Afraid (12 page)

‘Remember that home you got sent to? Well, the people who run it have said that you threatened
them
with a knife as well, and then stole a load of money before you took off.’

‘That’s not true!’ Skye squawked, her eyes flooding with tears. ‘They’re lying!’

‘I know.’ Tom squeezed her hand between his. ‘But the police believe them, and they’re going all out to hunt you down.’

‘What am I going to do?’ Skye’s face crumpled as the tears spilled down her ashen cheeks.

‘You’re going to stay here with me,’ said Tom, pulling her into his arms and holding her close. ‘I promised Jade I’d look after you, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’

At the mention of his sister, Skye peered fearfully up at him through her tears. ‘What if she sees the news and tells the police I’m here?’

‘She’d never do that.’ Tom was adamant. ‘Trust me, I know my sister, and she won’t tell a soul. I’d best ring her, though,’ he went on thoughtfully. ‘Tell her to stay away while all this is going on. It was all right when you were just talking to each other online, but I don’t want her getting dragged into this.’

‘No, she can’t be,’ Skye agreed guiltily. ‘I shouldn’t have asked her for help. It wasn’t fair on her.’

‘You didn’t ask, she offered,’ Tom reminded her. ‘And she’ll be fine – as long as you deleted those messages like she told you to?’

Skye nodded and wiped her nose on the back of her hand.

‘Where did you leave your computer?’

‘I hid it in the attic, under the floor stuff.’

‘Good girl.’ Tom rocked her gently. ‘Now, stop crying, everything’s going to be okay. You’ll be safe here with me while we find a way to prove your innocence.’

‘Thank you,’ Skye croaked, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

Tom held her for a while longer before gently easing her away, saying, ‘Lie down and try to relax while I ring Jade. I’ll bring you a drink when I’m done; it’ll make you feel better.’

After everything she’d just heard, Skye doubted that anything would ever make her feel better again. She just couldn’t believe that her mum and dad had said all that awful stuff about her – although she didn’t know why she was so surprised, considering how many times she’d seen them lie to the police in order to protect each other in the past. They would have a fight and her mum would scream blue murder, only to retract her statement as soon as she calmed down and say she’d made it all up – or even deny that she’d said it in the first place. It was like some kind of game to see how far they could push each other; how far they could push the police. But it was serious this time. A knife had been involved, and her dad could have died. And they must have known that the police wouldn’t let it drop, so they’d concocted this plan to pin the blame on Skye, knowing that she wasn’t there to defend herself. And, for some reason that Skye just couldn’t get her head around, the staff at the children’s home had said that she’d pulled a knife on
them
as well. So now nobody would believe a word she said, and she would go to prison for the rest of her life, even though she hadn’t done a single thing wrong.

‘Hey, I thought I told you to stop that,’ Tom chided when he came back a few minutes later carrying a cup and a bunch of roses and found her sobbing into her pillow. He laid the flowers on the floor and sat beside her on the bed. ‘Here, drink this.’

Chest still heaving, Skye swiped at her tears and sat up.

‘It’s brandy,’ Tom said, guiding the cup towards her lips. ‘I was going to make tea, but I figured you needed something stronger.’

Skye sipped it and grimaced. It tasted even worse than the wine, but Tom had said it would help and he was the only person in the world that she could trust right now, so she drank some more.

‘Attagirl.’ Tom smiled when she’d finished and took the cup from her hand. ‘Now relax. You’ll feel better in a minute.’

Skye lay back against the pillows and shivered as a warm, tingling sensation began to creep up from her toes.

‘I got you these while I was out.’ Tom reached for the flowers. ‘Thought they might cheer you up.’

Skye’s heart fluttered in her chest as she gazed at the red roses. ‘Are they for me? No one’s ever bought me flowers before.’

‘Well, they should have,’ said Tom, laying them on the bedside table and stroking her cheek. ‘You’re a lovely girl, and you deserve to be treated like a princess.’

‘Thank you.’ Skye felt the words float up from her throat and out through her lips. She was starting to feel really, really strange; as if she had slipped out of her skin and was floating, weightless, towards some kind of beautiful dreamscape.

‘You’re welcome,’ Tom whispered, lowering his face and pressing his lips gently onto hers.

