Lisa hoped that her eyes didn’t give away that her smile was fake.
34
“Mummy, why is there a lady sleeping in her underwear?” a young boy asked as he climbed up and leaned over the wall by the lighthouse.
“Don’t be ridiculous, James,” the mother answered.
“But, Mummy, there is a lady behind the wall!” James continued.
The noise startled Jen. She woke, and watched the little boy stare at her intently. Two further sets of eyes joined the boys over the wall. A woman’s and a man’s.
“What the hell?” the man said, almost instinctively upon seeing Jen, lying in her underwear.
“Oh, thank God!” Jen started. “You speak English. Where am I?”
The woman looked at Jen with suspicion at first.
“I’m sorry,” Jen replied. “I really don’t know where I am.”
The father spoke. “You are on Lobos Island. Did you get left behind yesterday? Are you OK?”
“I think so,” Jen replied. “I swam here after falling off a boat.”
She paused for a moment, before adding. “You’re British.”
The mother then spoke, “And so are you, it would seem. How on earth did you end up here?”
She looked at how vulnerable Jen looked as she tried to cover her bra with her arms.
“Where are my manners?” the mother continued.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a lightweight cardigan.
“Please, this should cover you up a bit.”
“Thanks,” Jen replied, graciously accepting it.
“Have you been here all night?” the father asked.
Jen nodded.
“How did you fall off a boat?” he asked.
The mother lightly slapped him on the arm.
“Can’t you see that this woman is in shock?” she smiled at Jen. “Roger, will you take James over there to play?”
The father nodded and reluctantly started to guide his son away. He looked like a little boy who had just been scolded. He wanted to hear how this woman had ended up on the island, however, his wife had other ideas.
“Excuse my husband,” the woman continued, “He’s nosy. But then again, it’s not every day you see a woman asleep in her underwear on a deserted island.”
Jen blushed, she felt even more exposed.
“I’m Lizzy,” the woman said. “Wait there.”
The woman walked along the side of the wall until she reached a gap where she could walk the other side.
Jen was conscious that more and more people were starting to walk in her direction.
Lizzy reached her and sat down beside her.
“We were on the first day trip over.” she started. “If you’ve been here all night, you must be thirsty and hungry.”
Lizzy reached into her bag again, this time pulling out a carton of apple juice and a cereal bar.
“Snacks for James,” she said as she handed them over. “But I’m guessing you need these more than him at the moment.”
“Are you sure?” Jen asked.
Lizzy nodded, and Jen took the straw out of the plastic and thrust it into the little foil opening on the top of the carton, she took a long sip.
“Thanks, I needed that,” she said.
“So, how did you end up on Lobos Island?” Lizzy asked.
“Like I said,” Jen replied. “I fell off a boat and I swam here.”
Lizzy looked confused.
“Won’t the people on the boat have looked for you?” she asked.
Jen shook her head.
“They weren’t good people.” She quickly changed the subject. “I need to get back to Lanzarote. Do you have a phone I could borrow? I need to phone my friend.”
Lizzy got her phone out of her pocket.
“No signal,” she said.
“Shit.” Jen muttered.
Lizzy looked at her intently.
“Look, lady, I don’t know what kind of trouble you have got yourself into, but the only way you are going to get to Lanzarote is if you get the boat from here to Fuerteventura and get a boat from there. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to get involved.”
Jen nodded. “Honestly, I promise you I’m not some dodgy person. I just found myself out of my depth, literally.”
She began to take the cardy off.
“I understand, honestly. Thanks for the drink. Can you tell me where I can get the boat from?”
Lizzy could see a determination in Jen’s face, but also how, despite her vulnerability, she understood where Lizzy was coming from.
Lizzy stopped Jen taking off the cardy. She came to a realisation. James had found her, and she was going to help her.
“Rog!” she yelled. “Change of plan, we are getting the next boat back.”
She turned to Jen again.
“I’ll show you. I guess it’s my job to get you back.”
35
Gemma picked up her phone, and stared at the blank screen. Nothing from Jen.
She didn’t expect there to be anything from her. She wondered if she would ever see her best friend again. She was jolted from her thoughts by a small voice.
“Gemma, is the toast burning?”
Gemma quickly popped the toaster.
“Shit!” she said.
“My Mam always says a bit of charcoal does you good,” Nadia replied. She was smiling and seemed visibly relaxed after a good night’s sleep.
Gemma scraped the worst of the black off the toast with a knife over the sink.
“I’ll eat these pieces, I’ll put some fresh in for you now, Nadia.”
Gemma grabbed another two slices of bread and popped them in the toaster.
She then grabbed the butter which she had already taken out of the fridge to soften in the warm kitchen and buttered the toast.
“Has my mam messaged you?” Nadia asked.
Gemma shook her head, “They’ll be in the air now.” She smiled at the teenager, before adding, “I bet you can’t wait to see her now.”
Nadia looked like she was really considering the question, and replied in barely more than a whisper.
