Two-Faced (44 page)

But she didn’t get a chance to say anything when Liam came back, because, sitting down opposite her, he reached for her hand and launched into the speech that
he
had just been rehearsing.

‘I know you’re scared of what will happen when we leave here, Michelle, but I never dreamt that I’d get a chance to be with you again. And now that I have, I’m not going to walk away from you.’ His beautiful green eyes twinkling with sincerity, he went on, ‘I know I’ve done most of the talking since we got here, so you probably think I don’t really know the real
you
, but I remember everything about you from the first time we met. When I knocked you over in the park that night, and you got all uppity with me ’cos I was being a gentleman and you thought I was patronising you. And outside the library: the
look
you gave me when I got your book wet. And then when you saw me with the crew that night and thought they were hassling me. You were so sweet, and I knew then that I wanted you.’ Eyes darkening now, he squeezed her hand. ‘All that shit with your sister was just a terrible mistake, and I’ve regretted it ever since. But, believe me, it could
never
happen again. I love you, and I want you to be well again so that we can get to know each other as the adults we are now, and not as the kids that we were then. Okay?’

Tears were streaming down Mia’s cheeks, but she couldn’t speak. What was there to say? If she went ahead and told him who she was as she’d planned to, she knew exactly what his reaction would be.

Sitting back now, relieved that he’d had the chance to tell her how he felt about her before they went their separate ways – albeit temporarily – Liam winked at her.

‘Don’t cry, gorgeous. Everything’s going to be great from now on – you’ll see.’ Then, glancing at his watch, he said, ‘Anyway, hurry up and eat ’cos the car will be here in fifteen, and I need to straighten the place up.’

‘I don’t want to go,’ Mia blurted out, knowing that as soon as she did this would be the end.

‘You’re just nervous,’ Liam said, getting up and giving her a hug. ‘But don’t be, ’cos I’ll be right behind you every step of the way.’

Unable to eat, Mia tossed the sandwich into the bin when Liam went upstairs to pack their things. She lit a cigarette and chewed on her nails, her mind reeling. She had to find a way to make him see that it was her that he really loved – but how?

Still no clearer about what she was going to do when the car arrived to pick them up, Mia dragged her feet as Liam ushered her towards the door. But when he opened it and she came face to face with Darren Mitchell, she froze.

‘This is my mate Darren,’ Liam told her, touching fists with him. ‘I know you don’t really know him, but he used to go out with your sister.’

Murmuring ‘I know’ as the blush flared across her cheeks, Mia looked down at her feet.

Embarrassed, because he was aware that she probably knew all about how badly he’d treated her sister,
and
because of their own last meeting when he’d accidentally exposed her drug habit, Darren said, ‘Nice to see you again, Michelle. You’re looking loads better than last time.’ Cursing himself for saying that last bit out loud, he shrugged. ‘Anyway, best get going. I’ve only got the motor for a couple of hours. My old man’s taking my mam to Blackpool. Sad, I know,’ he added, rolling his eyes sheepishly. ‘But they’re both mad on karaoke, and there’s some big competition going on over there that he’s convinced he’s going to win.’

Shaking his head in amusement, Liam pushed Mia gently out and pulled the door shut behind them. Handing the keys to Darren, he said, ‘Cheers for letting us stay here, mate. I don’t know what I would have done without you. But I’ll see you right.’

Darren took the Samsonite case from him, shrugged, and said, ‘No worries. It was the least I could do. Mia’s sister, innit?’

In the back of the car Mia gazed out of the window as the two men chatted quietly up front. She had no idea what area they had just been staying in, but her heart began to feel heavy as they left it behind and the unfamiliar streets they drove through gradually started to become familiar. She was feeling almost suicidal by the time they turned off the Princess Parkway onto her road and she closed her eyes tightly, not even wanting to see the house. But seconds later Darren had stopped.

‘Michelle?’ Liam said quietly, thinking that she’d fallen asleep. ‘We’re here.’

Inhaling deeply, Mia opened her eyes.

‘Don’t panic,’ Liam said now, reaching through the seats to take her hand, ‘but Darren’s just told me there’s a rumour going round that you’ve been burgled, and your mum and Mia haven’t been staying here for a while. So I want you to stay in the car while we go and check it out – okay?’ Nodding when she did, he said, ‘Give us your keys. It should only take a minute.’

