Honest by Ava Bloomfield Read Free Book Online Page A

what my dad said, but you know, he knows nothing about plumbing.
Anyway, just before I came out the weirdest thing—’
    ‘In old houses
they tend to get all sorts of problems. He should probably ring up the landlord
and get it sorted that way,’ said David, cutting me off. He frowned and I
noticed him pressing his lips together so tightly that they became a thin line
across his face.
    ‘Well, perhaps
you could come and have a look at it. It sounds like you might know what you’re
talking about,’ I gushed.
    ‘No, not
really,’ he said.
    We drove on. I
exhaled loudly and looked down at my hands. ‘Are you all right, David?’ I said.
    He huffed.
‘Ellen, I’m just going to come out with it. Was it you who kept ringing my
house last night?’
    I blinked.
‘Ringing? No. Of course not. I don’t even have your number.’
    ‘Our house
number hasn’t changed. Your dad had it noted down in his diary from when we
used to arrange those fishing trips with Pete, do you remember?’
    ‘Oh that,’ I
said, remembering. ‘That was years ago.’
    David nodded
slowly. ‘Yeah, I suppose it was a long time ago. It’s just somebody kept
calling and when I answered, I could only hear a few breaths and that was it.
Nobody answered when I called back. I looked up the number online and got this
area code. I was just thinking it might be you.’
    My mouth had
gone dry, so I cleared my throat again. I didn’t know what else to tell him.
    ‘So it
definitely wasn’t you?’
    ‘Can’t have
been,’ I said, smiling. ‘Well, I might ring up just for a natter, you know,
just to see how you are from time to time...’
    ‘But last
night wasn’t you?’
    ‘Course not,’
I said, slapping him on the arm. He flinched, like a wary cat. I thought
perhaps he wasn’t used to being alone with a girl in such a short dress. He’d
never been a very forward kid in that department years ago, and I bet he hadn’t
changed.
    We drove the
rest of the way to the cemetery in silence, and it took a short while to source
out Peter’s grave amongst the thousands that lay buried there. The rain had
seized up by the time we found it, nestled up near some bushes and a memorial
bench.
    I got out the
car, still soaked, but now my knees were quivering for a different reason.
Peter’s grave, white marble with a dove in the corner, was overgrown with
weeds. Even his picture, which was behind a glass case inside the headstone,
was obscured by the overgrowth.
    ‘What is
this?’ I said through gritted teeth, clenching my fists. I felt David’s
presence behind me like a spirit passing through, sending a chill down my back.
    ‘His mum moved
away about a year ago, somewhere far, so nobody comes here to sort the grave
out much,’ said David. I heard a clicking sound, and when I turned he was
lighting a cigarette.
    ‘What the heck
are you doing?’ I said, turning to face him. ‘Don’t you dare smoke near
Peter’s grave!’
    David frowned
as he took a drag and pocketed his lighter. He was a long way off from the
David I’d met at my twelfth birthday party; the weedy boy who shadowed Peter.
He was bigger now, and there was no Peter to follow. ‘He’s dead. It’s not like
he’s actually—’
    ‘That isn’t
the point!’ I shoved him in the chest with my stick.
    ‘Jesus, calm
down,’ said David, holding his hands up in protest, smoke streaming from the
cigarette. ‘Don’t hit me with that.’
    ‘I’ll do
worse,’ I warned. He cursed under his breath, but he did as he was told and
stubbed the cigarette out on the grass. He picked it up and re–inserted it into
its packet.
    He’d obeyed
me. That was promising.
    76% of men
said they found bossy women sexy!
    ‘Good,’ I
said, turning back to the grave.
    David sighed.
‘I’m only doing this because Pete would...look, I know you’re upset, but don’t
go thinking I’m just going to let you—’
    I held up a
hand to silence him. He carried on.
    ‘—walk all
over me. Don’t do that .