Two-Faced (15 page)

This had started out as a bit of fun to piss Michelle off, but now that she’d seen Liam up close Mia wanted him – and, whatever it took, she was determined to get him. But she would have to tread carefully, because she sensed that he was one of those rare ones who didn’t believe in messing around behind their girlfriend’s back. If she was to stand any chance of stealing him, she had to do it before he realised his mistake. Then it would be game over, because there was no way Michelle could compete with her. But first, she had to find a way of getting him to stop being so damn respectful.

And make sure that he couldn’t get hold of Michelle again.

‘By the way,’ she said, looking up at him again. ‘I’ve got a new number, so you’d best change the one you’ve got in your phone.’

Just as he’d finished replacing the old number with the new, a knock came at the door and Gina’s voice sing-songed through the wood.

‘Sorry to disturb you, hon, but I just caught a bloke walking in downstairs; reckons Davy sent him round. I thought I’d best check with you before I let him come up.’

Mia’s eyes flashed jealously at the girl’s familiar tone, but she forced herself to smile when Liam said, ‘Sorry about this . . . won’t be a minute.’

He put his cup down and rushed towards the door, pausing only to snatch a plastic bag from under the coffee table.

Mia caught the briefest glimpse of the tart from downstairs and directed an eyeful of venom at her before the door closed. How
dare
she call Liam ‘hon’! Well, she’d best not show her face up here again when Mia was his girl, or she’d be dead!

‘He’s in the lobby,’ Gina purred, grazing her breasts against Liam’s chest as he squeezed past her. ‘By the way,’ she added, in a low tone, ‘Kelly’s nipped out for an hour, so if you want to pop down for a drink after you’ve finished we can have a chat – or whatever.’

‘Nah, I’d best get straight back,’ Liam muttered, and waved her ahead of him down the stairs. Walking on when she pushed open her own door, he went down to the hall, aware that she was still following him with her eyes.

He passed the bag over to the man who was waiting, took the money and quickly counted it before showing him out – all without a word. Then, after kicking the front door shut, he marched into the room to his right and snapped the light on.

‘Oi!’ he barked, glaring at the man who was huddled in a corner with a syringe full of blood in his filthy hand. ‘Quit leaving the fucking door open. That’s the third time this week someone’s walked in off the street, and if it happens again I’m gonna knock you out!’

It infuriated Liam that the downstairs tenants couldn’t remember a simple thing like keeping the front door shut. With it open, the police could walk in at any time and catch him unawares but at least he’d have a couple of minutes to get rid of the shit while they were trying to kick it down if it was locked.

Still, he wouldn’t be here for much longer. He just hoped he managed to get out before Michelle realised that he wasn’t the decent bloke she thought he was. And, judging by her reaction when he’d told her that he was mates with the gang at the library that time, and the look on her face when she’d seen Davy and his guys in the Mercedes, it was a safe bet that she wouldn’t want to know him if she found out that he was just like them.

And he’d have been right – if it had been Michelle sitting in his room. But, fortunately for him, it was Mia. And she’d been doing a bit of snooping while he’d been downstairs.

Back on the bed when he came back in, she smiled. ‘Everything all right?’

Liam slipped the money he’d just taken into a drawer and ran his hands through his hair. ‘Yeah, sorry about that. My landlord left some paperwork for one of his new tenants, and they’ve just been to pick it up.’

‘Oh, I see,’ Mia murmured, smiling secretively to herself. She’d already taken a look in the other plastic bag that was under the table, so she knew
exactly
what he’d just been doing. But he obviously didn’t want prissy little Michelle to know, so she would play along for a while. But now that she knew what she was dealing with, she was more determined than ever to get him.

‘I hope you don’t think I was snooping,’ she said innocently. ‘But I couldn’t help noticing
that
.’ She pointed at a bottle of Jack Daniels that was standing on the ledge behind the TV. ‘And I was just wondering what it tastes like?’

Glancing at it, Liam shrugged. ‘Don’t really know how to describe it. It’s kind of got a taste of its own.’

Disappointed that he hadn’t offered her some, Mia was forced to ask if she could try it. ‘Just a sip,’ she added quickly. ‘To see what it’s like.’

