“Did that just happen?” he asked Amelia who was in a fit of laughter at his face. “What are you doing to my dogs?” he said to me, but he looked kind of pleased.
“They’re just clever puppies, aren’t you Cúchulain, oh yes you are,” I gushed. “Great name by the way.”
“Our grandparents lived in Ireland before. They like the old myths and legends,” Amelia said.
“Hit me, see what he does.” Nathan came closer and patted his jaw.
“Nathan!” Amelia sounded horrified.
“I won’t let him hurt her. I just want to see what he does.”
I moved my arm to thump his while he was distracted by Amelia, but he grabbed my wrist without even looking around.
“Ouch,” I hissed. Cúchulain gave a low growl, but he wasn’t directing it at me, he was warning Nathan to let go.
“Sorry,” he said, quickly letting go of my wrist. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
As soon as he let go, Cúchulain settled down again. Nathan stared at me like I was a complete freak of nature. Amelia jumped off her swing.
“I have to tel Opa about Cúchulain, he’l never believe me!”
She ran toward the house, looking as if she might burst with excitement. I rubbed my wrist absent-mindedly, wondering how he had caught my arm so quickly without looking.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asked in concern. “I’m sorry, I can’t get used to....” His voice trailed off.
“Used to what?” I asked, curious.
“Nothing. I just... I realy didn’t mean to grab you. It was reflexes or something.”
“It’s fine.”
Nathan took my arm, gently this time. He peered at the tiny red mark with a worried look on his face.
“Seriously, it’s fine now,” I reassured him. He stroked the inside of my wrist with his thumb, al the while looking from me to his dogs.
“That was too weird,” he said. “He’s never acted like that with me before.”
“He just got a fright or something. Joey’s dog gets al jumpy whenever Tammie laughs. Um... Nathan?” I gestured toward my wrist with my free hand.
“Oh. Sorry,” he said, letting go. He clenched his fists, stretching out his fingers and then closing them again. “I’m glad you came over,” he said at last. “Even if you did turn my dogs against me.”
Amelia returned with her grandparents. Lia scolded Nathan for wanting to test out the dog’s reactions on me, but she didn’t sound surprised at al.
“I warned you,” she said under her breath, but I heard her.
A family row seemed to be building up, so I stood and told them I should get going.
They turned their attention to me then, al except Nathan, who seemed quite relieved. I explained why I had to go, but they didn’t seem to get it.
“He’s realy strict Opa, she’l get into trouble if she stays,” Nathan said at last.
“Okay,” Jakob conceded. “But Nathan wil walk you home. I would not like my girl walking the streets alone.”
“It’s okay; it’s safe here. I promise, there’s no need for anyone to take me home.” I didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or annoyed by how little confidence adults had in my ability to take care of myself.
“It’s alright,” Nathan said. “I’l take Cúchulain with me for a walk, he needs the exercise. It’s no hassle, Perdita.” They al insisted then. I found it difficult to say no to so many people at the same time, so I ended up agreeing just to make them happy.
“Don’t worry,” Nathan whispered to me as we left. “If you want me to go, I wil, but they won’t let you leave until they get their own way, trust me.” I nodded, waving goodbye to the others. Nathan had Cúchulain on a lead, but the dog was so big that I didn’t think a lead would stop him if he decided to run off.
“I’m bringing him for a walk anyway, so I might as wel see you home,” Nathan said after a moment of silence. “If you realy don’t want me to, I can go a different way, but it’s no problem for me, okay?”
I nodded; even though he blew hot and cold, I liked being around him, so I wasn’t going to remind him he had already taken the dog for a walk. Cúchulain sniffed at everything, but he was pretty obedient, he didn’t even pul on the lead.
“I want my dog to be like that,” I said, half to myself.
“Like what?”
“Wel trained like that. He’s very good.”
“Are you getting a dog?”
“Maybe. Joey’s dog is supposed to be having a litter. They said I can have one.”
