The Mute and the Liar (6 page)

I
got
my
bags
and
set
off,
following
him.
He’s
so
tall
he
only
has
to
take
a
few
strides
and
he’s
already
halfway
down
the
road.
It’s
impossible
to
keep
up.

Well,
this
is
the
part
I’d
rather
not
talk
about.
It’s
still
throbbing
in
the
back
of
my
mind.
I’m
panicking
about
it,
but
I
can’t
tell
father
about
what
really
happened,
about
the
reason
why
that
happened.
Father
would overreact
and
do
something
drastic
and
I
think
he’s
already
annoyed
th
at
group of teenagers
enough.

I
left
the
house
and
walked
along
the
pavement,
whilst
dad
charged
in
front,
but
I
wasn’t
really
looking
where
I
was
going.
That’s
all
I
remember
and
then
the
next
thing
I
knew,
someone
walking
in
the
opposite
direction
smashed
into
me
as
our
paths
collided,
and
I
was
thrown
on
the
ground.
Everything
from
my
bag
fluttered
into
the
air.
If
that
wasn’t
embarrassing
enough,
I
realised
the
other
person
was
still
standing
over
me,
not
affected
by
the
collision
at
all.
Why
was
it
that
I
was
the
only
one
to
fall?
That
just
shows
what
bad
luck
I
have.
And
then,
if
that
wasn’t
bad
enough,
another
cold
truth
clambered
across
my mind: I’d walked
straight
into
The
Ringleader.

“
Alicia!
”
Father
had
turned
around
at
the
noise,
and
was
now
running
over.
He
plummeted
to
the
floor,
grasped
my
shoulders
and
looked
me
straight
in
the
eyes.
“
Are
you
alright?
”
he
said
breathlessly.
“
Did
he
hurt
you?
”

“
She
was
the
one
that
crashed
into
me,
”
the
Ringleader
mumbled
indignantly.

I
nodded
at
Father,
showing
I
was
fine,
and
we
began
collecting
my
belongings
and
returning
them
back
to
my
bag.
The
Ringleader
just
stood
there,
very
still,
watching
us.
I
couldn’t
help
but
find
this
annoying.
He
didn’t
apologise,
or
see
if
I
was
alright,
or
help
me
collect
my
things,
or
even
just
mind
his
own
business
and
leave.
He
just
stood
watching,
looking
like
something had interested
him,
or
he
was
trying
to
figure
out
a
riddle.

This
just
infuriated
Father.
A
look
of
disgust
wrecked
his
face,
and
his
eyebrow
s
narrowed and his fists
clenched
.
“
Aren’t
you
in
prison
yet?
”
he
spat.

“
They
didn’t
find
anything
on
us,
remember?
They
let
us
go.
It’s
just

Steve. His
trial’s
next
Friday.
”

Father
looked
even
more
irritated
at
this.
Clearly
he
had
been
hoping
his
little
stop-and-search
escapade
would
lead
to
some
peace
and quiet.

I
had
nearly
put
everything
in
my
bag
by
now
and
was
about
to
stand
up,
but
froze
when
I
realised
that
The
Ringleader
was
staring
right
at
me.
He
took
a
step closer.

“
You
know,
Sir...
You’re
very
lucky,
”
he
began
softly,
in
an
almost
songlike
voice,
not
taking
his
eyes
off
me.
He
spoke
slowly,
making
every
letter
last
as
long
as
possible.
“
You have
a
beautiful
daughter.
”

What?

What
did he just
say?

Suddenly
I
couldn’t
move.
Every
bone
in
my
body
melted
into
stone.
My
lungs
closed.
I
couldn’t
breathe.
The only thing
I
seemed
to
be able
to
do
was
shiver.
I
was
shaking all
over.

“
No
makeup.
No
hair
dye.
Never
any
friends...
”
he
continued,
taking
another
step
closer.
Father
tensed
up.
I
didn’t
know
why
he
wasn’t
saying
anything.
It
seemed
he
was
in
shock
too.
“
Only
leaves
the
house
to
go
to
school.
Always
shuffling
along
with that
notebook...
”

He
bent
down
right
in
front
of
me
and
knelt
on
the
ground.
He
slowly
lifted
his
hand,
his
fingers
outstretched,
reaching
to t
ou
ch my cheek.
“
So
clever
and shy and...
”
H
is fingers
were centimetres
away from
my face.

Father
suddenly
slammed
back
into
reality,
finally
getting
over
the
shock
and
coming
to
his
senses,
and
threw
his
arms
around
my
shoulders
and
dragged
me
forcefully
so
I
fell
into
him
before
The
Ringleader
could
touch
me.

Father
stood,
yanking
me up
as
well,
and kept
his
arm
grasped
around
me.
“
Innocent
,
”
The
Ringleader
finished.
He
was
smiling,
but
it
was
such
an
unnerving,
disturbing
smile,
his
face
may
as
well
have
been
laced
with
knives.
Father
stepped
forwards
and
pushed
his
face
close
to
the
boy’s,
anger
radiating from his skin.