Two-Faced (5 page)

‘I’m only saying I’ll
think
about it,’ Kim told her. ‘But don’t rush me or I’ll change my mind. And I’ll want names and numbers before I make any decisions, ’cos I’ve heard about the scams these people pull on kids like you, and I’m having none of that. Not when it’s my money getting used.’

Knowing full well that these were just words, Mia bounded across the room and kissed her mother, gushing, ‘Thank you, thank you, you won’t regret it.’

Forcing herself not to look as pleased as she actually felt by this rare show of affection, Kim said, ‘I still need to know how much we’re talking about.’

‘Not much,’ Mia said gleefully, oblivious to the instant look of horror on her mum’s face when she added, ‘Darren reckons it’ll only be about three hundred.’

‘God, that’s a
lot
. How the hell am I supposed to get my hands on that kind of money?’

‘You can’t back out now you’ve said I can do it.’ Mia’s face darkened in a flash. ‘I know it
sounds
like a lot, but it’s not that much really. And I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my first job.’

‘That’s not the point,’ Kim countered reasonably. ‘Honest to God, Mia, there’s just no way I can afford it.’

‘Oh, that’s just great, that is,’ Mia complained. ‘You don’t have any problem when you need booze and fags, do you? You just don’t want to put yourself out for
me
– that’s the truth of it.’

‘That’s not fair. You know I’ve always done my best by you.’

‘So do
this
for me, then. You’re always saying I’m way prettier than the girls on
America’s Next Top Model
, and if they can do it, so can I – and
better
. A year from now you could be living in a mansion, with your own swimming pool and maids and everything.’

Kim flapped her hands and sighed. Mia was right; some of those top models earned a small fortune. She was always reading about them jetting about with their Prada shoes and their Gucci bags. And God knew none of
this
family was ever going to earn money from brainpower alone.

‘All right, I’ll try,’ she said. ‘But I’m not promising anything, ’cos it won’t be easy. I’ll have to get the Christmas Club money back off Pam for starters, and she’s not going to like that.’

‘Tough!’ Mia snorted. ‘It’s our money, not hers, so she’s got no say what we do with it.’

‘I know, but you know what she’s like. And don’t you go saying anything to her and setting her off on one. Just let me deal with her.’

‘How much have you paid in so far?’ Mia asked, not in the least bothered that it was only a matter of weeks until Christmas and if her mum took the money back now there would be no way of replacing it in time.

‘I haven’t been writing it down, so I’m not positive,’ Kim told her. ‘But I reckon it should be about one-twenty or so by now.’

Grumbling that that was nowhere near enough, Mia thought about it for a moment, then said, ‘How about Len Pritchard?’

‘You must be joking!’ Kim snorted. ‘After what happened last time?’

Mia waved her hand dismissively and said, ‘He’d never have cut your finger off really. He was just saying that to scare you into paying up.’

‘Yeah, well, it worked. Anyway, he told me not to bother asking again, so I’m not.’

‘Oh, right, so you’re going to let pride get in the way of my future?’

‘I never said that,’ Kim murmured, rolling her eyes.

Squealing with excitement because it was a sure sign that her mum had caved in, Mia danced around the room, saying, ‘I’m going to be a model! Yay! Wait till I tell Darren, he’ll be well chuffed! And my mates will be
so
jealous.’

‘Don’t start running before you’ve even stood up in the cot,’ Kim cautioned, trying to bring her daughter back down to earth before she got too carried away. ‘It’s not going to be that easy, you know.’

‘Course it is,’ Mia scoffed, sounding as confident as she felt as she skipped towards the door. ‘I’m gorgeous – what more do I need? Oh, apart from some money to get to town.’ She paused to give her mum a cheeky smile.

Tutting, Kim reached under the quilt in search of her handbag. Touching bare leg instead of the tights she’d been wearing the night before, she patted her way up her thigh and frowned when she discovered that she also wasn’t wearing any knickers. She’d definitely had underwear on when she’d gone out, because bingo wasn’t the kind of venue where she’d go commando. But then she’d gone to that club in town, and – if her memory served her right – Pam had persuaded her to go to some party in Salford with some blokes they’d met.

Oh, God!