“I could help you train it if you liked.”
That made me smile. “Thanks, but you’l probably be gone by the time I have a dog.”
“Why’s that?”
“Oh,” I said, blushing. “I just meant that you move around a lot, so Amelia said, and Doly may not even be expecting this time, so you might have moved on by the time she has a pup.”
“We’re not planning on moving, but if we’re here—and you want help that is—I could show you some stuff, give you tips or something. Whenever.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
Cúchulain acted up as we passed the woods. The hackles on the back of his neck stood up, and he gave a low growl. I looked around and frowned, seeing an al too familiar red-haired figure across the road. If I didn’t know better, I would think the man was folowing me. Nathan nudged me. Distracted, I realised he had been speaking to me.
“Sorry, what?”
“I said, it was probably just a rabbit or mouse or something.”
“Oh, right, poor mouse wouldn’t stand a chance against your monster dog.”
“Wolfhounds aren’t realy aggressive. Just tal.”
“I’ve seen taler,” I said, remembering the night before.
“Yeah, right,” he scoffed.
“Realy, last night I saw a huge scruffy thing outside my house. Looked way bigger than Cúchulain here.” Nathan frowned. “That’s odd.”
“Not realy,” I said, but my gut was clenched with tension because a whole lot of things felt odd to me.
Cúchulain gave a little yelp and dashed off, puling Nathan around in a circle. I tried not to laugh as he untangled himself from the lead. He swore at the dog, but his laughter ruined the effect.
“So, are you going to the party next weekend?” he asked.
“Erm, I don’t usualy get invited to parties,” I said with a smal laugh.
“Oh,” he said, frowning. “I’m pretty sure Aaron said he was going to invite you.”
“Aaron? We’re not friends.”
“So? Maybe he likes you. Is that a bad thing?” He looked at me with an interest that confused me.
“Aaron Hannigan doesn’t like girls. He likes trying to get girls to like him. And he is so not interested in me. Never has been, never wil be, and vice versa.” Nathan smiled. “So you’re best buddies then.”
“I don’t think you get what things are like around here. If he’s nice to me, it’s because I’m friends with your sister. That’s al. He would have never been caught dead in the cinema with any of us before you arrived.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re the freaks. We’re not popular. Get it?” I laughed.
“Wel, I think you’re cool,” he said with a wink.
“You have to be nice to your little sister’s friend. Or she’l rat on you,” I teased.
“I’m not scared of her. She is a bit of a brat by the way.”
I smacked his arm. “She is not! She’s lovely.”
He grabbed my waist and squeezed, managing to get a ticklish part. I squirmed away, laughing. He reached for me again, but I skipped out of his way.
For an instant, I forgot al about the way he sometimes acted and enjoyed being around him. When it was just us, everything was cool.
As if she could sense my momentary happiness, Dawn turned the corner ahead of us, accompanied by Abbi. I couldn’t help groaning. Nathan grinned at me in amusement. Dawn hurried toward us when she saw him, managing
to give me one of her trademark sneers along the way.
“Hey, Nate,” she said, overly chirpy. She was never like that when he wasn’t around. “Whatcha doing? Babysitting?” I scowled at her, but it slid off my face as soon as Nathan casualy draped his arm around my shoulder. Abbi tried not to laugh.
“What are you on about, Dawn?” I wasn’t sure what Nathan was playing at, but Dawn was obviously not impressed. Her hands on her hips, she looked me up and down in disgust.
“Whatever you’re into,” she said as snidely as she could manage. Then she snapped out of it and beamed at Nathan. “I think I’m the one who needs to be walked home by you after everything I’ve gone through today.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I headed out to meet Abbi and, get this, there was a dead rabbit in my garden!” She paused for dramatic effect.
Nathan glanced at me, but my heart had started pounding. “Okay?”
“I don’t mean just dead. I mean, like, its head was ripped clean off. So disgusting. I’m literaly traumatised for life.” Nathan made a face. “Yuck. Maybe it was a fox or something.”
