get it, she’ll go in there if she feels threatened.”
Ink switched so fast between belief and disbelief that his head spun. His first instinct had been to believe, but how the fuck could this be his brother? With an Irish accent? This had to be some sort of con. Except why? What reason could there be? Is he just trying to mess with my mind?
He found himself being helped to the couch by Tay. The guy sat opposite, the bird on his shoulder.
“Would you like a drink?” Tay asked. “Does Bela?”
“I’m okay. She has water in her cage and food if she wants it.”
The cage was on a side table. Dog had looked at it and at the bird, ears twitching, but he’d not strayed from his bed. Was Dog in shock too? Bela flew onto Ink’s thigh and he tensed.
“Stroke her.”
She cocked her head looking at him, and Ink stroked her gently with the back of his index finger. Was it Bela? How? Ink released a shaky breath.
“She remembers you.”
But I don’t remember you. Ink stared at the guy’s face. Maybe he did recognise him. Was that because he really wanted this to be Ru?
“Talk to him, Bela.”
“Juicy fruit,” the bird cawed and Ink gasped.
“Are you okay?” Tay gripped Ink’s hand. “Do you need some water?”
Ink shook his head.
“I know you’re shocked. I thought you’d just see me and know. You remember me teaching her to say Juicy Fruit? Those grapes Mum had been saving for a fruit salad? You told her you ate them.”
Oh God, it is you.
Ink looked straight at his brother, overwhelmed by such a whirlwind of emotions, he thought he was having a heart attack. “Where the fuck have you been? I spent ten years locked up because everyone thought I’d killed you. If that wasn’t you, then who the hell was it?”
“Our cousin, Eagan Byrne.”
Ink sucked in a breath. “But…”
“Let me tell you this from the start. Most of it I didn’t know until recently. As soon as I realised what had happened to you, I came back.”
How could he fucking not have known? What planet had he been on?
“I was waiting outside school like you told me,” Ru said. “You know I wanted to get home to go and look for Bela. Uncle Felan went past in his car. He stopped further down the street, got out and beckoned, and I ran to him. He said he needed to take me home, that something bad had happened. I told him I was waiting for you and he said he’d come back and get you. I shouldn’t have got in the car, but I did. He was our uncle. I know Dad didn’t like him, but whenever we’d seen him at traveller gatherings, he’d been nice to us.”
That was true. Maybe Ink would have got in the car without worrying, except for knowing how angry his dad would be that he’d even spoken to his uncle.
“I had no reason not to trust him. Uncle Felan offered me his can of Coke, said he’d only just opened it. You know how Mum felt about fizzy drinks and how much I loved them.” Ru sighed. “I guzzled it down and it seemed a bit flat, but I didn’t realise why at the time. Just as I didn’t realise why he’d parked away from the school. So the camera wouldn’t catch him.”
They weren’t allowed fizzy drinks. They rotted teeth and it was a source of pride to their mother than neither Ink nor his brother had any fillings. Oh God, Ru! Am I dreaming? Bela fluttered from his thigh back to Ru’s shoulder. Ink was desperate not to miss a word but it was hard to concentrate when his heart was pounding so hard.
“I wasn’t feeling right by the time the car stopped. Sleepy and sick. We weren’t at our house. We were at his mobile home. But Auntie Nessa opened the door, her face all blotchy from crying, and she threw her arms around me and I still thought everything would be alright.”
“Why didn’t your dad and his brother get on?” Tay asked.
“I never fully understood why,” Ink said. “It had something to do with family money after the fair had been sold, and an argument about the travelling lifestyle. Uncle Felan felt dad had let the family down. As well as that, Auntie Nessa could be a bit weird, sort of manic, and mum didn’t like her. The two families only met up if we