Do You Know Indigo?

Chapter Thirty Six

What I needed was Beth out of the way so I could ask Kieran about Red and his manipulation; it had been plaguing me far more than Khrushchev's Soviet Union or William Wallace's demise.

"Beth would you mind going on to the bus stop, I need to talk to Kieran about something privately." I'd halted. Kieran raised a mischievous brow. He was infuriating. Beth peered at me suspiciously and then Kieran before shrugging and walking away. I saw her scuff her shoe off the pavement, I couldn't decide if she was mad at me or stewing over the history exam.

Once she was out of earshot I turned to Kieran and informed him of my theory. He appeared disappointed. What had he expected?

"So basically I think Red's been messing with Tom," I hissed, standing close to him so people passing by wouldn't catch my words. His reaction was calm and considering. He wasn't in the least bit concerned.

"I suppose that would make sense."

"So it could be a possibility?" My hand rested on Kieran's arm.

"Well sure but I wouldn't get your hopes up," Kieran advised in a hushed whisper.

"I don't know though, I just feel Red has something to do with this." I knew I wasn't talking nonsense, I'd though it over a hundred times. But Kieran didn't seem so sure. He groaned and peered at me from behind his hair.

"I'll keep an eye out for you but I can't promise anything," he said, wiping a rain drop from my cheek. I looked down at where his fingers had rested, for all but a second, on my face.

"I'd appreciate that at." Kieran's eyes watched me carefully. He'd somehow managed to control the icy sensations his eyes had before cast over me. My eyes flicked up to meet his. I felt mine and his heads' growing closer. What was this? Were we going to-

"The bus is here." Beth shouted, not realising what I'd been agonisingly close to doing. I hung my head. No, this was good. I was not ready. I had been caught up in the moment. Kieran was chuckling.

"There'll be time Chris, if you'll allow it. I'm not going anywhere," he promised, tucking a strand of hair that had escaped my ponytail behind my ear. Yes, time was what I needed. My heart still bled from Tom's words.

"Now go get your bus," he ordered me, pushing me in the direction of Beth. I looked over my shoulder to watch him wave me goodbye. He looked troubled before he vanished without trace.

"Well I'll meet you at the bus stop at quarter to eight tomorrow night, see ya." Beth was quick to leave me following an uneventful bus journey. By the time the bus had pulled away with a dramatic wheeze, Beth was rushing into her flat. Inhibitions over her exams had all but vanished. I wondered if she was meeting Nate.

When I got in I was bombarded with questions about the exam. Jackson was still at school and Ross was still at work meaning my mother had nothing better to do with her time.

Eventually, after only receiving blunt answers, Mum gave up and went to watch rubbish on the TV. I took that as an invitation to delve into my English revision. I'd sooner have coffee with Red than retake Miss Johnson's class again.

I spent the next day leading up to Nate's gig doing the same thing. Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Keates and Carol Ann Duffy surrounded me in a swirling sea of analysed text. Anymore of it and I might have drowned.

Mum, Ross and Jackson were all out: the joys of exam leave. It made me smile to think of them slaving away at school and work while I studied. Maybe, I thought over my cup of tea, I might do some French revision. Or maybe I would go for a nap. It was a hard life.

Regardless of these trials, no thoughts of Kieran or Red or Tom hounded me so I made the most of the pleasant respite.

Around four o'clock the family started filing in after a hard day. I would have boasted about my tranquil day of leisurely revision but it would have just given Mum an excuse to stop me going to Nate's gig. Instead, I prepared tea and set the table. It kept my head and mind busy. I'd been enjoying my peace of mind and I'd be damned if the floodgates opened now.