‘I haven’t got them,’ Mia said, staring up at the house now and wondering – as Liam and Darren just had – if Steve had had anything to do with it.

‘Ah,’ Liam murmured. ‘Of course you haven’t. Oh, well, it doesn’t matter, I’m sure we’ll be able to get in.’

‘Round the back,’ Darren said, flicking glances at the neighbouring windows. ‘They’re a right load of beaky gets round here; they’ll probably call the pigs if they see us.’

‘I don’t want to stay here by myself,’ Mia squawked as they began to get out of the car. ‘I’m coming with you. What if he’s got Vern watching – like last time. I’d only been back two minutes and he had me the minute I walked out of the door.’

Liam exchanged a hooded glance with Darren, both of them sure that Vern definitely would
not
be watching, even though there had been no reports of any bodies of shot black males having been found recently. ‘All right, come with us,’ he said. ‘But stay behind me. And if anything happens,
run
.’

As Darren took a screwdriver and a hammer out of the boot, Mia clutched at Liam’s arm and cast terrified glances around while they made their way down the alley to the back of the house, petrified of what would happen if Steve got hold of her again.

The door had obviously been kicked in recently, because there were shoe prints all over it, and while it had since been boarded up it was easy for Darren to shoulder it open.

‘Shit, what a mess,’ he said when he stepped into the kitchen and saw all the debris still littering the floor.

‘My clothes!’ Mia gasped, heading for the stairs.

Going after her, Liam pushed past her and raced up the stairs to check that nobody was hiding in the bedrooms. He didn’t think anybody was there, because when you walked into rooms where somebody had been recently you could still feel the dust settling and hear the phantom sounds of TVs or conversations which hadn’t yet soaked into the carpet. But this house had that still air of abandonment about it – like Darren’s grandad’s place. Still, it was safer to be sure.

‘Oh, no,’ Mia cried when she saw her precious designer clothes torn to shreds. She snatched up her favourite Chanel dress and clutched it to her chest. ‘This cost two hundred quid! And it’s
vintage
. I’ll never find another one like it in a million years!’

As he gazed down at Mia while she gathered up the rags, naming the labels and quoting the prices, it flashed through Liam’s mind to wonder why it had never occurred to him that she might be as image-conscious as her sister. But the thought went as soon as it came. Girls were like that, so there was nothing funny about it.

‘Oh, thank God for that,’ Mia exclaimed, spotting the suitcase under the bed. If it hadn’t been opened it would still contain all the clothes that she’d had with her when they’d stayed at Sammy’s house that time.

Sammy! She’d bet
that
was where her mum and Michelle had gone. And she’d bet that little trickster bitch of a sister of hers had plenty of Mia’s nice designer clothes with her, too. And more that she’d probably bought from the money she’d been earning in Mia’s name.

‘I think I know where my mum might be,’ she told Liam now, looking at him as he waited patiently in the doorway. ‘I’m not sure of the exact address, but if we can get to the place I’ll know it when I see it.’

31

Eyeliner brush poised, Linda, the make-up artist, sighed and gave Michelle a mock-pained look. ‘If you don’t stop it, you’re going to end up looking like Amy Winehouse.’

‘Sorry,’ Michelle murmured, her nostrils flaring as she sucked her top lip between her teeth to prevent herself from laughing again.

‘It’s my fault,’ Kim admitted, sounding like a guilty little girl as she sat in the chair facing Michelle’s, having rollers put into her hair. ‘I just get these urges to itch when I’m supposed to sit still. But
you
should control yourself,
Mia
,’ she scolded Michelle, no longer having to think before she called her by that name because it felt so natural to her now.

‘Oh, right, blame me, why don’t you!’ Michelle exclaimed indignantly.

‘Will you both just
shut up
and let us get on with this before we make a complete mess of it!’ Carmel, the hairdresser, chuckled, pulling Kim’s head firmly back into position.

Exchanging a
That’s told us!
look with Michelle, Kim twisted her head right around when Sammy ambled into the room carrying a tray of coffees.

When he heard Carmel sigh, he said, ‘Are they being naughty again?’

‘When are they ever not?’ Linda asked, raising Michelle’s chin to get a better angle on her eyes.

