Storm Rising

by Rachael Richey

Abi shrugged; her experience of wine was limited to a glass with Christmas dinner, and she had no idea what it might have been.

  “Probably,” she said. “Is it nice and cold?”

  Judy held the bottle against her cheek and nodded.

  “Yeah, really cold. Let’s hide it somewhere.” She looked furtively around the room.

  Abi shook her head. “Not in here, you twit. How can we ever get to it when your mum’ll be in and out of the kitchen all night?” She stepped out into the hall. “How about in the cupboard under the stairs?” She opened the door and peered in. The space was dark and cobwebby and partially filled with coats and boots, but it seemed like a safe place to secrete their bottle, and Judy hid it in the far corner along with a couple of glasses. She crawled out backwards and grinned at Abi.

  “There, we can get to that easily. Better not start it yet. Mum might notice, this early in the evening.”

  Giggling together, they made their way back upstairs to Judy’s bedroom and positioned themselves at the window, to be best placed to see the guests arriving. Abi picked up the large panda that lived on Judy’s bed and cuddled it to her.

  “How many people are coming?” she asked burying her face in the toy’s fur.

  “Oh, god, hundreds!” Judy said, rolling her eyes. “Mum’s invited the whole of our street and most of yours, plus her colleagues from the hospital, and most of Dad’s friends from work, too.” She paused, and then added morosely, “All old and decrepit, of course, except us.”

  Abi sat down on the window seat and held the panda tighter.

  “Not quite all,” she said, her eyes shining. “I’m really worried he’s going to get bored and want to go somewhere else. What should I do if he does?”

  Judy frowned at her. “He won’t,” she said firmly. “If he’s agreed to come at all, it’s only because of you, and so he won’t go anywhere without you. And he must know you won’t be allowed to go to a proper party.”

  Abi stared at her. “I wasn’t allowed to go to the gig with him,” she pointed out. “But I still went.”

  Judy was peering down into the street below and answered without looking at her friend.

  “Well, you can’t this time,” she said decisively. “Your parents’ll be here. I s’pect you’ll have to go home with them.” She leaned forward and pressed her face against the window. “Ooh, look, guests arriving! Now, who is it?” She opened the window to get a better look, letting in a blast of icy air.

  Abi shivered and moved away. “Who is it?” she asked nervously.

  Judy brought her head back in and closed the window.

  “Couple of Mum’s work people,” she said with a shrug. “Shall we go downstairs and be sociable?”

  It was another half an hour before Simon, his parents, and Gideon arrived, and Abi was beginning to think they’d changed their minds. She and Judy had made their first visit to the understairs cupboard, and amidst much hilarity had managed to get the cork out of the bottle and pour themselves a glass each. They both found the wine rather too dry, but neither was prepared to admit it, so they downed it as fast as they could manage, then hid the bottle again and re-joined the guests just as Mary was greeting Gideon and the Deans at the door.

  Abi shoved Judy in front of her as they emerged into the hallway. Gideon was being introduced to Judy’s parents and was shaking hands politely. He was very tidily dressed in clean jeans, a gleaming white shirt open at the neck to reveal a black T-shirt, and a khaki combat jacket. As he shook Mr. Cromwell’s hand, his eyes met Abi’s, and she detected the slightest hint of a wink.

  “Hi,” he said strolling over to where the two girls waited by the kitchen door. He leaned casually against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets. “You okay?”

  Abi nodded and felt herself blushing warmly. She dipped her head to cast her hair over her face and shifted her position so she was more in the shadows. Judy glanced at her and tutted.

  “Right, you two, now go somewhere and talk,” she ordered, catching both their wrists and propelling them into the dining room. “I’ll look after Simon.” She vanished in a swirl of skirt and left them alone.

  The dining room was deserted, due to the fact most of the guests were being ushered directly into the living room to see the slide show, and Abi found herself standing facing Gideon less than a foot away. She smiled nervously.

  “Did you have a good Christmas?” she asked, trying to be polite.

  He nodded. “Yeah. Not bad. Bit boring.” He paused. “We had another gig on Boxing Day.”

  Abi grinned. “I bet Simon was glad I wasn’t there.”

  Gideon gave a short laugh. “Yes, he did seem in a better mood. The gig went well. We’ve got a meeting with that scout next week. In London.”

  Abi gazed up at him in awe. “Wow, that all sounds so…” She searched for the right word, came up with, “grown-up,” and immediately bit her tongue. How incredibly childish she must sound. She blushed again and looked down at her feet. Oh, why did she have to open her mouth? If she just stood there and kept quiet he would like her much better… His hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up to find him smiling broadly down at her, his lips just inches from her own.

  “Abi, stop worrying,” he said quietly. “I like you.” His mouth came down on hers as his arms slid around her body and pulled her to him. She snaked her arms up around his neck and pressed closer, her lips responding to his kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Gideon grinned down at her.

