Read Online One Minute to Midnight by Amy Silver - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Amy Silver
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Upstairs, I found Jules sitting at my dressing table, examining his facial injuries in the mirror.
‘Can I stay?’ he asked anxiously when I appeared.
‘I think so, but you have to go downstairs and talk to your annoying cousin first.’
‘Oh crap! Aidan. Shit, I forgot all about him. He said he’d pick me up after the party.’ Then he grinned at me. ‘Why did you say he was annoying? What did he do?’
‘He’s just … really patronising,’ I said, but I could feel myself blushing again.
‘Okay,’ Julian said, still smiling at me, a little quizzically. ‘I’d better go and talk to him.’
Julian and his cousin talked outside. I watched them from behind the curtain in the living-room window. Jules telling his story, shuffling from foot to foot, every now and again pausing, his head in his hands; Aidan, leaning against his motorbike, smoking, listening passively. Until, presumably at the key point in the story, he threw the cigarette down and started to yell.
‘Why didn’t you call me? I would have come straight away.’ Then he put his motorcycle helmet on and swung one long leg over the bike
‘Where are you going?’ I could hear Julian ask him.
‘To sort those fuckers out,’ he replied, kick-starting the bike into life.
After that, I couldn’t hear anything they were saying over the noise of the engines, I could just see Julian gesticulating, obviously pleading with him not to do anything stupid. Fat chance, I thought to myself. Aidan looked like the sort of guy for whom stupid – or at the very least reckless – came naturally.
I was just wondering whether I ought to go out and intervene when I heard the front door slam and, to my horror, Mum strode out into the driveway, and I could hear her yelling over the engine noise.
‘Enough!’ she shouted, holding up her hands. Aidan cut the engine. ‘You,’ she said, addressing Aidan, ‘can get going now. And I don’t want to hear about you turning up at Craig’s parents’ place in the middle of the night. Julian, go inside. I’ve spoken to your mum, it’s all right for you to stay. But you can go to bed right now. I’ve made up the bed in the spare room.’
Despite my embarrassment, I couldn’t help smiling. The two boys, instantly recognising they were no match for my mother, did exactly what they were told. Aidan started up his motorcycle once more, and rode off at a sensible speed, while Julian came back into the house and hurried straight upstairs to bed.
It was about just after one when I heard my mother’s bedroom door close and realised it was safe to sneak out. I tiptoed down the hall, pushed open the door to the spare room and slipped inside.
‘Are you awake?’ I whispered.
‘Yeah.’
‘Are you okay?’
‘I think so.’
‘Do you want to talk?’
Julian flung back the bedspread in reply, and I crept into bed, nestling myself up against him.
‘Shall we do resolutions?’ he asked me.
‘You first.’
‘Okay, at number one I had “come out to my friends”, so I’ve jumped the gun a bit on that one. Number two, “come out to my parents”.’
‘Your parents are good people, Jules, they’ll be fine.’
‘Mum will. Dad’s going to be disappointed. I know he won’t want to be, but he won’t be able to help himself.’
I slipped my arm underneath his body and squeezed him.
‘Not too hard,’ he mumbled. ‘I might have a broken rib.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Number three: quit smoking.’
‘You had that last year.’
‘I’ll probably have it next year, too.’
‘Four: really concentrate on work. I really want to go to St Martin’s next year, and I’m going to need As to get in.’
‘You’ll have no problem getting in, Jules. You’re so talented.’
He kissed the side of my head in the dark, squeezed me a little tighter.
‘And five: well … It was going to be to make things right with you. But maybe … I don’t know … Do you forgive me, Nic?’ There were tears in his voice, and
Upstairs, I found Jules sitting at my dressing table, examining his facial injuries in the mirror.
‘Can I stay?’ he asked anxiously when I appeared.
‘I think so, but you have to go downstairs and talk to your annoying cousin first.’
‘Oh crap! Aidan. Shit, I forgot all about him. He said he’d pick me up after the party.’ Then he grinned at me. ‘Why did you say he was annoying? What did he do?’
‘He’s just … really patronising,’ I said, but I could feel myself blushing again.
‘Okay,’ Julian said, still smiling at me, a little quizzically. ‘I’d better go and talk to him.’
Julian and his cousin talked outside. I watched them from behind the curtain in the living-room window. Jules telling his story, shuffling from foot to foot, every now and again pausing, his head in his hands; Aidan, leaning against his motorbike, smoking, listening passively. Until, presumably at the key point in the story, he threw the cigarette down and started to yell.
‘Why didn’t you call me? I would have come straight away.’ Then he put his motorcycle helmet on and swung one long leg over the bike
‘Where are you going?’ I could hear Julian ask him.
‘To sort those fuckers out,’ he replied, kick-starting the bike into life.
After that, I couldn’t hear anything they were saying over the noise of the engines, I could just see Julian gesticulating, obviously pleading with him not to do anything stupid. Fat chance, I thought to myself. Aidan looked like the sort of guy for whom stupid – or at the very least reckless – came naturally.
I was just wondering whether I ought to go out and intervene when I heard the front door slam and, to my horror, Mum strode out into the driveway, and I could hear her yelling over the engine noise.
‘Enough!’ she shouted, holding up her hands. Aidan cut the engine. ‘You,’ she said, addressing Aidan, ‘can get going now. And I don’t want to hear about you turning up at Craig’s parents’ place in the middle of the night. Julian, go inside. I’ve spoken to your mum, it’s all right for you to stay. But you can go to bed right now. I’ve made up the bed in the spare room.’
Despite my embarrassment, I couldn’t help smiling. The two boys, instantly recognising they were no match for my mother, did exactly what they were told. Aidan started up his motorcycle once more, and rode off at a sensible speed, while Julian came back into the house and hurried straight upstairs to bed.
It was about just after one when I heard my mother’s bedroom door close and realised it was safe to sneak out. I tiptoed down the hall, pushed open the door to the spare room and slipped inside.
‘Are you awake?’ I whispered.
‘Yeah.’
‘Are you okay?’
‘I think so.’
‘Do you want to talk?’
Julian flung back the bedspread in reply, and I crept into bed, nestling myself up against him.
‘Shall we do resolutions?’ he asked me.
‘You first.’
‘Okay, at number one I had “come out to my friends”, so I’ve jumped the gun a bit on that one. Number two, “come out to my parents”.’
‘Your parents are good people, Jules, they’ll be fine.’
‘Mum will. Dad’s going to be disappointed. I know he won’t want to be, but he won’t be able to help himself.’
I slipped my arm underneath his body and squeezed him.
‘Not too hard,’ he mumbled. ‘I might have a broken rib.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Number three: quit smoking.’
‘You had that last year.’
‘I’ll probably have it next year, too.’
‘Four: really concentrate on work. I really want to go to St Martin’s next year, and I’m going to need As to get in.’
‘You’ll have no problem getting in, Jules. You’re so talented.’
He kissed the side of my head in the dark, squeezed me a little tighter.
‘And five: well … It was going to be to make things right with you. But maybe … I don’t know … Do you forgive me, Nic?’ There were tears in his voice, and
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