Page 4 of Scapegoat

“To slave for your mother all afternoon?” Jayden said. “Fuck that.” He held out a hand and I took it—I always took it—before pulling me closer. “If you’re not going to bother looking after yourself, we’ll have to step in and do the job right.” He glanced over at his brothers. “The milk bar?”

“The milk bar,” the others agreed.

Chapter 3

There was something particular to being an Australian teenager in the summer. No cares, no responsibilities, just what seemed like endless sunny days. We walked back into town, padding into the artificial chill of the milk bar, the concrete floor cool under our bare feet. The boys had mucked around, jostling and pushing each other, all the way there.

“You lot again?” Elsie was an older woman who had run the local milk bar since long before we were born. With her mate, first, right up until he died. And now she looked after it all by herself. “Lemme guess.” She pulled out an old paper order book, a chewed up pencil stub in her fingers. “Three burgers with the lot.”

“Four,” Xavier said, nodding to me. “And milkshakes and fries.”

“Last of the big spenders,” she said with a slow nod. “All right. You know the drill. Take a seat and I’ll have it right out for you.”

“I can’t eat all of that!” I hissed at them as an arm went around my shoulders and steered me towards the plastic tables and chairs set up for customers, a bright vinyl tablecloth laid over top of it.

“You can and you will.” Atlas’ voice didn’t allow for argument and he stared at me steadily as he sat down opposite me. “You’re getting too thin. Your mother is running you ragged.”

But not for much longer, that went unspoken. Until the end of summer I was her child to do with as she saw fit, but after… I would find my wolf, be recognised as an adult in the pack. I would discover just how strong my animal was, letting me know where I fit. Men would seek me out as a mate based on that. But as Elsie returned with our meals, the boys paying for everything, making me flush with shame, I wondered… Who would he be? And would I still feel the ghost of kisses stolen by the Campbell boys, long after my mate had claimed me?

Atlas’ faith in me was apparently warranted. I didn’t manage to eat everything on my plate, but I made a good showing of it. The pillowy soft bread, savoury meat patty, the lashings of pineapple, cheese, caramelised onions, beetroot and egg and bacon making my stomach ache a little in response to all that food, even as my body felt heavy with a sweet feeling of wellbeing.

“Now you’ve had your food,” Elsie said, coming back once we were done and clearing away our empty plates and glasses, “you’ll need to head home.” She stared at me, a strange mix of pity and judgement in her eyes. “Your mother has been ringing everywhere looking for you.” Her head snapped around when the guys let out a low growl. “And you lot? I’m guessing you’re the ones that whisked Kaia away from her mother? You think you want to run this place one day, but you won’t be doing that by sneaking girls out of their own homes.”

“Not running anything,” Jayden said with a smirk, jumping to his feet and hauling me up with him. “We’re just kids until summer is done.”

“Kids, my arse—” Elsie started to mutter.

“So we can’t be held responsible for our actions. Bye, Elsie!”

The boys tore off for the front of the shop and dragged me along with them, running past racks of chips, lollies, and newspapers to the sounds of her shouts, their laughter ringing in my ears until we stumbled out onto the footpath beyond.

But as soon as we got outside, my eyes flicked around. Like a lot of small towns, everyone knew everyone, but the clannishness of Stanthorpe rivalled anything that might happen in human towns. The people here could smell us and, what’s more, were connected to us by an intricate series of unseen bonds. I should have been keeping an eye out, but the sense of contentment I had from a full stomach and the company I was with was making me feel like I was floating free beyond it all. That was both exhilarating and disorienting.

“Maybe we should—” I said.

“Head to the movies?” Jayden’s blue eyes danced. “There’s that new action flick on. The one with all of the cars and the explosions…”

“That can’t happen unless it’s only one of us going in.” Xavier was looking at his bank balance on his phone. “We don’t have enough money.”

“One ticket?” Jayden’s grin widened. “We can work with that.”

“Jay…” Atlas growled.

“C’mon, we’ve snuck in a million times before.”

“Fuck’s sake, Jay,” Xavier cursed. “Elsie is right. We’re not kids anymore.”

“Yes we are.” The smile faded and was replaced by something much more defiant in Jayden’s eyes. “For another week, we’re just kids.” His focus shifted to me. “We’re not recognised as adults: we’re not allowed to do anything, make any choices, change a single thing. So, until then, we act like kids.”

His words acted as a call to arms, one that had us turning towards the old movie theatre.

Only to be intercepted on the way.

Not by my mother, though. In some ways that would be easier. I saw a few of the girls from school coming towards us up the footpath and found myself falling back, putting myself behind Atlas’ broad back as they approached.

“Heeeey, guys…” Amber’s voice was a perfect low purr. When we stopped, I peered past Atlas’s broad bicep as she looked the guys over with heavily lidded eyes. “Coming to the party over in Granville tomorrow?” Those eyes narrowed when she spied me, then ignored me. “You could come with us.” She nodded to her two friends who clustered closer. “Could have a real wild time.”

“We’re going,” Atlas said, pulling me in front of him, his arms going around me as he plastered my back against his chest. “But if we’re taking anyone, it’s Kai.”

---