The Mute and the Liar (16 page)

“
You told me
to come,
so
I
came.
”

“
I
didn’t
tell
you
to
come
in
this
gay-mobile.
Where
did
you
get
it?
The

Barbie
Shelf in
Toys
R
Us
?
”

“
Kaylie’s
dad
gave
it
to
me
for
£500.
I
am
not
turning
down
an
offer
like
that.
And
my
other
car
got
clamped
early
this
morning,
which
you
would
know
if
you
weren’t
running
around
stealing
little
girls.
So
do
you
need
a
lift
or
not?
”

The
two
glare
at
each
other
with
the
same
green
eyes
for
a
few
seconds.

Or
rather,
Jayce
glares
up
at
the
other
-
he
is
completely
dwarfed
by
the
other
man,
who
towers
over
him
and
could
probably
knock
him
out
with
his
pinkie finger.

That
thought
makes
me
smile.

“
Alright,
”
Jayce
agrees
eventually,
and
walks
over
to
me.
“
This
is
Nick.
He’s…
He’s
my…
He’s
The
Woman-That-Gave-Birth-To-Me’s
sister’s
son.
”

That means
he’s
your
cousin,
Einstein.

And why not
just
call
The-Woman-That-Gave-Birth-To-Him
‘Mum?’

“
Has
Jayce
already
told
you
about
his
mummy
issues?
”
asks
Nick,
nodding at
me.
Jayce
huffs
at
this
and takes
my
hand.
I
consider
making
a
run
for
it,
but
this
Nick
person
looks
like
the
sort
that
eats
Jalapeno
peppers
for
breakfast.

“
Just
ignore
him.
He’s
an
idiot.
He’s
only
here
because
he’s
got
a
driving
license.
Nick, just
take us
up
to
Kit’s
and
then
go
back
to
our
house.
”

“
Nah, it’s
okay.
I’ll stay with
you.
I
haven’t
seen
my
Kitty-Cat
in ages!
”

I
don’t
particularly
want
to
see
Nick’s
‘Kitty-Cat.’
It
sounds
dodgy
on
so
many levels.

Jayce
walks
me
to
the
car,
opens
the
door
for
me
and
pushes
the
driver’s
seat
forward.
It’s
one
of
those
small
cars
where
there
are
only
two
doors.
I
decide
I
agree
with
Jayce
–
this
isn’t
really
a
car
I
would
attribute
to
gangsters.
Aren’t
they
supposed
to
swagger
around
in
black
Lamborghinis
?
He
forces
me
inside
and
slips
in
beside
me.
Nick
returns
to
his
seat
behind
the
steering
wheel.

We’re
all
crammed
in
together,
and
I'm
starting
to
feel
really
claustrophobic.
There
is
a
seat
between
Jayce
and
I,
but
it
is
so
small,
we
are practically sitting
right
beside
each
other.

“
Did
you
bring
the
stuff?
”
Jayce
asks,
and
instantly
I
feel
worried.
What’s
he talking
about?
Drugs?
Guns?
Baseball
bats?

I don’t
really
fancy
being
beaten
to
death
with
a
baseball
bat.

Nick
jabs
a
thumb
at
his
feet,
and
I
see
that
on
the
floor
is
an
eco-friendly
bag
they
sell
in
Tesco’s,
with
the
ladybird
pattern
running
across.
Again,
not
really
something
I'd
imagine
these
gangster-wannabes
carrying
around.
They
should
have
bags
with...
skulls?
Motorbikes?
Satan?

Jayce
stuffs
his
hand
inside,
and
I
hold
my
breath,
waiting
to see which
weapon
of
mass
destruction
he
is
going
to
pull out
first.

He pulls
out
a
newspaper.

Well,
that’s
a
bit
of
a
disappointment.
He
flicks
through,
whilst
Nick
checks
something
quickly
on
his
mobile
phone.
After
a
few
minutes,
Jayce
puts
the
newspaper
back
and
takes
a
notepad
and
pen
out
of
the
bag,
and
begins
scribbling something
down.

Nick puts
his
phone
away,
and the
car
jolts
to
a
start.
We
pass
through the
bustling,
sleepless
city,
and
are
blinded
by
all
the
vibrant
lights
dazzling
for
our
attention.
We
pass
so
many
cars,
all
of
them
flocking
together
like
ants
around
rotting
food.
Eventually,
we
leave
the
city
behind
us,
and
slowly
the
traffic
dissolves,
and we
shudder
over
rocky
roads
tangled
in long stretches
of
green.

“
So
are
you
planning
on
telling
me
what’s
going
on
yet?
”
Nick
calls
over
his
shoulder.
Jayce
doesn’t
look
up
from
the
notepad,
and
continues
writing
furiously, his
pen
never
leaving
the
page.

“
What
is
there
to
say?
I’m
getting
rid
of
Lauren,
getting
revenge
for
Steve,
and
scaring
the
crap
out
of
this
girl
,
all
at
the
same
time.
Three
stones
with
one
bird.
”

“
Three birds
with
one
stone,
”
Nick
corrects.

“
Whatever.
The
point
is,
a
bird
somewhere
is
not
going
to
know
what
hit
it.