Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAislen shifted uncomfortably on the seat of Heath’s car as his sedan bounced along the dirt track away from the river house towards the main street, her arse sore from the belting. The bright sunshine falling through the tree canopy was such a stark contrast to what had just happened in the river house, and Aislen was grateful for the discomfort – otherwise she would have wondered if she’d hallucinated it all.“Tomorrow,” Heath said as he waited for a car to pass and pulled out. “I will come by a little earlier in the morning in order to inspect your appearance for school. Your shirt should be freshly ironed and matched with a white bra. Wear the shorter skirt. Hair should be down and make up on. You will be ready to go when I arrive and you will greet me at the door, nicely.”There was a silence in the cab as he turned towards town.“Aislen,” there was warning in his tone. “Do you understand?”“Yes,” her voice was hoarse.“Good.”They cruised down her st

Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAislen ignored the look that Cameron slid her way and gathered up her books and bag, crossing the classroom under the curious gazes of the other students, to where Ms Grace waited.“I’m sorry to interrupt your class,” Ms Grace said stepping out onto the footpath and heading towards her office. “I just saw that you were rostered in today and I wanted to talk to you about your discovery on the weekend. The police are quite concerned about your wellbeing, and you have missed a few days of school this week, so I think we’re overdue a talk, don’t you?”“I guess,” Aislen muttered.“Aislen,” Ms Grace sighed. “I am not your enemy. I am trying to help you. That’s my job – to help you.”“Look,” Aislen stopped walking. “Cameron was giving me a driving lesson. We got into an argument. We pulled over on the side of the road in order to swap drivers. Cameron saw something, a body. We called the police. I actually spoke with them yesterday and they told me that they hav

Havermouth, Five Years BeforeAs Aislen threaded her way between students to the grassy hill the Triquetra, jocks and cheerleaders occupied, she saw the other sex toy standing forlornly at the foot of the hill, looking up at Heath, who held his hands out, palms upward. As if sensing Aislen’s approach, he looked her way and the other sex toy followed his gaze and burst into tears, before hurrying away.“You’re late,” Heath said as Aislen reached him. “And your make up is a mess,” he took a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe under her eyes. "Rhett said that he saw you with Ms Grace.”“She wanted to talk to me about the body and the vigil,” Aislen told him under her breath.“We will go,” he said and sat down next to Rhett.“Come here,” Cameron patted the grass next to him. “Have some cookies,” he offered a Tupperware container as she sat next to him. When she hesitated, he laughed. “Don’t worry,” he leaned towards her, keeping his voice low. “There are no special ingredient

Havermouth, Five Years BeforeHer parents weren’t home when Heath had pulled up in the drive. Her relief was lost behind the urgency to collect what she needed and get out before they returned.Heath stood in the front door, waiting whilst she collected everything that she thought that she would need for a weekend away. She raided the kitchen cupboards, filling her bag with snack foods as well as clothing and cosmetics. Heath did not rush her, but she felt like the contestant of a game show: How much can you stuff into one suitcase in fifteen minutes or less?She felt as if she were packing never expecting to return, but her destination wasn’t the happily ever after of children’s movies, but rather the fade out of grim adulthood.She did not know what the courtesy was with finding the body of a child – was she supposed to dress for a funeral, or not? She went with something in between a funeral and church and shoved a good black dress and heels into the bag, anticipating going to the

Havermouth, Five Years Before Cameron lit the candles around the bathroom, the flickering flames reflecting off the old-fashioned tiles. The tap in the sink dripped, the sound of the splash loud and musical in the space. The shower was over the claw-footed bathtub around which there was a metal ring that had obviously been intended to support a shower curtain, but it was bare now. The bathroom held the floral ghost of the cleaning products they had lined up against the wall like soldiers against grime. Her father never cleaned, Aislen thought as Cameron started the shower water and laid the bathmats onto the floor to catch the overspray. It was odd to her as a result that the Triquetra were so domestic and clean, masculinity and housework not coexisting in her experience. Cameron set two towels ready on the wobbly stool that they kept in the bathroom for that purpose and then stripped off his uniform, tossing it into the clothes hamper. The candlelight turned his hair to gilded flam