The Dry (Aaron Falk #1)(73)

“Or maybe she felt no one cared.”

Gretchen looked at him. “She knew you cared, Aaron. That’s why she was drawn to you over Luke.”

Falk shook his head, but Gretchen nodded.

“It’s true. You were so stable. Someone she could rely on. You would have listened if she’d tried to talk. OK, yes, Luke was flashier and smoother than you. But that’s not always a good thing. Luke was the star, but most people don’t like just being the afterthought in their own lives. It’s not like that with you. You’ve always cared more about other people than yourself. Otherwise you wouldn’t still be here in Kiewarra.”

“Hey, Ellie.”

She was halfway down the hall, feeling Luke’s eyes on the back of her neck, when she heard the voice from an empty classroom. Inside, Aaron Falk was packing labeled potted plants into a large cardboard box. She smiled to herself and went in.

“How’d the presentation go? More top marks?” she said, curling an escaping fern tendril around her finger and tucking it back into the box.

Aaron shrugged modestly. “I don’t know. OK. Plants aren’t really my thing.” He wouldn’t say it, Ellie knew, but he would have aced it. When it came to all things academic, Aaron barely had to lift a finger. She’d also been barely lifting a finger this past year, but with markedly different results. The teachers had stopped bothering her about it a while ago.

He closed the box and hoisted it up, awkwardly balancing it in his long arms. “This is going to be a pain to get home. Fancy giving me a hand? There’s a Coke in it for you.”

His voice was as casual as Luke’s had been, but he colored slightly and avoided her eyes. Things had been a little weird ever since they’d kissed at the rock tree. The fight at the lookout hadn’t helped. She felt an urge to explain herself but couldn’t think of the words. Instead, she wanted to take his face in her hands, kiss him again, and tell him he had done everything he could.

He was still waiting, and she wavered. She could go with him. It wouldn’t take long. But no, she told herself firmly. She had made her decision. She had somewhere else to be.

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” she said, meaning it.

“No worries.” His smile was genuine, and she felt a pang of deep regret. Aaron was one of the good guys. He always made her feel safe.

You should tell him.

The idea popped into her head, unbidden. She shook her head once. No. She couldn’t tell him. That was stupid. It was too late. He’d only try to stop her now. But then, when she looked at his open face, she felt her insides wrench with a loneliness that made her wonder if maybe, in fact, that was exactly what she wanted.

“Poor Ellie,” Falk said. “Christ, we were supposed to be her friends, and we all let her down.”

Gretchen looked at her hands. “I know. I feel guilty about it too. But try not to beat yourself up too much. Other people must have suspected and turned a blind eye. You were a kid. You did the best you could. And you were always good to her.”

“Not good enough, though. Whatever she felt she was going through, it was happening right under our noses, and we barely even noticed.”

The kitchen was comfortable and quiet, and Falk felt like he would never have the energy to drag his heavy limbs up and leave. Gretchen gave a small shrug and put her hand on his. Her palm was warm.

“It’s a lesson we’ve all had to learn the hard way. There was a lot going on back then. It wasn’t all about Luke.”

Ellie looked up at Aaron, and he smiled. Tell him, the little voice in her head whispered, but she shut it down. Stop. It was decided. She would tell nobody.

“I’ve got to go.” Ellie started to move away, then paused. The thought of what was to come sent a wave of recklessness crashing over her. Before she really knew what she was doing she stepped in, leaned over his box of plants, and kissed Aaron lightly on the lips. They felt dry and warm. She stepped back, bumping her hip painfully on a desk in her rush.

“OK. See you round.” Her voice sounded false to her own ears, and she didn’t wait for his response.

As Ellie spun around to the classroom door, she nearly jumped in fright. Leaning up against the doorframe, watching on without making a sound, stood Luke Hadler. His face was unreadable. Ellie took a breath and forced her features into a smile.

“See you, Luke,” she said as she edged passed him.

He didn’t smile back.





30


Falk sat on his bed with a dozen sheets of paper spread out in front of him. Below, the pub was quiet. The last patrons had left hours ago. Falk stared at his notes on the case. He scrawled connecting lines back and forth until he ended up with a tangled cobweb and a bunch of dead ends. He took a fresh sheet of paper and tried again. Same result. He picked up his cell phone and dialed.

“I think Ellie Deacon was being abused by her father,” he said when Raco answered.

“What’s that? Hang on.” The voice on the other end was sleepy. The line went muffled, and Falk could hear a muted conversation. Rita, Falk guessed. He looked at his watch. It was later than he’d thought.

A minute passed before Raco’s voice came back on. “You still there?”

“Sorry, I didn’t notice the time.”

“Never mind. What was that about Ellie?”