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‘I’m Ben,’ Ben says, and smiles Unaware of the undercurrents
‘Hi there, Ben,’ he says, and holds out his hand No, Ben! But it is too late Ben holds his out and Wayne sees his Levo Drops his hand back without a handshake
‘Another Slated! You lot round ‘And here I was about to warn you off hanging around with a Slater Slut like that’
‘Now just athat Wayne isn’t Mr Nice
‘Shut up!’ Wayne snarls and shoves Ben backwards on to the log ‘Sit there and be quiet I want to…chat with Kyla’
And Ben starts to stand again, his face alternating between confusion and anger I shake ht’
‘What about?’ I say to Wayne
‘Well, I think my brother chased you off too quick Why’d you want to talk to Phoebe’s mum?’
So they don’t know I spoke to her They don’t know Phoebe has been Slated
I stare back at him, mind blank yet convinced I shouldn’t tell hiht they shouldn’t know, I’ood reason, and I’ll not say Ben keep quiet, I plead silently
‘I got ways to ht not’ He steps closer
Ben stands, pushes between us His Levo vibrates, loud ‘Back off,’ he says But his face is white, contorted with pain No, Ben!
Wayne laughs ‘What are you going to do about it, Slater? Might as well just sit there and watch’ He pushes Ben who tries to take a swing at him, but his Levo vibrates louder and he shudders, sluround
‘Leave him alone!’ I screaet and just get hi to be ht’ And he moves forwards but I can’t run, I can’t leave Ben, and I’ and kicking, screaet out
But then Wayne looks over my shoulder, backs away and runs
‘Kyla? Kyla!’
Jazz bursts up the path, Aht we heard you screa?’ he says
Don’t tell theround next to hiht?’ His Levo vibrates again
‘What is he?’ A
I hold his hand, look at his wrist ‘32,’ I answer, terror twisting in roans ‘In my back-pack Hurry Pills,’ he h a water bottle and spare socks, and my hand finds a small bottle, pulls it out But the label says headache tablets?
I look at As ‘Can’t hurt,’ she says
‘Now Give asps
I do and he ss it dry, not waiting for the water I wrap ht; A my hand, and Ben’s, and Jazz is on standby to run for para, the colour starts to come back to his cheeks bit by bit His levels start to rise
He whispers to me the pills were from Aiden
Aiden’s Happy Pills
It is a while before Ben can walk He nearly blacked out My fault Soo ahead, just a little, so we can talk But I ht
Ben’s ar slowly ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers
‘Why?’
‘I wanted to protect you I was useless’
‘It’s not your fault’
‘But I don’t understand’ There is an uneasy pull in et there eventually ‘How co ‘Honestly? I don’t know They shouldn’t have been Don’t tell anybody, whatever you do Or I’ll be gone’
Ben pauses, digests this and finally nods
‘Why didn’t you tell Amy and Jazz what happened? We have to tell soerous’
‘No We can’t It would lead back to Phoebe, that I told her mum that she has been Slated’
‘So?’
‘These are not the actions of a good little Slated I’away at what happened, theyabout ht,’ Ben says at last ‘But promise me you will never walk up here on your own Ever Promise?’
And I do
Jazz drives Ben home, just a few arden Bicycles lean against the side, and there is a dog in the front But she is nothing like Brute Skye is a beautiful, bouncy golden retriever who leaps about Ben and the rest of us, tail wagging Ben’s parents gave her to him as a puppy when he first cae in overalls Younger and prettier than I expected: thirty or so,dark hair tied back
When Ben introduces us her eyes light with recognition ‘This is Kyla? Oh pleased to e workshop, full of shinyone of an owl: loops of twistedfan blades for feathers Metal scraps discarded as worthless have becoht ‘Likethat Ben asked if he could have, pinned to the wall She was copying it
We leave Ben there and I watch out the caras he waves, then disappears back inside the garage
Ben’s life used to be happy, uncomplicated The easy affection between hirown puppy, is so in evidence No MIA, no Happy Pills, no deranged footpath attackers