‘I’ll give you an answer tomorrow, Ivy,’ said Mackerel, backing away from her, his hands up as though she’d levelled a gun at him. ‘Don’t write me off just yet!’

CHAPTER 25

FOREST

The next morning Forest opened the pantry in search of breakfast, baffled at the variety of foods inside. He looked up at the different boxes of cereals, their bright colours, and swallowed.

‘Need some help?’ said Kane.

Forest tried not to be angry with the other boy – it wasn’t his fault Ivy had put them in the same room. It wasn’t his fault that she’d cut off his chance to sneak away unseen to meet up with Huck.

‘No, I’m okay,’ he said.

‘Cool.’ Kane reached past him to take down the box of Weet-Bix, fixing himself a bowl and then taking it to the lounge room. Once he was gone, Forest took down the Coco Pops.

This morning he was supposed to meet the stranger at Overeem’s Dive Centre. He’d thought long and hard about it all through the night. He had to go. Because whoever it was, they knew he was lying. But also . . . well, after examining the photographs of Ivy’s family all over the house, he thought perhaps he knew who had left him that note.

‘Want some help?’ said Shelby, breaking through his thoughts.

Forest spun, arms rising.

‘Shh, it’s okay . . .’ Shelby smiled. She gestured for him to take a seat at the kitchen table and opened the box for him, pouring out the cereal.

Hesitating, Forest sat down.

Shelby put the bowl of Coco Pops in front of him. ‘Where’s Zeus?’ she asked.

‘Outside, enjoying the sunshine,’ said Forest, forcing his voice to be friendly.

The bowl she’d made him was overfull, and as he took a first tentative spoonful he felt . . . bliss. He quickly shovelled more in his mouth. Why did these people ever leave the house, when there was such wonderful food available all the time? Then he wiped his mouth, and looked longingly at the carton.

Shelby reached out for the box – he’d thought she was just staring into space while he ate, her mind miles away, but she must have been watching him closely. ‘You want another.’

Forest shook his head. ‘I’m going for a walk.’

‘Where are you going?’ said Shelby, putting the box back into the pantry.

‘The beach. Just to clear my head,’ Forest said, already headed towards the door.

‘Are you sure you should be out there alone?’ said Shelby. ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘No,’ he said, too quickly.

Silence filled the space between them. He studied her closely now – last night she had seemed messy, fragile as an already-broken egg shell. Now she wore make-up, had her hair curled, wore nice clothing . . .

He took a breath. He had to get to the dive centre by 10 am. What would Forest Dempsey do next?