Nada's Escape: Fighters' lies

13.3 Fall out

I storm past Finley into the gardens. The manicured perfection of the hedges only makes me angrier. Like a veneer of icing on a shit pie.

"I can't believe you just let them walk all over you." I shout, rounding on Finley in the first garden we come to. His lips twist into a disappointed frown, eyes falling to the ground for a second.

"Nada, really?" I hate the way he says my name, like a leash on my attention. "Believe me, I did everything I could."

I spit into a garden bed and stalk around to the other side of the well that dominates the centre of the garden. Even that is topped with decorative ironwork.

"Oh really?" I ask sarcastically. Looked to me like you just understood everything you could.

"Yes really." Finley pushes back, leaning across the well. His shoulders hunch up behind his head. "I was letting my father blow off steam and look more and more like an idiot whilst he did it. It was you who proved him right."

I spin back to pace in the other direction. "Oh don't try and turn the blame back on me. My response was valid, given his lies. He shouldn't be allowed to just say things like that."

Finley sighs and hunches his shoulders further, his head disappearing under his hands.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is." He says to the stones.

"Yeah well maybe I..." I kick a patch of violets, sending their delicate heads bobbing.

"Argh!" I cry at the sky. There's nobody to fight though. Just Finley, leaning across the lip of the well, eyebrows raised in response to my outburst. He carefully shakes his fringe back across his eyes.

"Look. It's alright. We have a plan B."

"And that won't help Amy and the others!" I explode. But there's only anxiety behind my outburst now. My anger is drying up without someone to spend it on.

"And we'll fix that too. Like I told the council..." Finley leans further across the lip of the well, imploring.

"It won't work!" I throw my hands in the air. "Josef will shut down everything we try."

"No. My father wants to shut you down." There's a competitive edge to his expression that I haven't seen before. "Everyone is watching you. And while they are I'll be out convincing the sponsors. Then come Thursday I'll present the council with the new list and my father will have nothing to left to say because he thought I couldn't do it."

I shake my head, dully kicking at some daisies. "Something will go wrong. Something always does."

"And we'll fix that too. It's going to be fine."

I certainly hope so. I kick another patch of daises, yellow this time, and huff about the garden bed for another few minutes. Finley pretends not to be watching me but I see the way he angles his hip against the lip of the well. It's not to catch the best sunlight.

"Shall we walk back as though we've made up?" Finley asks.

"And why would I do that?" I ask, without any real bite.

Finley just folds his arms. "You know why."

I narrow my eyes at him. Because a leashed lamb is a tame one?

He doesn't react, just waits for a different response. I stare a little closer, trying to hear what he's thinking.

I can't. He's just a khaki shorts and grey T-shirted mystery.

"What?" He asks finally.

"Exactly. You don't know." I can call you a stupid cow as much as I want now.