Afraid (11 page)

‘I’ll ring her in a minute,’ Tom said, switching on a standard-lamp before kneeling in front of the soot-blackened fireplace. After piling some lumps of coal into the grate and shoving a little pile of kindling under them he lit it, and watched to see that the flame had caught before pushing himself back up to his feet and heading back into the kitchen.

Skye looked around when he’d gone. Apart from the sofa she was sitting on, there was one battered armchair in the room, the ancient-looking lamp with its old-lady-style shade, a heavily scarred coffee table, and a bookcase – one shelf of which contained a row of dusty old books, while the rest seemed to be crammed with letters, yellowed newspapers, tobacco tins, and empty beer bottles. There was no TV or hi-fi, and if there was a house phone she couldn’t see it. In fact, the only thing in the room that looked as if it actually belonged in this century was a laptop that was sitting on a small table beside the armchair – and even that looked battered.

Torn from her observations by the sound of Tom’s voice floating through from the kitchen, Skye cocked her head to listen as he hissed, ‘You’re joking! What am I supposed to tell her? She thinks you’re on your way.’

He went quiet for several moments after this. Then, sounding irritated, he said, ‘All right, but you’d best get here first thing. And let me know if it gets any worse.’

Skye looked up when he walked back into the room, and gave him an innocent smile. But it quickly slipped when he said, ‘I’m really sorry about this, but Jade’s not coming. My mum’s kicked the old man out, and now she’s insisting our Jade stays with her in case he comes back and tries any funny business.’

‘Oh, right,’ she said, sitting forward. ‘I’d best go, then.’

‘You don’t have to,’ Tom assured her. ‘It’s not your fault, is it? Anyhow, Jade asked if you could stay the night, and I’ve already said yes.’

‘I don’t mind,’ Skye insisted, feeling awkward for putting him out. ‘You probably want to go to your mum.’

‘Like hell!’ Tom snorted. ‘I had enough of them when I was living there. Anyhow, it’s freezing, and I haven’t got enough petrol to get back to Manchester. It’s up to you if you fancy walking, but I’m not going out again tonight.’

Skye was torn. She desperately didn’t want to outstay her welcome, but she didn’t have a clue where they were, and the thought of trying to find her way home in the pitch dark terrified her.

‘I’ve got a spare room, if that’s what you’re worried about,’ Tom went on persuasively. ‘Jade sleeps there when she stays over, so it’s no problem you using it.’

Relieved that she wouldn’t have to go back out into the cold, Skye gave him a grateful smile. ‘Okay, then. Thanks.’ Then, shyly, she said, ‘Can I use the toilet, please?’

‘Course,’ Tom said. ‘Come on, I’ll show you where it is. It’s a bit of a mess, though,’ he warned as he opened another door and went out into a dark, narrow passageway.

‘It’s okay,’ Skye said as she followed him. ‘I’m used to it.’

After leading her up a steep flight of stairs, Tom pushed open a door and pulled a light cord, revealing a manky old bathroom.

‘Feel free if you want to take a bath,’ he said, stepping aside to let Skye enter. ‘It might take a while for the water to get hot, though, ’cos the boiler’s a bit knackered. That’s your room,’ he said then, pointing out a door at the other end of the landing. ‘And I think our Jade might have left some nightclothes last time she was here.’

‘Thanks,’ Skye murmured, going into the bathroom and closing the door.

She’d been desperate for a wee for ages, but when she saw the state of the toilet she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit down on it. Tom had warned her that the room was a mess, but that was an understatement. The floor was littered with soggy newspapers, socks and towels; the old bath and sink unit had deep, ingrained tidemarks, and both sets of taps looked crusted and green; the window-ledge was cram-packed with old bottles of shampoo, razors, and various other junk. As for the toilet, the upturned seat was spattered with urine stains, and there were loads of tiny hairs stuck to the rim and the basin, while the water in the filthy bowl looked dark and murky.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Skye reluctantly unzipped her jeans and hovered over the seat, but almost jumped out of her skin when Tom tapped on the door.

‘I’ve left a towel out here for you,’ he called through the wood. ‘Come down when you’re finished; I’ll make us a drink.’

‘Okay,’ she called back, looking around for a toilet roll. Seeing none, she was forced to use a sheet of newspaper instead.

