to stone and whatever moment we were having was over. I wanted to kick myself. ‘Well, he’s more than welcome,’ I said quickly. ‘You’re all welcome here. I thought I’d be alone all evening.’

‘Hey you two, none of that!’ A loud voice boomed from behind us. Denver threw himself on the couch. The others followed into the room. I broke away from Kal and hurried to the kitchen to fetch some drinks. To my surprise each of them declined alcohol, so I made hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream instead.

Denver was the most talkative. He made jokes for most of the evening and was very good at accents, so he would surprise us every so often doing “bits” from different television shows and while the others didn’t laugh as much as I did, they seemed to appreciate his performance. I was quickly getting used to being around them – if it was possible, I almost felt like I was with family.

Nash installed the small box in record time and I noticed with relief that it was so discreet Rachel would never even notice. When he’d shown me how to activate it, the most silent of the group spent some time studying the carpentry throughout the house. All the units, shelves and tables had been handmade by Dad and I could see he was impressed. Even Laith – normally so stubbornly moody – appeared to be making an effort to be upbeat, though at one point he did say he hated Christmas. Ace rolled his eyes and called him Scrooge. It would have been funny, except that he looked confused and asked who Scrooge was. Not for the first time, I wondered about their past; they all seemed so lost.

Christmas Night turned into Boxing Day morning and I was falling asleep on Kalen’s lap. Walking me to my room, he waited by the door until I was tucked under my duvet and then he left. I let sleep take me instantly, knowing it was only a few hours until morning. And as my eyelids cemented together in that incredible feeling of being so tired nothing can keep you awake, I knew I’d made it through Christmas okay.

14 –
Enough

I woke up to my phone ringing.

‘Merry Christmas!’ Mae sang.

‘Merry Christmas,’ I agreed. ‘What time is it?’

‘Did I wake you? It’s like noon! What you doing today?’

‘Nada.’

‘Right, I’m coming to get you. Be ready in fifteen.’

I stumbled into the shower before pulling on jeans and the new grey mohair jumper my sister had given me. I was out of the house by five to twelve waiting down by the road. A silver Volkswagen Golf pulled up in front of me. I felt my jaw drop.

‘Holy crap!’

‘I know,’ Mae beamed as I slipped inside. She wore a sequin beige jumper that made her skin appear iridescent and her long hair was tied back in a high ponytail. ‘Mum and Dad bought it for me for Christmas. I haven’t had much driving time since I passed my test, but this car practically drives itself so we should be sweet!’

‘It’s brand new!’ I blurted, as I enviously slid my fingers along the leather interior.

‘I can’t believe it either, but Dad said as long as I’m going to be driving on my own now, he wants me to be safe. Means I can drive us everywhere from now on!’

‘Yeah, that’s great,’ I nodded and we began the ten-minute journey to her house in Temberly.

‘How was your day yesterday? What did you get?’ said Mae, struggling with second gear.

‘It was good, better than expected. I didn’t get a car, that’s for sure.’

The gearbox crunched and finally we rode smoothly along. Mae breathed a sigh of relief and her smile returned. ‘Yeah, so what did you get? Why was it better than you hoped?’

‘I got this,’ I pointed to my jumper. ‘You know, Rach always gets cool stuff from the magazine so I think it’s a good designer. Though I wouldn’t know either way.’

We both giggled while she pulled at the label to check.

‘Hey watch the road! Anyway, Rachel and Jar left after dinner and I thought I’d be on my own, but then–’

‘You could have stayed with us!’

‘I know, I know, but it was okay. Kalen and his friends came over.’ I cringed as I waited for her response. I didn’t have to wait long, her tiny nose wrinkled and she eyed me seriously.

‘Keep your eyes on the road,’ I laughed for the second time.

‘What am I going to do with you? Have you found out how he knew your dad yet?’

I was stuck at that. Being around people like Mae and my sister made me feel like an idiot for all the things I was ignoring about Kalen.

‘No,’ I admitted.

At that point, we pulled into the driveway of the Jensen’s and Mae’s mother came running out to greet me. Susan Jensen was from Hong Kong and had met Mae’s father while studying in the States. Her American father Roy had got a job in London when Mae was four. They’d lived in Temberly ever since.

‘Hi, Mrs. Jensen.’

‘Veronica Rose! You naughty girl for staying away so long!’ The tiny woman pulled me in for a hug and ushered me inside. I inhaled the familiar scent of jasmine blossom and vanilla as I walked into their grand house. It took me back to my childhood, which at the moment felt like a million years ago.

After too much food and a round of Pictionary, Mae’s father caught me off guard by asking about the boys. ‘Mae tells us you’re friendly with that group of young guys we hear so much about.’

‘Not really friendly,’ I faltered, glaring at Mae over his shoulder. ‘Well, one of them – I see one of them – sometimes.’

He made a
hmmm
sound, before leaning onto his knees and looking at me seriously. ‘You should be careful Ronnie. We all care about you and no one wants to see you get hurt. You’re vulnerable right now – some people will try to take advantage of that.’

I couldn’t believe it, she’d told on me! With a gulp, I returned my attention to him and nodded.

‘I am careful Mr. Jensen. They’re actually quite nice, from what I can tell. But, you’re right, and I promise I’m being careful.’

‘Good!’ he slapped his hands on his thighs, as if he were pleased to have done what he could to save me.

‘I’ve heard they’re from The States, do you know where?’ he added as an afterthought.

‘Um, I think New York, though not all of them are from America, just a couple…’ I was grappling for answers I didn’t have. Thankfully, Mae’s mother called Roy into the kitchen before I looked even more clueless.

I stared at Mae. ‘I can’t believe you did that.’

‘I didn’t do anything, I just mentioned it in passing the other day and he jumped on it. Besides, if you aren’t doing anything wrong, then what’s the big deal?’

‘I’m not doing anything wrong.’

‘But is he? You know,’ she lowered her voice, ‘I heard they’re thieves. You have a lot of valuable stuff in your house, maybe that’s why he’s taken such an interest in you.’

‘Mae that’s ridiculous–’

‘Is it? You know nothing about him, you said so yourself.’

‘I know enough,’ I stated angrily. She gave me her best ‘whatever’ look and sat back on the couch.

‘I said I’d visit him tonight,’ I croaked out the lie. Enough was enough. I was going to beg Kalen to tell me the truth if that’s what it took. I needed to know I wasn’t wrong about him.

‘Now?’

I looked at my watch to pretend I had a time frame in mind. ‘Yeah, I should leave now.’

After a long pause, she said, ‘I’ll drive you.’

The journey consisted of a thick silence, one that I knew she wanted to fill with advice for me. I didn’t want to hear it, so I resisted the urge to make it easier for her. She’d chosen her side.

When we arrived the house looked dark. So dark that I started to worry how I would get home if they were out.