Liam was surprised, because he wouldn’t have had her down as the type to drink. But then, he supposed he didn’t really know her as well as he’d thought. Telling her to help herself now, he said, ‘Be careful, though, ’cos it’s strong.’

He excused himself again when the sound of the doorbell drifted up to them, grabbed the second bag and left her alone. Mia found a glass and poured a shot of the liquor into it. She drank it down in one, then waved her hand in front of her face when her eyes immediately began to water. She’d had JD that night at Stu’s house but it had been mixed with Coke then, so it hadn’t been half as potent. Still, it tasted nice, so she helped herself to another measure, thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to be a little bit tipsy when Liam came back. Lads
always
liked it when girls got drunk, because it made it easier for them to get down to business. And,
boy
, did she want Liam to hurry up and get started. Just looking at him was driving her crazy.

When he came back a few minutes later, Liam found her coughing as if she was choking. ‘God, are you all right?’ he asked, rushing to pat her on the back. ‘How much did you have?’

‘Just a drop,’ she croaked, indicating with her finger where she’d topped the glass up to.

‘That’s loads,’ he gasped, peering down at her amusedly. ‘Christ, you’ll be wasted in a minute.’

Saying, ‘Oops,’ Mia bit her lip and gave a sheepish little smile. ‘I see what you meant about it having a taste of its own. It’s nice, isn’t it?’

‘If you like that kind of thing,’ Liam chuckled. ‘But I’m surprised
you
do.’

Mia pursed her lips and glanced up at him through her lashes. ‘I might be shy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to have fun,’ she told him, her voice soft and whispery. ‘It just takes a while before I trust anyone enough to relax around them.’

‘And you’re relaxed with me?’ Liam asked, squatting down beside her.

‘Yeah, course,’ she murmured, remembering to dip her gaze as if she were blushing – like Michelle probably would be in this situation. Not that Miss Goody Two-Shoes ever
would
be in this situation – more fool her.

‘Glad to hear it,’ Liam said softly, stroking her hair back from her face so that he could look into her eyes. ‘Because you know how much I like you, don’t you?’

Mia nodded quickly and parted her lips in anticipation of the kiss she felt sure was about to come.

Liam winked at her and stood up. ‘I think I’d best get you another coffee to sober you up. But I’ve got to make a quick call first, so just give me a minute.’ He took his mobile out of his pocket and headed towards the door. ‘Bad signal in here.’

Mia tutted when he went out onto the landing. She reached for the bottle and took another swig straight from it. And then another. Sir Galahad was obviously intent on doing the honourable thing, so it looked like she was going to have to force things along. And if Liam liked Michelle as much as he claimed to, then he wasn’t likely to knock her back and risk upsetting her again.

Lying down on his bed by the time he came back into the room, she purred, ‘I think you were right about it being too strong. I’m feeling a bit . . .’ She paused, and wafted her hand in a circle above her head. Then, patting the bed beside her, she said, ‘Sit down, you’re making the room look all wobbly.’

Liam laughed softly, then came and perched beside her. ‘God, I should never have told you to help yourself. You’re not feeling sick, are you?’

Mia shook her head and stared straight into his beautiful eyes. Then, breathing in deeply, as if this was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, she whispered, ‘Will you please stop talking and kiss me.’

A frown flickered across Liam’s brow and he said, ‘I can’t. Not like this. Sober up first, then if you still want to . . .’

‘I will,’ Mia insisted. ‘I
do
. But if you make me get sober, I won’t have the nerve to say it again.’

‘Aw, don’t do this to me,’ Liam groaned when she reached for his hand and looped her fingers through his. ‘You’re making this really hard for me.’

‘I hope so,’ Mia murmured as she pulled him down and touched her lips to his.

Using his last reserves of resistance, Liam held himself back and gazed down at her. ‘Are you really sure you want to do this?’

Whispering, ‘Sshhh,’ Mia closed her eyes, raised one hand to hold the back of his head and forced his mouth back down onto hers.

