"Matt?" Luke whispered.
"Mmmm?" I was exhausted.
"Matt!" Luke hissed.
"What?"
"What did you dream last night?"
Shit. He had heard me.
"Stuff." I answered absentmindedly, praying he would be satisfied.
"Stuff?"
I obviously wasn't in Gods wish granting list today.
"A death."
"Who's?"
"No-one you'd know."
"Doesn't matter. Who's?"
"A girl."
His silent laughter told me all he wanted to say and more. Despite the fact that it was her death I had dreamt of. Not specifically her, although I sheepishly admitted to myself that I wouldn't have minded dreaming of her. Be a nice break from everything else I had the misfortune to dream...
"Which girl?" Johnathon asked casually. Great. He had either heard me or been listening to our supposedly private conversation.
"Flo." I replied.
"Oh" they both chorused.
"Yeah" I confirmed.
"You got any school work?" asked Luke.
"Who's Flo?" Johnathon probed deeper, ignoring Luke's changing-of-the-subject question.
"I dont really know." I didn't realise it was true until it had left my lips. It hung in the air but not in a bad way. Like the ending note of a song that trails into silence. Not in a bad way.
And that was that.
The clink of dishes and cutlery drifted up through the floorboards announcing breakfast. Suzie's laughter high and soprano, my mother's voice soothing and reassuring greeted me as I stepped into the kitchen and took my place at the kitchen table.
"Good morning Matt!" trilled my sister as she passed me a slice of toast.
"Morning lovely, did you sleep well last night?" my mother asked. I knew it was a simple question but I couldn't help but hear the concern underlying it.
"Yes, thank you" I smoothly lied. My brothers trooped in at that point and glared at me from under their spoons. They hated it when I lied to my mother, Johnathon especially. But I wasn't going to go crying to mummy, I was too old for that now.
Breakfast ended without any significance.
