Afraid (21 page)

And he didn’t have to wait too long. Less than half an hour after he’d parked up, a girl came shuffling round the corner and Tom sank lower in his seat to watch as, arms folded over her skinny stomach, a ten-pound note clutched in her filthy hand, she headed towards the youths – exactly as she had done the last time he’d seen her, a week earlier.

She had caught his attention that time because of her similarity to Skye. Both blonde, slim and of average height, they could have been sisters; although this girl looked a little younger, maybe thirteen or fourteen. And, unlike Skye who had an air of innocence about her, this girl looked what Tom could only describe as feral: as if she’d been born on the streets, and had never seen, never mind used, a bathtub or a washing machine.

As he’d seen her do the previous time, the girl approached the youths and handed her money over in exchange for something that Tom couldn’t see from this distance. But then, he didn’t need to see it to know that it was drugs. And, given the low price, and her unkempt appearance, he’d hazard a guess that it was either heroin or crack.

After doing her deal, the girl walked quickly back up the road towards him. But this time, instead of going off around the corner as she had done the last time, she ducked into a set-back doorway and settled herself in the corner.

Close enough to see that her hands were shaking, and her skinny legs trembling beneath her baggy camouflage trousers, Tom watched as she carefully opened the wrap she’d just bought. For such a young girl, she was in a bad way and even if he hadn’t witnessed the score he’d have known that she was a junkie.

She took a small blackened piece of silver foil out of her jacket pocket now, and Tom watched as she tipped the contents of the wrap onto it with an expression of intense concentration on her pinched little face. Then, slotting a rolled-up piece of paper between her lips, she flicked a lighter to life beneath the foil and sucked on the smoke that rose from it.

She repeated the process several times, turning the foil around and around in order to get every last bit. Tom watched in fascination as her whole body seemed to sag – her legs sliding out in front of her, her chin falling forward onto her chest. She looked like a little rag doll, and if anyone had found her and decided to attack her she would have been absolutely helpless to defend herself.

He flicked a glance back along the road after a while and felt a little thrill of excitement in his gut when he saw that the youths had gone. As, too, had the older prostitute who had been leaning against the wall a little further down from them when he had first arrived. Apart from him and the girl, the area was now deserted. It was time to make his move.

Chloe Lester wasn’t so far gone that she couldn’t hear footsteps, and she gazed groggily up when a shadow fell across her face.

‘Whaddaya want?’ she slurred at the grinning man who was standing over her.

‘Depends what you’re offering,’ Tom said, squatting down beside her.

‘Shop’s shut,’ she said, her voice whispery, her eyes rolling as she struggled to keep them open. ‘Come back in half an hour.’

‘That’s too long,’ said Tom. ‘I need it now. How much?’

When he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and took out two twenty-pound notes, Chloe forced herself to sit up a little straighter.

‘What you after?’ she asked, her gaze riveted to the money.

‘Whatever I can get,’ he replied. ‘But not here.’ He leaned back and glanced both ways along the road to make sure they were still alone. ‘You’ll have to come in the car.’

Chloe didn’t usually get into cars. But then, she didn’t usually come across men who had this much cash to splash.

‘Okay,’ she agreed. ‘But I want dropping back here after we’re finished.’

‘Of course.’

Tom stood up and offered his hand to help her to her feet, but she shunned it and got up on her own.

‘Where’s the car, then?’

‘Just over here.’ Tom jerked his head at her to follow, and quickly made his way across the road.

Skye felt very proud of herself as she put the spaghetti Bolognese into the oven to keep warm. She’d never made anything more complicated than beans on toast before moving in here, so it was a real achievement to have made this meal from scratch and she couldn’t wait to see what Tom thought of it when he got home. If that didn’t show him how much of an effort she was making, nothing would.

She had just finished washing the pots when she heard his car pull up outside. Quickly drying her hands, she smoothed her freshly washed and trimmed hair and turned to face the door with a smile on her lips. But it slid straight off when Tom walked in and she saw that he wasn’t alone.

‘This is Chloe,’ he said, ushering the girl into the kitchen. ‘She’s in a bit of trouble, so I said she could stay with us for a while.’

Skye gaped at him in disbelief, wondering why he had brought someone here when he knew what would happen if she got recognised. Didn’t he care that she could end up in prison for life?

