Page 91 of Boundaries

I flopped my body down next to Mason’s and copied him, looking up into that bright sky, wondering what was up there that was suddenly so interesting. Freedom perhaps, a way out? I was seven but I was clever and had a huge imagination.

Mason grunted beside me, acknowledging my presence with a huff.

“What are you doing?” he croaked. I could tell it hurt him to talk.

“Nothing,” I replied, darting him a sideways look. His hands were by his legs. He wore a pair of grubby jeans that had oil stains on them and a black top.

We lay there together in silence for a while before I asked in a quiet voice, “Do you hate him?”

Mason released a frustrated type of sigh. What? It was only a question. He probably thought me a nosey little cow. That’s what Mattie called me when he’d caught me in his room going through his stuff. So? It was an urgent visit. I needed batteries for the remote control of my new TV.

“No, not really. It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I might do,” I suggested brightly.

“You’re just a kid and an annoying one at that,” Mason hissed.

“Well, I have ears, big ones my brother said.

“Did he now?” he said in a bored voice. Boy he was moody.

Battling on, I pointed out, “My sister says it helps to share your problems.”

He didn’t like that, “I don’t have problems so piss off!”

I sniffed and wiped my hand across my nose, “What does complicated mean?” I asked, my eyes squinted as the sun came out from behind the clouds.

Mason snorted, “It means it’s hard to explain, messed up. As I said, you wouldn’t understand.”

I felt miffed that he’d thrown my question back at me. So, what if I didn’t know all the words? I wasn’t a walking-talking dictionary like Paul Cooper in my class. He had a big nose, bucked teeth, and a large head. My friend Pippa said he needed the space to store his massive brain. It didn’t matter that he was clever, he still stunk of BO all the time.

Puffing out a breath, I didn’t let Mason upset me. I was used to him shouting at me all the time.

“You’d be surprised what I can understand. I’m clever you know. I got nine out of ten in my last spelling test,” I informed him proudly.

I couldn’t have been sure as I could only see him from the side of my eye, but it looked like his lip curled at that one.

Carrying on, I added. “I’ve also read the first Harry Potter book and got the story in one go. I didn’t have to ask any questions. Mattie still doesn’t get it and he’s older than me.”

“For God’s sake, you do ramble on. Fine, OK. I take it back. You’re a child genius,” Mason said. He then chuckled to himself. The fact that I had made him smile gave me butterflies. I liked our temporary truce.

We lay side by side, looking up into the sky, sharing a moment of quiet.

After a few more attempts to get me to go away, Mason gave in eventually and told me how his daddy would get cross with him all the time. He said that he felt he couldn’t do anything right.

I asked about his other brothers. Mason snorted, saying how his dad didn’t touch the younger two and that Nixon never got hit as he was always away with the cadets. I hadn’t got a clue what that was.

I told him about my older sister Jenna and how my parents loved her more than me. He got that too. He said he did anyway.

I must have been there for around half an hour and knew the time had come to go home. If Daddy knew I was there on McKenna land, he’d ask my mum to bake me in a pie.

“You should go to the gym and do weights and stuff like my dad does. Then you can get all big and stick up for yourself more,” I suggested but Mason shot back.

“I can stick up for myself fine.” He defended in a snappy voice.

“K,” I responded. “Well, I wish you the best of luck with it.”

I then pushed my hand into my pocket and drew out the necklace my daddy had brought me back from a work trip. He said that the charm was made of real jade and that it would bring me luck. It was probably the reason I had almost aced my spelling test.

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