All The Lonely People - David Owen Page 0,35

replied. ‘That’s not why you’re really here. You think if I can be forgotten so easily, it could happen to you too. And that terrifies you.’

‘They’re planning something against Tinker. I know how much you love her,’ he said. ‘Whatever it is, I have to do it. I have to make them accept me. We’re meeting tomorrow. I’ve left the address on your MacBook.’

Kat edged closer to him. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

At the shelves, the little girl had grown bored of arranging her action figures into strange poses, and came back to Wesley, taking his hand.

‘Tired now, Wezzer,’ she said. ‘Home?’

‘In a minute, Eves,’ he said. And then, to the room, ‘I’m sorry.’

Kat couldn’t help but sneer at that. ‘I hope that makes you feel better about yourself.’

She followed them onto the landing, watched them put on their shoes and leave without Dad appearing to see them off.

Her eyes settled on her laptop. She closed herself back inside her room and opened the lid. There were still tabs open in a browser, and she scrolled through until she found the chat window.

There were so few details, but one thing was clear: TrumourPixel was planning an attack – either online or in the real world – on Tinker.

‘This time it’s personal,’ she muttered to herself.

The trolls had defeated Kat, and she hated that she had let them. This was her chance to fight back – they were targeting Tinker for all the same reasons they had targeted her. This time she wouldn’t lose.

Wesley had made it sound as if she needed him, and she couldn’t allow that to be true. She retrieved her phone and found Safa’s number.

What time tomorrow? she sent. Why keep lying to herself that she might not go? Everything she had seen, had been told by Safa and the Lonely People, screamed !!!DANGER!!! (wanton exclamation marks warranted), but she couldn’t resist.

The response came a minute later.

Meat by the font tin about sex.

Kat stared at the message for a long time and wondered if she had forgotten how to read. I don’t know what that means, she replied.

FUCKING SIRI. I use voice chat to write messages.

Why?

Because it’s cool. That first message was meant to say MEET by the FOUNTAIN about SIX.

Kat paused a moment before typing a reply. Why did it feel like she was doing something illicit? I’ll see you there.

You’re the only person who will.

*

Mum was in bed when Wesley returned, so he retired quietly to the bedroom, breathing in the damp as he put Evie to bed.

The Musley family portrait had been stowed safely in his bag. Digging his fingers into the picture frame, he dismantled it and took out the photograph, turned it over and around as if to check it was real. Aaron beamed out at him, flanked by the family that had forgotten him.

Their own son. Brother.

Gone.

Carefully, he returned the portrait to the frame and reassembled it. A fleck of dust had become trapped under the glass. It pressed against Aaron’s cheek like a blemish on his skin.

Wesley pushed the photograph under his pillows, and then tugged the covers up over his head to blot out the world.

13

Drive-in Saturday

Wesley pondered all the ways he would rather be spending his Saturday morning: working at the dealership, running a three-legged race with Jordan, and watching Frozen on loop with his eyes fixed open all came above paying a visit to the food bank.

‘Thanks for coming with me,’ said Mum, squeezing his arm as they neared the community centre.

Wesley nodded – as if he’d let her go by herself – but he knew he didn’t deserve any thanks. The Salvation Army food bank was open to anybody who was struggling, which meant they didn’t need a referral. It was hard enough for Mum to admit she needed help when she hadn’t been able to pick up enough hours, without needing to seek permission for it. They were lucky, really, that they had only needed it a couple of times so far this year. That didn’t make Wesley feel any less ashamed. Any less of a failure for not being able to look after his family.

The community centre was only around the corner, an old brown brick building next to a modern glass church of some kind. Nobody from school lived near here, that Wesley knew of, so they would only see him if they were in the same boat.

‘You can wait outside if you want,’ said Mum.

If he was ashamed, he wouldn’t show