Six Steps to a Girl (12 page)

Eve was furious when I told her about the party and the shy girl the next day.

“So while I’m missing you like mad, all you’re thinking about is who you can pull?” she said indignantly.

I couldn’t help smiling. “I told you, nothing happened.”

“Only ’cause I texted you and reminded you . . . Why are you laughing at me?”

I pulled her into a massive snog. “Because you’re jealous,” I said, grinning my head off. “Because you’re jealous.”

It was Sunday, the last day before we went back to school and we were on our own at Eve’s house. It was still morning, and the whole day stretched ahead of us. We’d made some sandwiches and were eating them lying on the sofa. We were just talking about what we should do later, when the doorbell rang.

I watched Eve glide across the hall and open the door.

I couldn’t see who was there.

“Ben,” she said, loudly.

I practically choked on the bit of sandwich I’d just put into my mouth.

“What are you doing here?” Eve’s voice sounded far too nervous and high-pitched.
Jesus.
He was going to guess something was up.

I could hear Ben grunting about how his football practice had finished early as I rolled off the sofa onto the floor. My eyes flashed up to the window at the front of the house. Could he see into the living room from where he was standing?

“Why can’t I come in?” he said suspiciously.

Oh my God.
I glanced round and spotted a big squashy armchair in the corner by the window. I set off on my hands and knees towards it.

“I’ve got to go out in a minute,” Eve said. “I told you I’m seeing my dad.”

I could hear them arguing as I wriggled past a tall floor lamp and crawled behind the chair. The curtain at the window beside me hung right to the floor. I tugged at the folds so they hid me fully, then peeked through a tiny slit.

They were in the living-room doorway. Ben was swearing, pushing past Eve. He took in the sandwiches – luckily we’d shared a single plate – then he stomped further into the room.

I held my breath.

“So when are you seeing your dad?” Ben growled.

Eve shrank against the wall. I knew she had pretended her dad was visiting this weekend.

“A bit later. His flight from Spain’s . . . er . . . about to land.”

A lecherous grin spread across Ben’s face. “So we’ve got a bit of time, then?”

“No.” Eve was practically squeaking now, all trace of her normally raspy voice completely gone. “I’ve got to get ready. Now.”

Ben pulled her towards him. “You know you want me.” He pawed at Eve’s dress.

I gritted my teeth.

She pushed him away. “No,” she said firmly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After a little more argument, Ben allowed himself to be propelled towards the door. This was followed by a few minutes of slurping noises which I tried not to listen to. Then he was gone.

Eve came back into the living room as I stood up. We stared at each other for a few seconds. I was about to start mouthing off about what a total jerk Ben was, when she started crying.

We sat down on the sofa and I put my arms round her. I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Ben had touched her. I hated it. Not just seeing his hands on her body. It was his whole attitude. He’d acted like he owned her.

Eve wiped her eyes. “What are you thinking?” she said.

The most irritating question in the world again. But for once I wanted to answer. “I don’t understand . . .” I said, slowly, “. . . why you go out with him. Why you let him ‘do stuff?”

Eve wrinkled her nose. “We don’t really ‘do’ anything. I mean, not like you and me.”

I frowned. What was she talking about? Everything I’d seen of Ben so far made it quite clear to me that getting as far as he could with Eve was his main reason for hanging out with her.

“It’s like, with us, we spend lots of time talking and stuff and it’s really nice,” she said. “But with Ben, it’s more complicated. I really . . . I mean, he’s fun to be with. We go out with his mates . . . you know to clubs and bars and . . . and I have a good time. But we don’t talk that much . . . you know . . . not that he gets all stressy about anything. I mean he’d never
make
me do anything I didn’t want to. He says he’s totally cool about waiting for . . . until I’m ready . . .”

I shook my head. It was all too complicated. Too hard to make sense of. Somewhere in my head a little voice was insisting that Ryan was right. I shouldn’t ignore Step Six. I should make Eve dump Ben.

But it was a very little voice. And, after all, I had Eve.

That was all that mattered.

