Set the Sky on Fire (Fire Trilogy Book 1) (3 page)

“I can go if you really want me to.” Ari wasn’t sure if she meant it.
Nevaeh didn’t like anyone seeing her like this, not even Ari, but that didn’t mean she could walk away.

“But
how
did you find me?” Nevaeh asked again.

“It’s hard to explain it—I just can,” Ari replied.

“It's a little weird, Ari.” Nevaeh’s voice was a lot softer.

“I know.”

“I mean how …”

Ari cut her off mid-sentence. They had been over
this before.
“Please, just drop it. I don't really know how, I just do, okay?”

Ari knew not to talk about it. The memory of herself as a little girl was still vivid. Back then, she had been oblivious to her actions. Now she was older and had a better understanding of the world, she played it over in her head, a home movie that never faded; a reminder of the person hiding beneath her smile.

"Mummy!"

"I'm over here, Ari," her mother called back, not looking up as she laid plates out on the picnic table. "Hey, Karen, you need more forks," she shouted towards the kitchen.

The backyard was alive with children playing under the sprinkler while their parents stood about, drinks in hand, talking. A sudden roar of laughter from the three men manning the barbeque drowned out Karen’s reply. The laughter died down leaving a hum of chatter in its wake.

"Mummy!" Ari's high voice carried clearly over the din, commanding attention. "Mummy, why has Aunty Lizzie been naughty?"

Judith, Ari’s mum, spun around to stare at the four-year-old. “Arianna, no. Don't say...,” but her voice didn't have the power of a small, inquisitive child’s.

“Mummy, she's feeling really bad, like Daddy did when he broke the car, but even badder than that.”

Judith Taylor pushed her way through the gathered guests with the speed of a python having eyed its prey. Her eyes flicked to the reddening face of her sister, Lizzie. The women's voices had become muted, though the men continued their raucous banter.

“And Mr Watson, too. He's feeling bad, but not as bad as Aunty Lizzie.” Gerald Watson was standing near Ari and turned to face her when he heard his name. With the innocence of a child she turned to him. “Have you been very naughty? Did you ...” but before she could finish, her mother’s hand grabbed her forearm, dragging her away.

“Ouch. Mummy, you’re hurting me.”

Judith propelled her daughter towards the house, bending low to hiss in the child's ear, “Enough Ari, be quiet till we get inside.”

“And now you're cross and bad, Mummy. Have you done something too?” The child's tone changed to one of puzzlement. “Why are we going to the bathroom? I don't need to go to the bathroom, Mummy.”

Judith sighed in exasperation as she closed the bathroom door. “Ari, I've told you before. Don't say things like that out loud. You can't tell everyone you think Aunty Lizzie's been naughty. It's not nice. It's …”

The door swung open, interrupting her flow, and Lizzie slid inside, banging it behind her before leaning on it, sealing them in.

“Jeessuus, what is wrong with this kid? Why does she have to blurt out every thought in her head?”

“Lizzie, honey, I'm sorry. I don't know what makes her do it. She just seems to hone in on people’s feelings. Maybe kids are more sensitive to them but just don't say.”

“Most kids don't give a toss what adults are feeling. She enjoys making a scene. Like Mum used to.”

Lizzie turned her attention to Ari. “Did Nana teach you to do that? I bet she did. She used to get her kicks out of telling me how I felt, too. This family is nuts.”

“Lizzie,” Judith reprimanded her.

“Well, it’s true. We come from a long line of weirdos. Hell, they even named Mum after the one who lost it and jumped off a building. You better get this kid some help before she’s taken down by the family curse too.”

Judith’s face darkened, but it was nothing to the storm that crossed Lizzie’s face.

“And how did Ari know anyway? I told you I was going to end it with Gerald. You didn't need to talk about it with Dave. You promised you wouldn’t.”

“I didn't, honest. I haven't said anything to anyone.”

“Well, how did she know? You must have said something in front of her.”

“I swear, Liz. Ari picks these things up by herself.”

“And now everyone knows, don't they,” Lizzie spat back at her sister.

A small frightened voice brought their attention back to the little girl. “Mummy, Aunty Lizzie is scary-angry now.”

Judith dropped to her knees and clasped Ari to her, stroking the little girl's head. “It's okay, it's okay, sweetie. Aunty Lizzie got a fright, and she's really sorry.”

“Yeah, right.” Lizzie stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

“I don't think she's sorry, Mummy.”

