It’s impossible to tell what Maddie is thinking, but he finds he doesn’t care much whether she is annoyed with him. He doesn’t bother to reply, but he checks his own Facebook page, to find that Jacinta has unfriended him. Why they had been friends in the first place he has no idea, and he’d be glad of this development except now he can’t see what she is up to. He’ll have to hope he did enough, that the fallout from this doesn’t get any bigger.
Exhaustion overtakes him, despite the early hour. He sits for five minutes longer on the bench, unwilling to move, until he realises he’ll miss the start of Georgia’s race if he doesn’t go now. He picks up his bike and begins to cycle away from town, leaving behind the stone-built pubs and cafes, privet hedges springing up either side of him as he rides further into the countryside past a few boutique hotels. He rounds the corner into the school driveway and pedals hard to get up the hill. Once at the top he walks his bike to the lock-up area, secures the chain, then heads to the upper field on foot.
There are so many people here. He always forgets how busy these events are. He keeps an eye out for his parents in the crowd, but he sees Georgia first, standing with a group of runners near the start line, shaking her legs to loosen her muscles, her hands on her hips and the number 0313 pinned to her chest and back. He’d been thinking of Maddie as his last female friend, but what about his sister? She’s kind and sympathetic and usually someone he can turn to. Might he have ruined that? For how long?
She is staring up the field towards the tree line, as though anticipating the race. Zac finds himself nervous just watching her. If she triumphs, could it in any way diminish the drama of the leaked photo?
What have you been doing, Georgia? he asks her silently. That photo of Freeman. That woman in your bed that you don’t even know about. How much trouble are you in?
He collects her phone from his pocket. The screen shows another three calls from Sophia. This isn’t good – Sophia is obviously desperate to get in touch with Georgia. Of course she is. She will have seen the photo.
Georgia is going to be livid.
He hesitates, delaying the confrontation. He casts around to see his mum wandering among the spectators, her eyes unfocused as though she is lost.
‘Mum!’ He strides across to her, expecting to be thoroughly told off, thinking he might as well get it over with. But his mum seems bewildered, as though she isn’t really seeing him.
‘Where’s your dad? I’ve lost him.’
‘I don’t know, I just got here.’
She doesn’t even ask where he’s been, but continues to gaze distractedly along the edge of the crowd.
‘Mum, are you okay?’
His voice brings her back to focus on him. She pauses as though she’s waiting for her head to clear, and then her words come in a rush. ‘Where have you been? Have you got Georgia’s phone?’ At his nod, her brow furrows. ‘Why on earth would you do that? It’s not the morning to play games, Zac, you’ve completely stressed her out.’
‘I’ll explain later.’
‘You’d better. Look, she’s over there – go and give it to her, and get mine back, will you.’
Zac hesitates, but when his mother says, ‘Zac, the race is about to start! Go!’ he heads off fast. As he jogs he unlocks the phone and presses buttons so that Georgia won’t instantly see how many calls from Sophia she has missed. No point in riling her any further right now.
She is standing with Danny Atherton, neither of them speaking. Georgia is scanning the crowd, while Danny’s focus is on his phone.
‘Georgia, here.’ He holds out the phone. ‘I’m really sorry.’
She snatches it off him, glances at the screen. He’s grateful he thought to tamper with it. ‘What the hell did you think you were doing? Why did you take it?’
‘Racers to your places,’ comes a voice over the loudspeaker.
He shrugs, not yet sure how he’s going to explain, hoping to buy himself some time. ‘Mine wasn’t working properly,’ he mutters. ‘Can Mum have hers back?’
Georgia puts her mobile in the zip pocket of her running jacket and hands over their mother’s.
‘Good luck, Georgia,’ Zac says, but she won’t even meet his eye. It’s his own fault – if he hadn’t started all this by messing around with that photograph, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Whatever she has or hasn’t done – whatever that photo means – he’s ashamed at interfering. He prays that the photo’s brief sojourn onto Facebook doesn’t last.
Danny suddenly snorts out loud and grabs Georgia’s arm, pulling her across to show her his screen. ‘Have you seen this?’ he asks. ‘Dynamite! How the hell has someone got hold of a photo of Freeman in bed? Whoever put that online is going to be in big trouble.’
Horrified, Zac watches Georgia’s face blanch, before the flush begins to creep across her cheeks. The moment she looks up, he turns and disappears into the crowd, pushing through people to put as much distance as possible between himself and his sister.
It seems he couldn’t avoid the storm after all. Time to take cover, prepare for a battering, and pray he’s still standing in the aftermath.
30
CALLUM