“Don’t say that,” she exclaimed. “I’l never be able to sleep knowing there are wild animal outside.” She opened her eyes as wide as possible. “My life could be in danger!”
Abbi roled her eyes and tried to drag a resistant Dawn after her. A low growl rumbled in Cúchulain’s throat. Dawn edged backward, her eyes widening as she tried to swalow her panic. Nathan let Cúchulain take one step toward her. That was al it took. Dawn shrieked and tripped over herself in her hurry to get away.
“See you two at school,” Abbi said with a wink. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she added before hurrying after Dawn.
Nathan didn’t even wait until we were out of earshot to start laughing.
“Eh, what’s al this about?” I said, pointing at his arm which was stil around me.
“Sorry,” he said, distancing himself. “She’s just so annoying. Al she does is say horrible things, and she can’t take no for an answer. She drives me mad, so I thought I’d do the same to her. Was that mean?”
“A bit.”
He laughed again. “Good. She’s awful.”
I felt disappointed he used me to get his own back at someone.
“You seem a lot more cheerful now,” I said.
“People depress me,” he said, his mood suddenly switching again. I raised an eyebrow. “Not you, but sometimes that house,”—he shook his head—“My family can be a bit much sometimes, you know? They expect me to be a certain way, and I can’t. It’s like everyone wants me to be something I’m not.”
“I get it. Mine can make me feel like my head is going to explode.”
“Yeah, same here. I can’t be myself around them, I always feel like I’m playing a part or something.” That hit me hard. It was exactly how I felt most of the time. “I know what you mean, I wish they’d let me be me, or at least let me find out who me is,” I said.
“They’re too busy trying to make me like them, they can’t see anything else.”
“Exactly,” he said. “I don’t even know you properly, and you get me better than they do, better than anyone does.” I had to laugh. “I don’t think I get you very often. You confuse me more than anyone else.”
He glanced at me to see if I was serious. “You look at me as if you know me,” he said, hesitant.
“Do I?” I bowed my head, feeling shy.
“You do. Sometimes I’m afraid you know al my secrets.”
I grinned up at him. “Are they that bad?”
“Depends on who you ask.”
“They can’t be that bad.”
“Maybe they would shock you. Scare you even.” He didn’t smile.
I studied him for a moment, running my mind over the worst possible things I could think of. “I don’t think so. If your big ass dog didn’t scare me....” He smiled. “I wish I could tel you al my secrets so.”
“Nobody’s stopping you.”
“Ah. Except for me,” he said in a curiously sad tone of voice.
“Wel, you’re the only boss of you,” I said, trying to sound light-hearted. “I live over there.” I pointed to my house.
“That was quick. I guess I should probably leave you here in case your Dad is home, yeah?”
I nodded. “Thanks, but yeah, exactly. Thank you for walking me home.”
“My pleasure.” He bit his lip. “I better go. See you tomorrow?”
“I suppose so,” I said, but I waited. He lingered for a few seconds, like he didn’t want to leave, but his dog seemed eager to folow a scent, so he waved goodbye. As soon as he walked away my mood bottomed out.
Gran ambushed me as soon as I walked in the door. She’s one of those nosy neighbours who spend way too much time peering through curtains in case she misses something.
“Was that Amelia’s brother? Isn’t he a cute one! I always knew you had good taste.”
“Gran, don’t. I’m not in the mood for your teasing. His grandparents made him walk me home, that’s al.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Realy, Gran,” I said, a little upset because I was actualy teling the truth.
Gran hugged me and said nice, reassuring things until I smiled. We sat down together and had a chat about what was going on in my life. I didn’t tel her how often I thought about Nathan, or the fact I dreamt about him al time, or even how much better I felt whenever I was close to him.
I did tel her how Tammie and Joey seemed to be getting closer, and I felt left out. How Amelia was trying to push me and Nathan together, but it wasn’t working. I even admitted how much I liked him, and how hurt I was when he kept playing hot and cold with me.
