It takes all my self-control not to kill Luke while we wait for Charlie and Antony at the river. He’s wearing this stupid look on his face like all his Christmases have come at once. I want to grab him by the neck and say, You dickhead, there’s more at stake here than you. I’m not thinking about the scholarship, either. I’ve broken Charlie.

I can tell she’s been crying when they get back. “Are you okay?” I ask, but she ignores me.

“So, what’s next?” Luke lights up a cigarette.

“It’s New Year’s Eve,” Antony says. “We need alcohol.”

There are only two places they’ll be able to get any. Either Luke will steal it from his parents or they’ll go to Arthur’s bottle shop on the edge of town. A lot of kids have tried to steal from there and they’ve all ended up in jail. They’ve been happy for the bars after Arthur threatens them with these dogs he keeps hungry on nights like New Year’s Eve.

It’s the sort of thing Luke talks about when he’s trying to sound tough. “I could steal from Arthur,” he’d brag, and I’d laugh.

“In your dreams, buddy,” Dave would say. But we’re not in Luke’s dreams today. We’re in my nightmare. I don’t care about Antony, but if I know one thing for sure—he won’t take the stuff himself. He’ll find some way of convincing Luke and Charlie to do it.

“Luke, don’t,” I say. “You’ll get caught.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” he says, and the three of them stand up. I catch Charlie’s arm. “I know why you’re mad. I’m sorry.” She barely looks at me before walking away.

“Happy New Year, Rose,” Antony says.

“Don’t get too happy yet, Antony,” I tell him.

And then I run as fast as I can to get Dave. Branches scratch at my legs and leave thin streaks of red, but I keep moving.

I bang on the door till he opens it. “You have to come with me.”

“I can’t. Dad’s not happy I forgot to mow the back paddock before I went camping. I said I’d have it done by the time he and Mum get back.”

“It’s Luke and Charlie.” He still doesn’t move. “And Antony Barellan.”

“What are they doing?” Dave asks. I can tell he’s still not sure if it’s worth annoying his dad for. I want to protect Charlie a little if I can, but it’s too late for that now. “She stole some cigarettes.”

“My dad’ll kill me tonight if I don’t mow the paddock and she’s got a while before lung cancer kicks in so I think I’ll let her cool down a bit.” He walks toward the shed.

“Antony was talking about taking alcohol from Arthur’s.”

“Okay, that’s different,” he says, and we run for the gate.

There’s no sign of them at the bottle shop. They’re not at the river, either. “Where do you think they are?” I ask.

“They’ve maybe got some alcohol, and it’s a nice night. Antony’ll be looking for a place to drink it.”

“The quarry?” I ask.

“They couldn’t get there without a car,” Dave says. “You think they’re dumb enough to steal one?” Neither of us bothers answering. We’re talking about Luke Holly and Antony Barellan.

“I guess I’ll ride out and check,” Dave says. “You go home.”

“No way. I want to be the first to kill Luke.”

“I’ll kill Antony and bring Luke back alive. You can kill him then. But you need to ring Charlie’s grandpa and tell him she’s staying with you so she doesn’t get in trouble. You need to be home to cover for her if he checks.”

“Find her, Dave.” Charlie’s been through a lot. She shouldn’t have to add spending New Year’s Eve with Antony Barellan to the list.