SOMEONE DIFFERENT (18 page)

My eyes closed briefly before I focused on the carpet.

‘Annabel, are you listening to me?’

‘I ... oh, yes, yes; OK.’

‘Good. Now, how about pancakes and maple syrup?’ She opened the door and disappeared through it without waiting for an answer.

I burrowed deep down into the cushions on the sofa. Did she know anything? Did she know about Jay? No, she couldn’t – she would have gone mental if she did, not sat and had a calm, cosy little chat. So did she suspect anything? Well, perhaps, but not too much – or
she would have gone mental ...

I needed to start being extra careful though. I slipped my phone out of my pocket to check it. Two messages
; one from Jay, one from Rory. I decided to take the difficult one first:

So pleased you liked the pressie. I’ll be in touch, love always R XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Did he not listen to a word I said?

But I hurried on to the good one:

Hey babes r u OK cant w8 2 c u agen x x

Scratching claws sounded in the hallway as Dad came back from walking the dogs, then his footsteps sounded on the stairs. I wrote my reply quickly.

Me 2, will sort something out as soon as I can. Missing u so much x x

And as Mum shouted us for breakfast and I wandered down to the dining room, I racked my brain for a way to sort something out,
again
.

29
– Jay

It pissed me right off being in hospital. They’d moved me to a different room cos I’d got a bit better, but it was still proper little, and there was still no noise, nothing to do, nobody to talk to and no fags.

Anna texted me whenever she could, but it wasn’t the same as her being there. I knew it wasn’t easy for her, getting away, and I knew she’d be doing her best, but I missed her, and it did my head in.

The rest of the time though, all I thought about was Billy
; about him not being there anymore. Not round at our house, or outside the shops, or up at the stables. Just not there.

What the hell was I going to do without him?

The hours dragged so much as I laid there on my own, that by Tuesday afternoon even home seemed appealing. They said I really needed to stay, that I’d ‘put my recovery in jeopardy’ if I left, but I swear down, if I’d have been sure I could’ve got to the bus stop on my own, I’d have been gone.

As I stabbed my fork into the spaghetti Bolognese they’d brought me for dinner, and watched it stand up on its own, things picked right up though.

‘Wow, you look so much better!’ Anna rushed through the door, dropped her bags, then hugged me so hard I thought another rib might snap.

‘Hey.’ I loosened her arms off a bit. ‘How come you’re here? How’d ya get out of school?’

‘Opticians,’ she said, smiling. ‘Would you believe it, my reading glasses broke on Sunday night. So we need to have them repaired and refitted this afternoon. Mum wrote a note saying I had to leave at two-thirty, but I ... edited it slightly .... and left at twelve-thirty instead. I absolutely must be back at school for half-past two, though; she’s started acting all ...’

‘What?’

She screwed her nose up a bit. ‘Suspicious. It’s like she’s watching me all the time, taking more notice of everything.’

‘Well, why don’t we just tell ’em, then? Then we won’t have to do all this sneakin’ about anymore?’

‘No.’ She stared at me hard. ‘Really, it’s not the right time.’

I touched her hair and smiled. ‘It can’t be all that bad – I mean, what they gonna do, lock ya in a tower?’

But Anna’s face was proper serious. ‘Please, Jay, let’s just wait
– until you’re better and you’re back at the riding school.’

I shrugged. ‘OK, if that’s what ya want, but I don’t see what the big deal is
; they can’t keep ya away from me forever, can they?’

She shrugged. ‘It seems like they’re already trying.’

‘How d’ya mean?’

‘It’s just with the science tuition being arranged for the nights you’re there, then this stupid holiday at Easter.’

‘What holiday?’

‘Skiing; in Switzerland somewhere.’

‘How long for?’

‘A week.’

A week?
How the hell was I going to get through a full week without her, especially a week when I thought we’d be together all the time?

I looked at her. It was a right cool chance for her though, wasn’t it, going on a holiday like that?

‘I’ve always wanted to go skiing,’ I said. ‘I’ll miss ya loads, ya know that, but I bet you’ll have a wicked time. Make sure ya get a photo of ya mum if she falls on her arse though, won’t ya?’

She smiled, but only for a second. ‘That’s part of the problem; I’m not going with Mum and Dad, it’s with some friends of theirs.’ She sat on the plastic chair at the side of the bed. ‘And their son.’

‘Oh, how old’s he?’

‘Seventeen.’

Bloody hell. Her being away at all was bad enough, her being away with some super-rich, badboy skier type wearing sunglasses and a tan
– that’d be a right nightmare.

I tried hard to smile. ‘I don’t suppose he’s a little fat guy with spots an’ bad-breath, is he?’

Anna sniggered. ‘No. He is a complete idiot though. They live at the other side of the valley – you’ll have seen the house from the yard, it’s that massive sandstone coloured one on the hill. We used to go horse riding together and things like that when we were younger, but then he went away to boarding school. It’s funny, I think I’d just curl up and die if I got sent to somewhere like that, but he totally thrives on it, and lately he’s climbed so far up his own backside I don’t think he can even see out anymore.’

‘It’ll be worth puttin’ up with him though, won’t it, for a holiday somewhere like that?’

‘I’ve been to loads of places like that.’ She stood up and kissed me. ‘I’d rather stay here with you.’

I put my hand under her jacket and round her waist, then I closed my eyes as I felt the warmth through her school shirt. I’d rather you stayed here with me as well, I thought.

When I opened my eyes again, Anna had noticed the tray. ‘Oh my God, what’s that?’

‘Spag B
ol, allegedly.’

‘Euw – good job I called at KFC on my way.’ She went over to the door, picked one of her bags up and dished out enough KFC, chips and Coke to feed half our estate. The smell made me drool.