“Ah, mo ghrá, didn’t I ever tel you that’s how teenage boys are?”
I shook my head, feeling sorry for myself.
She smiled at me. “You know, I remember your mother crying in my arms when she wasn’t much older than you because your Daddy laughed at her in front of everyone. When they were alone, he acted like he loved her, but when his friends were around, oh, he was awful to her.”
“Realy? My Dad did that?”
“Of course he did. He was a teenage boy, wasn’t he? They take longer to mature. Girls know what they want years before boys ever do.” That made me laugh. I couldn’t imagine my Dad being immature. “So what did you tel her?”
“I said, give him a few months, and he’l be the one folowing you around. And he was! She played it cool, of course. Then he practicaly camped outside our door.
Your grandfather wasn’t impressed. He didn’t think she was old enough for a boyfriend, and he thought your father was too old because he was already in colege.
Your grandfather was a strict man.”
“Was he?”
“Oh, yes. He wouldn’t let Stephen into the house, and he forbade your mother from seeing him. Of course, that had the opposite effect. She liked him al the better for standing up to your grandfather. She started sneaking out to see him. Her father went crazy, he even locked her in her room.” My eyes grew wide. I didn’t know any of this. “And what happened then?”
My Gran’s eyes dimmed as she remembered. “She didn’t come home from school one day. We were mad with worry. We didn’t know what was happening until she rang us to say they had eloped. And they weren’t coming back.”
“Wow. That was awful.”
Gran nodded. “Your grandfather... wel, he wasn’t the same after that. He was heartbroken because she had been his little pet al of her life. She refused to visit, rarely contacted us at al. Eighteen months later, he had a heart attack and died. She turned up shortly after the funeral. You were with her, just a tiny baby. I didn’t even know I was a grandmother until then. Your father had stayed behind, he couldn’t miss his classes. We had a lovely few days together, like the old days again. Then I woke up one morning, you were screaming your head off for a feed. And she was gone.”
I squeezed Gran’s hand. Her eyes h
ad misted over. She cleared her throat and carried on, as if she had to finish the story.
“She rang me the next day to tel me she couldn’t cope with being married, being a mother. She wanted her own chance at life, she wanted to go back to school and be somebody.” Gran laughed harshly. “She was always selfish, but I never imagined... I had to ring your father and let him know what happened. He was distraught. He loved your mother so much. He needed to stay in school. I wanted to get to know my grandchild, and you know the rest.” I gazed at her sympatheticaly, not knowing what to say. I had never realy thought about how bad it must have been for Gran to lose her daughter like that.
“You know, her favourite book growing up was about a little girl caled Perdita. She was a sad little character with no real family or friends, always forgotten about. I always thought of it, every single time you tried to hide away from the limelight.” She gestured as if batting away the past. “So. Your mother. I tried to make sure history wouldn’t repeat itself, make sure your father didn’t drive you away too, but I suppose I haven’t done the best job, have I?” I knelt beside her and rested my head on her knee. “I won’t ever do that, Gran. Any of it. I promise. But I need to find my own way, even if that’s selfish. I can’t be who you or Dad want me to be.”
She stroked my hair. “I know that, Perdy. We’re so caught up in the past we haven’t been paying attention. I swear I’l do better; it’s hard to forget things sometimes.
You scared us when you said you would leave. We’ve both been trying our best to let you use your wings. But it’l take time.” We spent the rest of the day together. Closer than we’d been for a long time. I was glad she opened up to me. It made me understand exactly where she and Dad were coming from. She was looking for a second chance, and he was terrified I would make his mistakes. I wasn’t planning on letting either of them down.
Chapter Nine
At school the next day, Tammie asked me if I’d go into town with her that evening. I waited for her to turn up for hours, eventualy ringing her to see what was going on.
Verity (Cursed #1) Page 10
