by Nikki Ashton
I let out a pained whimper, realising he was right. I’d been stupid. Too scared of the man who had snubbed out the light in my life. Too scared to think logically.
“You won’t get away with this.”
He snatched my fingers from the key and turned it. “Yeah well I’ve nothing left to lose, thanks to you.”
He pushed me into the hall, sending me flying and when my hands and knees hit the floor, he pushed his foot against my back so that I fell flat on my face.
“Since meeting you, my life’s been a fucking mess. I lost my job and reputation and yet here you are living your perfect life, with my fucking son. Fucking my son as well.”
I crawled along the floor and managed to drag myself to the kitchen door, holding on to the door frame I pulled myself up. If he was going to hurt me then I was going to face him while he did it, so I turned with my back against the wall.
“Adam will hate you for this,” I breathed out in between gulping for air.
“Like I care what he thinks.”
Mr Mills lifted his leg behind him and kicked the door closed.
“He’s your son. You came back for him.”
As I said the words, I knew that they were totally false. In my heart of hearts, I’d always known he came to Maddison Edge for me, not to reconnect with Adam. My chest ached as I thought of Adam, how I loved him and how this man had stopped us from being together. How the monster in front of me had manipulated his son, who was already broken and full of pain, into believing he was back to save him.
“I had no fucking idea he was here,” he sneered, taking a determined step closer to me. “When that friend of his contacted me to tell me where you were and asked if I wanted to know so I could mess with you for ‘setting me up’ I had no idea he knew Adam.”
My mouth went dry as his words resonated in my head. “F-friend?”
“Yeah, the black kid. Managed to connect with that friend of yours, Harley, on Facebook. She told him everything about you and what you did to me. Then she spotted me in town one day and organised for us to talk.”
He looked me up and down disdainfully, but all I could think was that Ellis had been the one to bring him here. Ellis who was supposed to be Adam’s best friend. Not Kirk, or even Seth Davies, but Ellis. Ellis and that bitch Harley. How ironic this was partly down to her after the lie I’d told Alannah that day.
“Bit of a shock is it?” Mr Mills asked, leaning his face closer to mine. “Well I can only thank him. He wanted to split you two up, so he was the one who paid some kid to spread the word about us.”
Ellis had paid for my darkest secret to be spread around like salacious gossip.
“There was no us,” I whimpered, veering away from him, and banging my head against the wall.
He gave an empty laugh and shook his head. “Angle it whichever way you like, but you know what the truth really is.”
Mr Mills lifted a finger and ran it down my cheek, turning the blood in my veins to ice. The feel of his fingertip was all too familiar and created a crack in my soul. The track he’d followed felt as though it was scarred, and I could practically feel the skin blistering and puckering as he continued to stare at me.
“There’s no loyalty with any of you fucking kids,” he said, his lip curling. “Even that girl who Adam let suck his dick from time to time.”
“Mackenna?” I gasped. “W-what did you do to her?”
His dismissive shrug made me realise that whatever it was, it was nothing to him. His actions were inconsequential as far as he was concerned.
“Well I bought her some clothes and shoes, and paid for her to have her hair done, so she was more than happy to give me what I needed. More than happy to give herself whichever way I wanted.”
Bile rose in my throat as images of Mackenna with hair like mine and dressed like me washed in front of my eyes. My hands started to shake at my sides, drawing Mr Mills’ gaze.
“Worried that she might take your place with Adam?”
“You’re sick,” I managed to utter, taking huge breaths of air to stem back the need to vomit. “We’re seventeen years old, how could you?”
Mr Mills cupped my chin gently, but when I reared my head back, he gripped and squeezed hard; his stare deathly.
“I can because I love you and you love me. No one will ever come between us, not my son, not your mother, not anyone.” He laughed, shaking his head. “It was so easy to make Adam believe your mother paid for my beating, so easy to slice a shadow of doubt between you. Think of how he didn’t trust you.”
His words were dark, menacing and low, sending a cold, fearful pain throughout my body. I could hear the thump, thump, thump of my heart pounding in my ear drums as his fingers loosened their grip and slowly caressed my jaw. His touch made me feel dirty, it made me want to crumble and go back into the dark. All the feelings of self-hatred and shame were back as I remembered what he’d done to me, what he was probably going to do to me again.
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me-
“Shut the fuck up with the song,” Mr Mills said, pinching my chin tighter. “I don’t want to hear it.”
I opened my mouth to sing again, but a screech of tyres outside the house pulled a gasp from my lips instead. Instantly Mr Mills dragged me in front of him and clapped a hand over my mouth.
“Make a noise and I’ll do to you what I did to that cheap imitation of you.”
My heart stopped and fear took a firmer hold of me. Did he mean Mackenna? What had he done to her?
The banging and thumping on the door started and for a brief second I felt elation, until he whispered into my ear.
“I mean it.”
Bang, bang, bang.
“Sarah, Mrs Danes, are you in there?”
Bang, bang, bang.
“Babe, please if you’re there open the door. I need to speak to you, something bad has happened and I need to check you’re okay.”
Bang, bang, bang.
