The door opened. *Ruby, we need to talk. Before..."

*...Mum gets home." As I finished his sentence, I dumped the rubbish in the bin.

*Yeah. What happened?"

I shrugged. *Fell. In Sas"s drive."

*Looks nasty." He stepped towards me.

My knees killed and the sole of my right foot felt like there was no skin left on it. *It"s nothing."

Dad nodded. *Ruby, the woman you saw me with is just a work colleague. We were having a business meeting, a business lunch, that"s all." He leant against the doorjamb. *I can understand how it must have looked..."

The image of the two of them-heads close together, laughing, her leg against Dad"s-filled my head. I pressed my tongue against the roof of my mouth to stop myself from speaking.

*Ruby, I love your mum. Louise is..."

Louise. Lou. My stomach fell like a stone. Was Dad the new mystery man in Sas"s mum"s life? Was he the one who had *things" to work out? Were we, Harrison, Archie and me, the *things?" I tried to recall every detail of the woman, but all I could remember was long, blonde, wavy hair, just like Lou"s.

*Are you having an affair with Sas"s mum?"

Dad"s frown deepened, then his face lightened. *Did you think...? Oh Ruby, Lou Donohue? Give me some credit." He reached out. *Ruby..."

I jumped back, knocking the toothbrush holder into the mirror behind me. The brushes and toothpaste fell into the sink. *Do you think that makes it all right if the woman isn"t Sas"s mum?" I snarled. *You make me sick."

Dad"s mouth formed a circle. *Ruby-"

*Stop saying my name..."

It was Dad"s turn to step back.

*...and stop lying to me." My top lip curled. *I saw you!" I yelled the last three words. *Late meetings, long days at golf, drinks after work. Yeah, right! I can"t believe Mum hasn"t worked it out."

*Keep your voice down," hissed Dad. *Harrison will hear you."

*Good. Actually, maybe I"ll go tell him."

Dad grabbed my arm.

I tried to pull away but he tightened his grip. *You"re hurting me."

*Too bad," he hissed, dragging me towards him. *You don"t know what you"re talking about. You"re just a child."

I scoffed. *Right, like you haven"t confirmed everything today by lying for me and by what you"ve just said."

*I"m warning you, Ruby."

*Or what, you"ll tell Mum? What do you reckon will upset her more? Me shoplifting or you having an affair with Louise?" I spat her name.

Dad"s grip eased. I pushed him aside and sprinted to my room, slamming the door behind me.

*Ruby!" he bellowed.

As I heaved my bed against the door, the door opened a few centimetres, slamming into the bed.

*Ruby, move whatever is blocking this door, now!"

I heard Harrison"s foot thud on the stairs. *Hey, what"s going on?"

*This has nothing to do with you," said Dad.

*It does when you yell so much I can"t hear my game. What"s the big deal anyway?"

*Just sorting something out with Ruby."

*Yeah well, Dad, ease up," said Harrison. *She"s hurt and upset."

*Mind your own business, Harrison," snapped Dad.

*It"s my business if I can hear it."

*Harrison, stay out of it. Please." Dad"s voice was softer.

*Yeah all right, as long as you two settle down," said Harrison. *Psychos."

The door hit the bed again, but this time it was softer, like Dad was leaning against it.

*Ruby, please." He sounded desperate. *Let me in. I promise to stay calm."

*No." I gripped the bed-head tight.

*Didn"t today prove anything? I lied to the police for you."

*You lied to stop me telling Mum."

*What do I have to do to make this right?" The fake sweet in his voice made me want to vomit.

*End it and tell Mum, or I will."

The pressure eased on the door. *If I do that, I"ll have to tell her about today, about the shoplifting."

*So?"

*You"ll be grounded again, probably until Easter, or longer."

*I don"t care." Which was the truth. They could stop me going out for the rest of my life for all I cared. Where did I have to go anyway? My only friends had just dumped me.

It sounded like Dad slapped his hand against the door. *On one condition."

*I don"t think you"re in any position to bargain."

Dad ignored me. *Promise you will NEVER steal again. G.o.d, Ruby, stealing is illegal, immor-"

*Don"t you dare say immoral," I hissed.