  “That’s better,” he said. “You look much more like yourself. Now I want to meet your parents. Are they here?” He started to move towards the door.

  Abi grabbed his arm. “I don’t think they’re here yet,” she said, panic in her voice. “Gideon, they won’t like you.” He glanced round at her and raised his eyebrows. “No, no, it’s not you. They don’t like anyone. Especially me,” she ended sadly.

  Gideon looked at her in surprise, then threw back his head and roared with laughter.

  “Abi, you kill me!” he spluttered. “Of course they like you. They’re your parents.” He paused and nodded. “You’re right that they probably won’t like me, but that’s fairly normal. Still want to meet them, though,” he added firmly.

  Abi sighed and, moving away from him, began to pick at the food on the dining table. She turned back to face him, a sausage on a stick in her hand.

  “Dad’s okay, I s’pose,” she conceded. “But Mum’s a bully. She bullies Dad, and she bullies me, and she hates everyone. She’ll do all she can to prevent us from seeing each other, mark my words,” she finished darkly, and popped the sausage into her mouth.

  At that moment Judy’s head appeared around the door.

  “Your parents are here, Abs,” she said. “They’re asking for you, and I think you’d better come now.” She grimaced as she disappeared from view again.

  Abi took a deep breath and started towards the door.

  “C’mon then,” she said resignedly. “Let’s get it over with. Oh, yes, they’re very old, too. Don’t be surprised.”

  Gideon chuckled. “S’okay, mine are pretty old too. I know what it’s like.” He gave her a push towards the door, leaving her realising she knew next to nothing about his family—and she hadn’t even asked.

  Joan Thomson was standing at the bottom of the stairs with her husband, in stilted conversation with Judy’s father, when Abi and Gideon appeared. She fixed her daughter with a stern gaze.

  “There you are, Abigail,” she said, frowning slightly. “I hope you haven’t been making a nuisance of yourself.”

  Abi bit back a retort and took a deep breath. “Hello, Mum. No, I’ve been helping get the party ready.” She added nervously, “This is Gideon.”

  Joan narrowed her eyes and surveyed Gideon.

  “How old are you?” she asked abruptly.

  Gideon stepped forward and held out his hand to her. She took it reluctantly and gave it a peremptory shake.

  “Hello, Mrs Thomson. Pleased to meet yo
u. I’m eighteen and a half,” he said with a smile.

  Joan’s eyebrows shot up as she pulled her hand away.

  “And how do you know my daughter? I hope you’re not making her neglect her studies. She’s only fifteen, as I’m sure you’re aware, and she’s far too busy at school studying for her GCSEs to be bothering with a social life.” She fixed Gideon with a withering glare.

  He smiled engagingly at her. “Of course I wouldn’t let her neglect her studies,” he said calmly. “I was at King Edward’s until last summer. I met Abi when my band played at her school dance. “

  Arthur leaned forward. “So, you’re a musician then?” he asked politely. “What do you play?”

  “Lead guitar, mostly,” replied Gideon, smiling at him.

  Arthur nodded. “Ah,” he said. “Very loudly, I expect.”

  Gideon laughed and nodded his head. “Yes, sir, I guess it is usually pretty loud.” He paused and addressed both of Abi’s parents. “Don’t worry. I won’t keep Abi from her studies, but I would like to have your permission to take her to the cinema sometimes.”

  Joan bristled slightly and glanced at Arthur, who put his hand on her arm.

  “I’m sure that would be all right,” he said. “So long as you don’t keep her out on a school night, and we always know where you’re going.”

  Gideon nodded energetically. “Of course you will, and I’ll look after her very well.” He smiled at Joan again.

  Reluctantly she inclined her head. Then, taking Arthur by the arm, she marched him into the living room.

  Gideon looked at Abi and grinned. “That wasn’t so bad,” he remarked.

  Abi snorted. “You don’t know her,” she said scowling after the retreating back of her mother. “She won’t let this go. She doesn’t trust me at all, and now she’ll be watching me like a hawk.” Suddenly aware of what she had said, Abi giggled and looked up at Gideon under her lashes. She had to admit he fitted his name, with his dark complexion and chiselled features so reminiscent of a bird of prey. “If I’m so much as one minute late back from a date, she’ll probably ground me.”

  Gideon leaned down suddenly and dropped a light kiss on her lips. Then, putting an arm around her shoulders, he drew her away from the hall and into the dining room.

  “Well, I thought that was a pretty good result,” he said with a shrug. “They agreed I could take you out, didn’t they? Where we go is something they don’t need to know.” He grinned mischievously at her as he picked up a sausage roll and popped it in his mouth.

  Abi gave a reluctant smile. “Yeah, I guess that’s okay,” she conceded. “I thought she was going to forbid me from seeing you at all.” She grinned up at him more widely. “Actually, yes, you’re right. That was quite a result. When can we go somewhere?”

