Page 38 of Mercury Rising

Mercury shook his head. “LA. My dad lives out there and he wanted her near to him. Fuck knows why—he’s far more at home with a syringe than a family.”

“Mercury, I had no idea.”

Mercury shrugged. His life had been public property since birth. “That’s life, I suppose.”

The telephone rang, signalling an end to the conversation. Nick grabbed it.

“Hello, Bodhi House. Oh hello, Fenella.”

Fenella was the boss of the charity. Nick frowned as he listened.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Mercury whispered.

He got up to leave when Nick grabbed his arm.

“Are you serious?” Nick asked. “That’s…that’s awful.”

Nick still held on to Mercury. He was trembling.

“Okay,” Nick said. “I understand. It’s a shock, that’s all. Can I call you later? I need to think. Sure. Bye, Fenella.”

He placed the phone in the cradle and let go of Mercury. Nick scrubbed his face with his hands.

“Fuck.”

“What on earth is the matter?”

“They’re selling the house.”

It hit Mercury like a sledgehammer. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I say,” Nick said. “I had heard that the charity had been struggling. I had no idea how badly.”

“I can’t believe they’re going to give up on the kids,” Mercury said.

Nick shook his head. “They’ll carry on funding excursions and whatever else. Fenella said they don’t need a focal point. Apparently, we’ll have to be more creative in how we service the young people’s needs.”

Mercury’s mind had begun to whirr. He might have only been at Bodhi House a short time yet he’d already sussed how special it was. They would not go down without a fight.

“You’ll lose your home.”

“I know. I don’t care about that. I can get somewhere else. The kids won’t find anywhere like this. Fuck knows what’ll happen to them.”

Mercury sat upright. “How long do we have?”

“They reckon a couple of months. Don’t worry, you’ll get to serve out your community service.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about and you know it.”

Nick appeared close to tears. “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m gutted, that’s all.”

“I can help.”

Nick laughed bitterly. “What are you going to do? Buy it?”

Mercury shrugged. “I could. That wouldn’t help with paying for its upkeep. No, I’ve a better idea than that. I’m going to run the bestSave Our Housecampaign you’ve ever fucking seen.”

“What?”