Back in Manchester just then, unaware of what was happening to his daughter, Jeff was thoroughly pissed off. He’d rung his solicitor this morning, only to be told that he stood no chance of having the eviction order overturned, so now he had just over twenty-four hours to pack up and get out. Then he had the problem of finding somewhere else to live – which wasn’t going to be easy, considering he was flat broke.

Furious with life, he was cramming the contents of his bedroom drawers into the few boxes he’d just managed to scrounge from the local supermarket. But he immediately abandoned his task when he heard his phone ringing downstairs and, hoping that it was Skye, ran down to the kitchen to get it.

Jeff had been confused yesterday when he’d turned his phone back on after coming home from the hospital and had seen a couple of texts from Andrea. When he’d read them and realised they were actually from Skye, he knew that she had been back to the house and must have found Andrea’s phone. It had been switched off when he’d tried to call it back, but he hoped that Skye had seen his missed call and was trying to reach him again.

‘Hello … Skye? Is that you?’ he gabbled when he snatched his phone up off the ledge. ‘Where are you, sweetheart?’

‘Sorry, it’s just me,’ the caller said apologetically. ‘You said you were going to call me back.’

‘Oh, yeah, sorry.’ Disappointed to hear Shirley Dawson’s voice instead of Skye’s, Jeff pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down. ‘Things have been a bit crazy since you called, and I haven’t had a chance.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’ Shirley excused him. ‘Are you still in hospital? Can I come and see you?’

‘No, I’m at home,’ Jeff told her, shaking a cigarette out of his pack and looking around for his lighter. ‘But it’s not really a good time right now, to be honest. I’ve been evicted, and Skye’s gone missing.’

‘Oh, God, that’s awful,’ Shirley said concernedly. ‘Where do you think she’s gone?’

‘No idea.’ Jeff lit up and inhaled deeply. ‘The police are looking for her, so there’s not a lot I can do except wait. She’ll be okay, though,’ he added, sounding more convinced than he felt. ‘She’s probably just staying with a mate.’

‘Yes, probably,’ Shirley agreed. Then, sensing that he wanted to change the subject, she asked, ‘Why have you been evicted?’

‘’Cos my landlord’s an arsehole,’ Jeff replied bitterly. ‘But he’s done it by the book, so I haven’t got a leg to stand on.’

‘How long have you got?’

‘A day, so I should really get back to the packing.’

‘Do you need any help?’

‘No, I’ll be okay, but thanks for offering,’ Jeff said gratefully.

‘Do you have somewhere to go?’ Shirley asked. ‘Only, you know you’re more than welcome to stay at mine if you’re stuck.’

Jeff thanked her again. Then, standing up when he heard a knock at the front door, he said, ‘Best go – someone’s here.’

‘Just a minute,’ Shirley said quickly. ‘I need to talk to you about something.’

‘It’ll have to keep,’ Jeff said, already walking out into the hall. ‘I’ve got an appointment with the doctor tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll see you when I bring my sick note in.’

‘That’s what I’m trying to tell you,’ said Shirley. But Jeff didn’t hear the rest, because he had already cut the call.

When he opened the door, the woman who was standing outside smiled up at him and said, ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you, but are you Skye’s dad?’

‘Who wants to know?’ Jeff grunted, all set to send her away with a flea in her ear if she turned out to be another nosy social worker.

‘I’m Kathy Simms,’ she told him. ‘Hayley’s mum.’

‘Oh, right.’ Jeff felt guilty for having been so snappy. ‘Sorry, my head’s all over the place at the moment.’

‘I can imagine,’ Kathy said sympathetically. ‘It’s a terrible business; you must be so worried.’

‘Just a bit.’ Jeff sighed. ‘So, what can I do for you, Kathy?’

‘I promised Hayley I’d come round. She’s not very well at the moment, and she’s been fretting about Skye, so I thought it might cheer her up if there was news. But I’m guessing there hasn’t been any?’

‘Not yet, no.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Kathy gazed up at him with genuine concern in her eyes. ‘I can’t begin to imagine how hard this must be for you.’

Jeff gave a tight smile and cast a surreptitious glance at his watch. It was kind of her to call round but he wished she’d hurry up, because time was running out fast and he still had tons to do.

‘Hayley was so upset when she got ill again just before Skye’s birthday,’ Kathy was saying now. ‘She’d already bought her present, but she thought she wouldn’t be able to give it to her, so she was made up when Skye called round last Friday.’ She smiled fondly now, and said, ‘It was only a cheap little necklace, but Skye seemed to like it.’

