The last two days had been so hot that he felt as if his skin were melting from his bones. All the girls were wearing shorts and bikini tops or swimming costumes. Jake’s little sister, who wasn’t so little any more, had been showing off in her yellow two-piece. They’d had water fights and splashed around for hours in the paddling pool that his mum had bought so that he’d stop pestering her to take him to the beach.

She was busy working on another book; this one was consuming her day in, day out. She hardly ever emerged from the stuffy little office and she didn’t have a clue where he was or what he was doing most days. He didn’t care because he liked the freedom it gave him. He was thirteen and could do whatever he pleased.

He couldn’t stop staring at Jenny in that almost see-through costume. She was twelve and the flat chest that he’d never taken much notice of had suddenly developed into two soft, fleshy mounds that he’d very much like to touch. Jenny followed him and Jake everywhere, which, until a couple of days ago, had driven them both mad. Now he couldn’t wait to see her – he wanted to lay his hands on her her in ways that wouldn’t be allowed. He wanted to kiss her inviting lips.

The only problem was, Jake would kill him if he touched her. Jake had spent the last week moaning about having to look after her – his dad had told him not to let any boys get too near to Jenny, and to make sure she was always okay. So how would he get her on her own long enough to kiss her? Maybe he could ask her over after tea when Jake had gone to football practice, or get her to go to the woods with him. He had done nothing the last two days but think about Carrie and what John must have felt about her. He knew that he had to spend some time with Jenny, the two of them alone together; he just didn’t know when or how not to get caught.

He was lying on his bed looking at the stack of Polaroid photos he’d taken of Jenny when she hadn’t been looking. She was beautiful. Her long, silky, golden hair and palest blue eyes mesmerised him. He had one photograph he’d taken as Jake had thrown a bucket of water over her, those small, pert breasts brushing against the fabric of the bikini top. He’d stared at it for hours. Suddenly he heard his mum shout for him, and he jumped off the bed, tucking the photos under his mattress in case she came in. He rushed outside to see what she wanted.

‘Be a love and go get me some milk and a bar of chocolate.’

She handed him a fiver; he slipped on his trainers and began to walk in the direction of the shop. As he rounded the corner, he saw a flash of golden hair through the window. Jenny was coming out of the shop just as he walked inside. She grinned at him and he felt his heart skip a beat.

‘What’re you doing?’ she asked.

‘Going to the shop.’

‘I know that, you dweeb. What’re you doing after? I’m bored – my mates have all gone home and Jake is grounded for fighting with Ben last night.’

Ben was the boy who lived next door, and both he and Jake hated him. He had an idea – if he took his mum’s chocolate back and then went into his room, she’d think he was home. Then he could sneak out and spend some time with Jenny. Just the two of them; no one would have a clue.

‘I’m taking this back for my mum and then I’m going to the woods to play.’

‘Can I come?’

He smiled at her. ‘Don’t tell anyone where we’re going though, it’s a secret.’

‘I love secrets.’

He laughed. ‘I know you do.’

She ran off. ‘I’ll wait for you by the cutting.’

He almost forgot the milk – he was so excited at the thought of being alone with Jenny. He hastily brought the stuff to the counter, paid his money and raced home. He made a racket going in through the front door so that his mum would clearly remember him coming back, put the milk in the fridge, then went upstairs and knocked on the office door. She opened it and he handed her the bar of chocolate.

‘I don’t feel well. I’m going to bed.’

She reached out her hand and placed the back of it on his forehead.

‘You do feel a bit hot – let me know if you want anything.’

‘I just want to go to sleep, my head’s hurting.’

She smiled at him and he walked into his bedroom, not closing the door properly behind him. She shut her office door. He quickly changed into a pair of shorts and the old, faded, black t-shirt that his mum had thrown away and he’d taken back out of the bin bag. He neatly folded his clothes up, then pushed his pillows into the bed under the covers, shut the curtains and sneaked back out. It was so warm that the dining-room and kitchen windows were wide open. He’d be able to get back in later without so much as making a noise. He was good at creeping around; he’d been doing it for years.

