1994RUSSELL
The banging at the car window came when Rhianna King had her tongue in my mouth, so when she screamed, I felt the sound vibrate through my lips. She was out of my lap so fast she actually slammed into the opposite door of the Chevrolet, her knees up, staring wildly at the window beside me. I knew who it was from the first bang, sat frozen for a good ten seconds with a terror so strong it was all I could do not to piss my pants. I was seventeen.
‘Police! Open up!’
My father banged the leather handle of his baton on the glass again. I heard Evan and Kate Englander scrambling in the Ute bed.
‘Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!’
‘It’s okay.’ I put a hand on Rhianna. The sweat on her legs, which had been blood-warm a second ago, was ice cold. ‘It’s just my dad.’
I got out and shut the driver’s-side door, and faced him. Arthur stood back and put his hands on his police utility belt, a grim satisfaction making his features a deep, ugly mask in the cabin light from the old vehicle. Evan hopped down from the ute bed and Kate went to Rhianna, the two girls meeting at the hood, voices high and whimpering, discussing whether or not to bolt into the tree line.
‘Don’t even think about it.’ Dad waved the baton at the girls. Kate’s bra straps were hanging around her elbows. ‘Stand right there, with your hands by your sides.’
‘Dad—’ Evan started.
‘So, you got it going, huh?’ Arthur flicked his chin at the car behind me. The Chevrolet was a rusty 1950s beast that sounded like a building collapsing when it started up. ‘I had a feeling you two boys were fucking around with one of the cars. You’ve had axle grease under your nails for about a month, Ev.’
‘We’re sorry,’ my younger brother whined.
‘Do me a favour, will you? Don’t go into serious crime. You’re too dumb.’
‘We didn’t use any of your petrol, or your oil,’ I said. My stomach was hard as a rock. ‘We’ve been mowing the back paddock for the school. They’re paying us.’
‘You used my tools, though. Right?’ Dad said. ‘My tools. My shed. My car.’
I felt Evan’s eyes on me. Didn’t answer.
‘And you didn’t offer me acentof what you earned on those lawns.’ Arthur worked his jaw. ‘Here I am, out all night, a single father supporting two young men. Putting my life on the line. Not acent, huh?’
‘Can we go?’ Rhianna asked. I winced. While Dad’s focus was on my brother and me, he might have forgotten about the girls. She’d just reminded him of their existence. ‘We have to get home. Our mums are expecting us.’
‘What galls me is that you two spendmonthsfixing up one of my yard cars in secret,’ Arthur went on, his eyes never leaving mine. ‘And instead of using the car to blow out of this piece-of-shit town, you go pick up a couple of molls from your school so you can get a bit of a grope in. What a fucking wasted opportunity.’
‘Dad, we didn’t—’
‘Leave it.’ I shot Evan a warning look. All we could do here was let the old man have his moment and hope to get out of it without any broken bones. ‘We’re sorry, Dad. Let us drop the girls home, and we’ll talk about this back at the house.’
‘Oh, no, no, no.’ Arthur put his hands up. His tone lifted. Became dangerously light. ‘Please. You two fellas worked hard to get yourselves into this situation. Don’t let me interrupt your little smooch-fest.’
‘We really need to go home.’ Kate’s voice was heavy with tears. ‘We don’t need a ride. We can walk.’
‘I’m dropping you home,’ Arthur snapped.
I felt all the hairs on my body stand on end at my father’s words. Arthur looked at the cowering teen girls as a full-body wave of animalistic instinct came over me. ‘That’ll beaftermy boys are done with you both, and not a second before.’
‘What?’ Rhianna squeaked.
‘He’s joking,’ Evan tried.
‘The hell I am.’
‘That’s enough,’ I said. ‘It’senough, Dad.’
‘It’ll be enough when I say it’s enough, my son. Get back in the car. You too, girls. Get in.Now. Evan, you and the blonde one, get in the back.’
None of us moved.
