Page 435 of Knox Academy Omnibus
Baxter
I had to Google that. It gets easier but I’m not sure that’s what you want to hear…
Amelie
I’ll bear that in mind for next time?!?
Baxter
You’re so badass, killing one bitch…maybe you should be Batman.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Amelie
Today’s quiet family BBQ has turned into a much larger affair than I expected. It’s my fault; I should have kept my mouth shut about the whole thing, because once Kalen got wind of it, I should have known he’d take over.
Still, I didn’t expect him to turn today into a party of all days.
“Did I do well, sis?” he asks, bounding over to me and slinging his arm around my shoulders.
“With what? And I’m not your damn sister, Kalen,” I say more out of habit now than anything.
“With putting the FUN back in the funeral?”
I sigh. “This isn’t a funeral.”
“But it should be.”
He’s right, of course. Today is Laura’s funeral, and after I explicitly said I wouldn’t be attending, I had planned to just spend the day quietly at Monty’s with the guys. But of course Kalen had other ideas.
“This feels disrespectful,” I say, worrying my bottom lip as I look around at everyone having a good time. Everyone withinour close circle is here, except Monty, who felt he should attend Laura’s burial.
Bex and Adrianne are sat atop of Smalls’ and Aadi’s shoulders in the pool, wrestling. My dad and Onyx are in the water, helping Falon perfect his…breaststroke by the looks of it. Elsie, Kathryn and Mackenzie are sunbathing. Debbie, Camilla, Chelsea and Maggie are sipping cocktails on the patio. It must be weird for Maggie being back here, but she doesn’t seem too affected. Frost, Jasper and Cap are all hovering nearby, even though none of them are on duty today. I guess old habits are hard to break. Even Precious, Belle and Emmerson are here, though they’ve been pretty quiet and kept to themselves a lot.
It’s crazy busy, but somehow the mood is light and relaxed, despite all of the tension of the last few weeks. And actually, as my eyes scan over everyone, I realise the connections I’ve made in a relatively short space of time.
“Fuck it!” Kalen cries. “You don’t owe her any goddamn respect, Amelie. She was a vile human being. She’s bloody lucky we didn’t take the party to her grave to dance on it.”
I give him a weak smile, knowing that he’s sort of right.
“I guess. Not the dancing part though,” I attempt to quip, needing to get out of this funk. “I would never do that… I’d set it on fire maybe, but my heels would sink in the mud if I tried dancing.”
“Atta girl! Actually, you’re wearing far too many clothes for this garden party!”
“That’s because it’s pretty damn cold still Kalen.”
“Pah! I’m sick of you moaning about the temperature and the weather all the time! The sun’s shining, isn’t it? Here in the UK, that means we basically get naked and toast. Because if the weather is actually nice for once, we have to burn, otherwise we’d have nothing to moan about. We Brits love a good moan. Especially about the weather. Besides, you’ve been here longernow than some people who claim citizenship. So it’s time you sucked it up and embraced life in a temperate climate.”
“It’s time you took a bath, Kalen,” I retort, stepping forward and planting my hands on his chest. With a fast, hard shove he sails backwards into the pool amidst an enormous splash. It puts a smile on my face at least, which stretches even further when Kalen resurfaces, spluttering and coughing. The women all laugh and cheer me on. He grins at me though, devilment in his eyes so I make a quick retreat to the safety of the BBQ beside Slate and Sawyer. They’ll protect me from Kalen’s revenge, I’m sure of it.
“How’s it going?”
“The meat’s almost done.”
“It smells amazing. God, I don’t think I could ever be a vegetarian,” I groan, closing my eyes to savour all the scents coming from the grill. My mouth starts watering about the same time my stomach starts demanding to be fed.
Slate and Sawyer both hear it and fire me matching amused grins.