‘They’re just excited,’ Sammy explained, taking his own cup from the tray and sitting down on his chair by the window. ‘It’s a big thing, this charity do. Great honour to be asked to hand over the cheque to the mayor.’

‘I wouldn’t know,’ Linda murmured, her eyes firmly fixed on the job at hand. ‘Us lowly beauticians never get invited to fancy parties – do we, Car?’

‘Do we buggery,’ Carmel snorted.

‘Ah, sorry,’ Michelle murmured, trying not to move as she spoke. ‘I wish we could take you, but they didn’t give us any spare tickets.’

Smiling, knowing that she probably meant it, Linda said, ‘We’re only teasing, hon. You just make sure you tell us all about it next time we see you, ’cos we’ve heard there’s going to be loads of stars there.’

‘Oh,
don’t
,’ Michelle groaned, feeling her stomach do a little flip. ‘I’m already nervous.’

‘What have you got to be nervous about?’ Carmel scoffed. ‘You’re just as famous as them.’

‘I don’t
think
so,’ Michelle retorted modestly.

Smiling, Sammy crossed his legs and looked on proudly as Michelle and Kim’s pampering session continued. They were beginning to feel more like family to him than client and mother of client, and he absolutely loved the life they had brought into his house.

It had been nice the last time they had stayed, and the silence after they had gone home had been unbearable. But this time there had been none of the strained atmosphere; it had been fun and laughter all the way, and they’d had some lovely talks in the evenings. And the living room was a mess right now, with all the clothes they’d been trying on throughout the day strewn everywhere. But Michelle would soon put it back to rights because she actually enjoyed cleaning up.

‘There we go,’ Linda said after a while, stepping back to scrutinise her handiwork. ‘What do you think, Sammy?’

Bobbing his head to see around her, Sammy nodded. ‘Oh yes, very nice.’

‘
Nice
,’ Linda repeated, tutting softly. ‘Typical bloody man! Nice, indeed. She’s
gorgeous
.’

‘Aw, leave him alone,’ Kim said protectively. ‘He can’t help it.’

Sipping on his coffee, Sammy stared at the blank TV screen and reminded himself that Kim had only spoken up for him like that because they were friends – nothing more. And just because he might wish that there was a little more to it than that, that didn’t mean that he would ever be presumptuous enough to cross the boundaries and raise the subject with her. She was an enigmatic woman in many ways, and on the face of it she might seem common or uneducated. Maybe the latter was even true, because she herself freely admitted that her schooling hadn’t been of the highest standard. Nevertheless, despite the fact that she could be very literal, forcing precision in the way you worded things to ensure that she took it as you’d intended, she had a very sharp mind and seemed to enjoy a debate on whatever subject might crop up. Still, whatever label others might apply to her, Sammy found her stimulating. And since she’d begun to relax, free of the stresses that she’d always seemed to be under in the earlier period of their relationship, she was also proving to be quite funny and warm-hearted.

After gathering the equipment together, Linda and Carmel sat down on the big comfortable couch to drink their coffees before leaving.

‘I love this house,’ Carmel commented, gazing around the spacious lounge. ‘It feels really big, but homely at the same time.’

‘It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?’ Kim agreed. ‘Really relaxing. I love sitting in here in the morning, ’cos you can hear all the birds singing. Not like at our place, eh, Mia?’

Michelle smiled, and shook her head. ‘No, it’s usually dogs barking and people coughing up phlegm round our way in the morning.’

‘Mmm,’ Kim murmured, gazing off into space. She loved it here; wouldn’t care if she never saw her own house again. But she’d have to before too long, because they couldn’t just keep abusing Sammy’s hospitality like this. They’d now been here even longer than the last time.

‘Ah, well, we’d best make a move before we take root,’ Linda said, struggling up from the comfortable cushions. ‘Thanks for the coffee, Sammy. And ladies, it was a pleasure – as always. Have a wonderful night tonight, and we’ll see you next time.’

Sammy paid them, then showed them out and wandered down to the gate to guide Linda out as she reversed her small car onto the road.

Mia twisted her head as they passed the gates. Her stomach churned when she spotted Sammy. He had his back to them and was waving his arms, but no one else was that fat, and his grey curls, which seemed only to spring out from the back of his head, were unmistakable.