Burning Bright by Sophie McKenzie Page B

totally out of control.’
    ‘But—’
    ‘No, River.’ Mum folded her arms. ‘This is the last straw. Since you met him everything’s gone wrong. You’re not working properly at school. Bunking off today
proves it.’
    ‘But I
am
working,’ I protested. ‘Today was . . . different.’
    ‘It’s not just that,’ Mum went on. ‘You hardly spend any time with your other friends. You’ve lied to me. Stayed out all night. More than once. It has to
stop.’
    I stared at Dad. ‘You can’t . . .’
    A pained expression came into Dad’s eyes. ‘The last thing I want to do is forbid you to do something. I feel guilty that I haven’t been more involved up till now. That things
have got this far.’
    Mum snorted.
    ‘But Flynn’s good for me,’ I protested. ‘Okay so he’s got a temper, but he’s sweet and kind when he’s on his own and—’
    ‘You can’t be sure he won’t hurt you,’ Dad said.
    ‘He’d
never
hurt me.’ Tears welled up in my eyes. ‘He hasn’t hurt anyone else. Don’t you understand? Flynn hates what his dad did. He only ever gets
angry with
him
. About
him
.’
    ‘What about the fights he’s been getting into at school?’ Dad said gently. ‘His mum admitted he’s always being disciplined for rudeness. Always pushing things. I
mean, he was even suspended from school the other day.’
    ‘I know, and he knows that he overreacts to things . . .’
    ‘He needs therapy,’ Dad said. ‘A proper, intensive course of anger management. The kind of thing they do at Gemma’s centre. There are places all over London, some of them
actually specialise in adolescent aggression.’
    ‘But Flynn’s not really aggressive,’ I insisted. ‘Not deep down. He’s just scared of being hurt. Of people he loves being hurt. That’s why he loses his temper
sometimes but he can stop himself, at—’
    Dad took my hand across the table. ‘You’re not listening, River. You
know
. In your heart you
know
I’m right. Whatever Flynn says, it’s not that easy to just
“stop”. And violence is
never
the answer to an argument. Maybe sometimes in self-defence you have to take a stand, but Flynn goes way too far, way too often.’
    I pulled my hand away from his and stood up. The tiny silver heart on my bracelet dangled against my wrist, a reminder of Flynn and what we shared together. My parents just didn’t
understand.
    ‘You were happy enough that he hit those guys who were all over me and Emmi last term,’ I said, remembering how Flynn had fended off two guys hassling us last December.
    ‘I wonder if we got the full story about that,’ Mum said drily.
    ‘So now I’m a liar?’
    ‘No, River,’ Dad said. ‘That’s not what we’re saying.’
    Mum crossed her arms. ‘It’s not just the violence. Flynn’s been accused of stealing things. Emmi’s mother told us all about Alex’s iPad going missing at school. It
sounds like all the evidence points to Flynn and—’
    ‘He didn’t do anything. They’re just blaming him because they don’t like him.’ Tears leaked out of my eyes. I didn’t even bother to brush them away. Mum
and
Dad were both against me. Against Flynn. ‘You can’t stop me seeing him,’ I sobbed.
    ‘Then you have to move out,’ Mum said, simply. ‘Because I can’t live like this anymore.’
    ‘Move out?’ I whispered. It felt like the floor was falling away from underneath me.
    Dad took my hand. ‘You can come and live with me and Gemma on the commune.’
    ‘But . . . but . . . ?’ My mind whirled with the ramifications of this. Dad’s commune was a ninety-minute drive from here – way more in rush hour. ‘What about
school? What about my GSCEs?’
    Dad swallowed. ‘I realise it’s not an ideal time for you to move schools with your exams coming up but there are other schools near the commune where—’
    ‘What about my friends?’ I stared at both of them. I couldn’t believe they were seriously suggesting I should leave my whole life