Inconsolable by Ainslie Paton Page A

there’s dumb and there’s you making a decision worse than your tattoo.”
    Foley grunted in annoyance. She couldn’t argue the tattoo. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
    â€œBecause he helped some people who got stung and that makes him some kind of street person vigilante saint?”
    â€œYou’re the only one who’d call him that. He’s not dangerous.”
    â€œAnd you’d know this exactly how?”
    There was no exactly about it and Nat was right to be pointing out that this probably wasn’t the safest approach, but Foley felt it to her core that Drum wasn’t volatile and wouldn’t do her any harm.
    â€œAt least I can dress myself properly.”
    Nat squinted at her through glasses that had finger smudge marks all over them. “What does that have to do with anything?”
    Foley moved passed her to go get changed into her rock climbing and waiting around clothes and heard Nat’s annoyed, “Oh far out. I’ve been walking around all day with my zipper undone.”

6: Deal
    Drum stepped across the rock ledge and a bright light hit him fair in the face. He blinked and turned his head to avoid it and braced for trouble. The beam lowered and he heard feet moving, but only one pair.
    â€œDrum, it’s Foley.”
    It was after 2am according to the clock on the amenities block wall, but it often ran slow, what the hell was she doing here? He could see her now, standing on the wide flat part of the ledge where his outdoor setting normally was. It was in pieces. He went through to the cave and even without decent light he could see it’d been trashed, his folding bed broken in half, his sleeping bag torn to ribbons. Seems expense accounts ran to ransacking these days.
    He turned back towards Foley. She had her phone in her hand, a torch app on it held down towards their feet. If she was about to call reinforcements, he’d do what he could to outrun them.
    â€œI was so worried about you,” she said.
    He crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto one leg. Because she was mostly in shadow it was easier to look at her. She wasn’t so shiny clean, especially since she’d brought lies with her.
    â€œI didn’t know if you’d been hurt, if there’d been a fight. What happened?”
    She shuffled about anxiously, not making any move to use the phone. And she clearly didn’t do this, so that meant sometime today when he’d been out, Jonesy came for payback. Either that or it was unconnected, coincidental.
    â€œHow long have you been here?” he said.
    â€œI came around nine. This … this … You didn’t know.”
    Five hours . She’d waited five hours for him. “You can’t be here.” It wasn’t safe for her. Drum had no idea if this was the end of one bad thing, or the beginning of another. But he needed her gone, now and forever.
    â€œI came to talk to you about the oranges and about … but this is awful. I’m so sorry.”
    â€œI don’t want you here. You need to go.”
    â€œI can—”
    He raised his voice. “Nothing. You can nothing. Go. Now.”
    â€œDrum, no, you think council did this? No, no, no. It was like this when I got here.”
    She could think what she wanted so long as she left. He turned away from her to assess the damage.
    â€œPlease, you have to understand this wasn’t us.”
    There was something about her voice that made him turn back to her. She didn’t sound so sure. “What do you know about this?”
    â€œNothing. Like I said, it was like this when I got here. I didn’t know if you’d ever come back.”
    â€œI live here,” he said flatly.
    â€œBut you’ve been staying away and when I saw this I thought maybe you—”
    He sighed, exasperated. “Just go. You don’t belong here.”
    â€œOkay. I’m really sorry. If