Anna looks horrified. ‘That’s not fucking funny, Ed,’ she growls and Eddy, his cheeks suddenly wet, shakes his head and says, ‘Anna, darling, I’m really not joking.’
She lifts her hand and for a moment he thinks she might slap him – she has before – but instead she says, ‘You’re crying. Why are you crying? You never cry.’
She takes a step away from him, like she’s frightened of his tears, and he shakes his head because he really can’t believe it either.
‘Blakey!’ Anna says, too loudly, moving swiftly towards her son, play-acting normality, as Blake walks in his slow, languid way through the back door. Blake puts his hand out to stop her getting any closer; she freezes, surprised. ‘Have you been out trick-or-treating?’
He doesn’t move and ignores her question. ‘I just met up with Lily, Mum.’
Her arms droop slightly.
‘Who, Lily Matthews?’ She’s pretending she doesn’t know about the two of them, trying so hard to act normal.
Blake nods.
‘Why on earth did you go to see her?’
‘Because I like her, Mum, because I really like her, and I wanted her to be my girlfriend but you’ve fucked it up. Totally fucked it.’
Anna looks briefly to Eddy, perhaps wanting him to say something about Blake’s swearing, but he won’t. Anna shakes her head and says, ‘No, Blake, you don’t understand.’
Blake’s fingers become claws by his side. ‘She told me just now, Mum! She doesn’t want to go out with me any more and I know it’s because of the bullshit you said on the radio. She’s acting calm but I can tell she’s really upset. She doesn’t want to get mixed up with the whole thing.’
Anna looks again towards Eddy who’s standing now, next to the table. She’s frantic for support but he shakes his head. He won’t do it. He can’t defend her in this.
‘I didn’t know you liked her …’ she lies weakly.
‘No? That’s because you were too busy trying to ruin everyone else’s lives instead of listening and looking after us.’
‘That’s enough!’ Anna is shouting now. ‘You don’t get to talk to me like that, Blake! I’m doing all this – ending friendships, putting myself on the line – why? To keep you and your brother and every other kid in this town safe.’
Blake is shaking his head; he’s got fire in his eyes. ‘Mum, Uncle Seb messed up! He admitted it! Have you never asked to be forgiven for a mistake? Is your life so pathetic that you can’t move on?’
‘He used school property, Blake, he …’
‘You buy all kinds of crap on your work laptop! You’re such a fucking hypocrite!’ He shoves past Anna, ignoring her ranting behind him, and is heading towards the stairs when he glances at Eddy, and Eddy catches the moment his boy sees the tears that are still streaming down his face, settling and glistening like dew in his beard.
‘What’s going on?’ he asks Eddy, suspicious suddenly. ‘Why are you crying, Dad?’
Eddy tries to smother the tears with his hand but it’s too late.
‘You guys have been arguing, haven’t you?’
‘Blake, this is a really crazy time, there’s so much going on …’ Eddy mumbles but Blake won’t have it, won’t have any more bullshit.
‘Are you moving out again, Dad? Is that why you’re crying?’
Eddy can’t answer, all he can do is cry and say his son’s name. Anna tries to take Blake’s arm but he shakes her off again and, keeping his focus on Eddy, he says seriously, ‘If you leave, I’m coming with you.’
‘Blake, no, that’s not …’
‘Fine. Well, then Mum should go; and you, me and Albie stay.’
Then their son looks at Anna with an expression Eddy has never seen from him before, lips curled, eyes narrow as he says, ‘She’s the one who’s ruined everything for us and for Uncle Seb and Rosie. She’s the one who’s publicly lying about me, her own son! She isn’t safe to be around any more. You hear that, Mum? I don’t trust you and I don’t want to be around you.’
Then, before they can see his sorrow crest through his anger, Blake walks through the kitchen and back out, into the night, and Eddy has to hold Anna back as she cries out his name again and again.
They sit silently in the wreckage of their marriage, Eddy untethered by the simultaneously shocking and grounding revelation that Blake has chosen his side. The doorbell ricochets around the stillness and despite everything Eddy still puts on a show – wolf mask on, snarling and growling – for the trick-or-treaters. Just as Eddy closes the door and goes back to Anna, he hears it. The noise of a plane about to crash. A high-pitched whine of something unnatural, something that is about to explode and cannot be contained, something that shouldn’t be so close, something that is about to change everything.
Chapter 21
Seb hears the first scream from the fireworks as the front door clicks closed behind him, Rosie’s crumble tucked into the crook of his arm.