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"Did you actually paintthis?" Noi asked, picking up a brush.
"Yeah." Madeleine tried to sound casual, to not show how closely she waswatching Noi's face.
"Shit, why would you need to worry about being thoughtof as just someone's cousin?"
"I think I'd have to do something pretty spectacular toovercome Tyler," Madeleine said, and laughed quietly at herself for likingNoi more because of the way she was looking at the painting, impossible as itwas not to be that way. "I've beensleeping on the couch so I could see the TV," she added. "But there's a spare room if you wantit."
"Couch is good," Noi said, glancing at the largeleather half-square. "I don'tsuppose your cousin runs to enormous vats of bubble bath? I want to soak, but after this morning I needbubbles to make it not like that woman."
"There might be, but I should clean the flooragain. I broke the mirror."
Noi followed Madeleine to the bathroom, stared but did notcomment on the amount of damage, and opted to re-purpose some of Tyler's enormoussupply of shampoo. While the older girlwas in the bath, Madeleine found herself fussing about, fixing pillows andblankets, hunting through Tyler's clothes for things Noi could wear, anxious toplease. Not her usual behaviour,especially when she was itching to get at her sketch pad, but nothing wasusual. She moved about restlessly, spenta few minutes on the phone to her parents, then let herself do what she'dwanted for hours.
So many people. Small,quick sketches at first. Noi holding acup of tea with little finger raised, outwardly serene. Fisher tumbled on the stair. Nash, head thrown back, ready foraction. Pan, all grin. Gav, blushing but sure of himself. The woman in the bath, naked breasts bobbingin crimson. Faliha,knocking on a door, eager and afraid. MrJabbour, his smile sad. Carl, with an Iron Man physique, buthesitant, looking down and away. Asha,short blonde hair sticking up, checking warily over her shoulder. A
This first rush done, she came up for air and discovered Noicurled beneath the quilt on the other half of the couch, already asleep despitethe early hour. Madeleine hadn't evenheard her come into the room, and wondered why she hadn't said anything. Or perhaps Noi had, and been ignored, asMadeleine was too used to doing when interruptions came when she wasdrawing. Stupid and rude of her, and nothow she wanted to treat Noi.
The girl had pulled her mass of curling hair up into atopknot, but a few black spirals escaped to spring across her face and,captured by the image, Madeleine shrugged off her a
When hunger and weariness finally broke through she snackedand showered, then killed all but the hall light. With the TV off, the city skyline became moredominant, blazing away at however many kilowatts per hour, keeping the corpseslit. Once again she heard a weirdelectronic music, almost like an untuned radio.
Had her mother sounded strange? Even though her eyes were sandy-tired,Madeleine couldn't make herself stop analysing their brief discussion. Had there really been something there, or wasshe just looking for the next disaster? The day's activity should have left her feeling, if not cheerful, atleast hopeful. There were people aroundher who were friendly, and she'd solved the problem of food for a solid chunkof time. Instead of reassured, she wason edge.
A noise in the dark. Madeleine shifted, unsure if she'd been sleeping, and tried to processwhat she'd heard. A close sound, stifledand secret. A minute or more passedbefore she realised it was Noi, crying.
Pi
The question of whether that was the right way to treat Noioccupied her until long after the last tiny sob had faded.
Chapter Six
Sunlight crept beneath Madeleine's eyelids, but it was asumptuous roil of ci
For some minutes Madeleine didn't move, watching the manholding up a star-studded arm, displaying it as best he could next to theSpire's whorl of light. Then she shiftedher attention to the easel, to Tyler who was somewhere out there probablydead. Painted eyes gazed back at her,uncompromising, and she realised that she felt no impulse to return to theportrait because it didn't need it. Theroughly blocked background, the quick strokes she'd used for everything except thehighlight points of head, hand and hair, worked perfectly.
"Which do you prefer for shops: King's Cross or BondiJunction?" Noi asked as Madeleine sat up. "There's a fair few things I need, and from what Faliha was telling me it's probably not a good idea to waittoo long."
"I've never been shopping at either of them,"Madeleine said. Finding the roomunexpectedly chilly, she pulled the koi dressing gown around her. "What on earth are you cooking?"
"Fudge, and caramel squares. I figure we need to always carry somethingwith a big sugar hit – little blocks of emergency energy. There's pancakes for breakfast, or will be bythe time you're dressed."
"Can I keepyou?" Madeleine asked wonderingly, and then laughed with Noi at how thatsounded. "I'm guessing you get thata lot. It must be nice to be good atsomething so useful."
"What, and you aren't?" Noi said, lookingpleased. "I'd kill to be able todraw like that." She nodded towardMadeleine's sketchbook on the coffee table. "I can't believe you did those from memory."
"Not a useful skill," Madeleine muttered, andshrugged at Noi's questioning look. "My mother wants me to be a vet. There's no money in art. I need a real career, need to be practical,can still paint in my spare time." She pulled herself up, hearing the resentment leaking into hervoice. "Guess none of that mattersnow. Did you always want to cook?"
"Hell, no. I wasdestined to be a pro basketball player." All of five foot nothing, she gri
"I'll go get dressed," Madeleine said, hesitated,then murmured "Thanks," andleft it at that.
After another raid on Tyler's closet, they disposed of thepancakes and found a second backpack for carrying supplies. Madeleine took a moment to remove the boringprint over Tyler's bed and hang his portrait, balancing the frame of thestretcher on the hook. She refused toacknowledge any symbolism to the gesture.