Warhol's Prophecy (28 page)

She glanced at the dashboard clock.

‘I’d better go,’ she told him. ‘Becky will be coming out any time now.’ She paused and touched his arm. ‘If there is something going on between you and Hailey, then that’s
your
business. If there
isn’t
, then give me a call.’ She laughed and closed the door.

He watched as she walked back to her car, then beyond towards the school gates.

Only when he saw Becky emerge from the school, among the hordes of other children, did he drive off.

And from the heaving skies the rain began to fall again.

‘H
E SAID HE
was waiting for
you
,’ Caroline Hacket said as they sat in her kitchen.

She watched Hailey sip her coffee, then look towards the door, which was half open. In the sitting room beyond, Becky was watching TV. Hailey crossed to the door and pushed it shut.

‘Did he say why?’ Hailey wanted to know.

‘He didn’t have to,’ Caroline told her. ‘Listen, I told Adam and I’m telling you, Hailey, whatever’s going on between you two is
your
business.’

‘Did
he
say we were having an affair?’

‘He said there was nothing going on.’

‘But you didn’t believe him?’

‘I just thought that
you’d
tell me if you were sleeping with him.’

‘I’m
not
,’ Hailey insisted.

Caroline eyed her friend impassively.

‘Oh, Christ,’ Hailey groaned. ‘Listen, Caroline, what I’m telling you is the truth. I had lunch with him a couple of days ago. We ended up going back to his house . . .’ She allowed the sentence to trail off.

‘And nothing happened?’ Caroline said quickly.

‘I’d suggested showing some of his work to Waterhole, to see if they were interested in using it on their album covers, that kind of thing,’ Hailey murmured. ‘Things got out of hand. I was mad with Rob. I wanted to get back at him because of his affair with that slut.’

‘So you
did
have sex with Adam?’

‘I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I
told
him I wanted him. We started – but I couldn’t go through with it.’ She explained more fully, slowly. She told Caroline
everything.
Like some kind of confession. As if it was difficult to speak the words.

Truth hurts, doesn’t it?

‘You led him on,’ Caroline said flatly.

‘No,’ Hailey snapped angrily. ‘It wasn’t like that.’

Wasn’t it?

‘Hailey, you let the guy go down on you. I think he could be forgiven for thinking you wanted to be a little more than just friends.’

The two women regarded each other silently for a moment.

‘Why did you want him to stop?’ Caroline said finally.

Hailey shrugged.

‘Maybe I wasn’t as mad at Rob as I thought I was,’ she muttered.

‘So where does that leave Adam?’

‘Who cares? I’m just grateful nothing happened. I shouldn’t even have had lunch with him. I suppose I got carried away. I wanted to show him how grateful I was for him finding Becky. It got out of hand.’

‘You can’t blame
him
, Hailey.’

‘I didn’t
ask
him to send me flowers – or ring me at work.’

‘You bitch,’ Caroline said, smiling. ‘You led him on and now you just want to drop him.’

‘I thought
you
would have understood,’ Hailey retorted, snatching up her coat.

‘No, I don’t.’

‘Look, if I sent out the wrong signals, then I’m sorry, but it’s too late now.’

‘Don’t you think you should be telling Adam this, not me?’

Hailey pulled on her coat.

‘I don’t want to speak to him again, Caroline. It’s as simple as that.’

‘You mean, as long as you can’t see him, you can’t be tempted.’

Hailey headed for the sitting room.

Caroline heard her calling to Becky.

‘Just because Rob was stupid doesn’t mean
I
have to be too,’ Hailey announced.

‘At least have the decency to return his calls, Hailey. Put the poor sod out of his misery. He only wants to speak to you. Where’s the harm in that?’

Hailey didn’t answer.

‘Thanks for picking Becky up,’ she said brusquely, ushering her daughter towards the front door.

‘’Bye, Auntie Caroline,’ Becky called as she left the house, wandering towards the waiting Astra.

‘See you soon, darling,’ Caroline called after her. Then, to Hailey: ‘Speak to him. You owe him that, at least.’

Hailey hesitated a moment, then headed towards the car.

Caroline stood at the door as the Astra pulled away.

T
HE EVENING HAD
passed in relative silence since Rob had taken Becky up to bed.

He and Hailey had barely exchanged ten words. Both of them seemed enveloped by a feeling of weariness. As if each was carrying some crushing weight on their very soul. They sat staring blankly at the television, watching a film both of them had seen before, but which neither seemed willing to switch off.

They had exchanged the usual small talk over the dinner table. Anxious to perpetuate in front of Becky the façade that all was still well between them.

As the credits began to roll, Hailey stretched out her legs before her and glanced across at Rob, who was slumped in the chair, almost asleep.

He stirred, aware of her gaze.

‘It wasn’t much good the
first
time, was it?’ he said, nodding towards the screen.

Hailey smiled and shook her head.

‘Do you fancy a coffee?’ she wanted to know.

‘If you’re making one.’

She got to her feet and headed for the sitting-room door.

Rob caught her hand and held it.

‘Hailey?’

He looked up at her.

‘I sacked Sandy today,’ he said flatly.

