Finn crawled closer and she must have sensed his approach or heard his laboured breathing, because she lifted her head and looked his way. Her dark blonde hair was parted in the middle and fell in two catastrophic waves across either side of her face. Her eyes were red rimmed and wild, and tear-streaked mascara scarred her pale cheeks.
‘Kelly?’ Finn whispered, not able to manage anything more.
‘Finn?’ she said. ‘What the fuck?’
Kelly pushed her hair behind her ears, sniffed loudly and stood up in one agile movement. She reached Finn, knelt beside him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He breathed heavily. ‘I can’t stand up.’
‘All right, take it easy. Let’s get you inside.’
Finn resumed the slow crawl with Kelly’s hand still on his shoulder.
‘Where are your keys?’ Kelly said.
‘Left pocket.’
Finn felt her small hand against his leg as she took them out. She opened the door and he crawled through.
‘Straight to the bathroom,’ Kelly said.
Finn lost sight of her feet and then heard running water. The carpet beneath him turned to tiles that were cool to his touch. He made it to the bath and had just enough strength to place his forearms on the edge, raising himself to his knees.
‘What now?’
Kelly knelt and took hold of the bottom of his tank top. She drew it slowly up his body and Finn responded by raising his arms. His ribs and shoulders burned with the effort.
‘If you think I’m taking your pants off, you’ve got another thing coming. I saw enough of your penis in primary school to last me a lifetime.’
‘One time. Because my board shorts were loose and—’
‘Yeah, yeah, and when the wave knocked you over, they were miraculously yanked down your legs right at the same moment you stood up from the water in full view of yours truly.’ Finn felt Kelly’s hands on his butt, pushing him upwards. ‘Every pervert has an excuse,’ she grunted.
She shoved him with enough force to make him rise and flop over the edge of the bath and into the steaming hot water. It sloshed back and forth over his body.
‘Take it easy, Hercules. You’re going to flood the whole apartment.’
She adjusted the taps as the water settled.
Finn felt the hot water soaking into his skin, the restorative effect almost instantaneous. It was like the water was strength itself seeping back into his muscles as it warmed and energised them once again.
Kelly turned off the water and sat on the closed toilet seat. The dark lines down her face made her look like one of those tragic clowns at the circus, only more beautiful and broken than they could ever be.
She stared at Finn, took a deep breath, and sighed loudly. ‘Well, look at us,’ she said. ‘A right pair of complete fucking disasters.’
Chapter Five
‘So, who’d you kill this time?’ Kelly said.
‘Pregnant mother and her unborn child.’
‘Now or future?’
‘Future.’
‘Cause of death?’
‘Car accident.’