“Sarah, please.”
Adam sounded desperate, his voice breaking.
“Please babe, just answer the fucking door.”
Bang, bang, bang.
“Sarah, you have to be in there. I need to know you’re okay. Please, babe.”
The last two words were dragged from his throat as a sob and tears ran down my cheeks as his despair echoed through the hallway. I had never heard him sound so anxious or broken and it was hurting my heart. I had no idea whether he loved me, but I knew it would shatter him if anything were to happen to me. He would always blame himself for letting his dad back into his life and his soul would never recover.
I would not allow that to happen.
Lifting my leg, I flexed my foot and kicked it back into Mr Mills’ leg, landing the heel of my Dr Marten on his shin. It wouldn’t have been enough to maim him, but it was enough of a surprise and hard enough that he loosened his grip on me.
“Adam help me!”
My cry was louder and more powerful than I’d ever imagine I’d be capable of. My fear I’d be mute like in my nightmares wasn’t reality.
“Sarah, fuck, Sarah.”
Adam pounded on the door, a huge barrier between us stopping him getting to me. He thumped and kicked, pounded and punched all the time screaming out my name.
Desperate to get to him, I kicked, elbowed and pinched trying to do my part to make sure Adam could reach me. Mr Mills’ arms went firmer around my body, but I was determined. I wasn’t going to let him take anything more from me.
I didn’t know how, maybe adrenalin increased my strength, but I managed to get free and made a run for the door, but I slipped and screamed as his hand grabbed the back of my jumper. Clawing on the floor, I tried to drag myself away, but he was slowly pulling me back, his low, menacing laugh melting in with the noise of Adam banging against the door.
“No,” I screamed. “Adam, help.”
Despite me fighting with everything I had, he soon had an arm ove
r my chest and one around my waist, his fingers digging into my flesh.
“You, stupid fucking girl, you’ve just made things a whole lot worse for him now.”
I could feel his breath against my skin and the panic began again.
“Please no. Don’t hurt him.”
Mr Mills turned around and shoved me into the kitchen sending me crashing against the table. My hip banged against the corner and pain shot through me. “Oww.”
“If you hadn’t been so stupid, this would all be over by now.” He grabbed my ponytail which was almost down and dragged me over to the utility room. “You can stay in here until I’ve dealt with Adam.”
I inhaled sharply knowing that if he hurt Adam, I would be the one who’d never forgive themselves. Not that I had long left to live with my guilt.
I knew without doubt, he was going to kill me. He was going to kill us both.
As he pushed me forwards, I knew I had to do something. Once I was locked in that room, that was it. My eyes quickly darted either side and I knew in that instant that my dad was looking down on me. Right next to the wok on the side, my mum had already put out her chopping knife.
Without a second hesitation I reached for it with my left hand and did a perfect Street Dance step and twist, bringing my arm around and stabbing him right in his side.
“You, fucking little bitch.”
Mr Mills screamed as I pulled the knife back and jabbed at him again, this time I hit his hand that was clutching at his side. When I tried to go again, he managed to grab my forearm and grip it tightly, shaking it to try and force me to drop the blade.
I clung on to my weapon, with every ounce of the strength I had left in me and pushed my head forward and then sharply pulled it back to try and headbutt him, but he moved and brought his bloodied hand up to my throat. In the struggle our position shifted, and he finally had me inside the utility, pushed up against the washing machine as he fought for the knife while blood pumped from his side.
“I’m going to make you fucking scream for your life before—”
The hardness of his body was gone and before I had time to turn around, I heard deep, angry grunts alongside the sound of flesh being hit. Turning around, I found Adam straddled over his dad and punching him repeatedly in the face.
“Adam, no,” I cried as he rained another closed fist against Mr Mills’ cheek. “No more.”
Mr Mills was out cold, a dark red patch on his jacket which was spreading and blood smeared on his face from what looked like a broken nose.
I put my hand on Adam’s shoulder and he immediately stopped, looking up at me. His eyes were full of anger, but red-rimmed from tears. He breathed out a sigh and scrambled up from on top of his dad, pulling me into his arms.
“Oh my God, I thought I’d lost you. I thought he was going to kill you. Fuck.”
He pulled away from me and scoured my face, running his hands up and down my body.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” He pulled me close again and buried his face in my neck. “I thought…”
“I’m okay,” I sniffed, giving up on trying to stem my tears. “I’m okay. Nothing that won’t heal.”
My hip hurt, my knees were sore, and my head ached, but I was alive. I’d fought hard so that the monster on the floor didn’t take anything else from me.
“How did you get in?” I asked, snuggling closer, breathing Adam in.
“Your bedroom doors were open.”
I gasped. “Oh God, I must have forgotten to lock them this morning.”
When I’d returned from Alannah’s I’d gone for a lie down to try and ward off my need to vomit, I’d opened the doors to let some fresh air in. When I’d left in a rush to drop Mum off, I’d obviously forgotten to lock them.
“Thank fuck you did.”
Adam’s lips were soft and gentle on my cheek as I heard him breathe in, taking in my scent. I knew that was what he was doing because it was what I was doing to him.
