The Flood. Rachel Bennett
lifted her hands contritely. ‘Sorry, sorry,’ she said, with a shrug that implied she wasn’t doing anything worth shouting about.
Stephanie shoved Franklyn away, not gently.
Daniela was still on the floor, dazed, unwilling to get up. Her hands shook from the brief confrontation, and there was a dull ache where she’d banged her chin. It took her several moments to work out why her mouth tasted coppery. Her tongue probed a split on the inside of her cheek.
Light glinted off something metal nearby. The flick-knife, which had bounced under the table after Daniela knocked it off the top. Careful to keep her movements hidden, Daniela closed her hand around it.
‘It’s my fault,’ Franklyn told Stephanie. ‘We were just having a discussion. Here, let me help you up.’ She reached down to grab Daniela’s hand.
Stephanie didn’t look even slightly convinced. ‘What were you discussing?’
‘Just passing the time of day. Daniela tripped and fell, right?’
Henry smirked. ‘Tripped right over her own feet.’
Daniela felt heat flush her cheeks. She let Franklyn haul her upright. Her head swam. She stayed half-turned away so no one would see she’d picked up the flick-knife. The handle felt warm.
Leo had pushed past so he was between Stephanie and Henry. ‘Franklyn started it,’ he said. ‘You all heard her shouting at my dad.’
‘That’s not what I heard,’ Stephanie said.
Franklyn laughed. But whatever comment she was planning to make, Stephanie silenced her with a glare.
‘Go wait in the car, Franklyn,’ she said. ‘You too, Dani.’
Daniela hesitated. It rankled that no one had bothered to check whether she was hurt, or to get her side of the story. Her fingers tightened around the knife.
‘C’mon, kid,’ Franklyn said, taking hold of Daniela’s elbow. ‘Let’s give the grown-ups some space.’
Making her expression neutral, Daniela nodded, while she slipped the knife into the sleeve of her jacket, hidden.
By the time they reached the car, Franklyn had shrugged off her temper. She kept her head up as she crossed the road.
‘You okay?’ Daniela asked.
Franklyn gave a tight smile. ‘Sure. Why the hell not?’ She leaned against the bonnet of Stephanie’s car to light a cigarette.
The door of the antiques shop opened and Auryn came out with Leo. She kept wiping her eyes with her fingertips. Leo pushed her away when she tried to touch his arm.
‘You don’t get it,’ Leo was saying. ‘Dad’s mad at your stupid sister right now, but by tonight he’ll take it out on me, or Mum. We’re the ones who’ll get the fallout.’
‘So, come stay at our house,’ Auryn suggested.
‘That’s not going to help Mum, is it?’ Leo chewed his lip as he glanced at the open door of the corner shop. ‘I better warn her.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
‘It’s probably best if you stay away.’ Leo softened his words with a sad smile. ‘I’ll call you later, okay?’
He walked off, leaving Auryn standing helpless in the middle of the road, still blinking back tears.
Daniela loitered by the car. She’d removed the knife from her sleeve and tucked it into the breast pocket of her jacket, blade folded. It was heavy and warm. Unnerving. Daniela wasn’t even sure why she’d taken it, except that she didn’t like the idea of Henry having it. He’d definitely been reaching for it during the argument – hadn’t he? The whole confrontation had taken less than thirty seconds. It’d left her dizzy and sick, and not just from the bang on her chin.
Auryn rubbed the back of her neck. ‘Not that we aren’t glad to see you and all, Franklyn,’ she said, ‘but did you come home just to pick a fight?’
‘I’m hurt that you’d suggest that.’ Franklyn didn’t deny it though.
A minute later Stephanie appeared. Daniela flinched. Stephanie looked so much like their father when she was angry.
‘What did you think you were doing, Franklyn?’ she asked.
‘Nothing.’ Franklyn blew out smoke. ‘Having a discussion. That’s what Henry said too, right?’
‘How did you guess?’
‘Thought so. Are you planning to be heavy-handed about this?’
‘In what way? You mean like reporting you both?’
‘Yeah. That.’
Stephanie opened the driver’s door. ‘Get in the car.’
Franklyn winked at Dani. ‘That’s what this family’s good at,’ she said. ‘Bending the rules.’
‘You don’t even know what the rules are.’ Stephanie got into the car and slammed the door.
Franklyn climbed into the passenger seat. Stephanie was already revving the engine as Daniela took the back seat. Auryn hesitated a moment more, unsure whether to go after Leo, then joined them.
Stephanie bumped down from the kerb with more force than necessary. Daniela glanced back. Through the dusty windows of the antiques store, Henry was watching them. He was on the phone.
‘Okay,’ Auryn said, breaking the tense silence. ‘What happened, Frankie?’
Franklyn shrugged. She’d rolled down the window to let her cigarette smoke escape. The breeze tousled her dark hair. ‘It was a misunderstanding,’ she said.
‘Isn’t it always?’ Stephanie commented.
Franklyn laughed. She sank down in the seat, shoulders low, as if she wanted to hide from the world. She’d always been like that, Daniela realised. Folded inwards so no one would guess what she concealed. Her jacket smelled of smoke and diesel fumes.
‘Believe it or not, I had no intention of getting into an argument,’ Franklyn said. ‘I came home to see my loving family. But I figured you all might have better things to do on a sunny Saturday, so I called on Henry about some business.’
‘What kind of business?’
‘The private kind.’ Franklyn flashed a smile to take the edge off her words. ‘Nothing worth getting riled about. Henry takes things so seriously.’
Daniela remembered the partial conversation she’d overheard. It’d sounded like Franklyn owed Henry money … but why? If Franklyn needed cash, Dad would always put his hand in his pocket.
Daniela asked, ‘Where’re we going?’ Stephanie had spun the car around the one-way system so they were headed towards Hackett.
‘We’re taking Franklyn back to the train station,’ Stephanie said.
‘She just got here.’
‘And look how much excitement she’s caused already.’ Stephanie met Daniela’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. ‘We’ll do the family reunion some other time.’
‘Actually,’ Franklyn said, ‘I quite want to come home. Today’s not working out like I’d hoped. It’d be nice to chill for a bit, rather than rushing back to Birmingham.’
Stephanie took her eyes off the road long enough to look at her. ‘Is that a good idea?’
‘Hey, don’t make me pull rank. I’m the oldest; my word is still law.’
Stephanie’s