RUN!

9. Spies

Song: Spies by Coldplay
    

           Mum sets the table for dinner while I finish up my essay. I had planned on going through Avery's Snapchat later this night but I'm going to make an effort to keep my promise to Reyna. However, her diary's sitting pretty on my table, waiting for me to pounce on it after dinner.

"Adonis? What are you thinking about?" Mum demands. I whip my head to her direction and sit  up straight. She has both hands on her hips and is giving me a funny look.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I was telling you that the table is set. What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing mum," I shrug. I drop my books and head for the dining. From the look she's giving me it's clear that she doesn't buy my shrug. She sits across from me on the table and serves herself some spaghetti. Dad's out late today so it's just the two of us for dinner.

"Is it about Avery? Mrs. Chan told me you and Lee went to see her the other day. I didn't know you were friends with her."

Oh. It never occurred to me that mum would actually speak to Mrs. Chan. I wonder how much she told her.

"We weren't," I shake my head.

"Oh...so why are you so...bothered?"

"She's a 17 year old teenager mum. A pretty girl who's gone missing, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?" I give mother a blank look.

"Andy." She returns the look. The name catches me by surprise, I wasn't expecting her to say it, she's successfully tucked Andy aside so it's more like he was a sweet dream rather than an actual person.

"Rape," I correct her. She nods slowly and I face my spaghetti.

"One of the popular theories is that she left with a guy, apparently she was...popular."

My fork drops with a clang.

"I've got it from a reliable source that Avery was not that kind of a girl."

"It's a two way street son, she may not have accepted the advances but she may have sent the wrong signals."

"And so it's her fault that some pig headed fool decided to focus more on the length of her dress rather than the fact that she categorically said no?"

"I never said it was her fault."

"Well you implied it."

"Adonis are we really arguing about this?"

"No mum we're not. I only argue when I have facts and right now I don't. But I will get it and when I do I'll be back . Then we'll argue."

My mum snorts and continues eating, we've learnt how to manage one another. I'm pretty sure she'd prefer having a conversation with Andy and I would prefer being in my room but we've got to make do with what we have right?

||

   Lee, Yara and I don't go home immediately after school. We wait behind for Damien, who's having an extra hour at practice today. I'm not a sports person so I honestly have no clue what's going on on that field but Yara's completely immersed in the game, which is funny since it's just practice. Lee has his earpods on so I know he's watching a movie or something but I've got nothing to do except sit still and wait for the hour to go by. Until someone tackles Damien that is.

"Fuck. It's Declan," Yara whispers next to me. Her entire face is squeezed so tightly that you'd expect sweat to pour out. I ignore the hand she so gently placed on my lap before but is now squeezing so tight and focus on the pitch, where Damien is lying on the floor, hands over his ankle.