Read Online Crashing Down by Kate McCaffrey - Free Book Online Page A

five days since the crash, it’s felt like years to her.
    Mrs K is nodding and gently weeping. ‘My Carlo,’ she says, patting his arm.
    He flinches and glares at her, sending death rays through her with his eyes.
    Lucy takes a step backwards.
    â€˜Here,’ he says, nodding towards the seat nextto the bed, ‘sit down.’ It’s an order, and Lucy is too scared to refuse. She moves towards the bed.
    A sickening unwashed odour comes from him. She wrinkles her nose and then tries to pretend she didn’t. She tries breathing through her mouth. Despite the leather cuffs restraining the full extent of his movement, he is still able to pick up her hand and crush it in his. His hand is filthy; there is black dirt under his fingernails and in the webbing between his fingers.
    â€˜So whatcha been doing?’ Again, that very casual voice that sounds nothing like Carl.
    So many thoughts rush through her head, but she dismisses each one. Telling him how frightened she is, how worried about him and JD she’s been, and now the pregnancy — all seem totally wrong. She shrugs.
    The bones in her hand are rubbing together painfully. That eyeless face is watching her. He is freaking her out.
    â€˜I went to work,’ she says, although her mouth is suddenly dry and her tongue feels three times its normal size.
    â€˜Yeah?’ He leans closer.
    The smell of rotting meat is overpowering. A wave of nausea rushes through her.
    â€˜Where do you work, then?’
    She frowns at his question, which immediately elicits the same response from him. Even his frown is menacing. She struggles to breathe normally. ‘Coles,’ she says. She’s been working there for a couple of years — every Thursday night and Saturday morning since she was fifteen. He has even picked her up from there.
    â€˜Serious?’ With just one word he sounds so disappointed in her, and releases his grip for a minute. ‘What happened to all your plans?’
    â€˜Plans?’ She looks at her mother and Mrs K. They smile encouragingly.
    â€˜We go for coffee,’ Mrs K interjects, seemingly happy that Carl knows who Lucy is, ‘leave you lovebirds.’
    Her mum gives her the
are you alright?
look and Lucy nods, despite feeling the polar opposite of alright. She watches them leave, wishes she was leaving with them.
    â€˜Thank fuck they’ve gone,’ Carl mutters, grabbing her hand again. ‘I’m sick of them spying on me. Sowhat happened, then?’
    Lucy thinks quickly — what happened? That night? He doesn’t remember? ‘What?’
    â€˜Your plans. You always said back when we were in high school that you were going to go to uni — become a …’ — he pauses and frowns — ‘a something. What happened? How come you ended up working at Coles?’
    â€˜Oh.’ She realises there is a lot wrong with him, aside from the black eyes. ‘I work there part-time.’
    He smiles, that strange secretive smile. ‘So uni, then?’
    â€˜No.’ She wiggles her fingers, the tips of which she thinks are turning blue. ‘I’m in high school, doing Year 12.’
    â€˜What!’ he shouts and she jumps. ‘Why? What happened to you? You were, like, the smartest girl in school. Why are you repeating?’
    â€˜I’m not.’ Lucy has a blinding headache. ‘I’m still doing it.’
    He shakes his head, the information bothering him, but Lucy sees he can’t figure out why.
    A nurse puts her head around the curtain. ‘Hello,’ she calls cheerily, pulling a trolley behind her. ‘Justneed to do some obs.’
    Carl tenses and tightens his grip on Lucy’s hand. ‘What the fuck do you want?’ he snaps at the nurse.
    â€˜Hey Carl, settle down.’ She puts a hand on his wrist. ‘I’m Petra, just need to take your temperature and stuff.’
    â€˜Nurse, hey?’ he says