Page 19 of Merry & Bright
“Yup,” Rob agreed, then he shrugged. “But I said my piece on that earlier. It’s water under the bridge now.”
I turned my head to look at him. If he noticed, he gave no sign—he was looking out the front windscreen, seemingly absorbed in his driving.
Water under the bridge.
That was typical of him, that sentiment. Generous.
And the thing was, I knew he was telling the truth when he said he held no grudge about my shitty behaviour, because that was how Rob was. Open and warm and generous, so that just being near him right now made me feel better about everything.
He glanced at me, as though he’d finally detected my attention on him, and his mouth quirked in a smile, his eyes glinting in the darkness.
Fuck if he wasn’t easy on the eye too.
Chapter Seven
Rob’s home was a littleterraced house, a two-up, two-down affair. A great space for a couple, maybe a dinky little baby too, but pretty cramped for him, his brother and his mum.
“Are you sure this isn’t inconvenient?” I said, suddenly wary as we walked up the path. “What with your mum and your brother...”
“It’s fine,” Rob assured me, pulling out his keys. “They’ll be watching TV—we can go in the kitchen.”
Sure enough, when the door opened, the sound of some sitcom came blasting down the hallway. That and a guffawing sort of laugh that sounded a bit like a donkey.
“That’s Tim,” Rob said, grinning at me. I felt vaguely alarmed. “Come and say hi.”
As soon as Rob opened the living room door, the boy sitting on the floor in front of the TV turned round, his expression transforming with pleasure. He had classic Down’s features, and dark, silky hair the same colour as Rob’s. Rob had told me he was twenty, but he was small in height, both older and younger looking than his true age. The most startling thing about him, though, was the unbridled, exuberant joy on his face. I found it almost painful to look at. Most people of twenty mask their emotions so much—I certainly did when I was that age. Hell, I still did. Looking at his open joy made me feel curiously raw tonight.
“Hey, Robbie!” he cried, scrambling to his feet and launching himself at his brother. “Did you decide to watch TV with us instead?”
Rob hugged him hard for several long moments, then let go. “Nope,” he said. “I brought my friend Quin back for a cuppa. We’re going to have a chat in the kitchen, okay? We’ll maybe come back through later though. You want to meet Quin just now?”
Tim shifted his attention to me then, smiling wide.
“Hi, Quin!” He sounded delighted to meet me. It was kind of weird to get such a positive reaction. Somewhere along the line I’d got used to not being someone anyone looked forward to seeing.
“Hi, Tim.” I did a pathetic half wave of my hand, then staggered back when he launched himself at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me hard. I wafted my arms in the air above him, vaguely horrified and sent a panicky look in Rob’s direction. He was laughing, the bastard. Eventually I managed to pat Tim’s back awkwardly and he let me go.