“How did you get him off me?”
Adam let out a quiet laugh. “Thank fuck your mum left her wok out.”
I peeked around his shoulder to see the wok on the floor next to Mr Mills’ body.
“God, Adam, I thought he was going to rape me again, and then kill me.”
Adam’s hold on me got tighter as he kissed my temple. “Me too. I’m so sorry I let him come between us. I knew what he’d done, yet I still took his side.”
“It doesn’t matter. I understood how torn you were. But how did you know to come to the house?”
He let out a long breath and pulled back to look into my eyes. “Kirk heard something on the police radio and I…I thought it was you.”
Everything he’d said about Mackenna drilled against my brain.
“Mackenna,” I cried. “He’s done something to Mackenna.”
Adam’s body went rigid before he moved away from me and knelt down by the side of his dad and lifted him by his collar.
“You fucking bastard,” he spat at him and then punched the unconscious man once more.
Letting him drop back to the floor, Adam came back to me, pulled me close and we both wept. We cried for everything we’d lost, but most of all, for everything we’d saved.
27
Adam
As I knocked on Sarah’s front door, a shiver ran through me. The last time I’d been trying to get into this house I thought my world was about to end.
The pain I’d felt at hearing her scream my name, begging me to help her, had been nothing like I’d ever felt before. It was like jagged glass piercing my skin, my heart and my lungs. I never wanted to feel it ever again.
Thankfully, I hadn’t had to experience the true consequences of what Glen had done that day. Unlike Mackenna’s family who were having to come to terms with her death. For them things would never be the same again thanks to Glen Hudson. The man was, and always would be a waste of oxygen and I hated myself for allowing him into my life.
Even though deep down I knew he hadn’t come to Maddison Edge for me, I’d still wanted to believe that we could have had some sort of relationship. I should have known that it was all too good to be true, I should have listened to Sarah and kept him out of my life. Hindsight is one of those things though. It’s fucking great after you’ve been shat on from a great height.
At least he was locked up and waiting for his trial. The police had told us that he was being advised to plead guilty, especially if Mackenna’s post-mortem proved her death wasn’t an accident, but if I knew him, he’d try and lie his way out of the facts. I just hoped whatever happened he went down for as long as possible and someone shanked the bastard while he was in there.
While my biological dad was someone who I never wanted to set eyes on ever again, Roger had been awesome. Something in his gut had told him there was something badly wrong, so after getting Sarah’s address from Kirk, he’d jumped in his car and gone around to her house. As soon as he’d seen my car abandoned at an angle with the engine still running, he called the police. He even stood over Glen with the wok just in case he came to, which he did. Thank God for Roger because by that point Sarah and I were in shock and apart from clinging to each other, there wasn’t much else we could have done. Luckily Glen was too groggy and had lost too much blood to be able to fight back, so he accepted his fate and lay there until the police turned up. Roger had also been with me at every single interview and statement I’d had to give to the police, a supporting hand on my arm or shoulder each time.
When the door to the neat bungalow opened, Mrs Danes smiled broadly at me. I sighed with relief. In truth I hadn’t known how she would greet me.
“Hi, Adam, come on in,” she said as she stood to one side and let me in.
I hovered in the hallway as she closed the door and locked it and I noticed two bolts had been added, offering me a small sense of comfort for them both.
“Sarah’s in her room, go on through.”
“Thanks, Mrs Danes.”
She gave me ano
ther smile and then went back to the lounge, leaving me alone. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Sarah in the three days since the attack, but it was the first time we’d been alone. There’d always been parents, friends or police around and I was nervous that she might tell me to get lost. I hoped not because I had a surprise for her, two really but both were connected, and I hoped that she liked them.
I moved to her bedroom door, further down the hallway and gently knocked, waiting for her to call me in.
“Yeah.”
I pushed it open and almost dropped to my knees with relief when she instantly jumped off the bed, ran to me and wrapped herself around me.
“Oh God,” she whispered as she peppered kisses to my face. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I only saw you yesterday,” I replied with a laugh as I carried her back to her bed and sat down on it, Sarah still clinging to me like a little monkey.
“But my mum and Roger were there and then when I came out from finalising my statement you’d gone.”
“Yeah, Lori has been a bit anxious since it all happened, and Mum rang to say she was upset and wouldn’t settle until she knew I was okay. Roger thought it best to go home as soon as I’d finished.”
Sarah kissed me fully on the mouth and squeezed me tight. “It must have been really scary for her. At least we’re okay, not like poor Mackenna.”
I nodded and tried not to over think the fact that it might well have been Sarah in the lake and not Mackenna.
“Glen is still saying it was an accident,” I sighed. “He’s also still saying they were in a relationship and she fell during an argument about you and hit her head.”
“So why dump her body in the lake?” Sarah stiffened so I rubbed a hand gently down her back, instantly feeling her body ease out. “Why doesn’t he just tell the truth, he killed her.”
“The post-mortem is tomorrow, and the police are hoping that will prove otherwise. One of them told Roger that they think he may have suffocated her, as there was no evidence of hitting her head, but we’ll soon find out.”