Feeling sick now, wondering if she’d gone and shagged some stranger while she was pissed out of her head, she cleared her throat, and said, ‘Have you, er, seen Eric this morning?’

‘He didn’t stay,’ Mia told her. ‘He left about half an hour after you got home last night.’

‘What time was that?’

‘About four, I think. And you were singing your head off, so it took me ages to get back to sleep.’

Ignoring the disapproving look that accompanied the words, Kim frowned. ‘So when Eric came down, were we arguing, or anything?’

‘
No
. He just came down, and then left about half an hour later. Now, can I have my money?’

Kim’s frown turned into a scowl as realisation began to sink in. She hadn’t done the dirty on Eric,
he
’d done the dirty
with
her while she was out of it –
again
. Just wait till she got her hands on him.

She yanked her squashed handbag out from beneath her backside and pulled out a five-pound note. Shaking her head when Mia snatched it from her hand and skipped out, she lifted the quilt to look for her knickers. She found them down at the other end of the couch and was tugging them back on when a sleepy-eyed Michelle wandered in and asked where Mia had gone.

‘To meet her boyfriend,’ Kim told her, lighting a cigarette. ‘She’s going to be a model, so he’s setting up a meeting with his cousin’s agent for her.’

‘
Really?
’ Michelle’s eyebrows knitted together.

‘Yes, really,’ Kim replied waspishly. ‘And what’s with the face? At least she’s got ambition. You’ll never get further than the library at the end of the road,
you.
’

‘You know I want to be a social worker,’ Michelle reminded her, wondering what she’d done to upset her now. But then, you didn’t really have to do anything to get into trouble in this house – unless your name was Mia, and then you couldn’t do any wrong.

‘Fat chance,’ Kim grunted, puffing on her smoke. Pursing her lips as a sudden thought occurred to her, she peered up at Michelle through narrowed eyes. Her daughters were identical, so if one could be a model why couldn’t the other?

As soon as she’d thought it, she visualised the girls standing side by side and dismissed it. Mia had that certain
some
thing about her that Michelle just didn’t have; that sparkle that made people sit up and take notice. And Mia took pride in her appearance, whereas Michelle didn’t seem to give a toss what she looked like.

‘Make us a brew,’ Kim said, her thoughts returning to Mia and this new career that she seemed so set on. ‘Then get dressed, ’cos I need you to go and get my Club money back off Pam. Oh, and I’ll need you to draw out your savings while you’re at it.’

‘
My
savings?’ Michelle gasped.

‘Yes,
your
savings,’ Kim repeated tartly. ‘Mee needs the money to get her pictures done. And I’m not asking, I’m telling – all
right
?’

‘But I’m not supposed to touch them,’ Michelle reminded her. ‘My dad said—’

‘Don’t you
dare
quote that bastard to me,’ Kim barked. ‘And don’t ever let me hear you calling him that again either, ‘cos
I
’m the only dad you’ve ever had. Shows his face
once
when you’re two flaming years old, and chucks a lousy fifty quid apiece at you out of guilt, and thinks that makes him a father? Don’t make me
laugh
!’

‘Sorry,’ Michelle murmured, sloping into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

She leaned back miserably against the sink as she waited for it to boil and bit her lip to prevent the tears which were threatening to flow from spilling over. She hadn’t meant to upset her mum; she knew how hard it had been for her to bring them up without help. But that money was
hers
, and she didn’t see why she should have to hand it over just because Mia had decided that she needed it. And not just
her
money, but the Christmas money, too.

Their mum was constantly in debt of one kind or another; if it wasn’t the gas or electric companies, it was the catalogue people sending threatening letters for non-payment, or one of the neighbours demanding back what she’d borrowed. Hiding behind the sofa when someone was banging on the front door was just a normal way of life in this house. But no matter how badly off she was, their mum
never
touched the Club money, because it was the only way they were guaranteed to have food and presents at Christmas.

And Michelle wouldn’t have minded so much but this was the first mention she’d ever heard of Mia wanting to be a model. The only ambition Mia had ever had until now was to hook herself some rich footballer who would keep her in a life of undeserved luxury. But if she was calling Darren her boyfriend already, he’d obviously been filling her vain head with nonsense, so now they were all going to suffer. And there was nothing that Michelle could do about it, because her mum had made up her mind to scrape the money together and wouldn’t take kindly to anyone questioning her about it. And Mia would only accuse her of being jealous if she voiced her objections.

