Free Crossfire by James Moloney Page A

not, ‘It isn’t his fault. He doesn’t know anything about the cat attacking Mum. He’s just gone out. What’s wrong with that?’
    â€˜I bet he’s stuck in some pub somewhere, too drunk to drive home. That would be true to form. He always was totally irresponsible, towards himself and everyone else. He’s never given a thought to anyone but himself since the day he was born.’
    â€˜That’s not so! He cares a lot about me. He says so and he gives me things all the time.’ Luke was shouting now. ‘He’s getting me the sweat shirt I wanted. Mum wouldn’t. Just said I didn’t need it and I couldn’t have it, and not to nag her about it. My Dad’s a good bloke. I’d rather be with him than here with Mum.’ Luke was startled to hear himself say it out loud. He wondered if it was really true.
    â€˜You don’t have a clue what you’re saying! Your mother takes better care of you than you could ever imagine. And if you’re going to shout at me so rudely, you can just get off to bed.’
    Luke was still amazed at his own defiance. He had seen and heard his mother lose her temper with her sister, but he had never spoken to Belinda as he did just then. And he was still perplexed at what had come forth from his own lips. He slipped into his bedroom in a daze, his retreat bringing no sense of humiliation or defeat.
    Despite such an early dismissal to bed, Luke fell asleep quickly and slept until late the next morning. When he emerged, tentatively poking his head into the kitchen, Belinda was quietly sipping a cup of coffee while she scanned the weekend newspaper.
    It remained one of the great mysteries which Luke hoped one day to understand, that even after the most ferocious rows, the next time Alison and Luke saw Belinda, she would behave as if nothing distasteful had occurred. Perhaps, once the human contact was broken, her need to fight and argue had nothing to feed upon and instantly died away. Whatever the case, his aunt greeted him cheerfully with the news that his mother was recovering well and that they would visit her late in the afternoon. Luke wondered if his aunt carried a little box inside her handbag into which she emptied all her anger and spite when it wasn’t needed, but which would be ready at hand when it was.
    â€˜Has Sally been home?’ Luke asked.
    â€˜Yes, she came in at midnight,’ said Belinda. ‘She’s gone off now to the hospital to see your Mum. She had an extended shift at work, it seems. It was just bad luck she didn’t come home at the normal time. She might have found Alison a lot earlier.’
    Just bad luck, Luke thought to himself and winced.
    Halfway through the morning, Luke’s father rang. Thankfully, Luke answered the phone himself. If relations between his mother and aunt were cool at times, between his father and Belinda they were like an Arctic winter, and last night’s row was hardly likely to cause a thaw.
    There was not much for Wayne to say. He was sorry he hadn’t been home last night, and he promised to take Luke to see his mother in hospital, though when he realised who he would face when he called to pick him up, he sounded doubtful. When Luke explained that Belinda had organised a visit, it gave Wayne an excuse to back out. Luke was as relieved as his father.
    Sally returned at lunch time, only to tell Belinda and Luke that the doctors had forbidden any further visits to Alison’s bedside until the next day. Though he kept it to himself, Luke was relieved.
    There was another problem to be faced that Sunday as well. Alison would be in hospital for at least a week and Luke would not be allowed to stay in the house alone, despite his protests that he could take care of himself. And there was the prickly topic of his suspension from school to be skirted around. He would need company not just at night, but during the day as well. Belinda had commitments at