Blackfin Sky (17 page)

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

13

Sky didn’t switch her phone back on until the next morning. She had three missed calls from Sean, followed by a text when he’d given up calling.

I’m sorry.

What did that mean? Sorry for upsetting her? Sorry that she was a freak and he could never
really
like someone like her? Sorry for caring enough to get angry that she hadn’t waited for him to go with her to the woods?

Because after tossing and turning the previous night while she went over everything in her head, she realised that was the only explanation. She had known since the night of her party that he must have
some
feelings for her, otherwise he’d never have fought Randy. But the fact remained that when it came down to it, Sean grouped her with all the other freaks in Blackfin. What really hurt was that he was right. She was as
Blackfin
as they came.

And then there were all the weird things Madame Curio had said. Who was
Gage
, and what did Jared have to do with him?

Her visit to the woods had only raked up more questions, not answers.

Sky had English first period, so was spared the awkwardness of seeing Sean right away. Except that Bo was heading for the seat next to her.

Sky let her head fall forward onto the desk.

‘Hey, I’m not even going to ask what’s got you all in a mood with loverboy, so don’t give me the drama-flails.’

Sky rolled her head to one side, looking up at Bo suspiciously. ‘You’re not?’

‘No.’ Bo rustled around in her bag and thrust a wad of papers across the desk. ‘I copied my notes for you from physics last week, seeing as you ditched. It was all the stuff we need on light refraction for the mock exam.’

‘Huh?’

Bo jabbed at the papers with a blue fingernail. ‘Remember when Miss Schwarz did that thing with the glass of water and a pencil to show how light bends…’ Her voice trailed off as she realised Sky hadn’t actually been in school for that demonstration.

‘The one where it looked like the pencil bent at a funny angle where it entered the water?’ Wherever Sky had been, she had seen the same demonstration.

‘That’s the one. Apparently we need to know that shit for mocks.’

It had not exactly been the highlight of Sky’s academic year so far, but the theory had stuck with her. They had used crystals and other transparent objects to test how their dimensions affected how the light bent, or even split into its component hues.

Like whatever angle the light decides to hit the prism affects what the light will become.

‘Decisions, decisions,’ Sky muttered to herself, staring at Bo’s hastily scrawled diagram in front of her.

Decisions like whether she should actually try to time-travel or whatever it was she was doing, so she could find out more about what happened in the Blood House, and who had tried to kill her, and who – or what – had chased her in the woods. Or whether she should push Jared to tell her who this Gage guy was who he supposedly
belonged
to. And what to do about Sean.

‘It’s not always a decision,’ Bo said next to her, bringing Sky out of her thoughts. ‘Sometimes things just happen, and it might not be your choice or what you expected, but it can still be a good thing, you know?’

Sky could tell from Bo’s tone that she was missing the point her friend was hinting at, but Ms Wooky stopped right in front of their desks before Sky could ask her about it.

Sky’s bad mood still lingered when the last bell rang. She found Sean already waiting for her by the school gates. He leaned against the gatepost, the collar of his parka pulled high against the wind. He pointed up toward the roof of the school once Sky had reached him. The weathervane had turned its back on their conversation, pointedly staring out to sea despite the strong breeze which should have steered him to look over the car park.

‘Looks like Silas is mad at me, too.’

Sky hunched her shoulders, watched the toe of her boot scrunch the gravel of the path next to the school gate. ‘I’m not mad at you, Sean.’
Not
just
mad at you, anyway. I’m also mad at Jared, the crazy old gypsy in the woods, and life in general.
‘And Silas is just a chunk of metal.’

He laughed. ‘You
are
mad at me. But please be mad because I used a poor choice of words and was a jealous idiot, not because I think you’re a freak – because I just don’t.’ His fingers tilted her face up so she had no choice but to look him in the eye. ‘I’ve never thought that, Sky. And I’m sorry for being an idiot.’

She held her breath, trying not to show how much she wanted him to kiss her.

‘Come with me to Winterfest in Oakridge this weekend,’ he said.

Sky searched Sean’s face. ‘Are you asking me on a date?’

He nodded. ‘I’ve always been asking you on a date. Every time.’ Sean swallowed loudly. ‘If you’d like to … I mean, if you’d rather it wasn’t a date, we could make it more of a group thing—’

‘I want to. Go on a date, I mean. With you.’

Sean let out a long breath, as though he’d been holding it, too. ‘Good.’

14

For the next four days, Sky did not run into the psychopathic brothers who had tried to bury her alive. Nor did she accidentally dematerialise and end up in an alternate version of her life. She also managed to stay within her own time period, avoiding circus ringmasters and whispering murderers, and being altogether … normal. Even Sky’s mother seemed to have relaxed a little, and hadn’t done more than raise an eyebrow when Sky told her parents she was going to Winterfest with Sean. On a date.

