Read Online One Perfect Summer by Paige Toon - Free Book Online Page A

Lizzy and me. ‘These two slags have taken up enough of your time tonight!’
    Lizzy and I nearly fall over at her words.
    ‘MUM! I cannot believe you just said that!’ Joe shouts.
    ‘GET INSIDE!’ she bellows.
    ‘Go,’ I urge him, my hand on his arm. I don’t want him to lose his job – his only way out of here.
    ‘I’ll be there in a minute ,’ he repeats through clenched teeth.
    She backs away. ‘Just you wait until your father hears about this . . .’ Her tone sends a chill through me.
    It’s only when she disappears around the corner that Joe turns to face us. I’ve never witnessed such a mixture of emotions on anyone’s face before. Anger, fear, anxiety, remorse . . .
    ‘You should have just gone,’ I say worriedly, sensing Lizzy’s shock beside me. I know she wants to be out of here, pronto, and to my utter dismay I know that neither of us will be coming back tomorrow.
    ‘I’m going to walk you home,’ Joe says suddenly.
    ‘No,’ I urge. ‘No. You should go back inside. Don’t make it worse!’ He hesitates. ‘Come and see me later?’ I suggest. This wasn’t the plan but I know he needs me, and Lizzy will be asleep, anyway. ‘Please,’ I press. ‘As soon as you finish. I’ll wait on the bench.’
    He looks at me, his eyes glistening. He nods abruptly and squeezes my hand before letting it go.

 
    ‘I’m sorry,’ I say to Lizzy as soon as we’ve changed into our trainers and are stomping across the field to get as far away from the pub as possible. We’re both worried his lunatic of a mother will follow. Thankfully she doesn’t like dogs, otherwise she’d probably set Rottweilers on us.
    ‘I can’t believe that! What a bitch!’
    ‘I did warn you . . .’
    ‘Oh, God . . .’ Lizzy’s still in shock. ‘I know he’s gorgeous and all that, but Alice ! His mother ! How can you bear it?’
    ‘I don’t have to see much of her,’ I say. ‘He wants to get out of there.’
    ‘Where does he want to go?’
    ‘London.’
    ‘Not Cambridge?’
    I hesitate. ‘No.’ At least, not that I know of . . . Although I have found myself dreaming recently.
    This seems to pacify her somewhat, and I hate her for it.
    Oh, God, I don’t hate her. I don’t mean it.
    ‘Please don’t say anything to my parents about tonight,’ I beg.
    ‘I won’t,’ she says crossly.
    I have no fingernails left by the time Joe arrives at close to midnight.
    ‘I came as quickly as I could,’ he says reaching the gate, out of breath. I get up to meet him. ‘Dyson, stay there,’ he commands, coming inside and closing the gate behind him.
    He engulfs me in his arms and holds me tight. I can feel his heart hammering hard inside his chest. I’ve been terrified he wouldn’t come.
    I try to pull away, but he’s reluctant to let me go. I look up at him. ‘Are you okay?’ I ask, but he won’t meet my eyes. ‘Joe?’
    He looks down at me and his eyes fill with tears. He gulps in a mouthful of air and I can tell he’s trying not to sob. He exhales, shakily. ‘It’s okay,’ I murmur, squeezing him tightly.
    ‘It’s not,’ he whispers. He pulls away. The look on his face is scaring me. ‘My brother gets out tomorrow.’
    ‘Out of jail?’
    He nods, and then his anguish turns to bitterness. ‘My parents couldn’t even be bothered to tell me.’
    ‘But they told you tonight? What happened?’ I pull him to the bench and he sits down beside me.
    It takes a long time for him to answer. ‘I was so angry with my mum for speaking to you like that. I told her I’d leave if she ever spoke to you like that again.’
    ‘What did she say?’
    Pause. ‘She laughed at me.’
    He’s not even angry about it. He’s just so hurt. I can feel his pain, because it’s mine too.
    ‘Then she told me Ryan would prefer my room to his, anyway.’
    ‘I don’t understand,’ I say after a while. ‘How could you not know this was going on?’
    ‘I hardly speak to them. I hardly ever see them,’ he admits. ‘We