‘Cheers,’ I said, biting into that fantastic first piece, then I demolished the rest in about two minutes. When I looked up, Anna was still nibbling the edges of hers. ‘Aren’t ya hungry?’

‘I was, but I’m full now.’

‘
Full?
You’ve hardly had anythin’.’

She smiled. ‘That’s a lot for me. It’s only because I chill out when I’m with you that I’ve eaten that much. Do you want what’s left?’

‘Nah, you’re alright.’ I stared at her thin wrist and fingers as she held the piece of chicken. ‘Anna, ya don’t just do it to stay that thin, d’ya? Not eating I mean?’

‘No, of course not.’

‘Well, why then?’

She dropped the chicken back in the box. ‘I don’t know really, it’s just my stomach feels sort of nervous most of the time, then when I try to eat it makes me gag; I can’t seem to get the food down, no matter how much I chew it.’

‘But what ya nervous about?’

‘Oh ... different people, different situations; it can be anytime when I’m not with you.’

I wanted to ask her what she meant, but she said quickly, ‘Anyway, who else’s been to see you?’

And I let her change the subject. ‘They said my dad phoned yesterday, but I were asleep so I didn’t talk to him.’

She wiped her hands on one of the tissues. ‘And what about your mum, has she been back?’

I shook my head. Even after all that time, it still got to me.

Anna kissed my lips. She smiled, then wiped them with the tissue and said quietly, ‘How long ago is it, since your mum and dad split up?’

‘Eight years. She left and came back loads of times before that, but I were eight when she went for good.’

‘And you had to stay with your dad?’

‘Yeah. When she’d left before she always took me with her. That were right cool, we got to stay with my auntie Sarah and her boyfriend; they didn’t have no kids of their own, so she were always huggin’ me an’ that. She made all these like big dinners an’ all, with gravy an’ stuff, and then afterwards, if we could find a dice, he played snakes and ladders with me. I remember, after a bit, I used to keep that dice in my pocket, just to make sure it never got lost.’ I went quiet while I thought about it, then made myself stop. ‘But anyway, after a few weeks, we’d always go back.’

‘Don’t you ever see her now, your auntie?

‘Nah, her an’ my mum had a big bust-up. They moved away when I were about seven I think, an’ I haven’t seen her since. She were proper sound though
– I loved it round at their house; I’d have stayed forever if I could.’

‘It’s a shame she had to move,’ Anna said.

‘Yeah, well –’

The door opened then, and a nurse walked in followed by two cops. I shoved my hands into the mattress and shuffled backwards a bit so I sat up straighter.

‘Jayden, these officers would like to speak to you about what happened the other night? Is that OK?’ The nurse said it like it really was a question, but I felt pretty sure they’d speak to me whatever I thought about it.

She went, and the cops told us their names then looked round for somewhere to sit. The first one, a woman, got the other plastic chair out of the corner and sat down ready with her notebook on her knee. Anna stood up and spoke to the guy, ‘Would you like to sit here?’

He looked a bit surprised. ‘Err ..’

‘It’s fine, really; I’ll squeeze in on the edge of the bed.’

Anna half leaned and half sat next to me, while the copper eased himself into the chair. He stared at her for ages, and I was just about to say something when I realised what he was doing.

‘Highfield Park?’ he said. ‘Why aren’t you there now?’

Anna glanced at me and touched the logo on her blazer. ‘It’s lunchtime. And I have an appointment this afternoon – opticians – you can see the pass from the school office if you want?’

He held his hand out and she took a piece of paper from her pocket, unfolded it and passed it to him.

‘OK,’ he said, handing it back a few seconds later. ‘Thank you.’

The woman spoke then. ‘So, Jayden, we’re here to talk to you about the incident that occurred last Friday evening on the gennel between Cedar Drive and Rosewood Avenue. Can you tell us what happened?’

I shrugged. ‘Not really, no. I can’t remember a thing; one minute me an’ Billy were walkin’ home from the shops, and the next I’m wakin’ up here.’

‘Have you any idea why you were attacked?’

‘No.’

‘Do you remember anything at all about the attackers; their clothes, how old they were, what they looked like?’

‘No.’

Anna shifted at my side and I thought she was going to say something, then she didn’t.

The copper crossed her legs. ‘How long had you known Billy?’

‘Since we were about five or six.’

‘That’s a long time.’

‘Yeah.’

‘And he was your best mate?’

My throat went dry, I nodded.

‘It must’ve hit you hard?’

Anna put her hand on my shoulder and I made a big effort to focus on the clipboard at the end of the bed, and nothing else.

When the copper spoke again, her voice was quieter. ‘It’s always difficult of course, losing a close friend. But when it’s someone so young, and when it happens in such a violent and unnecessary way, it seems so wrong, doesn’t it? So ... unfair?’

The memories played like a film in my mind and I couldn’t switch them off. Why wouldn’t she shut up? Why did she have to keep going on about it?

Her eyes followed my hand as I picked my Coke up. When I brought it back towards my mouth, the straw shook like a wet dog.

‘And that’s why,’ she said. ‘I know you’ll be desperate for the people who did this to be caught and punished – Billy deserves that, doesn’t he?’

I glanced at her, then concentrated on the clipboard again.

‘It was an elderly couple who found you.’ She turned the page back in her book and checked her notes. ‘Mr and Mrs Jarvis – and they said four or five men ran away from the scene. Do you recall the exact number?’

‘No.’

‘So, are you absolutely sure you can’t remember anything?’

Slowly, I nodded my head.

The woman uncrossed her legs and looked over at the guy; out of the corner of my eye I saw him shrug.