Rare Sight

Chapter Eighteen

Georgia was sitting on the doorstep when Joe got back, her arms folded in an attitude that said ‘sulky teenager’.

“Well, aren’t you going to say ‘Hello’ at least?” she asked Joe as he walked past her.

He sighed and unlocked the door before turning back to her. “Look, it’s been a long morning, OK, and you’re not exactly the first person I’d choose to see after… what you showed me yesterday.”

“I hear you’ve been taking on Tanner.”

“News travels fast with you lot, doesn’t it? Did you hear my granddad was there too?”

“Really? How is the old power-crazed loony?”

“Pretty angry and… vengeful. He wants to kill me.”

Georgia laughed. “Really, your family is so very touching.”

Joe rounded on her. “It’s all about your entertainment isn’t it? If we’re nice to each other you complain and if we try to kill each other you just stand there and laugh.”

“Oh come on, you’ve got to admit that it’s your family who put the d in dysfunctional.”

“It’s your family too, remember.”

“Only some of it – my mum and sister. The off-the-rails dad and grandfather are all yours, sweetie.”

“Yeah, thanks for that. At least Mum and Gran aren’t in training for Psychopath of the Year Award.”

She grinned at him. “You’ve really cheered me up, you know? Shall we go in for coffee?”

“Look, Georgia: Tanner’s going to be after me now and so’s Mr Burroughs. I really need to talk to Gran about a plan.”

“Well I’m sure your little posse will come up with something.”

“If you didn’t sound so sarcastic, I’d thank you for that. Now I’m going in, OK?”

As he walked into the house, she appeared in front of him, by the kitchen door. “I’m not a vampire you know,” she said. “I don’t have to wait for you to invite me in.” She walked into the kitchen and he glared at her back.

His gran was boiling the kettle for tea when he got in. She turned round in alarm. “Hello, lovie, what’s wrong? Why are you back from school?” She caught sight of Georgia. “Oh, Georgia. You’ve not been causing trouble again, have you?”

Georgia pulled a face. “No I haven’t. He’s managed to get into some pretty impressive trouble without any help from me.” She leaned over to ruffle his hair. “Real chip off the old block, he is.”

Joe pulled away from her. “Don’t. I don’t want to be anything like you.”

His gran looked from one of them to the other. “What’s going on?”

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” said Georgia.

Joe shook his head. “No. I don’t think she needs to know.”

“She is standing right here, you know,” said his gran. “What exactly don’t I need to know?”

He shook his head. “Look, I didn’t go to school, Gran. I went looking for Tanner.”

“You did what?” She gestured for him to turn round, which he did, in bemusement. “Well, I can’t see any bullet holes. What’s your mum going to say, though?”

He grinned ruefully. “Yeah – she told me I wasn’t to go after Tanner.”

“So why did you?”