‘Derek, the one who was in prison, has already done another break-in. He asked me to drive the car for him, park it down the lane out back of the house so he could pass stuff over, then jump the fence.’
‘I’ll throttle him.’
‘He made me feel bad for saying no. They all took the piss out of me, although I could tell Warren didn’t want to get involved either.’ He sat back against the sofa. ‘This trip to New York couldn’t have come at a better time. Derek’s been talking about pilfering kids’ presents from round the tree, he’s got all these photos on his phone of houses with amazing trees in the window, says there’ll be Xboxes, iPhones, gadgets, parcels of money, we can all share it between us.’
‘He sounds charming.’
‘Dad once went on a shout after a burglary where whoever did the robbery set fire to a Christmas tree for a laugh. Half the house was destroyed. Dad was really upset, I saw Mum with her arms around him as he cried. I overheard him telling Mum the family had lost their son the year before and it was their first Christmas without him. Dad went to see the family and took presents around to their temporary house, anything to help.’
‘Your dad was a good man.’
‘And he’d be ashamed of me right now.’
Kyle was a seventeen-year-old boy who’d never admit he needed a hug but right now he fell apart, his shoulders heaved, tears spilled down his cheeks. He was wallowing in self-pity, some of it his own doing, some of it life’s way of changing rapidly and unfairly until it brought you to your knees.
‘Aside from the blubbing now,’ Kyle managed to say, roughly swiping away his tears with the heels of his hands. ‘I haven’t felt this happy in a long time.’
‘And why do you think that might be?’
‘Being somewhere totally different where nobody knows me. Some of our neighbours at home give me a wide berth when they see me coming. They never used to but since I got in with Derek, Dale and Warren and the others, they keep their distance.’
From her line of work she knew how hard it was for kids like Kyle to break away from people like that. ‘I need to talk to Connie. Between the three of us we can make some changes, you’re not on your own remember.’
‘I want to work, I really do. I want to sort myself out.’
‘I know you do. You’re a good boy.’
He looked at the ornament on the tree, then at Amelia. ‘I never told Mum but I’ve always wanted to join the fire brigade.’
Amelia smiled. ‘I once suspected that was the case but I figured when you didn’t do anything about it, perhaps you’d changed your mind.’
‘I didn’t do anything because of Mum.’
‘You think she’ll hate the idea?’
‘I know she will. And it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I felt like I was betraying her, going after a career the same as Dad where she was on edge half the time waiting for him to come home. I went to a careers talk on it last year and I floated the idea with Mum by telling her another boy in my class was joining up as soon as he was the right age. She made a comment about how glad she was that it wasn’t her son. She touched my cheek, gave me that same look she saved for when I’d go off on school camp and she was going to worry the entire time.’
‘She never told me. And she doesn’t really talk much to me about your dad either.’
‘But you two talk all the time. Bet it’s usually about me.’
‘You’re not wrong there. She’s a worrier, your mum. And I think she’s a bit lost.’ Connie had been all over the place, more so lately now Amelia came to think about it. She’d been trundling on with her life since Stuart died with a few false hopes of happiness when she met other men but she’d definitely been worse over the last six months. And Amelia couldn’t say with one hundred per cent certainty that she wouldn’t make Kyle move out if he didn’t get his act together. Perhaps the letter, the suggestion of a trip away, was all preparation for telling him it was time to fend for himself. Maybe it was make-or-break time for both of them.
When Kyle yawned it set Amelia off too. ‘It’s late, and I may not be due at the markets until lunchtime tomorrow but at this rate I’ll be too tired to get up until well into the afternoon.’ She switched off the lamp in the corner, Kyle grabbed the phone charger from the plug in the kitchen to take to his room and Amelia didn’t miss him checking his phone again.
‘Have you heard from Scarlett?’ she asked and when he shook his head she suggested, ‘Maybe give Nathan a chance to calm down.’
‘Scarlett’s part of the reason I’ve felt happier here.’
‘I know.’
‘I’ve never met a girl like her. She listens to me.’
‘Hey, what am I then?’
He grinned, gave her a playful shove. ‘You’re an oldie.’
‘Cheek!’ She pushed him back. ‘But I’m glad you have her to talk to.’ She only hoped Nathan would stop being such an arse about it, maybe remember how he’d been once upon a time, and give Kyle a break.