She
may
have implied that the outing was more of a group event. But Sean’s name was specifically mentioned, so Sky reassured herself that she hadn’t
technically
told a lie.

Instead, Sky had gone to school, hung out with Cam and Bo, and helped out at the diner when the Thursday Special drew in a larger crowd than usual.

Sky was happy. Happier than she’d been since before her disastrous birthday party, despite the unanswered questions and secrets from the past snapping at her coat tails.

But happiness held its own terror, because it meant that if she woke up one morning suddenly back in the life she’d lived for three months while a corpse that looked a lot like her rotted in Blackfin Cemetery, she’d be miserable again. And she still wouldn’t have the answers she wanted.

But perhaps if she put it all behind her and stopped digging for things beyond her reach, she would get to keep her happiness.

‘You look nervous,
coco.
’

Sky looked up from staring blankly at the contents of her wardrobe to see her dad filling the doorway. ‘Nervous?’ She laughed, nervously, completely undermining the nonchalance she’d been aiming for.

Her dad walked in and held out a pair of what looked suspiciously like jeans.

‘I recovered these from your mother’s last spree.’

Sky’s mouth dropped open. Gui had sneakily rescued some of her clothes from her mother’s fashion tyranny?

‘You cannot ice skate in a skirt. What if you were to fall and skin your knees? It’s simply a matter of safety.’

He shuffled his feet awkwardly, clearly not comfortable about being so underhanded, even if it was for his daughter’s sake. Sky took the jeans from him and hugged them to her chest.

‘I’ll make sure she never knows.’

Gui grinned sheepishly before kissing her on the forehead. ‘We do what we must for a quiet life,
n’est-ce pas
?
’
He turned as though to leave, then hesitated. ‘I will be having a fatherly talk to this young man you are sneaking out with, just as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Only to make sure he is familiar with the rules of living a quiet life, you understand.’

‘Dad!’

He shook his head and laughed. ‘I promise not to frighten him too badly,
coco
.’

‘I’m more worried about what Mum will say, to be honest.’

Gui sighed. ‘Her objections aren’t for the reasons you think
.
She only worries for your happiness. Her own childhood was not a happy one, and she wants you to be safer and happier than she ever was. You are our little girl, and always will be.
C’est tout
.’

Sky wasn’t sure she agreed with Gui’s assessment, but she was spared having to comment as her mother’s voice bellowed from downstairs.

‘Gui! You’ve walked motor oil through the house
again!
Is it so bloody difficult to take your boots off…
’

This did not bode well for Gui, though he waggled his eyebrows in mischief. ‘Not always a quiet life, eh?
Le petit tyran
is out for blood, so I suggest you change quickly and use an
alternative
route to go and meet up with your young man.’ He nodded towards the french windows. Sky smiled as she listened to his retreating footsteps, then did exactly as he’d suggested.

‘Is it weird if I tell you you look good in jeans?’

Sky blushed as she finished buckling her seatbelt. ‘If it is, I’m okay with it.’

He gave her hand a quick squeeze before starting the engine and setting off for Oakridge.

The road to the neighbouring town wound up through the mountains encircling Blackfin, like it was a secret to be kept hidden from the rest of the world. Sean took the roads slowly, wary of the ice which had sent plenty of drivers plummeting from the high roads, their frequent and lethal drops punctuating the snaking ascent into the Lychgate Mountains. They passed the post marking the town limits – the post where the
Welcome to Blackfin
sign should have been, except that the locals took it down every time the town council replaced it. There was no need to
encourage
people to visit, after all.

Sean pulled in at the side of the road as they reached the highest point, giving Sky a
follow me
look as he slid out of the car, his hair instantly whipping into a curly tangle as the wind hit him.

She joined him as he leaned against the back of the jeep, looking out over the twisted townscape of Blackfin. The houses looked like precariously stacked playing cards, teetering against the hillside while waiting for a gust of wind to carry them off into the sea. From this height, Sky saw the thirteen black dots of the cemetery cats lazing on top of the tombstones lower down the mountain slope. Further still, the school sat poised on the seafront, with Silas’ iron form spinning crazily on the roof.

Sky drew her coat closer, then felt the added warmth of Sean’s arm around her waist.

‘I like the view from up here,’ he muttered, his voice low next to her ear.

‘It’s kind of pathetic to think how many times I’ve left Blackfin. Maybe ten times in my whole life, and even then it was only to go as far as Oakridge or Camberly. It’s like there’s this whole world I hear about and read about in books, but for all I know, maybe there isn’t really anything outside this weird, tiny dot of land.’