Jeff gave her a blank look. He didn’t know anything about a necklace, but he was more bothered to think that he might have missed Skye’s birthday. He couldn’t for the life of him remember its date but he wasn’t about to admit that to this woman and have her thinking he didn’t care about his daughter.

Embarrassed when she remembered that Skye had received the gift immediately before finding him that day, Kathy said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, you probably didn’t see it. It was just a little angel, nothing special. Hayley told her to wish on it whenever she feels low and it will lift her back up. Daft, I know, but that’s girls for you.’ She stopped talking at last and gave Jeff an apologetic smile. ‘Sorry. You’ve got enough on your plate without me going on.’

‘It’s fine,’ Jeff assured her. ‘But I am kind of in the middle of something, so I should really get back to it.’

‘Oh, of course, sorry,’ Kathy apologised again. She turned to leave, but then hesitated and turned back. ‘Before I go, can I just say that I know Skye, and she’s a sensible girl, so I’m sure she’ll turn up safe and sound.’

‘I hope so,’ Jeff murmured. ‘Thanks again for coming round, love. And I hope Hayley gets better soon.’

‘Me too,’ said Kathy, smiling wanly. ‘Bye, then.’

Jeff nodded goodbye and watched as she walked away. He’d written Hayley off as a posh kid when he had met her that time, but her mum hadn’t struck him as being at all stuck-up. She just seemed like a genuinely nice, caring woman, and he was glad that Skye was mates with her daughter because God knew she needed at least
one
good female role model in her life.

When Kathy had turned the corner, Jeff closed the door and made his way back up the stairs. In his bedroom he cast a thoughtful gaze at Andrea’s clothes still hanging in the wardrobe. He had been so pissed off with her for landing him in this mess that he had contemplated leaving her stuff behind for the landlord to dispose of. But as he looked at her dresses and blouses now, he knew he couldn’t do it. She was a nightmare, but they had worked their way through some pretty tough times in the past and he was sure they could get through this, too.

He would just make damn sure that Andrea couldn’t get her hands on any more knives when she came home. And it would be a long time before he trusted her enough to turn his back on her again.

Reaching a decision, he lifted Andrea’s clothes out of the wardrobe and laid them inside a box. If he got cracking, he reckoned he could have most of it done by morning. He would then have to throw himself on Alan Ford’s mercy and ask if he could leave the boxes here until he’d found a new place, because there was no way he could lug everything around the streets by hand. And if Jeff had to swallow his pride and beg the smug bastard on his knees, so be it. He just hoped he found somewhere fast, because he needed to get everything sorted before Andrea and Skye came home.

9

‘No, don’t!’ Skye gasped, struggling to push the man off. His breath was hot on her neck, and the stench of sweat was suffocating. ‘I can’t breathe! Stop it! Please!’

She woke with a start, and a little whimper of fear escaped her lips as the pitch darkness weighed down on her. She was alone, but as her vision began to sharpen and silhouetted shapes came into focus she knew that something wasn’t quite right. Everything was in a different place. No, not just that. It was different furniture. In a different room.

Terrified when the door creaked open slowly, she pushed herself up the bed with her heels until her back struck the metal bedstead. As dim light from the landing began to creep in, she saw Tom in the doorway and cried out with relief.

‘Hey,’ he crooned, rushing to the bed when she burst into tears and taking her in his arms. ‘What’s all this?’

‘I didn’t know where I was,’ Skye sobbed, clinging to him. ‘I thought – I thought a m-man …’

‘Ssshhh.’ Tom stroked her hair as she gulped back her tears. ‘It was just a nightmare, but you’re safe now. I’m here.’

Glad of his presence, Skye stayed in his arms until the fear had subsided. Then, easing herself free, she wiped her eyes and asked, ‘Is this your room?’

‘Yeah. It seemed a bit daft, you sleeping in there after we …’ Tom trailed off and smiled as he looped a lock of her hair behind her ear. ‘I wasn’t sure you liked me at first, but you do, don’t you?’

Skye thought it was a strange thing to ask, but she did like him, so she nodded.

‘Good, because I liked you as soon as I saw you,’ he went on. ‘But I didn’t think I stood a chance, because you’re so pretty. Then, when you kissed me last night, I just knew it was meant to be.’