When she’d heard Tom going back down the stairs, she opened the door and reached for the small towel he’d left on the floor outside. She ran water into the sink and washed herself quickly, using the sliver of soap she’d found stuck down beside the bath taps. Then, ashamed of how greasy her hair was when she glanced into the pitted mirror, she dipped her head into the water and scrubbed it with the soap.

The house was freezing, and she shivered as she made her way to the room that Tom had pointed out to her. He had turned on the bedside lamp, and a nightdress and a dressing gown were laid out neatly on the bed. Skye gazed around in amazement. The wallpaper in here was every bit as faded and old-woman-like as in the other rooms, and the furniture was just as ancient. But in contrast to those rooms, this one was tidy, and the nightclothes and girly bedding looked so clean that they could have been brand new.

Skye guessed that Jade must obviously be tidier than her brother, and she smiled when she spotted the boy-band posters pinned to the wall facing the bed, most of which were of Blue – the band over which she and QTPye had first bonded on WhisperBox, and from where Skye had taken her screen-name BlueBabe. Hayley preferred One Direction, but Skye and Jade had better taste, which was probably why they had got on so well from the start – and why Hayley had always been jealous of their friendship.

At the thought of Hayley, Skye sighed and touched her angel. They had been best friends for as long as she could remember, and she missed her; but she just couldn’t shake off the niggling little thought that Hayley could have helped her if she’d really wanted to. Jade didn’t even really know her, but she hadn’t hesitated to offer Skye a place to stay when she’d heard how bad things were – and that made her a
real
friend, in Skye’s eyes.

Determinedly pushing Hayley from her mind, Skye towel-dried her hair and combed it with her fingers before changing into Jade’s nightclothes and heading back down the stairs.

Tom was sitting in the armchair with the laptop on his knee when she walked into the living room. He looked up and smiled when he saw her. ‘Feeling better?’

‘Yeah, loads.’ Skye smiled shyly back and took a seat on the couch.

‘Hope you don’t mind wine?’ Tom nodded towards a cup sitting on the coffee table in front of her. ‘I was going to make tea, but the milk’s off.’

‘It’s fine,’ Skye lied, reaching for it. She’d only tasted wine once before, and had absolutely hated it. But she wasn’t about to say no, because it was a thrill to be treated like a grown-up after being pushed around and treated like a kid by all the other adults she’d come into contact with recently.

‘I’m just catching up on some work,’ Tom told her. ‘Won’t be long.’

Skye nodded and sipped her wine. It tasted every bit as disgusting as she’d thought it would, but she forced herself not to grimace and took another sip.

The open fire made this room far warmer than the rest of the house, and Skye felt the tension slide off her shoulders as she gazed into the crackling flames. After a few minutes, she cast a surreptitious glance at Tom and decided that he wasn’t quite as ugly as she’d initially thought. He was nowhere near as handsome as her dad, who was the best-looking man in the whole world, in her opinion; but his eyes were quite nice, and she liked the way he talked to her: as if she was
his
friend as well as Jade’s. An only child herself, Skye couldn’t help but envy her new friend for having a big brother like him to look out for her.

She dipped her gaze when Tom suddenly looked up and smiled at her. She took another sip of her drink. It still tasted nasty, but she liked the heat as it slid down her throat; and the floaty sensation that was starting to settle over her was quite nice, too.

8

‘Help! Someone help me!’

Skye’s harsh breath seared her raw throat, and she cried out in pain when her bare foot snagged on the exposed roots of a tree. She crashed to her knees but, terrified when she heard heavy footsteps pounding the ground close behind, scrambled back up quickly and forced her legs to carry her on.

A buzzing noise was coming from the darkness up ahead, and she raced towards it, praying that somebody was there who could help her. But just as she opened her mouth to scream again, she was blinded by a piercing white light.

‘Morning.’

Skye’s eyes popped open at the sound of the voice, and she breathed in sharply when she saw the hazy figure of a man standing in the doorway.

‘Nightmare?’ Tom smiled as he switched off the electric razor he was holding.

Skye nodded, and drew the quilt that was covering her up to her throat. Now that her vision was clearing and she was able to see his face, she remembered who he was. But she had absolutely no memory of having come upstairs and climbed into bed.

