Chapter 63

“It’s his thing to say,” he said eventually, “but…you know, Walsh is defensive about the people he loves. Hyper-defensive. Hence whaling on Will so bad that time in PE. He’s…look, he’s just lost someone before, like in a bad way, and he’s a bit paranoid about it happening again. So when I stuck up for his sister, he figured I was worth having around. And now…you know, me and Larimer, we’re with Walsh. He gets this territory thing going. Like, he’ll be a bit of a dick if you call Isabel or Emma a bitch, but he’ll go apeshit if you go after me or Larimer. And the other kids learned that, so I’m not the target I should be.”

Anton rolled his eyes. “My old school, they’d have crucified you.”

“Unless you were in with the dangerous lot, right?”

“Walsh isn’t dangerous.”

“He is,” Jude said significantly, and Anton drew back, surprised.

“What…proper…?”

“Proper knife in his jacket, one wrong move away from a young offenders prison or something. He’s a nasty guy if you’ve crossed him.”