The dead birds might have had a rational explanation but this…

A wave of dizziness washes over me as my scared eyes check for intruders. The garden suddenly full of places to hide. The old treehouse Aidan built when the boys were small. The dark space behind the shed. The laurel bush rustles its leaves. Gooseflesh springs up on my bare arms.

Chilled, I bustle inside. Lock the door before pulling at the handle to make sure it’s secure.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

In the lounge, I try to make casual conversation with Kieron about dinner as I hover by the window. I cross my arms over my chest, keeping my apprehension inside as I look down the street. Up the street.

It’s empty.

There isn’t a white car to be seen.

But still, I have the sense of being watched.

Chapter Thirteen

Connor

Connor sends his long message to Hailey and rests back in his chair, his hands tucked behind his heavy head, cradling the weight of expectation. Although he knows it’s impossible he’ll see the three white dots that means she’d be typing a reply, still he waits.

From downstairs, he hears the slam of the back door. It makes him jump and, turning around, he notices his mum has taken away his blazer. He guesses that she’ll wash it. She didn’t shout at him the way some kids’ mums would. Connor’s lucky to have her, but, instead of gratitude, resentment crouches in his heart ready to spring out through angry words and thoughtless gestures.

He pinches his arm hard and when he releases his fingers his skin is bright pink.

If Hailey were here she would gently tell him off. Tell him that she’d give anything to still have her mum. He remembers his shock the first time they talked about their families. He’d poured out his despair over Kieron. Not only the worry that he might die but also his frustration that the dynamics of their family had inevitably shifted. The world titling on its axis, no longer spinning around them as a four, but revolving solely around Kieron and his needs. He felt spiteful voicing it out loud. Ashamed when Hailey said, ‘I wish I had a brother or a sister. Or a mum. It’s just me and Dad.’

Connor was shocked. There were a ton of kids at the school from single parent families, but they all lived with their mum, not their dad. Where was Hailey’s?

He threaded his fingers through hers and considered carefully what he wanted to ask. How he wanted to ask it.

‘You want to know where my mum is.’ Hailey quietly formed the question he was struggling to articulate.