The bus dropped us off at the end of a long road with huge mansions spread out along the street. “Do people really live in these?” I stared around me, wide-eyed. “Why do they need so much space?” My mum ignored my question, puffing up the road, pulling a shopper loaded with her cleaning supplies.
I stayed rooted to the spot. This town, Alstone, was so different from the built-up area with the high-rise block of flats we lived in. As I watched, a kid around my age rode past me on a shiny blue bike, and the look on his face…it was so open and happy.
Weird. I couldn’t imagine being that carefree. Not where I lived, at least.
“Zayde! Stop dawdling and get over here!” My mum’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I sighed, shifting my backpack on my shoulders and trailing behind her.
We stopped at the gates of a large mock-Tudor mansion, and my mum pressed the buzzer. The gates swung open.
“Mum. I’ll take the shopper.”
She sighed with relief, and I grabbed the handle and followed her up the world’s longest driveway to the front door.
When we were standing on the front step, she squinted at the piece of paper in her hand. “We have to go around the left side of the house and through the side door.”
My attention was caught by the door knocker. It was so shiny I could see my distorted reflection in it.
I jumped when I was cuffed around the ear, spinning my head to see my mum narrowing her eyes at me. “Well, don’t just stand there waiting! Come on.” She huffed loudly, then stomped around the side of the house.
The door was unlocked, and we walked into some kind of cloakroom, then entered the biggest kitchen I’d ever seen, all gleaming white surfaces. Our whole flat was smaller than this.
When we’d come to a stop in the kitchen, the polished floor squeaking underneath my trainers, my mum began unpacking the shopper. “Let’s get started.”
Before we’d arrived, she’d informed me that I’d be helping her clean for half an hour, and then I’d have to do my homework while she did the rest. She wasn’t normally on my back about homework, but I’d been in trouble at school, and if I didn’t get my grades up and change my attitude, I was in danger of being expelled, according to my headmaster.
For the next half an hour, I helped her scrub and polish, and then finally, my time was up. I stretched my aching back before I grabbed my bag and headed over to the breakfast bar to get started. “Don’t make a mess, and don’t touch anything that doesn’t belong to you,” my mum warned me, then left me to it, heading out of the kitchen to clean wherever was next on the list. For a while, I stared at my textbook blankly, my mind wandering, before I bowed my head, getting started on my French homework.
“Hi.”
I looked up with a start, not having realised that someone else had entered the room. My eyes widened as I took in the girl in front of me. Huge blue eyes, long eyelashes, a cloud of pale blonde hair around her face, and soft-looking lips. She looked like an angel or something.
“H-hi,” I stuttered, my heart racing. Tilting her head as she stared at me curiously, she gave me a sweet smile. My heart raced even faster as she stepped closer to me.
“What’s your name? How old are you? What are you doing? Do you want a drink? Are you here with the cleaner?” She asked the questions all in one go, the words tumbling over each other, and I found my lips stretching into a smile.
“I’m Zayde.” I cleared my throat. “Uh, I’m ten. I’m, um, doing my homework, and a drink would be nice. And the cleaner is my mum.”
“Zayde.” She gave me a wide smile, showing me her perfectly white teeth. “Cool name. I’m nine, but my brother’s the same age as you.” Padding over to the cupboard, she lifted up onto her tiptoes and carefully took out two glasses.
I couldn’t look away from her. I’d never seen anyone like her before in my life. She was beautiful.
“What’s your name?” My voice sounded loud in the quiet kitchen.
Her eyes met mine, and she gave me another smile.
“I’m Fallon.”
A slice of bright light hit the side of my face, interrupting my thoughts, and I turned to see Cassius in the doorway.
“I knew you’d be brooding in your cave.” He grinned, stepping into my bedroom.
“Fuck off.”
“Cade got the new Call of Duty. Wanna play?”
Yes. Anything was better than lying here in the dark, thinking about things I couldn’t change. If I didn’t watch out, I’d let the feelings of inevitable despair and hopelessness that were always at the back of my mind drag me under, and then I’d be fucked.
My phone buzzed, and my screen lit up with the name “Angel.” I dived for it before Cass could see, but he was occupied with examining the supplies on top of my desk. Thumbing open the screen, I read the message, the sudden strong beat in my chest reminding me I had a heart, even though it was damaged. I replied, climbing off my bed and glancing back over at Cassius. He raised a brow, holding up a petrol can.
“For tomorrow,” I said. “I’m going out.”
“You just got back.”
“Yeah, and now I’m going out again.” Shoving my phone into my pocket, I headed over to the door. “Don’t wait up for me.”
He smirked. “I’ll be too busy tonight to worry about what shady shit you’re getting up to. Hey, maybe you should try getting laid, too, once in a while. It might improve your mood.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“Anytime.” A wide grin appeared on his face. “If you want some help with the ladies, you know—” I shot him a look, and he stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head. “That serial killer stare is seriously creepy, mate. Do you practise it in the mirror, or does it come naturally?”
I left him without bothering to reply. I had somewhere I needed to be.
THREE
I had another fucking flashback when I reached the ponds and saw my girl standing there waiting for me, half in shadow, half lit by the street light close to the tree. This time, it was from the summer.
The sun was lowering in the sky, reflected in the series of ponds that lay in front of me. My back rested against the rough bark of the tree, and my arms were looped around my girlfriend’s waist as she leaned back against me, settled between my legs. Music played softly from her phone, propped up against the side of my black motorbike helmet.
Fallon sighed against my chest, her fingers trailing across the blades of grass. “I wish we could stay here forever.”
“Yeah.” I leaned down to place a kiss to the top of her head, soft strands of hair brushing against my lips. The dying rays of sun caught her platinum-blonde waves, turning them a fiery gold. Fuck, my girl was so beautiful. My angel.
In the distance, I could see two people walking past, hand in hand. I swallowed hard, my jaw clenching at the reminder that there was no happy ending for me and Fallon. We’d never be able to be out in the open like other couples were. Not with the bitter rivalry between our families and the obligations that had been placed on us both.
If I were a better man, I’d cut all ties with her. Let her go so she could move on and be with someone that she could have a normal relationship with instead of these stolen moments we had to satisfy ourselves with.