Which she
wasn’t
. She just didn’t see why she should have to go without Christmas
and
lose her savings for something which might very well not come to anything. And given how fast Mia changed her mind about everything else, it was all too likely that, a couple of weeks down the line, she would announce that she didn’t want to do it after all.

Back in the living room, that same thought had already occurred to Kim. Not as blind to Mia’s faults as everyone seemed to think, she was well aware of her daughter’s habit of swapping and changing her mind at the drop of a hat. But this wasn’t something trivial like a pair of shoes that she’d set her heart on; it was an opportunity for Mia to really make her mark on the world. And whatever it took, and whoever said what, Kim was determined to help her achieve it. But three hundred quid was a hell of a lot of money, and she had no intention of shelling out blindly. If they were going to do this, she would make sure that she was involved every step of the way – looking out for Mia,
and
guarding her investment.

On the phone with the yellow pages open on her lap when Michelle carried her tea through, Kim said, ‘Oh, hello, is this Leece’s photographers? I wonder if you can help me . . . My daughter’s going to be a model, and I need to know how much it’ll be to have one of them port-whatsits done.’

Michelle raised an eyebrow when her mum squawked ‘
How
much?’ The quote was obviously higher than she’d expected, but if Michelle thought it would bring her to her senses and make her call the whole thing off she was disappointed when, moments later, Kim sighed, and said, ‘Okay, fine. But we need it fast, so how soon can you book us in?’

Jotting down the date and time, Kim put the phone down and lit another cigarette off the butt of the last one.

‘How much did they say?’ Michelle asked after a few minutes of heavy silence.

Kim muttered an abrupt ‘Never you mind,’ stood up and stalked over to the sideboard. Yanking the top drawer open, she rifled through it, asking, ‘Have you seen that card with Len Pritchard’s number on it?’

‘Why do you want that?’ Michelle frowned. ‘I thought you weren’t going near him again.’

Kim slammed her fist down so hard on the top of the unit that most of the ornaments that were standing on it fell over. ‘Are you
determined
to make me lose my fucking temper? And I thought I told you to get dressed and go round to Pam’s, so why are you still here?’

Knowing that her mum only ever said the f-word so vehemently when she was really close to the edge, Michelle ran upstairs, cursing Mia under her breath. Len Pritchard was the local loan shark, and he’d already proved that he wasn’t a man to be messed with the last time her mum had borrowed from him. She’d only slipped up on one payment, but he’d kicked the back door practically off its hinges. Michelle still didn’t know where her mum had found the money to pay him off, but she’d truly believed her when she’d promised never to go to him again. Yet here she was, searching for his number to do exactly that – and all because Mia wanted to be a flaming model.

Downstairs, Kim had found the card and made her call. Putting the phone down now, she chewed on her nails. Len hadn’t been pleased to hear from her. In fact, he’d told her to go and fuck herself when she’d asked for a loan, forcing her to swallow her pride and beg – which hadn’t come easy, but at least it had worked. He’d agreed to give her one hundred quid – but it would cost her extra in interest, and he’d warned that he wouldn’t be as lenient as last time if she defaulted again.

If she’d felt sick before, Kim felt twice as bad now – and she still needed to find the rest of the money; although God only knew where she was going to get it at such short notice. Even with the girls’ savings added to Len’s hundred, and the one-twenty from the Club, she was nowhere near the four-seventy-five that the photographers were asking for. But she didn’t know anyone who could or
would
lend her the rest, and it was too late to ask for a crisis loan off the social because she’d booked the photographer for this coming Monday.

She could have kicked herself for going ahead and committing to that without making sure that she could afford it first. But she couldn’t back out now, because the snotty bitch who’d made the booking had told her she’d be charged a cancellation fee. Anyway, she didn’t want to go crawling back to them, because her pride was still smarting from the way the woman had sneered at her like she was some kind of pauper for baulking at the amount that she’d been quoted. Making out like four hundred and seventy-five quid was nothing; that it was a small price to pay –
if
she thought her daughter was worth investing in.