“Oh dear, Ari, you could be right,” Judith groaned. She turned Ari to face her. “Honey, you have to stop saying these things. Grown-ups don't like other people knowing what they're feeling. They get very embarrassed. So, please, please, if you know that a grown-up has been naughty, or if they're really sad, or if they're anything at all, please Ari, don't tell everyone. Understand?”

Ari gazed at her mother while she processed her mother's pleadings. “But if Josh or Lydie or Cory has been naughty, I can tell you?”

“Yes, honey, you can tell me if the other kids have been naughty.”

“Or if Daddy's been naughty?”

“Well, yes, if it's Daddy, but you come and whisper in my ear, okay?”

“Okay. I’m sorry for being bad, Mummy.” She widened her eyes and stared up at Judith hoping her punishment wouldn’t be too bad.

“Oh sweetie, you haven’t been. Did you know that Nana said I did the same when I was a kid? You just notice things more than others. You’ll grow out of it. I did.”

Ari clung to her mother until she felt the distress ebb out of Judith, to be replaced by a comforting love that made everything alright again.

Work had been dead boring for Ari, Sunday shifts always were. Thankfully, she had a bonfire at the beach to look forward to. She checked her Facebook invite to make sure it was still on. Excitement stirred as she scrolled through the names of her friends who had said they would go. The weekend had been monotonous, well, Nevaeh had been. She had spent
most of her time going on about Michelle and Matt. Ari had calmly listened, nodding here and there, as required.

Ari needed—no craved a distraction, and a night at the beach would do nicely. She tossed up whether to drink or not and decided against it. The dollars she would save would buy so much more in Phuket and she could even drag in a few more dollars by offering to be the sober driver.
Her friends gratefully supported the idea, texting her to ask for a ride.

Everyone loves the sober driver. That should be my bumper sticker.

“Guess who’s chippin’ in for petrol then,” she texted back.

*****

The car rocked its way over the unsealed beach car park scattered with potholes. Ari tried to dodge the worst of them. Recognising several familiar vehicles lined up next to one another, Ari turned the wheel and slotted into an empty spot right next to the track leading down to the beach.

The sand dunes ran along the length of the car park and carried on as far as the eye could see in both directions. The golden mounds, interspersed with flax bushes, obstructed any view of the beach. A warm breeze blew, bringing with
it the smell of the ocean. I
t whipped up the sand,
ma
king
it dance along the car park towards them like pixelated ballerinas.

As Ari climbed over the crest of the sand dunes, she could see they were among the last to arrive. She spotted some of the guys busy marking out the court for a game of Ultimate Frisbee and others dragging in dry wood, which they then stacked up for a bonfire.

“Well damn, the girls are actually on time,” Tim called. He was standing in the middle of the Frisbee court, shirtless, showing off his well-tanned torso.

Ari stopped on the crest of the hill, her gaze sweeping over her friends. Her heart sank a little as she realised how different it would be next year when they all went off to different universities or started new jobs away from here. She stepped down the hill, the sand giving way beneath her, making each stride longer than was possible. Her gloom didn't last long. A Frisbee, flying at her head, snapped her out of
the
daydream. She
ducked, just in time for it to sail past and lodge in the dune behind.

A belated cry of “heads up” came from a stocky guy sporting a stylised map of New Zealand tattooed on his chest, formed from unfurling fern fronds. Mike gave her a cheesy smile and a wave, making the fronds dance on his chest.

Mike and Luke were partners in crime.
Separately they were both smart arses; together, well, together they could be side-splittingly funny or infuriating, depending on your mood.

Mike jerked his head towards his side of the court. “You
’
re on my side, shorty,” he called to Ari before Luke had a chance to. As she threw her jandals and bag on the ground to take her place on the opposing team, she noticed the hurt look on Luke’s face.
He must be putting it on.

They had been playing for almost two hours and the light was starting to fade. Ari ran into the end zone waiting to receive the Frisbee. She managed to clamp down on it as it came hurtling towards her, a fraction of a second before Luke made a desperate tackle that knocked her to the ground, pinning her beneath him. Ari spat sand at him, along with a few choice phrases, as, laughing, he rolled off her and onto his side. He leapt up with a big grin on his face.

“Come on gorgeous, you can help me start the fire.” He offered her his ha
nd.