The pressure on the door eased again. I heard Dad walk away, his footsteps slow and heavy.

*Coward." I slipped to the floor and leant against the bed-head. That"s when I realised I was crying.

Sas My world exploded into a trillion pieces today, and I can"t stop crying.

Security staff caught Khaden, Ruby and me shoplifting, Stuart lied to the police, a train just about killed Ruby, Khaden went off his head, the three of us are having *time apart", and worst of all, Khaden won"t answer my texts or calls. How am I meant to deal with all of that and everything still being stuffed between Dad and me?

If Mum had just stayed out of what was going on between Dad and me in the first place, I"d have called him weeks ago and everything would be sorted by now. There"s no way I"m calling him after she stuck her big, fat nose in. The thought of her *I fixed everything, I"m a hero" grin makes me want to vomit.

She just stormed in here, waving the cordless phone around and demanding I phone Dad. She thinks I"m crying over him. How can I explain what"s really going on?

She does have a point though. I do need to speak to Dad, in fact I"m desperate to talk to him, only I"m not making the first move. Instead I"m sending him telepathic messages.

Ring me, Dad. Ring me. Please.

This is too hard. Life is too hard. No friends, my dad hates me and my boyfriend has dumped me. Yeah, life"s a treasure all right.

Khaden I"m going to the shed," said Mike, signalling the end to another silent meal.

*Suits me," muttered Taj as the back door slammed. *PlayStation?"

*If you help me with the dishes," said Khaden.

Taj groaned. *Only if we play Guitar Hero."

Khaden filled the sink, watching the bubbles grow until they reached the top. The question sitting in his mouth grew too, until it was too big to contain. *Taj, have you..."

*Out with it, don"t be shy," said Taj, flicking the tea towel at Khaden. *Girl problems are my specialty."

Khaden rubbed the spot where the flick connected with his b.u.m. *It"s not exactly a girl problem." He dunked the plates in the hot water. *Why didn"t you tell me Mum had written to you?"

Taj, who was preparing for a second attack with the tea towel, froze. *What?"

*You heard." Khaden faced Taj, who had paled.

*I didn"t think-"

*Even after I asked you about her?"

*Look." Taj tossed the tea towel on the sink. *The way I see it we"re better off without her. She left us, Khade, abandoned us with that psycho." He pointed at Mike"s shed.

*He wasn"t always..." Khaden folded his arms. *She wants to meet me. She wrote. Twice. I burnt the first one."

*Technically, that makes three letters." Taj bowed his head. *I chucked the first one in the bin."

Everything-the near miss with the train, the fight with Sas and Ruby, the cop hounding him and his mother"s letters-collided in Khaden"s chest. *What gave you the right to do that?" he yelled.

*Trust me, Khaden, it"s better-"

*How do you know it"s better? How do you know we couldn"t be living with her now, not here watching Dad drown himself in beer every night?"

Taj stepped towards him. *Mate, your voice..."

*I don"t give a s.h.i.t. What else haven"t you told me?"

*Nothing, honest."

*Bulls.h.i.t." Khaden slammed his fist onto the metal sink. *When did Anika write to you?"

*What the h.e.l.l is going on in here?" Mike stood in the doorway, grease on his T-shirt and hands.

*Nothing." Khaden twisted back to face the sink.

*Don"t you turn your back on me," snarled Mike.

*Yeah, good point." Khaden shuffled to face the door. *I"d rather see the punch coming."

Mike"s jaw tensed.

*Ease up, buddy," said Taj, hand on his brother"s shoulder.

Khaden shook him off. *Did you tell Dad?"

*Tell me what?" Mike"s voice was a low growl.

*Nothing. Dad. Khade and me-"

*Mum wrote to me. And Taj."

Khaden glanced from his pale brother to Mike.

Mike"s hands curled into fists. *When?"

Khaden could feel the anger rising off Taj.

*Last year."

*And you didn"t tell me?" Mike"s voice bounced around the room.

Taj shook his head.

*Maybe if you talked instead of yelling, I might have told you."