Tell the Story to Its End Read Free

and empty and unheated, left without any stuff in. ‘I never draw in my drawing room,’ he said, ‘but sometimes I do do nothing in my nothing room. It’s really quite relaxing.’
    Upstairs only had four rooms: Robert and Bekah’s, Mum’s, mine and a spare. Mine was the smallest, but it still beat what I was used to in London. That was good at least. Out of the window, which was tall and thin, like a glass pillar set into the wall, I could see the forest. The hills went up, away from the town, so the pine trees came to a peak far up in the sky and looked like a wave ready to break and crush the house. On that first night I’d kept the curtains pulled open wide and sat with my head on the glass, just staring up at the stars. In London you can’t really see stars any more – all the city lights wash them away like paint being dipped in water – but the stars in that window were huge and clear, crowded together above me, flickering like candles, on and off, on and off, all night. I felt almost impossibly small.
    The house had a third floor as well.
    That was where I found him.
    Uncle Robert showed me how to get up to the attic. You had to open a hatch cut out in the ceiling of my bedroom with a special hooked stick, then draw down a ladder. ‘Good for catching beasties!’ he laughed, pulling a face like a gargoyle.
    Mum was standing in the doorway, watching and resting her hand on Jasper. ‘I still don’t see why you’re going up,’ she said, scratching at Jasper’s forehead. He looked happy with that.
    â€˜Come on, Judy, the boy wants to explore! It’s a good house for that. You must remember when we were littler.’
    â€˜Younger, perhaps,’ said Mum. ‘There’s nothing up there, though. Nothing but dust and cobwebs, I’ll bet. Seems like a lot of hassle. Messy hassle.’
    â€˜A lot of hassle? Heavens above, Judy. How old’re you, Oli?’
    â€˜Twelve,’ I said. I watched him hook the ladder.
    Uncle Robert nodded triumphantly and patted my shoulder. ‘Exactly. Twelve-year-old boys must explore the attic of any house they’re in. It’s a rule. Like, trousers should have their knees worn out within a single year. Or … brushing your teeth is important, but only when other people tell you to.’
    â€˜Rob,’ sighed Mum, and she scratched Jasper harder. He looked like he liked that, too.
    â€˜It’s fine, Mum,’ I said. ‘I promise to brush my teeth. Uncle Robert said that from up here you can look out and see the road stretching down to London. Said you used to do it all the time when—’
    Uncle Robert coughed nervously, the stick in his hands hanging in the air. His back went tense, and he turned to Mum. She looked at him coldly. ‘It’s just a saying, eh, Oli,’ said Rob. ‘You’d not really be able to see London.’
    â€˜I know,’ I said, ‘I’m not stupid. I just—’
    â€˜No one needs anything from London, for now,’ said Mum, patting Jasper away with the back of her hand. ‘The road doesn’t need watching. ’
    â€˜I know ,’ I said again. ‘I just want to see what’s there.’
    â€˜Hmm,’ she said, but her eyes didn’t leave Uncle Robert. Then, with a flick of her skirt, she walked away. The thud, thud, thud of her shoes on the stairs echoed in the cold. Uncle Robert looked at me and gave an empty smile. ‘I … I’d better go and talk to your mother. Here,’ he said, yanking the cord that had dropped down, and pulling the ladder down on sliders that squeaked badly. ‘Here, you can climb up. Be careful of the dust, and if you come back down before I’m here, remember, climb backwards, yeah?’
    â€˜Sure.’
    â€˜Good lad!’ He ruffled my hair, and went off after Mum. I watched him go and looked at Jasper, who was turning his head to the