“What if she won’t love me when she knows what I’ve done?”
Gemma put her plate down and rushed to Nadia. She sat down beside her and put her arm around her.
“Of course she’ll still love you!” Gemma said. “What has happened to you is not your fault.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Nadia said.
Gemma looked at her, expecting the teenager to start to cry. But instead she saw a face of mature contemplation.
“There are days when I love this baby, when I can feel the baby move,” Nadia started. “But I’m only sixteen, I’m not ready to be a mum.”
Gemma nodded, allowing Nadia to speak.
“If I keep the baby, I’ll always know how it was made,” Nadia continued. “I don’t think that’s fair.”
“That’s totally understandable,” Gemma replied.
“I can’t get rid of it though, it’s not the baby’s fault, but when it’s born, I don’t think I want to keep it. My mother is going to hate me for that, isn’t she?”
“Stop worrying about ‘what ifs’ Nadia,” Gemma said. “One day at a time.”
Nadia paused, Gemma expected her to say something profound.
“I’ve made you burn my toast now!” she laughed.
Gemma laughed too, despite the fear she had about Jen. She had a feeling that whatever happened, Nadia would turn out OK, and that made her proud of her friend for saving her.
36
He took another long drag on his cigarette, before setting the last remains down on the ashtray. He grabbed another cigarette from the packet and placed it on his lips. He pulled the cigarette from the ashtray and lit the new one with it, before stamping out the last remaining glowing embers from the butt. The butt joined three more that had been smoked in quick succession.
He was chain smoking, a sign that he was anxious.
Biscuit had slept fitfully. In the cold light of day, he wanted Nadia back. The thought of not smelling her hair as he thrust into her from behind was too much to tolerate. He needed her back, he needed to feel her soft dark skin, to be able to trace his hands over her growing stomach, to feel the baby, his baby, move inside her after she lay there sobbing after he had ejaculated inside her.
He felt an erection start to grow in his pants, but as he imagined never being able to fuck her again, it subsided as quickly as it had started to grow.
He stubbed the cigarette out, this time without lighting another.
He pulled on his shorts and a t-shirt. He grabbed his dirty, sweaty, trainers and pulled them onto his feet. He was going back to the apartment complex; he was going to see if Nadia was there. The people he had spoken to had said that she was with a woman. If she was only with a woman, he could overpower them. He could get his Nadia back.
37
“Please, come with us back to our apartment. I can get you some clothes and you can phone from there,” Lizzy said, as the boat began its final approach back into Fuerteventura.
“Honestly, you’ve done so much already,” Jen said.
“We insist.” Roger replied. “We’re only a few minutes’ walk away from the port, we can buy you some flip flops before we walk up.”
“I’ll find a way to get the money back to you,” Jen replied.
They got off the boat.
“Wait here a minute,” Roger said.
“Do you like swimming?” James asked, as they sat on the wall.
“Yes, James, I love swimming!” Jen replied, a smile spreading across her face as she spoke to the curious child.
“But wasn’t you scared in the sea?” he asked.
“The sea can be very scary,” Jen replied. “Which is why you should never go in on your own.”
“Why did you go in on your own then?” he asked.
Lizzy butted in, “James, will you stop asking Jen so many questions?”
Jen laughed, “It’s OK. He only wants to know. So, James, do you like swimming?”
James nodded, “But only in a pool, I’ve been having lessons, and I can swim a width on my own now.” He beamed with pride.
“Wow!” Jen replied. “A whole width! You’ll be swimming lengths before you know it!”
Roger returned with a pair of flip flops.
“Not the most stylish, but they’ll protect your feet,” he said, as he handed them over.
“Honestly, you’ve both been so kind.”
They walked back to an apartment complex. Jen could hear the sound of children shouting and screaming with delight as they played.
“Let’s drop our stuff off, and then you and I go and play in the pool, James,” Roger said.
Lizzy mouthed a thank you to her husband, as he and James raced off ahead towards the apartment.
“When we get back, you can use my phone, there’s Wi-Fi. I’ll make you something proper to eat and a cup of tea as well,” Lizzy said.
“You’re amazing,” Jen answered, feeling really grateful to these strangers that had come to her rescue.
“I’ll grab you something proper to wear too. You’re thinner than me, but I’m sure one of my dresses will be OK. I’ve brought one that’s a bit too tight for me anyway.”
Jen followed Lizzy into the apartment. Roger and James were already in a bedroom, Jen could hear James squeal with delight as he changed into his swimming trunks. The two of them emerged from the bedroom with an inflatable pink unicorn.
“He could’ve had a crocodile, but James wanted this,” Roger said, almost apologetically.
Jen laughed, “Well, I think it’s fabulous!” she said.
“Have fun, boys” Lizzy said. She turned to Roger and handed him a bottle of sun cream.
“You make sure you put this on when you get poolside, OK? Or you’ll both end up brighter than the unicorn.”
Roger grinned, “Yes, boss!” he replied.
Once they closed the door, Lizzy turned to Jen.