7

Kim was in a flap when the day of the TV ad audition came around, but Mia seemed totally unfazed. She’d been acting strangely for days, and Kim had actually begun to suspect that her daughter might be on drugs as she floated around the house with a dreamy smile on her lips. She’d confronted her about it the other night, but Mia had laughed it off, insisting that she was just happy with life. Without evidence to dispute this, Kim had been forced to give her the benefit of the doubt. But she prayed that this new-found happiness didn’t distract Mia from putting maximum effort into her audition. And given that Mia hadn’t mentioned it in the past few days, when normally it was
all
she talked about, that was a genuine concern. Added to which, Mia wasn’t exactly in a rush to get ready now, even though she knew that Sammy would soon be here to pick them up.

In a desperate attempt to get Mia motivated without sending her into a strop today, Kim had run a bath for her and had ironed all the new clothes she’d bought for the occasion. Handing these to her when she came out of the bathroom, she told her to hurry up and get dressed.

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Mia said, and floated into her bedroom. Then, moments later, she yelled, ‘
Mum
 . . . where’s that deodorant you said you were going to get for me? And the tights? You know I can’t wear this dress without tights!’

‘Oh, damn, I forgot!’ Kim muttered. Then, flapping her hand at Michelle, she said, ‘Put that book down and run to the shops. And hurry up!’

Reluctantly getting up to do as she was told, Michelle slipped her jacket on. She didn’t object to running errands, but she
did
object to being disturbed in the middle of revision. That was why she’d been given the day off school, after all; which might not mean anything to her mum and Mia, considering they seemed to have forgotten the importance of exams, but it meant a lot to her.

At the shops, she got what she’d been sent for and was about to head home when a taxi pulled up in front of her.

‘Hey, what you doing round here?’ Liam asked, jumping out with a big smile on his face. ‘I thought you were too busy to see me today. Why didn’t you ring if you knew your plans had changed? You knew I’d want to see you.’

Confused, Michelle looked behind her, sure that he must be talking to someone else. But when, seconds later, he walked right up to her and tried to kiss her, she drew her head back, gasping, ‘What are you
doing?
’

Liam gave her a quizzical smile and said, ‘What’s up with you? Don’t tell me you’ve gone off me already?’

Heart beating so fast that she could barely breathe, Michelle prised his hands from around her waist and took two staggering steps back. Of course she hadn’t gone off him: he was all she’d been thinking about for weeks. But he hadn’t rung her in all that time, and she’d come to the conclusion that he wasn’t interested any more, so she couldn’t understand why he was acting like this now.

When he saw how pale she was, the smile slid from Liam’s lips and a confused frown creased his brow. ‘What’s going on, Michelle? And don’t say nothing, ’cos you were fine last night.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she murmured. ‘I haven’t seen you since we were supposed to go to the cinema that night.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ Liam snorted, wondering if she was seriously trying to pretend that they hadn’t seen each other since then. His eyes narrowed when it occurred to him that she might be guarding her words because she was being watched. He glanced around quickly, but there was nobody else in sight.

‘You’re confusing me,’ he said.

‘
You
’re confused?’ Michelle blurted out. ‘All I know is I haven’t seen you in weeks, but you’re standing here saying that you saw me last night. But I went straight home from school yesterday and didn’t go out again.’

‘Michelle, this is
me
you’re talking to,’ Liam said quietly. ‘And I don’t know why you’re being like this, but whatever’s going on in your head, it’s not fair, because I haven’t done anything you didn’t want me to. You should have told me if you didn’t like it, and I would have stopped – you
know
that.’

‘Why are you saying this?’ Michelle croaked as tears of confusion stung her eyes.

‘Because it’s
true
,’ Liam replied adamantly. ‘Christ, I can’t believe you’re doing this. You’re making me feel like I forced myself on you, or something.’

A light suddenly flared to life in Michelle’s head. Feeling faint, she took a deep breath. ‘Are you saying that we . . .’ She paused, and licked her lips before forcing the words out. ‘Are you saying we
slept
together?’

‘You know we did,’ Liam shot back. ‘But if you’re regretting it, don’t worry. I don’t need telling twice.’

‘It wasn’t me,’ Michelle told him, clenching her teeth as she felt her heart breaking to pieces.

‘No, course it wasn’t,’ Liam retorted sarcastically. ‘Must have been your twin sister, eh?’

‘Yes,’ she hissed. ‘That’s exactly who it must have been. But don’t take
my
word for it – ask
her
.’