Ari took
it,
and he dragged her up, momentum carrying her forward, making her stagger. She placed a hand on Luke’s chest to steady herself. At the same moment, his arm found her waist. Only a few inches separated them.
This wasn’t their usual flirtation, there was too much tension. Ari could hear her breath heave and tried to tell herself it was from the exercise. Unsure what to say, she stood still, staring up at him. There was something different in the look he gave her. His lips twitched as if he might say something, then parted a slither before sealing back up. The silence dragged on longer than polite conversation allowed. A queer look crossed his face before giving way to a sleazy smirk and a couple of shrugs of his eyebrows. That broke the tension. Ari rolled her eyes, let her hand fall from his chest and turned towards the bonfire, hoping he wouldn’t see her blushing.
He follo
wed along,
putting an arm around her shoulders and razz
ing
her hair with his free hand. Sand scattered to the ground. Ari playfully punched him in the stomach as they walked up the beach, just like usual.

The fire roared and crackled in front of them. Small sparks flew into the air and extinguished in the breeze. The flickering flames threw dancing shadows on the ground behind them. For a moment, Ari was reminded of the shadows in the garden, and a tinge of fear niggled at her.
She scanned the dark horizon behind her, but nothing caught her attention.
Someone's trilling laugh broke through her dread. She willed herself to absorb the feelings of the friends around her—jovial and safe.

“Ari, are you going to answer me?” Nevaeh asked. “Talk to me, sweet pea. You've gone zombie on me.”

Ari dragged herself back to the conversation, nodding agreement to whatever had been suggested.

“Come on then. My bum is getting cold on the sand.” Nevaeh waved her arms, beckoning her friend to follow. Ari rose to her feet and traipsed towards the line of driftwood. It wasn't long before a few large logs sat around the outside of the fire and they settled in for the evening.

The heat of the fire warmed Ari’s front, and the cool night breeze licked at her back. Sleep tugged at her eyelids, and as much as she wanted to stay, she stood up, stretched to relieve the numbness in her muscles and announced she was leaving.

The car’s passengers all got to their feet. Lisa had to unhook her face from Anthony’s. It was hard to tell whether they were back together, or whether alcohol had fuelled their hormones, making it only a temporary thing. Lisa tripped backwards over the log she had been sitting on, falling flat on the sand. Her shriek and then howling laughter broke through the air. An alcohol-induced hook up was looking more likely.

Only the fading light of the bonfire and a quarter moon lit the track back to the car. Ari followed along, on the heels of her friends, as they trudged over the dunes. In the distance, the breaking waves glittered like a shattered mirror.

Ari heard footfalls behind her; more of a rustle than a stomp. She turned to see who it was. Although she recognised the figure coming towards her, it wasn’t until he was in front of her that Luke
’s face came into focus. There was that feeling again. Without a pause, he ran right up to her, setting his toes in line with hers. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he pushed his body hard against hers. She could feel
all
of him. This time, she couldn’t blame her erratic breathing on exercise.

“Ari.” Luke’s ragged breath filled her ears.

She concentrated on his lips, waiting for what he was going to say, too nervous to look him in the eye. Cautiously, his lips moved towards hers until they found their target. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t this tentative kiss. She tilted her head to the side to get closer, and he took the invitation she offered. His mouth crushed against hers, his tongue pushing its way past her lips, finding its way in, tasting her. His hand softly pushed on the back of her head, greedily trying to devour more of her. And then it was over, as quickly as it had begun. They stood there, face to face; his with the look of a naughty school boy, perhaps scared of what she might say. A smile crept onto Ari’s face, and she bit at her bottom lip. She said nothing. Her brain tried to process what had happened while her body screamed out for more. Luke came in close again, giving her a long kiss on the cheek.

“Bye Ari, see you tomorrow,” he promised before turning back to the bonfire.

Ari's heart pounded in her chest. His taste was still in her mouth. She had always told herself he wasn’t interested, that he had a type, and she wasn’t it. But, wow, what just happened made it a hell of a lot more confusing. She watched him stagger as he walked away. Maybe it had been the beers talking—but then again, she considered, maybe not.

Ari caught up with the others. If they had seen Luke and her making out, they would be teasing her relentlessly by now.

“You okay?” Nevaeh asked, dropping into the passenger seat. “You’re looking a little flushed.”

“I’m fine,” Ari replied before turning on the ignition. The stereo blared, Justin Timberlake's voice punching out Can’t Stop the Feeling, and the drunks in the back started singing along. Nevaeh didn’t ask any more questions. And Ari didn’t tell.