Hailey held his gaze.

‘She’s finished at BG Trucks,’ he continued. ‘You were right. I should have done that at the beginning.’

‘Why now?’ she asked, kneeling beside his chair, still holding his hand.

‘I
wanted
to do it. I didn’t want her around any more.’

‘What did she say?’

‘Does it matter? She’s gone. That’s the most important thing. I thought you’d be pleased.’

‘I am. I just wish you’d done it earlier.’

He nodded. ‘So do I.’

She thought how calm his voice was: no confrontational edge to it. He just seemed so tired.

‘Why did you sack her
now
if you wouldn’t do it when your affair ended?’ she enquired.

‘She kept on saying she thought there was still a chance for us. She still wanted me.’

The way
you
wanted Adam Walker
?

‘Do you still want
her
?’

‘I never did. I would never have left you and Becky for her. You know that.’

‘What was it, Rob? Didn’t you want the temptation around any more?’

‘You’ve got what you wanted, Hailey. Can’t you just leave it at that?’

‘
I
wanted her to go, Rob. But are you sure
you
did?’

‘Very sure.’

‘What did Frank say about it?’

‘Not much. He understood why she had to go.’

She reached out and touched his cheek. ‘Promise me you’ll never see her again,’ she whispered.

‘Hailey . . .’

‘Promise me.’

He looked directly at her. ‘I’ll never see her again,’ he murmured.

She got to her feet and kissed him gently on the top of the head.

‘I’ll make the coffee,’ she said quietly.

He heard the sitting-room door close behind her.

Feel better for that? Conscience not pricking quite so badly now?

Rob prepared for the weight to lift from his shoulders.

It didn’t.

F
UCKING BASTARD
.

Lousy, gutless, fucking bastard, thought Sandy Bennett.

She wondered what he was doing now. Sitting playing happy families with his wife and kid, no doubt.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

She exhaled deeply and padded through the small flat to the kitchen, where she found a can of Diet Coke. She’d been toying with idea of getting drunk: downing enough vodka to blot out his memory, at least on a temporary basis.

Instead she’d taken a bath, sitting in the warm, soapy water for what seemed like hours. Thinking about her life – about Rob Gibson.

Bastard.

What was she meant to do now? She didn’t care about losing her job. She knew she’d find another without too much trouble. No, it wasn’t that which preyed on her thoughts. It was the way he had discarded her.

She managed a smile as she wondered if his child had a rabbit. Perhaps she should boil it . . . throw acid over his car.

If it was good enough for Glenn Close, then . . .

She laughed out loud. Actually laughed.

No. She wouldn’t do that. Nothing like it. She wouldn’t cut her wrists, then call him. She wouldn’t attack him. She wouldn’t pretend she was pregnant.

Nothing like that.

She did, however, feel that it might be worth pursuing a claim for unfair dismissal. She made a mental note to visit the Citizens’ Advice Bureau the following morning. First there, and then the temping agency which had found her the job at BG Trucks in the first place.

The mortgage on her flat wasn’t exorbitant and she was confident enough of her own ability to secure a new job before a problem with finances even arose.

She wandered back into the living room, switched off the TV and reached for the remote that controlled the small CD system.

She skipped through tracks, avoiding any that were slow and moody.

Sandy wasn’t in the mood for crying. It was anger she felt, not desperation.

She adjusted the volume on the CD and reached for the discarded copy of
Elle
that lay on the floor beside the sofa. Sipping her Diet Coke straight from the can, she found her page.

At first she didn’t hear the knock on the door.

She looked up and shook her head gently, then continued reading.

Again the knock, more insistent this time.

She frowned and glanced across at the clock on the video: 22.17 p.m.

Sandy sighed.

She hoped it wasn’t that miserable old bastard from the flat below to complain about the music. Christ, it was barely audible.

She got to her feet and headed for the front door.

Rob?

A smile flashed across her face. Had he changed his mind?

Had he come to tell her that there
was
a future for them? That she could have her job back? That he’d been too hasty?

She ran a hand through her hair as she reached for the chain and slipped it into place, before gently easing the door open.

Her smile faded rapidly.

‘My God,’ she whispered, gazing at her visitor. She removed the chain, opening the door, ushering the newcomer inside. ‘Well, you’d better come in,’ she insisted. ‘You can’t stand
there
all night. What the hell are you doing here?’

‘That’s a nice way to greet your brother,’ said David Layton.

T
HE FLOWERS HAD
arrived around two that afternoon. A huge bouquet of mixed blooms.

Hailey hadn’t even needed to look at the card.

He’d phoned four times that day, on each occasion leaving a message with Hailey’s secretary.

Would she please ring him back?

Please
?

Hailey got to her feet and wandered across to the window, gazing out.

The sky threatened rain. Large banks of grey cloud were gathering menacingly.

‘
Speak to him. You owe him that, at least.
’

He’d get the message, surely. A day or two more and the calls would stop.

Wouldn’t they
?

She tried to push thoughts of Adam Walker out of her mind. There were more important things to concern her.

She looked across at the bouquet.

She’d give them to Emma. Let her secretary take them home.

‘
At least have the decency to return his calls.
’