Charlie shrugged. “’Cause I know you hate it too.”
“Fair enough.” Leo forced himself to step away. “Come on. I mean it this time. We need to get home.”
The rest of the walk was thankfully uneventful. Charlie’s fascination with his surroundings faded, and by the time Fliss met them at the back door, he seemed more bewildered than anything else.
“For fuck’s sake,” Fliss said. “What the hell did he take?”
“Dunno. I wasn’t there.”
Fliss shot Leo a disbelieving glance as she guided Charlie into the house. “Yeah? So you didn’t give him the pills?”
“Why would I do that and then text you for help? Sneak him in myself then, wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know why you texted me at all. I’m not exactly a drugs guru.”
Leo said nothing. He’d reached out to Fliss because he was scared shitless, and his gut had told him that she could help. There was no rhyme or reason, and he didn’t much care if anyone thought he was a dirty drugs pusher . . . right?
Bullshit. If Reg gets wind of this, he’ll kick you out for sure.
Panic surged in Leo’s chest. Fliss shook him. “Leo.”
“What,what?”
Fliss glared, like she’d growled his name more than once. “Go and get some bananas from the dining room, and bequiet. Mum and Dad are watching TV in their room.”
“Bananas?”
“Trust me.” Fliss eyed Charlie, who was staring at the photos on the fridge door, singing to himself, and swaying like he didn’t have a care in the world. “If we want him to sleep anytime before next Tuesday, he needs vitamins. Besides, have you got any better ideas?”
Leo fetched the bananas from the fruit bowl in the next room. When he got back, he was surprised to find Fliss and Charlie standing together by the kitchen window, arms around each other, like they really were siblings, instead of two people who simply lived in the same house.
“You’re an idiot,” Fliss said. “How many times have I told you not to take drugs?”
Charlie’s grin was loopy. “I like drugs. They’re fun.”
“Won’t be fun in the morning when your insides feel like sandpaper. Here, eat this, and drink some water. If your teeth stop chattering, I’ll let you go to bed when you’re done.” Fliss handed Charlie one of Leo’s retrieved bananas and filled a pint glass with water. Then, while Charlie did as he was told, she beckoned Leo to the kitchen doorway. “I think he’s fine. If he was going to freak out or OD, he’d have done it by now. You’ll need to keep him quiet, though, at least until the morning. Mum and Dad are taking Lila to Aunt Sal’s first thing. They’ll probably leave you two to sleep in, but keep an ear out, just in case. They can spot this shit a mile off.”
Leo wondered how Fliss knew so much about drugs. He’d seen her stagger home from a night out with her mates more than once, but nothing to suggest that she caned anything harder than vodka. “You’re sure he’s okay?”
“As sure as I can be. I, uh . . .”
“What?”
Fliss shrugged. “I don’t get it. Charlie’s a good boy, you know? And he doesn’t give a shit about impressing anyone. He didn’t do this to look cool in front of his mates, so I reckon something happened to piss him off. Any ideas?”
Leo felt sick, but before he could answer, Charlie appeared beside him, eyes bright and slightly more focussed than they’d been since Leo had found him curled up on the ground. “Don’t nag Leo, Fliss. He hates me already ’cause I kissed him.”
Heat flooded Leo’s cheeks, and the nausea tickling his belly got hotter and hotter until he felt like he would surely puke all over the weathered wood floor. But Fliss only shook her head and closed her eyes briefly. “I don’t want to know what you two get up to in your spare time. Just don’t get caught, okay? I can’t be arsed with the drama. Now go to bed, the pair of you, and don’t wake me up unless one of you is dying.”
Fliss left them to it. Leo watched her go with an odd combination of relief and panic. Charlie called her a crazy bitch every other day, but Leo saw how strong she was, fearless and brave. Saw it in her eyes, in the steely glare that too often hid her kindest smile.
“Leeeooo.” Charlie tapped Leo on the shoulder. “You’re staring again. Come on. Fliss said we had to go to bed.”
“Since when do you do what she tells you?” Leo shrugged away and headed for the stairs, then thought better of it and tugged Charlie in front of him. “Hold on to the banister.”
“It’s pink.”
Leo sighed. “If you say so. Just get upstairs. And do it quietly. I’m not hiding you from Reg.”