“What is your friend’s number?” she asked.
“I honestly don’t know it,” Jen replied. “But if I can log into Facebook, I can ring her through messenger, if that’s OK?”
38
Gemma heard the vibration of her phone.
“I wasn’t expecting them to land so soon,” she said to Nadia, before picking the phone up.
She looked at the display, it said ‘Messenger audio, Jen Knight’.
“OH, MY GOD!” she screamed, before she even pressed the answer button.
“Jen?” she said, the question and hesitation in her voice, not quite ready to believe that it was her friend.
“Alright, Gemma?” Jen said, nonchalantly.
“Oh my god, oh my god, it’s really you!” Gemma replied, bursting into tears as she said it.
“Are you OK, Gemma?” Nadia asked from the other side of the room.
“It’s Jen!” she replied.
Nadia rushed over to Gemma, “Is she OK? Has she got Maxine and Abdul?”
Jen could hear the conversation on the other side of the line. She walked over to the balcony of the apartment, trying to get some privacy from Lizzy.
Lizzy must have realised what she was doing, and went inside the bedroom and closed the door.
“I’m OK, long story, I’m in Fuerteventura, but I’m OK. I haven’t got the others, I’m so sorry.”
Gemma shook her head to Nadia, who lowered her head in disappointment, and returned to the sofa, she sat staring out through the balcony window.
Jen spoke quietly, not wanting Lizzy to overhear what had happened to her.
“They threw me overboard when they found me,” Jen said. “Obviously they weren’t expecting that I was an experienced sea swimmer.”
“How did you get to Fuerteventura?” Gemma asked.
“I swam to the nearest land,” Jen began. “Apparently that is an uninhabited island, but a tourist trip woke me up this morning, and one family brought me back. I’m in their apartment now.”
“That’s mental!” Gemma replied. “Are you OK?”
“Bit stiff from sleeping on a concrete floor, but I’m fine. I just have to work out how I’m going to get back to Lanza.”
“I’ll send Troy over to get you,” Gemma replied.
“Troy?” Jen questioned.
“Yep, when he found out you were missing, he took the first flight out. In fact, I thought you were Marcus ringing to say they had landed. Nadia’s mum is on the flight too.”
“How is she?” Jen asked.
“The kid’s a fighter.” Gemma replied. “Anyhow, how are you going to get back?”
“I don’t know.” Jen answered. “I have no money, I’m wearing a pair of flip flops and one of Lizzy’s dresses. Lizzy is the mother in the family that found me. I’m in some apartment complex near the port.”
“Can the family give you some money to get back?” Gemma asked.
“I don’t know,” Jen answered. “I can’t think straight at the moment. Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back when I’ve spoken to Lizzy.”
Jen hung up.
“I’m sorry, darling,” Gemma started to say to Nadia. “They threw Jen off the boat; she couldn’t save them.”
She looked at Nadia, there was horror in her face as she looked out of the balcony doors. It was if she couldn’t hear Gemma at all.
“He’s come back for me.” She cried, pointing at a scruffy bald bearded man who was walking past the pool. “That’s Biscuit. I think he’s the father of my baby.”
39
“Ladies and Gentleman. Welcome to Lanzarote, where the local time is 1.15pm. EasyJet would like to thank you for flying with us. We will be opening both the fr
ont and rear exits for your departure from the aircraft. We hope you have a fantastic holiday.”
Marcus switched on his phone. The screen showed a connection to Movistar, and an alert quickly beeped on his phone.
Troy looked at Marcus, hopefully.
“A text about roaming charges, mate. Sorry.” Marcus said. “I’ll ring once we get through the terminal. We should be through quickly as we only have carry-on baggage.”
Troy nodded but didn’t speak. His phone was also flashing into life, receiving the same text message from his network provider.
Marcus watched as Lisa and Liam got to their feet. Lisa mouthed to Marcus, “Meet you inside.”
Marcus nodded. He turned around and could see Beth with Roberta a few rows behind. Beth was whispering something to the mother, obviously giving her an idea as to what would happen next.
Marcus was struck with a thought. He didn’t really know what was going to happen next. He watched the holiday makers on the flight start fussing with their hand luggage. They were oblivious to what his group were there for, what they had in store in front of them.
A man in the row in front broke Marcus train of thought.
“Cheer up mate, you’re meant to be on holiday!” he said smugly, before adding, “Had a lover’s tiff have you?” Gesturing his head towards Troy.
Marcus ignored him. “Sanctimonious prick,” he thought to himself.
He sat back down next to Troy.
“We’re meeting Lisa inside,” he said. “I’m guessing they’ve planned how we get to the resort.”
Troy nodded.
Marcus could see he wanted to speak, but they were both very conscious that the sanctimonious prick was still watching them intently.
“Thanks.” Troy quietly said.
...
Soon they were all inside the terminal building. Lisa gathered the six of them together, away from the other passengers who were waiting to go through passport control.
No Escape (Sinister Minds Quick Reads Book 2) Page 9
