One Perfect Summer

know he had a brother, let alone was in jail,’ Mum says, shocked.
    ‘What do you mean, he hurt Joe?’ Dad asks sharply.
    ‘He used to beat him up. He put him in hospital once. Joe’s terrified of him. I don’t know what to do.’
    Dad thinks for a moment. ‘Perhaps we could go to the pub? Scout it out?’
    Hope fills me. I don’t think Joe’s parents will link my parents to me.
    I nod. ‘That could work.’ A thought occurs to me. ‘Hang on . . . I might know where he is.’
    ‘Where?’ they both ask at once.
    ‘Dancing Ledge.’
    ‘The cliffs?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘We’ll come with you,’ Dad says, reaching for his coat.
    ‘No, it’s okay!’ I reply swiftly. ‘I’ll go alone.’
    Lizzy shifts from foot to foot. ‘With Lizzy,’ I add, looking at her. ‘If you’d like to?’
    She nods.
    The wind has picked up so I knot my hair into a long plait as we set off down the path, and tuck it into my coat.
    ‘The cliffs are beautiful,’ I say determinedly. ‘You should see them, anyway.’
    I feel bad enough for ruining her weekend, let alone dragging her on a wild-goose chase.
    ‘Okay,’ she says.
    ‘I’m so sorry about this,’ I add.
    ‘Stop apologising,’ she says. ‘I’m glad I can be here for you.’
    I wrap my arm around her and give her a quick squeeze. I owe her.
    We reach the gorse walkway at last. There’s been no sign of Joe this entire time and I’m on edge as we stumble down the rocky path. In my mind, I imagine him there on the hill, waiting for me, but it suddenly occurs to me that it’s not very likely. He could be anywhere . . .
    ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ Lizzy says when we emerge from the gorse. I’m not looking at the view – I’m scanning the hills.
    ‘I’m just going to go . . .’ My voice trails off and I carry on down the steep slope.
    ‘Is it dangerous?’ Lizzy calls after me, raising her voice over the sound of the wind.
    ‘No,’ I call back. ‘There’s a fence at the bottom.’
    ‘Okay.’ She follows me reluctantly.
    ‘You can wait here, if you like? If I find him I’ll come straight back,’ I promise. ‘I’ll only be fifteen minutes.’
    ‘Okay.’ She nods and sits down on the grass. I hurry down the path, the momentum of the slope pushing me forward. I’ve never run down a hill this steep before. In fact, I haven’t run down a hill since I was a child. It’s strangely liberating.
    I reach the bottom, breathing heavily. I take off my coat as I’m boiling now, and pass through the gate to Dancing Ledge. A dog barks. I know instantly that it’s Dyson.
    ‘JOE!’ I shout. ‘JOE!’
    The dog barks again, more excitedly this time.
    ‘JOE!’
    ‘ALICE?’
    The relief is immense. He comes around the corner of a rock and sees me, the smile momentarily sweeping the worry from his face.
    ‘ALICE!’ He runs to me, and I to him, and then we’re in each other’s arms with Dyson barking and bounding about at our sides. ‘You came,’ he breathes into my hair.
    ‘I went to the pub,’ I try to tell him, gasping for breath.
    ‘You didn’t?’ he exclaims, his hands on my face, pushing loose strands of hair away from my eyes while the wind does its utmost to unwind my plait.
    ‘They didn’t see me.’ I explain how I enlisted a stranger’s help.
    ‘Yep, that was Ryan,’ Joe says, when I’ve repeated the man’s description of the tattooed blond guy behind the bar.
    ‘Lizzy is waiting up the hill.’
    ‘Cool, okay.’
    We start to make our way back up there.
    ‘Did you tell them you’re leaving?’ I ask.
    He shakes his head. ‘Not yet.’
    ‘How did you get away from work?’
    He sighs. Lizzy appears in view and I wave up at her. She returns my wave with a smile – she’ll be pleased for me that I’ve found him.
    ‘I got back to the pub last night to find my parents had moved most of my stuff out of my bedroom to the one at the back.’
    ‘No! That’s so out of order!’
    ‘I wasn’t even that bothered about it. I’ll be leaving soon, anyway. But I was worried about my money.’
    ‘Had they found it?’
    ‘No, thank God.’
    I breathe a sigh of relief for him. ‘Where have you hidden it now?’
    ‘I haven’t. It’s in my pocket.’
    I glance down at the bulk there.
    ‘I wondered if you would look after it for me?’
    ‘Of course.’ I feel honoured that he trusts me, even though I know that he should.
    ‘Thank you.’ He reaches over and strokes my palm. I want him to take my hand, but we’ve almost reached