Page 103 of Hold On

That earned Ren a pat on the knee. “Glad to hear it. You played your part. You gave more than enough.”

“Still didn’t put the guy in jail though,” Ren said.

“He’ll get his comeuppance eventually. Bad deeds never go unpunished. Don’t you agree, Dominic?”

“I’m not sure. We live in a world where evil isn’t always punished, and good isn’t always rewarded.”

Edward raised bushy eyebrows. “While sometimes bullies seem to win and the good guys struggle, I do believe that in the end, those who do bad things will pay the price.”

Dominic’s throat filled up.

“I think it depends on how you view bad things,” Ren said. “Because I have a whole list of bad deeds next to my name.”

His grandpa sighed. “He does. He once scattered seeds on the lawn and when the grass began to grow, along with it came a smiley orange face. His father was not happy. He loves his lawn.No weeds allowed. Can you play croquet, Dominic?”

He barely managed to shake his head.

“An afternoon delight. You must learn.”

“Excuse us, Grandpa. I just want to take Dominic and introduce him to a few people.”

“Fine. I’ll see you later.”

Ren led him to the house, put their glasses down in the kitchen and took him upstairs.

“In here.” Ren pushed open a door. “This is—was my room. We need a moment of calm.”

Dominic sat on the bed.

Ren dropped down beside him. “Breathe.”

Dominic tried.

“Ifwhat you did was a bad thing, you’ve paid the price,” Ren said quietly.

He’d never stop paying it. Forget what his parents had done, it was whathehad done that had blighted everything.

“Don’t.” Ren clutched his hand. “Tell the memoriesNo.They’re not having you. I want you.”

“I’m okay,” Dominic said. He raised his head to look around the room. “Not a shrine to you then?”

Ren chuckled. “Lemon walls and blue checked quilt instead of posters and a Star Wars duvet. There used to be a moon and spaceships on that wall.” He pointed to the wall opposite the window. “Then mountains. Angular peaks in teal and sage green. Mum painted a moose peeping around the door. When I left for flight school, she painted it out.”

He pushed to his feet and went over to the built-in wardrobe. “I have my own box.” Ren carried it back to the bed. “Want to see inside?”

Dominic nodded.

There was a mass of ribbons and medals, some plastic, some metal.

“I kept all of them. Swimming, running, rowing.” Ren pulled one out. “I got this one for first cardboard boat to sink. We were at camp and mine was a disaster.” He chuckled. “Even failure can be turned into a success.”

There were school reports, school books, even a small plastic baby.

“Christening cake,” Ren said when Dominic looked at him. “Tickets from inter-railing, concerts, Valentine cards, postcards I sent home… I’ve not looked at these for years.”

“No photos?” Dominic asked.

“In an album somewhere.”

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