Two-Faced (3 page)

The youth club was already full when they got there, and distorted rap music was blasting out through the open doors. Spotting their friends on the far side of the hall, Mia and Laura quickly disappeared into the crowd. Knowing without having to check that none of
her
friends would be here, Michelle edged her way into a secluded corner.

Mia and Laura greeted their friends with hugs and air-kisses, then scanned the room for fit lads – the only reason any of them ever came here.

Clocking the group of lads to their left, Laura nudged Mia, whispering excitedly, ‘Wow! Check who’s here.’

Mia turned to look and inhaled sharply when she saw Darren Mitchell. He was absolutely gorgeous, and she’d fancied him for ages, but since he’d left school some months earlier he and his mate Stu hardly ever showed up here. Not that his being here made any difference, though, because she had no intention of going anywhere near him. Not when his psycho girlfriend, Sandra Bishop, was probably close by, waiting to knife any girl who so much as looked at him.

As it happened, Sandra was staying at her dad’s new place in Wales that weekend, so Darren and Stu were heading into town to check out a strip club that had just opened. They’d only dropped in here so that Stu could give his cousin some weed, but the cousin hadn’t arrived yet. Darren had been on the verge of telling Stu to sack it off, but he’d changed his mind when Mia had walked in.

Unlike the other tarts who’d been batting their eyelashes at him since he’d arrived, she was acting as if she hadn’t even noticed him. And if there was one thing Darren liked, it was a challenge. Giving her a slow half-smile now, he pushed his mates out of the way and leaned against the wall beside her.

‘So, where’s your man?’ he asked, giving her the full force of his baby blues.

‘Haven’t got one,’ she replied, forcing herself to stay cool despite the butterflies dancing in her stomach. ‘And I don’t
want
one,’ she added, letting him know that his charms weren’t going to work on her.

‘I don’t believe you,’ he drawled, taking a sip from his Coke can. ‘No way would a gorgeous girl like you be single. Bet he hasn’t got a car, though – whoever he is.’

Paranoid that Sandra might be watching, Mia folded her arms and gazed out at the dancers. ‘No, but I suppose
you
have?’

‘Too right,’ Darren boasted. ‘I’ll take you for a drive sometime, if you want.’

Feigning lack of interest, she said, ‘No, thanks,’ although her heart was already racing at the thought of being seen in his car with him. None of her friends had boyfriends who owned their own cars. She’d be the envy of the entire
area
if she got off with him, never mind the school.

Not that she
was
going to get off with him, obviously.

‘Bet you wouldn’t say that if you saw it,’ Darren said confidently. ‘It was a bit of a shed when I first got it, but it looks
mint
since I put the alloys and fin on it. Only cost a grand so far, but it’ll be worth about three by now.’

‘
Wow!
’ Mia exclaimed in a mocking tone designed to let him know that she wasn’t impressed in the slightest. She actually didn’t have a clue what alloys and fins were, but a grand was a hell of a lot of money, and she definitely was impressed by
that
.

‘It’s in the garage at the moment,’ Darren was telling her now. ‘I’ve just ordered a new exhaust, but it’s custom-made so I’ve got to wait for it to get shipped over from the States. It’ll be well worth it, though, ’cos it’ll be faster than a Subaru once it’s fitted.’

Sensing that he was losing her when her eyes began to glaze over, Darren glanced at his watch and decided to speed things along. Taking another sip of his drink, he said, ‘So, you planning to go into modelling when you leave school, then?’

Her coolness faltering at the mention of her favourite subject – her looks – Mia glanced coyly up at him. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘It’s obvious.’ Shrugging, he peered down into her eyes. ‘You’re hardly going to waste yourself stacking shelves in some shitty shop when you look like Kate Moss, are you?’

‘I don’t look like her,’ Mia scoffed, struggling to sound modest while her eyes gleamed with delight.

‘Yeah, you do. Only when she was younger, obviously, ’cos she’s a bit past it now. But you well remind me of her.’

Twiddling with the ends of her hair now, Mia pouted her glossy lips and fluttered her eyelashes. ‘You really think so?’

‘Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.’ Darren gave her a sincere smile and offered her the can. ‘Want some?’

Grateful, because she’d wanted to keep the rest of the money her mum had given her to buy cigarettes on the way home, Mia took a sip. Grimacing when it hit the back of her throat, she spluttered, ‘Jeezus! What’s
that
?’