He ran to the cutting. As he approached, he could see her standing there in all her beautiful glory. Her cut-off frayed denim shorts, which were lopsided because she’d done it herself, showed off her tanned legs. Her white t-shirt had those stupid Rugrats on the front of it; he hated that cartoon. She’d scraped her long hair back in a ponytail and he could see the small scar on the side of her head. She’d fallen off the swing at the park last year and cut her head open, chipping her front tooth in the process. He and Jake had dragged her home to get it cleaned up. He ran towards her and then carried on straight past her – he didn’t want anyone to think they were on their own together.

‘Oi, where are you going?’

He grinned at the anger in her voice and heard her footsteps as she began to chase after him. He didn’t stop until he reached the woods and couldn’t see anyone else. Jenny pushed him from behind. ‘Idiot. Why’d you make me run? I hate running.’

He turned and smiled. ‘Sorry, my mum’s in a bad mood. I was scared she’d call me back in.’

He headed through the trees towards the small clearing he’d discovered a few weeks ago. It was set back from the trails and you couldn’t see it from any of the paths. It was completely hidden by overgrown bushes. He’d been exploring in here on his own when he’d found it. From the moment he saw it, he’d known it would be perfect.

‘So where we going?’

‘I’ll show you my new hideout, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.’

‘What about Jake? Does he know about it?’

He shook his head. ‘No, if I show you it’s our secret. You have to promise not to tell.’

She shrugged. ‘Okay.’

He pushed his way through the brambles, holding them back for her.

‘Wow, this place is cool. You should build a den, we could sleep out here.’

He felt his skin prickle at the thought of it. She went and sat on a large log that had fallen off one of the huge trees and he sat down next to her. She pointed to a metal cover set in the ground. ‘What’s that?’

‘Sewers, I think.’

‘Urgh. I bet it stinks in there. So what should we do?’

He reached out his hand to stroke her hair.

Less than an hour later he was home, after running through the woods avoiding the trails that the dog walkers used. He’d come out of the opposite side, but it didn’t matter – he followed the backstreets to reach the small end-of-terrace house that was his home. Red-faced and out of breath, he washed his hands in the dirty water of the paddling pool. Then he peered through the dining-room window to make sure his mum wasn’t around. The house was silent, apart from the faint sound of typing filtering through the upstairs window. He climbed inside and crept upstairs, where he stripped off his shorts and t-shirt. He knew that he had to get rid of them, but he couldn’t have walked home naked. Rolling them into a ball, he took the small gym bag off the floor of his wardrobe and shoved them inside. He pushed the bag under the spare blankets and sheets, out of sight until he could dump it in a bin tomorrow on the other side of town.

He hadn’t realised how much his hands were shaking until he climbed into bed, pulling the covers over his head. He was hot and sweaty anyway with the exertion. If his mum came in to check on him she’d think he was really poorly. She’d swear blind to anyone who asked that he’d been to the shop, come home and had to go straight to bed. As he lay there, his eyes closed, he thought about what he’d done. He expected the horror to come crashing down on him. That the guilt would weigh so heavy on his shoulders that he’d never be able to lift his head again. What happened instead was that he started to laugh, so hard that he had to stuff his fist into his mouth to stop the sound erupting and filling the house.

He fell asleep, content and happy for the first time in months. He woke up to the commotion of someone hammering on the front door. He heard his mum open it.

‘Is Jenny here? Have you seen her?’

‘No, she’s not here. I haven’t seen her. Just a minute – I’ll go and check.’

He shut his eyes and lay still, waiting for her to open his door. She did, walking across the room towards him and gently shaking his shoulder.

‘Jake’s downstairs. He said have you seen Jenny?’

He pushed himself up on his elbow, rubbing one eye.

‘I saw her coming out of the shop when I went earlier, but she ran off. I came straight home.’

His mum nodded. ‘I know you did… was she with anyone?’

He shrugged. ‘I didn’t really take any notice.’

She left him to sleep and went back downstairs, where he heard her relay the information to Jake.

‘He saw her at the shop earlier. He’s not well – he came home and went straight to bed.’

‘She’s probably at Sharon’s house again; she’s not allowed to go there. Thanks.’

Jake ran off back in the direction of his house.

He remained in his bed, wondering if he should be feeling scared about what he’d done. But all he felt right at that moment was the overwhelming sense that he was invincible.