Casting Shadows Read Free Page B

years. I was guessing that he had rehearsed that speech
to Dad before arriving. He would certainly never talk in such a formal way normally. Still, he had made everything he’d said sound effortlessly natural and, more important, completely
sincere.
    Dad looked even more shocked than me as he shook Flynn’s hand. Not surprising, really. All he’d heard about Flynn for the past five months was that he was hot-tempered to the point
of violence. He couldn’t possibly have expected this level of charm, maturity and manners.
    ‘Good to see you too, Flynn,’ Dad said. ‘The car’s this way.’
    As we followed him out to the car, Flynn slipped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and he lowered his face to whisper in my ear.
    ‘How am I doing?’ he said softly.
    I looked up, into his eyes. Didn’t he know how well he was coming across? He was trying so hard – and all so we could be together. I’d never loved him more. I smiled, reaching
up to whisper back.
    Ace, I think Dad likes you already.’
    After the fifteen-minute drive to the commune, I was
sure
Dad liked him. Flynn had continued with his charm offensive. He answered all Dad’s questions about his jobs and his A
levels politely and with a meek respectfulness I’d only ever seen him display at the gym where he worked, Goldbar’s.
    As soon as Dad sat back, clearly relaxing in the face of Flynn’s good manners, Flynn asked a few questions of his own. Simple, interested questions about the commune – how it worked
and how many people lived there.
    A few minutes later we arrived. I took Flynn’s hand as we went into the kitchen via the back door. Flynn looked around, taking in the big stone floor and huge Aga stove. I wondered what he
was thinking. The kitchen looked good – clean and warm and inviting in the morning sunshine that flooded in through the long window near the table. Still, compared to Mum’s house with
its fitted cupboards and stainless steel appliances, it was all quite basic.
    ‘Hi, River!’ It was Ros, one of my favourite residents, coming in from the garden. I liked Ros a lot. She was outgoing and funny and always treated me like a grown-up. And this must
be Flynn?’ Ros said, striding over with her arm outstretched.
    Flynn shook her hand.
    ‘Very
attractive, River.’ Ros winked in my direction.
    I blushed. Flynn rolled his eyes but he was smiling.
    Dad cleared his throat. ‘Why don’t you show Flynn round for a bit, River?’ he said. ‘Meet back here for lunch in half an hour?’
    I nodded and tugged Flynn through the kitchen door. We wandered along the corridor. Flynn was moving slowly, gazing at the bare plaster on the walls. I showed him the two communal rooms –
one with three large sofas and a huge fireplace in the centre. The other was smaller, full of books and magazines and two long desks.
    ‘That’s where Stone and I do our homework when we stay here,’ I said nervously.
    Flynn’s eyes were sharp, soaking it all up. I swallowed. Looking at it fresh like this I was horribly aware of how tatty the whole place was. It really could do with a lick of paint
– and some of the upholstery on the sofas was fraying badly. I knew Flynn would never look down on people for not having much money, but I was worried he might see the shabbiness of the
commune as proof that the residents lacked drive and ambition, just like he’d always suspected.
    I pointed along the corridor to the doors that led to two of the private apartments. ‘John and Julia live on the left,’ I explained. ‘And Ros is opposite.’ I glanced at
him, feeling nervous. ‘What did you make of her?’
    Flynn shrugged. ‘Seemed okay,’ he said.
    I nodded. ‘Ros is cool, actually. She used to be an actor.’
    ‘Yeah?’ Flynn turned his attention to the abstract paintings that hung along the wall. I watched him taking them in. He was a brilliant actor himself, of course. That was how
we’d met, last autumn, acting in
Romeo and