The Shiver Stone by Sharon Tregenza

Author:Sharon Tregenza
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: epub, ebook, QuarkXPress
ISBN: 111-1-11-111111-1
Publisher: Firefly Press Limited
Published: 2014-09-10T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

9

‘Get dressed and get out here, Carys. Now!’

Dad doesn’t do mad. I can’t remember him even telling me off really. The last time I saw him close to angry was on my eleventh birthday when there was nothing from my mum, not even a card.

I’d asked him for the hundredth time if Mum’s present had arrived when he suddenly slammed his fist into what was left of my birthday cake. He looked astonished at what he’d done. He said he was sorry, over and over, and held me tight. Afterwards, he stood staring out to sea for a long, long time.

I got dressed as slowly as I could and went into the lounge. Dad was on the balcony talking to Jago. Tia was on Jago’s lap. Linette had gone to the café.

I slouched over and dropped down onto a chair. I began texting Becca.

‘Jago, I wonder if you’d take Tia for a walk? I need to have a little chat with Carys.’ The words ‘little chat’ didn’t sound good.

Jago clipped on Tia’s lead and left without a word.

Dad didn’t hang about. As soon as the door closed he turned to me. ‘Don’t you ever let me hear you speak to anyone that way again, Carys. Do you understand?’

I nodded slowly but kept texting.

‘Put that phone down.’

I kept texting.

Dad lunged across the table and snatched the phone out of my hand. ‘This is confiscated for two weeks and so is your laptop. When Linette comes around this evening I expect a full apology from you.’ He was breathing heavily. ‘Do you understand?’ He said each word loudly, clearly.

‘Why are you sticking up for her? We don’t need her here. We were fine on our own before she came.’

I grabbed my bag and tore off through the door, slamming it behind me. Racing down the steps, I nearly collided with old Mrs Jenkins from number three. She grabbed at my sleeve as I tried to get past her.

‘I think you’ve still got that dog in your flat.’ She screwed up her nose in disgust.

I shook myself free of her bony fingers. ‘I don’t care what you think, you stupid old bat!’ I shouted over my shoulder. I raced out after Jago.

I could see them; they were only halfway down the road. As usual people were oohing and ahhing over Tia and she was loving it.

‘Trouble?’ Jago said, when I caught up with them.

‘Not really,’ I lied. I wondered if he’d heard me screaming at Linette. Probably. I felt ashamed.

There were plenty of people already out and about, and the sunshine was bright and warm. We reached the harbour car park and wound our way in and out of people and parked cars.

‘Carreg is very blue, isn’t it,’ Jago said.

‘What do you mean?’

‘The lamp posts, the railings, the benches, even the litter bins, they’re all painted the same colour blue.’

I looked around in amazement. He was right. I’d lived here all my life and never noticed that before.

From the top of a CCTV camera a gull with greedy yellow eyes glared down on us.

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