We met every day that week after school – mostly in the building site. Some workmen had obviously been in there, because another bit of wall had appeared, but no one was ever around by the time we turned up.

Thursday was after-school Art Club. I had confessed to Eve some time ago how I’d only started going in order to talk to her. She told me I should do the wooden-button music collage anyway. That it was a good idea. Privately, I thought she was nuts, but I didn’t say anything.

I was looking forward to after Club ended, when we’d agreed we would stay on late again. It was going to be one of the few opportunities I had to be with Eve indoors – i.e. in a place where she wasn’t wearing ten layers of jumpers and coats.

As soon as Ms Patel had left we switched the radio on. This time
I
found some music. Slow-dance music.

As the song finished, I pulled away from her and drew a small, tissue-wrapped package out of my pocket.

“Happy birthday,” I said.

Eve looked up – all wide-eyed and smiling. Her birthday was the next day, but, of course, she would be going out with Ben and her friends. Which meant I wouldn’t see her until Saturday.

She unwrapped the package eagerly.

I held my breath, hoping she was going to like it. I’d bought her a silver necklace with pale blue stars hanging from it. It was a bit like one Chloe had.

“It’s beautiful,” Eve breathed.

I grinned, relieved, as she rushed to the mirror to put it on. The necklace rested prettily against her skin. She raced back. “I’ll try and call you tomorrow night.” She hugged me, her eyes shining. “Promise.”

I’d already made plans to go out the next night with Ry and a few other friends. We went bowling and then for a burger. It was fun, though from time to time I couldn’t help wondering what Eve was doing. Ryan noticed me staring at my phone a couple of times.

“Waiting for a call?” he said.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Let’s hope it’s not a relegation announcement,” Ryan grinned. “You know, from the Premiership.”

I threw my burger wrapper at him. He ducked and it landed in a cup of coffee belonging to some old guy at the next table.

The old guy jumped up, shouting at us, and promptly knocked over the drinks of these two girls sitting opposite him.

Ryan and I were laughing so much at the horrified expression on his face that I nearly missed my ring tone. Then, when I finally heard it, I lunged for it so fast that I knocked it off the table. Ryan hooted with laughter as I disappeared underneath, scrabbling on the ground.

It was a text.

mt m @ site x

I frowned. Eve was normally a bit more flowery with her texts than that. And she’d never asked me to meet her so late before. Still, maybe she didn’t have much time when she wrote it. Maybe she was hating being out with Ben and her friends. I smiled to myself.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Good news?”

“Yeah.” I reached for my jacket. “I gotta go.”

It took me ten minutes to get to the building site. I realised as I stepped over the low chain that the no-entry sign hung from, that I didn’t know whether Eve was already there – or still on her way.

I stumbled around for a bit, calling her name out softly. I knew the site quite well now, but in the pitch black it was hard to see where the rubble-strewn ground rose and fell. I reached the most built-up part of the site, where a short stretch of breeze-block was divided into rooms with walls and ceilings and holes for windows. I peered inside the first room. It was dark. Creepy.

I couldn’t imagine Eve could possibly be waiting inside, but then, maybe she’d have felt safer there than out by the front where passers-by could see her. “Eve?” I said.

Something rustled in the far corner.

“Eve. Is that you?”

I took a step inside. The darkness seemed almost to pulsate as my eyes strained into it. And then I sensed movement behind me.

I spun round, just as someone grabbed my arm.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

A light shone in my eyes. Blinding me. The hand on my arm tightened its grip. Someone else grabbed the other arm. There were grunts. Shouts. I was being pulled backwards, dragged along the concrete floor towards the back of the breeze-block room.

My heart pounded furiously, right up in my throat. I wanted to yell out, but my voice was trapped somewhere deep in my head. I tried to pull away from the hands that held my arms. But they dug in harder.

And then the light dropped and I looked up, blinking, trying to adjust to the darkness.

My throat tightened. Ben was standing in front of me. His face was twisted with fury – every muscle tensed, teeth bared, eyes wild.

“You little shit,” he yelled.

Wham.
His fist rammed into my stomach.