‘You must have been wiped last night ’cos you were flat out when I finished working, so I had to carry you up.’ Tom answered her unspoken question. ‘I thought about leaving you on the couch, but I figured you’d be more comfortable up here. Hope you slept okay?’

Skye nodded and slid her chin lower beneath the quilt to cover her burning cheeks.

‘I’ve taken the day off work,’ Tom went on. ‘Thought I’d get something special for tea, since I’ve got a guest. What do you fancy?’

Skye cleared her throat, and said, ‘I should probably go home. My mum and dad will get worried if I stay out again.’

‘No, they won’t.’ Tom smiled and walked over to the bed. He squatted down beside her and peered into her eyes, saying softly, ‘Don’t get upset, but Jade’s told me what’s going on, so I know all about your folks, and you getting put into a home and running away.’

‘Oh,’ Skye murmured, blushing some more. ‘Is – is she here?’

‘No, she rang while you were asleep and we had a long chat.’ Tom reached out and stroked a stray hair off her face. ‘Stop worrying – we’re going to look after you. Okay?’

Skye nodded, but she was too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

‘Right, I’d best get moving.’ Tom straightened up and backed towards the door. ‘Help yourself if you want anything. But don’t try and open the door while I’m gone, ’cos the dog might go for you.’

‘I won’t,’ Skye croaked, shuddering when a vision of the mangy dog leapt into her mind.

After Tom had left, she waited until she heard the sound of his car starting up before she slipped from the bed and peeked out through the grimy net curtain. The back garden looked more like a scrapyard, cluttered as it was with broken cars, rusted old washing machines, fridges and bicycle frames. An expanse of wildly overgrown grass lay behind this, and yet more grass and trees beyond that.

Wherever they were, it was far away from home, and that both comforted and scared Skye. On the one hand, there was no chance of anybody she knew spotting her and telling the police that she was here; but on the other, if Jade didn’t turn up again and Tom asked her to leave, she had absolutely no clue how to get home. And, as much as he was insisting that he didn’t mind her being here, he was bound to get fed up if she stayed too long.

Tom had turned his car around by now, and when he leaned forward in his seat and peered straight up at her Skye stepped quickly back from the window. But he’d obviously seen her, so when he smiled and waved she forced herself to wave back.

Too scared to venture downstairs in case the dog went for her, she climbed back into the bed and gazed around the room. It was comforting to think that Jade had lain here before her, and she wished that the girl would hurry up and get here.

Skye had dozed off by the time Tom came back, but she woke with a start when she heard him running up the stairs.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, sitting bolt upright when he burst through the bedroom door as if he had the Devil at his heels.

‘I just saw you on the news,’ he panted, clutching at his chest as if he’d been running for miles. ‘I was walking past a TV shop and you popped up on the screen, so I went in to see what it was about, and …’ He sat down heavily on the bed and reached for her hand. ‘I’m really sorry, but they’re saying you stabbed your dad.’

‘
What …?
’ Skye gripped the edge of the mattress with her free hand as the room went into a spin.

‘I know you didn’t do it,’ Tom went on, sounding every bit as shocked as she felt. ‘But the police think you did, and they’ve put a warrant out for your arrest. They’re in town right now, handing out posters with your picture on.’

‘But it wasn’t me,’ Skye cried. ‘It was my mum.’

‘I know.’ Tom gave her a regretful look before adding, ‘I didn’t want to have to tell you this, ’cos I knew it would upset you, but they were on the news as well.’

‘Who?’

‘Your mum and dad. She was crying, and he had his arm round her. They both said it was you who stabbed him. They said you’ve always been difficult, and they knew you’d do something terrible one day; they just never thought you’d turn on them.’

‘
No
.’ Skye shook her head in disbelief. ‘They wouldn’t do that. I haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Tom said quietly. ‘I wouldn’t have told you, but I thought you needed to know.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Skye murmured numbly. ‘My mum was holding the knife when the police came in – that was why they arrested her. They
know
she did it.’

‘She reckons she took it off you after you did it, because she was trying to protect you,’ said Tom. ‘And that’s not all,’ he added grimly.

‘What do you mean?’ Skye gazed up at him, wondering what else there could possibly be.