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7
The journey back to Oceanside feels like it takes an eternity. Cal is driving, and the rest of us wait restlessly to arrive. I’m seated at the back of the minibus watching the view pass by in a blur as we head down the motorway. Sonny is up front talking in hushed tones with Cal. Ford has his eyes shut as though he’s sleeping, but I can tell by the tense way he holds himself that he’s not. Eastern and Camden are sitting on opposite sides of the bus, occasionally glancing up at each other. There’s some kind of unspoken conversation going on between them and despite our tentative pact, the air is fraught with tension. I pull at the frayed hem of my hoody, the little piece of black cotton getting longer and longer as I mull over how the fuck we’re going to make it through the next few weeks.
The Freed brothers have returned to London with Louisa and Grim, determined to help us, promising regular updates on what they find out. They made me swear not to do anything stupid, and whilst I agreed to wait for the King’s instructions I made no promises of my own.
Mr Carmichael, Kate and Frank have headed back to the academy in another vehicle, needing to keep up the pretence that Kate was taken to A&E for treatment of dehydration caused by gastric flu that she caught from Pink. Tomorrow morning, Mr Carmichael will be announcing Pink’s departure to another unit similar to Ruby’s to cover up the fact that she’s been fucking kidnapped and to keep the rumour mill under wraps. But I’m pretty sure there’ll be a few kids who knowexactlywhere she is, Monk’s wolves to be precise and probably Bram and Red. I have every intention of beating the shit out of them until they tell me, and if they don’t, I’ll have fun doing it anyway.
“Well, it looks like it’s going to be a long night. This is a fucking joke,” Cal says, after we’ve been sitting in traffic for a solid hour. What should have been an hour and a half journey door-to-door has turned into a long arse nightmare given the twenty-mile tailback that we’re stuck in. “I need to stop for petrol as soon as we can get out of this traffic jam. I suggest you take the time to regroup before we get back into the grounds of the academy,” Cal says, glancing in the rear-view mirror and looking directly at me. I know what he isn’t saying. He isn’t saying that I, specifically, need to get my head straight. That I, specifically, need to stick to the game plan. Easier said than done when I,specifically, have a fucking deranged father.
Yeah, the sarcasm is strong today.
When we pull into the gas station an hour later, I bolt down the aisle of the minibus and jump out first heading straight for the toilet. I walk through the small shop, passing a row of sweets and crisps and some oddly placed fluffy toys. Without a second thought, I grab a pink unicorn with a rainbow horn and shove it up my hoody before pushing open the door to the toilet to do my business. Ten minutes later I’m back outside climbing into the bus. Ford is the only one still sitting inside when I arrive back, the rest of them are either taking a piss or grabbing snacks.
“What you got there?” Ford asks, turning to face me as I pull out the stupid unicorn from beneath my hoody. His grey-green eyes flick from my face to the pink unicorn and back again.
“If I’d known the way to your heart was buying fluffy toys I might’ve got you one earlier.”
“I didn’t buy it,” I respond dully. “I stole it… for Pink.” My gaze meets his and I bite down on my lip forcing the tears back.
“Don’t do that,” Ford says, getting up to come sit next to me. He’s so tall that he has to duck so he doesn’t hit his head on the bus roof.
“Do what?”
“Let your emotions get the better of you,” he says, sitting down next to me.
“I’m not…”
“You are.” He grabs the toy from me and places it on the seat next to him before lifting my chin. “Look at me, Asia.” He searches my face, fierceness making his eyes darken. “Youcando this.”
“Can I? How the fuck can I go back to Oceanside and pretend that my whole fucking world isn’t falling apart? How can I face everyone knowing what I know and pretend that I don’t want to fucking kill the wolves for helping Monk, because you know it was them, right?” I shake my head, forcing his hand away. “How can you look at Bram and Red and not want to fucking murder them for siding with Monk? Because you know that they’ve had something to do with this too, don’t you?”
Ford sighs. “You have to rein it in, Asia. You have to be smart.”
“Don’t tell me to be smart when all I want to do is give those bastard cunts hell for helping Monk escape with Pink.”
“I do too. You know I do. But jumping them isn’t going to help her, or any of us in the long run.”
“But you’re a fighter, Ford. You live and breathe violence. That’s who you are. Don’t you dare force me to be someone I’m not.”
“You’re angry right now and for good reason, but you need to get a hold of yourself.”
“I’m not sure I can,” I say honestly. I’m strung tight. So tight that the slightest thing will set me off. One dirty look, one word out of their mouths and I’m going to lose my shit. I know it. I also know deep down that if I do, things will get worse for Pink and Camden’s mum. It’s only now that I truly understand the position Camden was in before. It must’ve torn him apart not being able to act when all he wanted to do was murder that cunt, Monk. Mybrother.
“You can. I’ll help you.”
“How?”
“Tonight, you and I are going to the Tower.”
“We can’t go to the Tower, Ford. It’s off-fucking-limits.”
“It was. Things are different now. I’ve squared it with Cal. So long as he knows where we are, it’s cool. The guy’s alright. He gets it.”
“And the others?” I say, glancing out of the window as they pile out of the gas station, arms loaded with junk food.
“They’re not invited. Tonight it’s just you and me, Asia. I’ll swing by at midnight,” he retorts with a scowl.
I’m not sure whether I should be happy about that or not.
