LATER ON, THEY GO DOWN TO THE RIVER WITH HIS dad, Angus and Sean. Jess, Cora and Lorna go shopping in Totnes. Nick wishes the girls had gone with them. It would have been more fun.
Izzy is ignoring him again. He feels sadder about that than anything else. That she is so under Taisie’s thumb is scary. Even Alex, who he thought was reasonably normal, hasn’t got the guts to defy his sister. This is a family he has practically grown up with. He’s been in and out of the Wellses’ house since before he can remember; he’s bounced on their beds, watched cartoons on their sofa, slept top to tail with Taisie. He’s seen her throw up spectacularly after eating a whole packet of those pink wafer biscuits. And now, it’s as though they don’t know him. They’re keeping up this ridiculous charade, and the frustration feels as though it’s bubbling in his stomach. His spots have got worse, when they should have got better in the sun, and all he does is look forward to his next meal.
The river is benign, though they’ve been warned that it can be treacherous when it’s swollen. He sticks with the adults; the kids are no use to him. The girls swan around in their bikinis as if they own the place; which of course Pansy and Freya do.
Nick is sitting on the bank talking to Angus when Taisie and Pansy swim over to his father and attempt to dunk him. There’s a whole load of squealing and flailing around and then the others get in on the act. The girls’ skin is slippery and gleaming and their curves, both hidden and enhanced by their swimming costumes, still come as a shock. Pansy catches his eye and raises her eyebrows and he looks away, uncomfortable. They’re doing it on purpose, Taisie playing up to his dad, wrapping her wet arms around him. The boys are like over-excited puppies. His father extricates himself, then gets hold of a sobbing and spluttering Rory, who has accidentally been ducked under water in the mayhem, hitches him on to his back and carries him out, dropping him down beside Nick. He stands over them, laughing and dripping wet, water running in rivulets through the hairs on his chest and legs. Nick has to admit, sometimes his dad looks like a god. It’s obscene for a parent to be that attractive, and not exactly great for him. He’s conscious that comparisons are being made. Taisie gets out and starts making a fuss of Rory. Nick shuffles away and sits further downriver, lying back with a groan. He’s had enough. He wants to go home.
The breeze becomes wind, rippling the water, and seconds later a drop of rain hits his forehead. The atmosphere is tinged with yellow as thunder rumbles and bruised clouds gather. The rain comes hard and fast, drenching them as they run back through the woods and across the lawn and tip inside. Nick retreats to his room and closes the door, jamming it with a chair, then he gets under the covers and masturbates with a picture of Taisie standing naked, up to her thighs in the river, her body slick with water, in his head.