Part 11 (1/2)

A girl, about our age, pushed a trolley towards us. *Hey, Alex, this trolley was by the dog food.' I swear she smirked before lifting items out of the trolley. *Prunes. Prune juice. Metamucil. All Bran.'

The laughter bubbling in my throat just about choked me.

*Yes, yes, yes,' bl.u.s.tered the woman, s.n.a.t.c.hing the cereal pack out of the girl's hand.

*Is everything still in your handbag?' asked the manager, watching the woman check her purse.

*Apparently so.'

*Well then,' he said, *seems you just forgot where you left your trolley. May I suggest that in future, you keep your handbag under constant supervision.'

The woman's face flushed.

*So we bogans can go?' asked Sas, shooting the woman a filthy look.

*Sure,' said the manager.

I cleared my throat and looked at the woman. *We'll have an apology, thank you.'

The manager, girl who'd found the trolley and shoppers waiting at checkouts stared at the woman. Her mouth tightened and her face coloured.

*I apologise.' She s.n.a.t.c.hed her trolley and strode into the nearest aisle.

The moment we stepped through the automatic doors onto the footpath, we lost it. Khaden leaned on the top of the rolled rug and laughed, Sas held on to the trolley bay for support and I clutched my sides, the laughter hurting, but impossible to stop.

*Ruby, you were on fire!' said Khaden after a few minutes. He opened his iced coffee and drank about half of it.

*Is it an invisible trolley?' mimicked Sas.

Khaden spluttered and wiped his mouth. *That was gold, Ruby.'

He handed the carton to Sas who took a sip.

*Well, she gave me the s.h.i.+ts. Bogans! Who does she think she is?' I glared through the gla.s.s windows.

Khaden grinned and shouldered the rug again. *Come on, Feisty-we promised Sas we'd hurry.'

Sas took one of the bags from me so I could drink. I took a swig and offered the bottle to her.

*Nah, I'm good. And you know what, I don't care if we're late. That was worth it.'

*I swear my palms are bleeding.' I said, swapping the plastic bags from one hand to the other as we turned into Sas's street.

*I hear you,' said Khade.

*Oh, suck it up, you two. It's-' Sas stopped at her driveway.

*What's...' Then I heard it too. Crying and yelling. *Sounds like a major fight.'

*No, not a fight-' She dropped the laundry basket and ran before she finished the sentence.

*Seriously, Sas, I can't carry...' But Sas had gone. With a sigh, I reached for the laundry basket.

Khaden s.h.i.+fted the rug. *Here, I'll take it.'

When we reached Sas's place, yelling and sobs blasted out the open front door. Khaden and I dumped our stuff on the verandah.

*How did it happen?' bellowed Sas.

Behind the noises, I could hear the shower running.

*She was hungry.' I think it was Madison's voice, but she sounded so stressed it was hard to tell. *She wanted noodles and was sick of waiting for you, so she filled the saucepan with hot water from the tap, and slipped. It wasn't my fault.'

*You could have phoned to see where I was! Or just waited! What is wrong with you, Madison?' screamed Sas.

Khaden and I rushed down the hall.

Eliza stood outside the bathroom, crying.

Khaden squatted beside her. *You okay?'

She sniffed and nodded. *Grace is burnt.'

I eased around Khaden and Eliza and squeezed into the bathroom. Madison was huddled near the toilet. Sas stood, fully dressed, under the shower with a s.h.i.+vering Grace, who wore a denim skirt but no T-s.h.i.+rt. Her chest and left arm were scarlet and blotchy.

*I'll phone your mum,' I said, my voice low.

She looked up, her face as white as the tiles behind her. *Thanks.'

Khaden Slumped on the sofa, Khaden thought about making dinner, but decided to wait. Taj would probably be hanging out with the band and Mike would be at work, or the pub.

Not that it mattered. After what happened with Sas's sister, Khaden needed time alone. He couldn't shake Grace's screams from his head, or the look on Sas's mum's face when she rushed in the front door. Then there was Sas-so calm amid the chaos. Ruby was pretty calm too and kept Eliza and Madison out of Sas's way. He'd just stayed with Sas, feeling useless.

Khaden thought of the curve of Sas's calf, the curl of hair on the nape of her neck. He wanted to rush to her to check she was okay, but there was no point if they were still at the hospital.

He and Sas definitely weren't just friends any more. But what were they? And what would it mean to Ruby?

When the back door slammed, Khaden jumped. He expected it to be Taj, but Mike walked into the lounge, holding a box of fried chicken.

*You haven't eaten, have you?' he asked.

*No.' Khaden sniffed the air for beer, but could only smell petrol, and the food.

Mike placed the box on the coffee table.

*Chicken okay?'

*Always.' Khaden forced a smile.

Mike frowned. For a moment, Khaden wondered why; then he remembered the bruise. He reached forward and flipped open the box. Steam filled the air and the smell made his mouth water. *Haven't had take-away chook for ages.'