Page 105 of Reflex
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ENGLAND.
“Anyone home?”
Alle shoved her case through the kitchen door as Malice the cat attempted to escape into the wilderness they called a garden, but was really one massive bramble bush.
“Ewan?Hello?”
Her ears perked at the sound of the TV on in the living room.He always had it turned up so loud, sometimes she wondered if he hadn’t lost his ears to frostbite too, but then he’d hear a pin drop from the other end of the house.It was the early evening news playing.Alle recognised the dramatic intro jingle, followed by the announcement of the headlines this evening.
A yawn stretching her face, she opened the fridge and stared blankly at the contents.She and Ronnie had left Cannes around midday, following a late breakfast with Spook and Rock Giant at a brasserie on the beach.Rock Giant was heading back to the UK too, but had booked onto a later flight.His parents were playing some major folk festival the next weekend and he’d promised to attend.Spook intended to stay put in Cannes for another few days, then fly to Sweden to see his sisters and a whole raft of nieces and nephews.They’d agreed a tentative hook-up date in a little over a week when he was due to be in London to sign copies of their last album at their record company’s headquarters.
The fridge started bleeping in protest, rousing her from thoughts of Spook and all they’d learned and said to one another over the last few days.It brought a smile to her and made her want to squeeze herself.Instead, she grabbed a can of pop, and parked her case in front of the washing machine.
It was hard to believe that it was only a few days ago he’d sworn it couldn’t possibly happen between them, but they knew one another so well after nearly a year of texting back and forth all the time, that it felt like they’d been together a lot longer.
“Ewan?”He was standing before the TV set when she reached the lounge, one hand in his short hair.He was still just as beardy as when she’d left, and was wearing a chunky cable knit that made him look like a fisherman.“Hey.I’m back.”
He didn’t respond.
“Gee, welcome home, Allegra,” she mimicked.“Why yes, I did have a jolly nice time, thanks for asking, so I won’t need to beat your arse for colluding beforehand.Also, you might have mentioned our dick of a brother, Marsh, is working for fuckingBang!these days.”
“Shh!”Ewan hissed.
Alle turned her head to the screen anticipating another climate crisis report.
“The guitarist, from the band Black Halo, was arrested by French police following an incident at a beachside restaurant in Cannes.A man in his twenties is understood to be the victim of what witnesses describe as an unprovoked attack.The reporter approached Mortensen as he left the restaurant, who then punched him in the face.The victim is being treated at Cannes Hospital.
Oh shit!This had to have happened right after she left.There was no footage of the actual incident, or the man involved.Unprovoked, her foot!Spook didn’t lash out unprovoked.At the very least, the guy must have said something.
“This follows reports of two separate but similar incidents in the Italian city of Genoa three days earlier.Mortensen is alleged to have assaulted a security officer at the arena where his band was playing.And following an alcohol fuelled blow-out, showered a female reporter in broken glass.”
Instead, the report showed a clip of a recent Black Halo video, before rolling into footage of her, Spook, Xane, Luthor, and Dani on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival the day before.The remnants of Spook’s black eye from the assault in Genoa was plainly visible, so too were the various cuts to his fingers that seemed to confirm the message that he was a dangerous thug.
Only, he wasn’t.He very much wasn’t.“He didn’t attack anyone in Genoa,” she protested.“He was the one assaulted.”
Finally, Ewan acknowledged her presence.“They’re talking about Marshall.”
“What?”Alle’s heart beat a frantic tattoo.
“They guy he decked is our brother.I can’t believe I paid for you to go out and meet this guy.”
Unsteadily, she sank into the leather armchair, only to jolt upright again the moment her bottom hit the seat.
“Malice,” Ewan chided.Her brother squinted at her, when he realised the cat was perched on top of the bookcase, which in turn, made her cheeks flame.
Spook had warned her she’d feel the real burn of what they’d done together the next day, and he hadn’t been wrong.A couple of taxi rides and two hours on a budget flight and her backside felt like a fireworks display.
“Ewan.Spook was attacked in Genoa, not the other way around.And the woman reporter was shit stirring.”
He frowned deeply at her, so that even his beard seemed to bristle.“He’s just landed our brother in A & E.”
“Not for nothing,” she insisted.“I don’t believe that.Marshall must have done something.”Goddammit, he’d told her he was going to do something.He’d said readBang!Onlinetomorrow.
“I don’t know what happened, Ewan, but Spook’s no thug.He’s a good guy.I love him.I trust him.Obviously, I love Marshall too, but I’m not automatically taking his side in this.”
That went down like a lead balloon.
