The Flood. Rachel Bennett

yawn. ‘I need coffee or I’ll fall asleep. Is there anything to eat?’

      ‘There might be crisps.’

      Together they rifled the cupboards and came up with a few packets of crisps and some chocolate biscuits. It was hardly a fitting meal for the four of them. Auryn tipped the crisps into bowls to take through to the front room.

      ‘Just leave them in the packets,’ Daniela said. ‘Why make the extra washing-up?’

      ‘You people are savages. Eat food off plates like normal people.’

      ‘Crisps barely count as food.’ Daniela stole a salt-and-vinegar crisp. ‘Is Leo okay? Has he called?’

      ‘Not yet. I phoned earlier but he said he couldn’t talk and he’d call me back.’ Auryn arranged biscuits on a plate. Daniela didn’t mock her this time. ‘I wish he’d speak to me. About his family, I mean. On other stuff I have to fight to shut him up, but as soon as anyone mentions his parents …’

      ‘Is he still getting grief about going to uni?’

      ‘I think so. His dad’s always said he wants Leo to take over the shop from him eventually. But Leo won’t talk about it.’ Auryn lowered her voice. ‘Don’t tell him I said anything, obviously, but he’s pretty stressed. It’s not just being away from home, or what his dad thinks about it. He’s worried how we’re gonna afford everything.’

      ‘What’s he worried for? Our dad will cover it.’

      ‘I know, but … he doesn’t like relying on someone. He knows what people think of him. What Franklyn was saying … he knows, Dani. It bugs the hell out of him. Leo wants to cover his own bills. At least that way he’ll know no one’s talking behind his back.’

      The bitterness in Auryn’s tone was so unexpected Daniela dropped the subject.

      Auryn asked, ‘So, what the heck was going on with Henry?’

      Daniela glanced towards the kitchen door. The murmur of voices was audible from the front room. ‘Search me,’ she said. ‘Franklyn and him were arguing when I got there.’

      ‘What was Franklyn saying?’

      ‘I didn’t hear.’ Daniela shrugged. ‘It could’ve been anything. Those two have always had a personality clash.’

      A pause, then Auryn said, ‘What did you take from the shop?’

      ‘What?’

      ‘You put something in your sleeve as you were going out.’

      Daniela winced. She’d thought Auryn had missed that. ‘Yeah,’ she admitted.

      ‘What was it?’

      Talking to Auryn felt safer than talking to the others. Growing up, she and Auryn had shared everything. There’d been no secrets between them. So, after only a brief hesitation, Daniela said, ‘Let me show you.’

      She fetched her jacket from where it was hanging in the hallway and brought it into the kitchen. The weight of the knife was a heaviness she’d felt all afternoon as she carried it around. She shook the knife out of the pocket into her hand.

      Auryn’s eyes went wide. ‘Dani, what—?’

      ‘It was on Henry’s desk. I thought … I dunno, I thought maybe he was reaching for it during the argument.’ Looking back, Daniela was no longer certain of that.

      Auryn blinked several times as if trying to process this. ‘You think he would’ve hurt Franklyn?’

      Daniela didn’t want to think about that. ‘No. No, it was just a dumb argument. He’s all mouth, you know that.’ She shoved the knife back into its pocket and folded her jacket onto the kitchen table.

      ‘Are you sure?’ Auryn didn’t look convinced at all. ‘There’s always been rumours about him. And what happened with Mum …’

      ‘Mum left,’ Daniela said shortly. ‘No mystery about it. Anyway, you can’t listen to rumours. Literally you can’t, if you’re planning on being a lawyer. Isn’t there a whole bit about not prejudging your clients?’

      ‘Don’t take the piss,’ Auryn said, without malice. She spooned instant coffee into a cup. ‘You know what I mean. There’s always been something … off about him. You wouldn’t mess with him.’

      ‘Me? God, no. But this is Franklyn. She can look after herself, can’t she?’

      ‘I don’t know.’ Auryn watched the kettle come to the boil. ‘She’s changed since she went away. In a good way, maybe.’

      That was true. There’d always been a hardness, a tension about Franklyn, all through childhood, as if at any moment she might fly off the handle. But since she’d left home, the edge had gone from her temper. In every other way she was the same – the quick smile, the easy-going speech – but there was no longer something darker concealed beneath. She seemed … at peace. No, that was the wrong word. She’d found an internal balance. The fight with Henry seemed suddenly out of character, a relapse to worse times.

      It troubled Daniela that things were changing, even though change was what she craved. She felt like someone had nudged a boulder at the top of a steep slope, just enough to start it rolling, but no one was sure how far it might fall or who it would crush.