‘Vodka. Don’t you like it?’

‘Prefer whisky,’ she lied, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand – and wishing she could wipe her tongue as well, to get rid of the bitter taste of almost neat alcohol.

‘You’re in luck,’ Darren said smoothly. ‘There’s a full bottle of JD back at Stu’s place. Fancy coming back for one?’

Thrilled that he’d invited her, but still wary of Sandra, Mia shook her head. ‘Thanks, but I don’t think that’s a very good idea.’

‘Course it is,’ he insisted, grinning sexily. ‘Unless you’ve got something better to do – which I doubt.’

Amused that he seemed to think he was such a catch – which he
was
, but she wasn’t about to let
him
know that she thought so – Mia said, ‘Don’t think Sandra would be too happy if she could hear this, do you?’

‘Aw, what you talking about
her
for?’ Darren groaned, pulling a face.

‘Er, ’cos she’s your
girlfriend
.’

‘No, she ain’t.’

‘Not what I heard.’

‘Shouldn’t believe everything you hear, then, should you?’

‘Even if it’s from the horse’s mouth?’ Mia looked him in the eye. ‘Only I heard her in the loos at school today telling her mate about some necklace you gave her last night.’

‘That was nothing,’ Darren said dismissively. ‘Just some piece of shit I found in the park.’

‘Well,
she
seemed pretty chuffed with it. And why give it to her if you’re not with her any more?’

Shrugging, Darren twisted his lip. ‘Sort of like a finishing present, I suppose.’

‘So you finished with her last night, did you?
After
you gave her the necklace.’

‘Jeezus, don’t you ever quit?’ he muttered, glancing at his watch again. ‘Anyway, shut up about her; she’s history. Are you coming for that drink, or what? ’Cos if you’re not, stop wasting my time.’

Mia bit her lip and mulled it over. Sandra was usually stuck to him like superglue, so the fact that she wasn’t here tonight could mean that he was telling the truth. And even if he hadn’t done it yet, he was obviously
intending
to end it, or he wouldn’t be out on the pull – which Sandra could hardly blame Mia for.

‘Can Laura come?’ she asked. ‘’Cos I don’t go anywhere without her.’

‘I think she’s already been invited,’ Darren chuckled, nodding towards their friends, who had moved into a corner and looked deep in flirtatious conversation.

Mia watched as Laura did that funny flicky thing she always did with her fringe when she was trying to act shy and tutted softly under her breath. She wouldn’t have minded, but Stu was a right ugly sod. Well, he was compared to Darren, who was big and muscly, with dark blond hair and sexy blue eyes.

And a car.

‘All right,’ she said, making it sound like she was doing him a favour. ‘I suppose one drink won’t hurt.’

‘Cool.’ Grinning, Darren drank the last of the vodka and dropped the can on the floor. ‘Come on, then.’

‘What,
now
?’ Mia gasped. ‘We’ve only just got here. And what about them?’ She looked back at their friends who were kissing now.

Whistling through his teeth to attract Stu’s attention, Darren jerked his head in a summoning gesture.

‘Always get your own way, do you?’ Mia teased when Stu immediately obeyed.

Winking at her, Darren planted his hand on the small of her back and pushed her on ahead of him.

Still in her corner, Michelle spotted Mia heading out of the door. Frowning when she saw who she was with, she followed them out into the entrance hall.

‘Mia, wait! Where are you going?’

Mia groaned because she’d forgotten all about her stupid sister and told Darren to wait outside.

‘Go home,’ she hissed, dragging Michelle out of earshot. ‘And if mum gets back before me, tell her I’ve gone round to Laura’s to pick something up.’

‘Where are you
really
going?’ Michelle asked, casting a wary glance at Darren. She wasn’t happy about Mia going off with him, because he was a troublemaker who had always been getting suspended for fighting when he’d still been at school. But it was his girlfriend who most worried Michelle. Gobby as Mia was, she was no match for Sandra Bishop.

‘Mind your own business,’ Mia snapped. ‘And don’t even think about trying to follow us.’

‘We’re supposed to stay together,’ Michelle reminded her.

‘Says who?’ Mia retorted tartly. ‘Mum only said you weren’t allowed to stay in the house by yourself. She didn’t say anything about me babysitting you.’

