Page 50 of Night and Day
Deke pointed at his own Super Mario T-shirt and shook his furry mane in a theatrical manner. “Me too.”
Following him to the door, Mia cast Izzy a hopeful smile that shot a beam of light straight into his heart. “See you later?”
Izzy’s face responded before his brain caught up, splitting into a huge grin – probably coupled with a pair of pining eyes. The door closed and he ran his hands across his face, as if to erase the tell-tale signs. His fingers caught the hair clip in his beard he’d completely forgotten about. Perfect. He was an utter fool and there was no hiding how he felt. He’d wanted to stay with her, walk along the river and watch the sun dip on the horizon over the gardens. Nope. Life was not that kind.
Tonight he’d sit in his basement, tweaking animated suicide statistics, but tomorrow, Mia would be his.
Chapter 19
Mia skipped behindDeke’s long, lanky legs as he powered along the footpath, passing more rundown rental houses with unkempt lawns. After a moment, they veered off the main road, onto a paved path that continued through tidier grass and leafy trees that somehow reminded her of summer in Finland, only more manicured. Birdsong was louder and more melodic, and the greens seemed brighter than anywhere else; nature on steroids.
The path wound down towards the riverbank, then ran alongside it, offering views of giant ferns and water that flowed in all shades of green. Definitely nothing like Finland. The closest bridge rose above them, a chunk of solid concrete, painted a garish blue. Deke slowed down, eyes fixed on its imposing stature. Something about his intense gaze made Mia think about Izzy’s story. “Is that the bridge?” she asked. “The one Izzy’s girlfriend—”
“Yeah. That’s where Erin jumped.”
The simple safety rail didn’t look that high and Mia shivered, imagining the desperate woman scaling it and plunging herself into the surging water.
“Did you know her?” she asked, stopping next to Deke who’d paused at the edge of the footpath.
“All of us met in film school. Izzy did post production, me and Erin did acting. We flatted on the North Shore, in Auckland. After graduation, Izzy was planning to move in with her. She didn’t like me. She was so talented, but super sensitive.” Deke shrugged. “I mean, she’d get offended over everything. And weepy. She could really turn on the waterworks.”
“That’s great for an actor, I suppose.” Mia bristled at the forced perkiness of her own voice. This wasn’t about her. She wasn’t jealous of a dead woman’s tears.
Deke hiked up a shoulder, a dark look in his eyes. “I know we’re not meant to speak ill of the dead, but I didn’t like her either. She expected too much... mind-reading. I like it when people are straight with me. If I have to guess, fuck it.” He roared a laugh that nearly made Mia lose her footing.
She smiled back. “I know what you mean. I don’t think you have to worry about that with me. I say what I mean. Finns are great at voicing the unpleasant. We don’t do small talk. I wouldn’t even know how to do that in Finnish.”
Deke cocked his head, appreciation brightening his eyes. “I like the sound of that! Maybe I should move to Finland.”
Mia chuckled. “Maybe you should.”
They kept walking down the hill to the foot of the bridge, then climbed up the steep rise onto the footpath. Up close, the railing looked even lower than she’d thought – she could have climbed it in seconds. A chill spreading down her spine, Mia picked up speed. As she reached the middle, Deke overtook her, jogging past. On the other side, he stopped so suddenly she narrowly avoided a collision.
“Phew.” Deke caught his breath. “I don’t like that feeling. Every time I walk across, I imagine jumping. I don’t want to jump, but I can’t stop thinking about it and it creeps me out!”
Mia stared at him, incredulous. “I thought I was the only one. Every time I’m somewhere up high, my mind plays those images. But maybe that’s normal.”
