Cruel Summer by James Dawson Read Free Book Online Page B

drop. ‘It’s so funny. Ever since we got here, I knew there was something going on. Greg, you should have told me, so I didn’t stick my foot in
my mouth!’
    Oh, clever girl,
thought Ryan. She’d seen through the veneer of cheesy grins and poolside dance routines. Just under the surface they’d all been scarred by last summer,
something Erin was evidently picking up on. They weren’t fooling strangers, let alone themselves. Ryan took a deep breath. Now was the time. They were all here, they’d all had a drink,
the fire was hypnotic. It was the perfect time to talk about Janey. In a murder mystery, it’s called the ‘drawing room scene’, where the detective gathers all the suspects to
reveal what he or she has learned.
    ‘Oh, for crying out loud!’ Ryan exploded. ‘Why don’t we just talk about it now and throw the massive sodding elephant in the room onto the fire?’
    ‘Ryan . . .’ Alisha warned.
    ‘No.’ He was determined. ‘Erin should know. Greg, I can’t believe you haven’t told her.’
    Greg muttered something under his breath that sounded like, ‘He better shut his mouth before I shut it for him.’
    Suddenly Erin was the outsider more than ever. Confusion creased her pretty face. ‘Tell me what? I didn’t mean to start an argument.’
    ‘You haven’t.’ Katie threw Ryan a disapproving glance, motherly as ever.
    ‘Oh, come on,’ Ryan continued. ‘Did we really think we could hang out for two whole weeks without the subject of Janey coming up? I say we get it out of the way now and enjoy
the rest of the holiday.’
    A pause. ‘You know what? He may have a point,’ Greg sighed, folding his arms.
    ‘Thank you, Greg. You know I’m right.’
    ‘God, what can there possibly be left to say?’ Alisha’s expression was one of mild disgust.
    But the floodgate was open now and all that Ryan had longed to say came gushing out. ‘Everything. After Janey died, I had about a million questions but everyone clammed up. I’ve had
a year of bursting to know, but it’s like someone passed a secret law – the “We Don’t Bloody Talk About Janey” law.’
    ‘Ryan, you’re being a dick,’ Alisha said.
    ‘I’m not. Wanting to know what happened does not make me a dick.’
    Erin spoke up. ‘Guys, I’m really sorry. I didn’t want to cause this.’
    ‘You didn’t,’ Ben said. ‘Can we all take it down a notch? Ryan, you’ve gone to the
bad place
again.’ Ryan rolled his eyes, but said no more. Ben
continued. ‘It’s fine to talk about it. It happened. Not talking about it doesn’t change anything.’ As he spoke he kept his gaze fixed on the fire. There was something
robotic about his voice, like he was taking extra care to control it.
    ‘OK, what is going on?’ Erin’s voice wobbled. ‘You’re all really freaking me out now.’
    Ryan looked to Ben, who gave him the slightest of nods, but where to start, and how much to reveal? He wasn’t sure it was right to air all his suspicions at once. ‘We had a friend
called Janey.’ He selected his words precisely. ‘This time last year she killed herself.’
    ‘Oh, God, that’s awful!’ Erin’s eyes widened.
    Ben took a deep breath. ‘I . . . I was dating her at the time.’
    Those eyes widened further. ‘Oh. Right. But I thought . . .’
    Katie intervened, her coy eyes fixed on the sand, only flashing up for the briefest of moments. ‘We’d broken up the Christmas beforehand.’
    ‘Oh. OK. I’m so sorry, you guys. I mean . . . about
everything
.’
    Ryan continued. ‘It was on the day of the leavers’ ball. Janey jumped off the top of Telscombe Cliffs. Or so goes the official version of events.’
    A pause. Then Ben said, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ The fire made Ben’s skin glow like bronze, but his expression was inscrutable.
    Ryan shrugged. ‘Just that there was no note. Only a body.’ More choice word selection.
    ‘Jesus, Ryan, do we need the gory details?’ snapped Alisha.
    ‘I’m