‘What about Eric?’ Michelle called when Mia flounced back to the waiting group.

‘What about him?’ Mia flipped back coldly. ‘He’s hardly going to try anything on with
you
, is he?’

Peering back at Michelle, Darren said, ‘Who’s that?’

‘Her twin sister,’ Laura informed him. ‘Not that you’d think it to look at them, ’cos Mia’s
well
prettier.’

‘You’re telling
me
,’ he sneered. ‘Beauty and the beast, or what!’

Tears of humiliation stinging her eyes when people started looking to see if he was right, Michelle put her head down and ran outside. It was already dark, and patches of ice were beginning to glisten in the puddles dotting the road. Shivering, she huddled deeper into her cardigan and headed for home – although she wasn’t looking forward to being alone with her mum’s boyfriend when she got there.

Eric had never actually done anything to her, but she just didn’t like him. At six feet he towered over her mum, who was quite short. And where her mum was chubby, he was stick-thin, with a long miserable face and beady little rats’ eyes. Appearances aside, what really pissed Michelle off was the fact that he had a key to their house when he didn’t even live there. Well, not officially, anyway; he just stayed the night – most nights. And their mum might have told him only to use the key when it was dark in case someone reported her to the DSS, but he still shouldn’t have it – and that was one of the rare things Michelle and Mia were in definite agreement about.

Not that their mum cared what
they
thought. If they complained, she just said it was her house, and if they didn’t like it they knew what they could do – which was basically nothing, because they weren’t old enough to leave. And they’d only met their real father once, so they couldn’t go running to him. Mia had threatened to on more than a few occasions when she’d been sulking about something or other, but their mum had just laughed and told her to go for it, knowing full well that she wouldn’t know where to start looking.

Still, creepy as Eric was, at least he wasn’t violent like a few of her mum’s exes had been. And he didn’t spy on her and Mia, or barge into their bedroom in the hopes of catching them getting undressed, like the last one. So Michelle supposed she could tolerate him.

As long as he stayed away from her.

She reached Alexandra Road a few minutes later and was about to cross over to walk past the park when she spotted a gang of older girls from the estate hanging around at the gates. Knowing from experience that they would have a go at her if she walked past, she decided to go through the park instead. It might take twice as long, but it was better than getting her head kicked in.

She climbed through the broken fence and walked quickly, keeping an eye on the bushes as she skirted the inky waters of the lake. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind her a few seconds later, she glanced back, her heart lurching when she saw the shadowy figure of a man running towards her. But before she could even think about moving out of his way he barged into her, knocking her flat on her back.

Reaching down to help her up, he said, ‘God, I’m sorry, love! I didn’t see you there. Are you all right?’

Shrinking from his touch, Michelle pushed herself shakily to her feet and stared up at him. He was breathing hard, his face flushed and sweaty from running, and there were wisps of steam rising from his dark hair. He had a soft Irish accent which made him sound non-threatening, but without being able to see his eyes she couldn’t be sure
what
he was thinking. All she knew was that she’d be powerless to defend herself if he went for her, because he was so much bigger than she was.

Fortunately for her, Liam Grant had never attacked a girl in his life – and he wasn’t about to start now. Sickened by the fear in her eyes, because he’d seen it so many times in the eyes of his own mother, he raised his hands and stepped back.

‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch you. But there’s plenty who would, so why the hell are you walking through here by yourself at this time of night? Don’t you know how dangerous it is round here?’

Wiping her muddy hands on her jeans, Michelle muttered, ‘I’ve lived here all my life, and nothing’s ever happened to me.’

‘
Yet
,’ Liam countered, frowning at her. ‘But you’re only a girl; you shouldn’t be out on your own in the dark.’

‘
Only
a girl,’ she repeated indignantly.

Tutting softly, he said, ‘You know what I meant. Anyhow, come on . . . I’ll walk you the rest of the way.’

Taken aback by the unexpected offer, Michelle stayed where she was when he began to walk on. Most of the lads round here didn’t have the slightest sense of protectiveness towards the girls in their lives. Darren Mitchell, for example: it probably wouldn’t even cross his mind to make sure that Mia got home safely from wherever he’d taken her tonight. He was the sort who would get what he wanted and then turf her out into the dark, forgetting all about her as soon as the door was shut. But here was a total stranger, showing genuine concern for a girl he’d never even met before.