Dead Dog in the Still of the Night Read Online Free

finish Year 12, and now it’s almost over but you haven’t even really discussed the trip with your folks.’
    Maddie shook her head faintly and touched a water spot on the windscreen, then added, ‘In a few weeks school’s over for you but for the exams. When are you going to make some firm decisions? I can’t just wait and wait and hope you’ll come good on your promise.
    ‘I’m going without you, and you can live with it,’ Maddie went on. ‘I’m done waiting for you to break the news to your parents, for you to find the money, for you to give me a date so I can book tickets. I’m going with Celine and Tania, and you can like that or not, it’s your choice.’
    Maddie reached for the door handle and stepped out of the Fiat. She slammed the door behind her and it slapped back open.
    Primo didn’t move. He sat and watched her through the windscreen, his fists knotted on the steering wheel, his mouth pulled into a tight slash across his face.
    ‘It’s just hard right now, you know,’ he called finally, in an effort to appease her, at least for the time being, until he could work out a better strategy. ‘With my brother back in the house for who knows how long, and my old man the way he is. Shifts at the freight yard have been hard to get too, you know.’
    Maddie sat on the end of the bonnet and folded her arms around herself.
    Primo’s lips smacked the air noisily. He stared past Maddie, out towards the Melbourne city skyline, focusing on the tallest building, the Eureka Tower. Its golden summit tossed the sunlight back at him sharply.
    Maddie was right and wrong, he thought with biting indignation.
    ‘It’s my dad,’ he offered half-heartedly. ‘With him in the nursing home, it’s tough now. I can’t just leave Mum on her own.’
    When Maddie looked back at him, Primo felt a pang of desire crunch him in the stomach.
    They had known each other since he’d partnered Maddie’s sister, Shannon, for the Year 11 formal at the end of the previous year. Things hadn’t worked out between him and Shannon, but he and Maddie, a full two years older, had hit it off right from the start. They even followed the same footy team, Carlton, and she was doing the same Arts degree he hoped to do once he passed Year 12.
    It was all good, Primo told himself. Maddie was pretty and smart, and knew what she wanted to do with her life – become a primary school teacher and work with gifted kids. And now he was spoiling it all. The thought bit hard.
    ‘I want to come, Maddie,’ Primo said. ‘I really do, but things are tough at home right now. Probably will be for a while yet, especially now with ...’
    ‘You’ve wimped out on me,’ Maddie cut him off. ‘I even put off buying tickets to give you time to save. And don’t use your dad as an excuse. It makes you sound pathetic.’
    The words, like a grenade, exploded around Primo in the confines of the little car.
    ‘I’m not wimping out,’ Primo shot back. ‘I haven’t been able to save as much as I thought I would have, you know. I’ve been getting less shifts at the factory than I’d hoped. And I’ve got school to think about.’
    Maddie stepped away from the car. She walked off and Primo was forced to get out of the car if they were to continue their conversation.
    ‘I’m not using the old man as an excuse,’ he said into the space between them. ‘What? You reckon I don’t want to go to Europe with you? You reckon I don’t want to see all those sights you’ve been raving about for like, forever?’
    Maddie turned on him, her face blazing with anger. ‘That’s exactly right, Primo! The places I’ve been raving about! The places I’ve been going on and on about! Not you! Not once have you been as truly excited about the trip as I am.’
    Primo stepped toward her, but Maddie held up her hand, bringing him to a stop.
    ‘You were never really going to go with me, Primo,’ she said. ‘You just liked the idea that I’d wait around until I got sick