Chapter 64
Chapter Sixty-Four
R ose had given Evie directions to her house, which thankfully was only a short walk from the station. She lived in a modest chamferboard house that had a small landing at the front, three bedrooms and one bathroom. The two boys were boisterous and excited to meet Evie. She could tell Rose had her hands full bringing them up, mostly by herself.
Rose was surprised that Evie only had a small bag with her, and she was even more shocked when she saw the items in it.
They waited until the kids were in bed to talk in-depth about what had happened. Evie told Rose everything, except that she was at the house when Bob returned from the party.
‘Lucky for me I’d gone to Matilda’s that night. I was supposed to work, but I was sick.’
‘Bloody hell, Evie. This is serious shit.’
‘I know. Bob was in far deeper than I thought.’
‘I’m so sorry. And now he’s dead. ’
Evie sipped a cup of tea and shared a cigarette with her. She exhaled, watching the smoke coil into the air and melt into the darkness. ‘Don’t be sorry. Can I be truthful with you, Rose?’
‘Sure.’
‘I don’t feel sad he’s gone. I made a terrible mistake, leaving and going up north with him. When I was young, I thought he was great. Drugs, sex and music. He was cool. But I never loved him. I just went with him, so I could do something other than live with Mum and be at school. He was my out. But he treated me like shit. Sometimes he hit me, and he tried to control everything I did.’
‘Why didn’t you leave him then?’
‘He threatened me. Told me he’d track me down and kill me if I ever left. I was scared of him. Really scared.’
A smile crossed Rose’s face. ‘But now he’s gone. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.’
Evie smiled also. ‘That part is just starting to sink in. I keep looking over my shoulder, worrying he’s going to come and find me. But then I remember, he’s dead. I feel bad for saying this, but it’s a relief.’
Rose’s house backed onto the cane fields, and the moonlight lit up the swaying stalks that stretched as far as the eye could see. Cicadas called noisily, and frogs in a dam nearby also joined the chorus. Evie felt a long way from home, the bait shop and reality, and a heaviness filled her body. The events of the past twenty-four hours were starting to blur, and Ziggy’s words she had heard as she hid in the bush, plagued her. A tremor ran through her. She had no doubt he would have killed her if she’d remained there .
She emptied her bag onto the table in front of where they sat, her gaze falling on the assortment of items in front of her. ‘This is everything I own now. Nothing else. The rest went up in smoke.’
Rose pulled a face. ‘It’s so hard to believe.’
‘Matilda gave me this jumper and shirt, and I brought a pair of jeans.’ She opened a small timber box, her hands clutching it as she carefully opened the lid. She pulled out some letters her mother and father had written when she first moved away, an old silver bracelet that Peace had given her and, she laughed, ‘God knows why I’ve kept these. My grade one and two report cards.’
She passed them to Rose who read them aloud. ‘Evie is an interesting and interested student. She is to be promoted to Grade 2. Writing 9/10, Reading 10/10, Maths 7/10.
They smiled at each other. ‘Back when life was simple,’ Evie said, slipping the bracelet on her arm before pulling out an envelope that was filled with a collection of old photos. She passed them one by one to Rose. ‘Layla and I riding our bikes to school. Check out those cotton dresses. They’re so sixties. This one is Dad, Mum and me at Stradbroke, outside The Magic Fish .’ She looked at the photo for a long while. The next one she held in front of her, her stomach churning and her heart aching.
‘What’s that one?’ Rose asked.
Evie finally passed it to her, as well as a couple of others. ‘This is one with Chris in it, that first summer holiday on Stradbroke Island. We used to call it Saltwater Place.’
Rose turned the photo over and read the writing on the back. ‘ Saltwater Place, 1974 Chris and me .’ She looked up at Evie. ‘I always thought you two would end up together. But then you left town so quickly. You know he was devastated for years afterwards. We were all so messed up with Mum being sick and then dying, and no one was happy. Obviously not Dad either.’
‘I made some really stupid decisions back then,’ Evie said, a heavy sadness pressing down.
Rose put her arm around her shoulders. ‘We all did; crazy, impulsive decisions. At least we’re still alive.’
Evie leaned into her friend. ‘Just. Just alive.’