It was like all the air had been sucked out of me. I doubled over, pain radiating out from my belly. The two guys on either side of me jerked me upright. I turned instinctively towards one of them, my eyes pleading for them to let me go. But he was looking at Ben.

Wham.
Ben’s fist drove even deeper into me. I gasped for breath. Again, the two guys holding my arms pulled me upright. I dimly registered who they were – Ben’s friends from the burger bar I’d overheard all those weeks ago.

Then Ben shoved his face right up in front of mine. He grabbed my hair. Yanked my head right back. He leaned right over me. “She’s
mine
, you disgusting little jerk.”

He spat on my face. Just under my eye. A glob of wetness rolled down my cheek. Then he let go of my head. Stepped back. Punched.
Smack.
Right into my jaw. My nose. His fist smashing into me. Over and over.

I couldn’t breathe. I was nothing except the pain driving against my face. This low moaning started. It took me a few seconds to realise it was my own voice. Then the hands holding me up let go. I collapsed onto the floor.

I tried to push myself up, but my arms and legs were shaking too much. I sank back against the concrete. The pain in my face was agony.

Above my head, laughter. “Not such a pissing pretty-boy now.”

A boot came out of nowhere, glancing off my ribs. A half-hearted kick. Not Ben’s. I curled up on the floor, covering my head with my arms, knowing they hadn’t finished.

More kicks pounded against my arms and legs. I was only pain. Only fear. Lying there, waiting for it to end. And then it did. I lay there panting for a few seconds, then lifted up my arm and looked up. A boot was poised, ready to ram into my jaw. I stared at it and everything slowed down. I had time to think, with absolute certainty, that if that boot connected with my face I was going to die.

“Stop, Ben.”

“That’s enough.”

Beyond the boot, I could see Ben’s two mates pulling him away from me. Shouting. Ben’s yells drowning out the others. And then he was back, bending down over me. I braced myself. This was it. I was dead.

But he was pushing my arms off my face, forcing my mouth open, ramming something metallic past my lips, wet with blood.

His beery breath suddenly hot on my cheek. “You ever go near her again and I’ll kill you,” he shouted. Then he drew closer, his voice lowered menacingly. “Tell anyone I did this and I’ll kill
her.”

Then he stood up, turned away. They were gone.

I lay there, unable to move, unable to think. I spat the metal chain out of my mouth. It was the silver necklace with the pale blue stars I had given Eve.

Every part of my body throbbed with pain. My mind shut down. I couldn’t focus on anything else other than the pain. Then everything went black.

I don’t know how long I was out for. I came to several times, registering something ringing near me. I dimly knew it was a phone, that someone should answer it. Once I tried to move, but everything hurt and I couldn’t work out where to put my hands to push myself up and I collapsed back down into the darkness.

The next time I came round, my left eye was all swollen up. I could hardly see out of it. The pain had subsided a little, but I was cold. My whole body was shaking with it. It occurred to me that I ought to shout for help or something. But I couldn’t make my voice work.

Then I heard footsteps running towards me.

“Ryan, Ryan. Oh Jesus. He’s here.” It was Chloe’s voice. That didn’t make sense. What was she doing here?

She knelt over me, her eyes wide. “Oh God, Luke. Oh my God.”

I tried to speak to her, but my mouth still wouldn’t work properly. Chloe pulled me up against her. I could feel the warmth of her body through my jacket. She was pulling her coat off, putting it round my shoulders. Then Ryan was there too. Standing above me, his long fringe hanging over his upside-down eyes.

“Look at his face,” Chloe was saying. “Jesus. Look what they’ve done to him.”

“Shit.” Ryan squatted down in front of me. “We’ve got to get him out of here. Hey, Luke, man. It’s gonna be OK.”

He reached out and put his hands under my armpits. He tried to pull me away from Chloe, and upright. But I was shaking too hard to take any of my own weight. As I moved, pain filled my body again. A wave of nausea rolled up through me. I groaned and puked over Ryan’s shoes.

He jumped back, letting me sag back against Chloe. “Jesus.”