It May Rain

Chapter Twenty Five

MAY

HUGO

I empty the last of the rice packet into the bowl, but it's far short of being full to the brim. Maybe I'll try oatmeal. No, wait, I finished the last of the oatmeal this morning. Will muesli still work? That's got oats in it too.

No, rice is the gold-standard when it comes to this. I'll have to go to the shops tomorrow morning.

What time do the shops open tomorrow? I'll have to check that, but-

"You know it doesn't matter how many times you replace the rice. If your phone's water damaged, it's water damaged," she gloats.

"Not necessarily. The longer you leave it in rice, the higher the chance it might come back to life. And mine was only in the water for a minute or so, which isn't that bad. I've done a tonne of research on it. There's still hope for mine," I reply without even looking up.

"It's been almost a week, though. Just buy a new phone instead of plonking it in rice every night like a loser."

"Just stay out of this. I know what I'm doing."

"Like you knew what you were doing when you dropped it in the toilet and you were too squeamish to pick it out straight away? And now it's ruined. Congratulations."

"Do shut up, Gigi. You're as useless as dehydrated water, to a camel in the middle of the Sahara desert that-"

"Hugo, be nice to your sister. I've just been discharged from hospital, and the last thing I need is you two bickering," my dad calls from the other end of the room.

She gives me a sarcastic smile before slinking off back to her bedroom. As dad's little princess she knows she can get away with murder when he's around. Next time I come to New Zealand I'm coming alone, or with mum, or with...her.

I wanted to show her Wellington and I was going to show her the rest of this amazing country too. She's never been to this part of the world so I was going to be her tour guide, just like I was in Copenhagen. But then again, that trip had a less than desirable side effect.

It's Konrad who I blame.

As my godbrother I love him unconditionally, but he's always been a bad influence. When I was younger he'd peer pressure me into doing things I didn't especially want to do, or even if he didn't, then I'd usually be trying to emulate him anyway. He's the coolest person I know, I've always looked up to him. But I'll never be him, no matter how hard I try. And I have tried. Many, many, times.

Ever since he was a kid he's gotten away with telling porky pies, and he knows how to use those lies to his advantage. He tells them so confidently and no one ever calls him up on it. Let people hear the version of events they want to hear, he always says to me.

Like when he tells women he's trying to impress that he's in charge of a successful company, and he never corrects them when they assume he's the CEO or that he created the company from scratch. Like when he got so drunk he cheated on his ex girlfriend but blamed the other woman for kissing him first, even though he was slipping her sexual innuendos all night.

Trusting him with the truth is like trusting a squirrel with a bag of nuts. He'll bury the truth and will only reveal titbits of information when he feels like it.

That's why I had to tell him to keep his distance from Mae, because I don't want to ever be in a position where I have to pick sides between them. I think the world of Konrad, but I'm all too familiar with his ability at bending the truth. It's his special talent. He takes one thing, puts his own spin on it, then makes everyone believe his point of view.