River of Lies by Sammy King Read Free Book Online

and grabbed my arms.
    “He’s inside”
    I looked at her blankly.
    “Inside where, the house, you mean here?” I said, my anger began to boil, and I could feel my head begin to throb.
    Tilly nodded her head; I pushed her arms off me as I swung my legs out of the car.  I slammed the door and felt it reverberate up my arm. I was angry, but I didn’t know why.  I couldn’t find reason for my anger, maybe it was selfishness, not wanting this man to come in and blow up my little bubble that I had found myself in. As I stomped into the house, I threw my bag down onto the hallway floor, making sure not to look in the lounge room. I could feel his stinking presence in there.  I started to walk into my room.
    “Mon, please come in here” I heard that gravelly voice that I hadn’t thought about since the day I saw my mum dead on the floor.
    I spun on my heel; fury was coursing its way through my veins as I stared at him.  There on the couch sat a small fragile old man, his muscles sagging under his shirt, his hair or what was left of it white and wiry. I stood just in the doorway; I caught movement at the corner of my eye and saw Dylan standing in the kitchen door. He watched me, concern all over his face.  This is what was wrong; he knew my father was coming back. I tightened my hands into fists, suddenly angry at Dylan for not telling me, for not giving me the heads up.
    My dad stood up and walked towards me, his arms out, as he embraced me. I left my arms by my side, my hands still in fists.  His hug was tight and uncomfortable. I felt so stifled, as memories of my mother’s dead body on the floor flooded back, Dylan’s hug had been so tender and safe, in my dad’s arms I didn’t feel the same, and I felt that I was in danger with this man.
    “I’m sorry love, I’m sorry; I really didn’t know that it was a bad batch”
    I snorted in disgust.
    “You’re sorry that it was a bad batch, but you’re not sorry that you ever even gave her the stuff, you disgust me” I screamed, breaking out of his arms. 
    I turned and ran towards the door, where Tilly stood, I pushed past her, and ran out the front door, and I ran as fast as I could. I needed to be away, I needed to be gone.
    I heard the grumble of the panel van from behind me, but I didn’t turn to look, I didn’t slow down.  The last thing I wanted was Tilly or my dad in the car with Dylan. I didn’t want to speak to any of them; I wanted nothing to do with any of them.  The car sidled up next to me.
    “Mon, stop, please, just stop” Dylan’s voice said.
    I glanced over and could see that he was on his own. I slowed down to a walk, but didn’t stop. I heard the car shut down, and the door open. I kept walking, but soon felt Dylan grab my shoulders, pulling me into his chest.  I couldn’t hold the tears back any longer, as they began to flow in waves.  Dylan never said a word, he just held me tight in his arms, and let my sobs come. Tears not only for the loss of my mum, but for everything that had happened, my life, everything that I had missed out on, every situation I had been put in because of who  my parents were, tears just flowed and finally I was able to feel some release.
    When the tears gave way to nothing more than sniffles, I looked up at Dylan.
    “I love you Mon”
    My heart skipped a beat, and the now recognisable flutter down between my legs grew more intense. His scent was overwhelming, the strength of his arms around me felt so protective.
    “I love you too” I said, unable to control the words that came out of my mouth.
    He smiled and kissed the top of my head, I looked down at his shirt and could see my tears had caused a big wet patch on his chest, I patted it and laughed.  He shrugged, and led me back to the car.  We drove around for a bit, before going home. But I knew that with Dylan by my side, I could face the world and what it threw at me.
    Tilly had turned the outside light on and I could see the shadows of the two