‘She needs a bath and something to eat,’ Tom was saying now, seemingly unaware of Skye’s distress. ‘And you’ll have to give her something of yours to wear while you wash her clothes.’

Skye flicked a glance at the girl as he spoke. Her grubby clothes looked far too big for her, and her trainers were practically falling apart on her feet.

‘Have you been cooking?’ Tom asked, sniffing the air as he slipped his jacket off and looped it over the back of a chair. ‘What is it?’

‘Spaghetti Bolognese,’ Skye told him, still warily eying the girl.

‘Really?’ Tom raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m impressed. Is there enough for three?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Skye murmured, aware that her hands were shaking as she reached for a tea-towel to take the plates back out of the oven. She would ordinarily have been thrilled by his approval, but any pride she had been feeling before he came in had now been replaced by fear.

‘Just share some onto another plate,’ Tom said, strolling over to wash his hands.

Skye nodded. Then, casting a hooded glance back at the girl, she whispered, ‘Can I talk to you for a minute?’

When she put the plates down on the ledge and walked into the living room, Tom told Chloe to make herself comfortable before following Skye out.

‘What’s up?’ he asked, leaving the door ajar.

Skye pushed it shut and hissed, ‘Why did you bring her here? What if she recognises me?’

‘Don’t panic.’ Tom gave an unconcerned grin. ‘She hasn’t got a clue who you are.’

‘How do you know?’ Skye peered up at him with dread in her eyes. ‘She might have seen me on the news, or on those posters the police were handing out.’

‘I doubt anyone would recognise you from them,’ he scoffed. ‘They’re not that good.’

‘But she
might
,’ Skye whined.

‘Calm down,’ Tom crooned, pulling her into his arms. ‘I’ll ask her if she’s seen you before, and if she has we’ll deal with it.’

‘How?’ Skye sniffed and rested her head on his chest, grateful that he was no longer angry with her. It had been a lonely few weeks.

‘We’ll think of something,’ he promised, stroking her hair. ‘But I guarantee she doesn’t know anything. Anyway, she’s in trouble herself so she’s not likely to want to talk to the police, is she?’

‘Why, what’s she done?’

‘Nothing. She’s a victim, like you. And that’s why I said she could stay.’ Tom drew his head back and grinned down at her. ‘You’re not jealous, are you?’

‘No.’ Skye blushed. ‘I’m just scared she’ll grass me up and I’ll get sent to prison.’

‘You’re going nowhere.’ Tom raised her chin with his finger and peered into her eyes. ‘You’re mine, and I’ll kill anyone who ever tries to come between us. Okay?’

Skye nodded, and Tom kissed her on the forehead before easing her away. ‘Right, let’s go and eat,’ he said. ‘And be nice to Chloe,’ he added as he reached out to open the door. ‘She’s young and scared, and we need to make her feel welcome.’

Skye took a deep breath and, forcing a smile onto her lips, followed him back into the kitchen where Chloe was now slumped in a chair with her hands shoved deep into her jacket pockets and a look of boredom on her face. Unnerved by the unfriendly look the girl gave her, Skye took an extra plate out of the cupboard and set about sharing a portion from each of her and Tom’s meals onto it.

Annoyed when she glanced back over her shoulder and saw that Tom hadn’t taken his usual chair but was sitting next to Chloe, she gritted her teeth. He had been teasing when he’d asked if she was jealous just now, but maybe she was, a little. She’d felt like an outsider at home, always stuck in her room while her mum and dad got on with their own lives down below. And it had been no better at school, where most of the other kids had looked down on her because of her scruffy clothes. Hayley had been her only real friend – or, at least, Skye had
thought
she was. But even Hayley hadn’t made her feel as special as Tom did, and she resented that he was now paying so much attention to this girl.

Determined to let this cuckoo know that she wasn’t welcome in
her
nest, Skye carried their plates over to the table and slammed Chloe’s down in front of her.

‘Hey, watch it,’ Tom scolded when sauce splashed onto Chloe’s jacket. ‘Look what you’ve done.’

‘My hand slipped,’ Skye lied, sitting across from them.

‘Not good enough,’ Tom snapped. ‘She’s a guest, and you need to apologise.’

‘Sorry,’ Skye murmured, afraid of putting him back into a bad mood so soon after winning back his affection. ‘I didn’t mean to spill it – the plate was hot.’

Tom accepted this and nodded his approval. Then, reaching for his fork, he twirled spaghetti around it and shifted sideways in his seat to look at Chloe.

‘So, you were telling me about your dad. I take it you didn’t get on too well?’

‘He’s a pig,’ Chloe said, mimicking his action and twisting spaghetti around her own fork. ‘I don’t blame my mum for walking out on him; I just wish she’d taken me with her so he wouldn’t have started doing all that stuff.’

‘What stuff?’

‘You know.’ Chloe shrugged, and pushed her laden fork into her mouth. ‘Sex, an’ that.’

Irritated to see that Tom didn’t look bothered about Chloe talking with her mouth full, when just two days earlier he’d criticised her for accidentally doing the same, Skye jabbed her fork viciously into her own food.

‘He used to beat me and my mum up all the time,’ Chloe went on. ‘He got worse after she left, but I was used to it by then, so I wasn’t really fussed. I just didn’t like it when he started making me sleep in his bed.’

‘Did you tell anyone?’ Tom asked, his gaze riveted to her face.

‘Nah.’ Chloe shook her head. ‘What’s the point? No one ever believes me.’

Skye listened in silence as the girl continued to pour out her tale of woe. If it was true, then it was terrible because fathers weren’t meant to do those disgusting things to their own daughters. But there was something not quite right about this girl, and Skye wasn’t sure she believed her.

After dinner, Tom showed Chloe up to the bathroom, leaving Skye to clear up on her own. She washed the plates quickly, and was about to go up to see what they were doing when Tom strolled back in. When he saw the sulky expression on her face, he drew his head back and gave her a questioning look.

‘What’s up with you?’

‘I don’t like being ignored,’ she complained. ‘I’m supposed to be your fiancée, but you’ve just sat there talking to her like I wasn’t even here.’

‘Don’t be so stupid,’ Tom said dismissively. Then, looking around, he asked, ‘Where’s that wine I left on the ledge?’

‘In the fridge.’

‘Why have you put it in there?’ He stalked over and yanked the door open. ‘Red wine’s supposed to be drunk at room temperature.’

‘
Sorry
,’ Skye muttered under her breath. ‘How was
I
supposed to know?’

‘Stop being so childish,’ Tom scolded, taking three cups out of the cupboard. ‘You’re not off probation yet so you’d better drop the attitude, ’cos you’re getting on my nerves.’

Chloe appeared in the doorway just then, wearing Skye’s dressing gown. Tom smiled when he saw her and nodded his head towards the living-room door, saying, ‘Go and make yourself comfortable in there; I won’t be a minute.’

When she’d gone, he turned to Skye and said, ‘Go and keep her company while I do this. And be nice: she’s a guest.’

A little mollified that he had again described the girl as a guest, Skye went into the living room. But her hackles rose all over again when she found Chloe sprawled on the couch puffing on the cigarette she’d just lit.

‘Is that one of Tom’s?’ she demanded, perching on his armchair when it became clear that the girl wasn’t about to move over for her.

‘What if it is?’ Chloe retorted cockily. ‘He told me to help myself, so I did. Got a problem with that?’

‘No,’ Skye lied. ‘I was only asking.’

Chloe smiled to herself and blew a smoke ring. ‘I think I’m going to like it here,’ she said, poking her finger through it.

‘You’re only staying, not moving in,’ Skye reminded her.

‘We’ll see,’ Chloe said cryptically.

Skye frowned when the girl shot her a challenging look. Tom had said she was scared, but she didn’t seem scared to Skye. There was an air of hardness about her that was reminiscent of the bullies who had made Skye’s life a misery at school and in the home.

Tom joined them a couple of minutes later and handed a cup of wine to Skye, and then a second one to Chloe before sitting down with his own at the other end of the couch. Skye took a sip and almost choked on it when she noticed Chloe slide one of her feet towards him and press the tips of her toes against his thigh. It was clearly deliberate, but Tom didn’t seem to have noticed.

‘I was just saying that I think I’m going to like it here,’ Chloe said, gazing innocently over at him. ‘Did you mean it when you said I could stay as long as I want?’

‘Course I did,’ he affirmed.

‘Thought so.’ She cast a sly glance at Skye.

‘She’s not moving in, though, is she?’ Skye blurted out, determined to put the cocky cow in her place.