  Gideon shrugged. “Let’s meet up the day after tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at, say, eleven o’clock, and we can go somewhere for the day.” He thought for a moment. “We’d better tell your parents we are going to the cinema, though, and I promise to get you back at a decent time.”

  Abi made a face and, wandering over to the table, began to fill a paper plate with a selection of buffet food.

  “Okay.” She glanced shyly at him, then added in a rush, “Any chance I can come when you go to London?”

  Gideon pursed his lips. “Well, your mum would never go for that, so if you do we might have to make up a story. Leave it with me,” he said with a grin. “I’ll see what I can do. Although I’m not making any promises. This has to get past Simon and Chas, too.”

  Chapter 9

  Friday, 18th November 2005

  Abi awoke the next morning to the sound of footsteps thundering up the stairs to her attic room. It was still dark outside, and she reached for her phone to check the time. It was seven thirty, so she hoisted herself into a sitting position just in time for Thomas to throw open the door and jump on to the bed beside her. He was wearing Thomas the Tank Engine pyjamas and had jam around his mouth. He bounced onto the bed and grinned at her.

  “Bekfas?” he asked, spraying toast crumbs all over the bed.

  Abi laughed and nodded. “Yes, please,” she said, smiling at him. “Tell Mummy I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  Thomas jumped off the bed again and ran back down the stairs, leaving the door to slam shut behind him. Abi lay down again and, shivering, pulled the covers up to her chin. A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. Her very vivid dreams were still with her, and she needed a few minutes to adjust. The events of the last couple of days had been momentous, and her gaze strayed across the room to her box. Part of her wanted to dive back into it again to see what other memories would resurface, but another part was tempted to get rid of the lot and never look at it again. Feelings she thought she had successfully suppressed for many years had come flooding to the surface, and she was floundering a bit about how best to deal with them. Her evening with Judy had both helped and worsened the situation. They had had a wonderful time rekindling their friendship. She had hardly dared hope that was possible, but seeing her friend again had also brought back even more memories she would rather have left hidden. She pulled the covers right over her head for a moment, revelling in the feeling of security it gave her before she took a deep breath, threw them off, and jumped out of bed. Once her morning ablutions were finished, Abi dressed in the only clothes she had with her, ran a brush through her hair, and made her way down to the kitchen.

  Judy was standing at the cooker, gently shaking a large frying pan full of sizzling bacon, and she grinned widely at her friend as she entered.

  “Take a seat if you can find one,” she called gaily, waving her arm in the direction of the table.

  Abi cleared a pile of clothes off the one remaining vacant chair and sat down. Thomas was sitting at one end of the table, a large mug of milk in his hands, and Sabrina was securely strapped into her high chair at the other end. An empty coffee cup and the remains of a slice of toast indicated that Robert had already left for work. Judy came up behind her and placed a large plate of crispy bacon on the table.

  “Hope you still like it like that,” she remarked. “Tea or coffee?”

  “Tea, please, and yes, I do. Thanks.” Abi grinned up at her friend. She started on the bacon, and a few moments later Judy joined her at the table and plonked two cups of steaming tea in front of them. She stretched across Abi and placed a sippy cup of milk in front of Sabrina, then leaned back in her chair and surveyed her friend.

  “Well, did you sleep okay?” she asked, looking at her closely. Abi, her mouth full of bacon, nodded. Judy narrowed her eyes. “No bad dreams, then?”

  Abi glanced at her. “Mmmmm…” she muttered. “Maybe one or two. Not so much bad as disturbing.”

  Judy nodded sagely. “Not surprised,” she said, taking a sip of her tea. “You can’t discuss what we were talking about last night without dragging up some unwanted memories.” She looked closely at Abi. “And I can bet you looked at those photos in bed, didn’t you?”

  Abi looked at her in surprise. “Am I so transparent?” she asked with a sigh.

  Judy laughed. “No, but I would have done the same,” she said, giving her a grin. “How did they make you feel?”

  “Like I’d been kicked in the stomach, actually,” admitted Abi with a shiver. “It’s brought everything right to the forefront of my mind again. I actually thought I’d almost dealt with it all, especially now that woman’s dead, but with finding this stuff, and all the stuff on the news…well, I quite clearly have a lot more to deal with.” She pushed her empty plate away and picked up her tea.

  “Can you stay another night?” asked Judy hopefully.

  Abi shook her head with regret. “Wish I could, Jude, but no. I really should have been back for today, but I can’t leave it any longer. Chris has been looking after Lilt and Flora, but I can’t ask him to do any more.” She finished her tea and placed the mug back on the table. “Thank you so much for having me last night, and for the breakfast. It’s
been amazing to see you again. Will you come down and stay soon? There’s still lots I’d like to talk about,” she implored her friend. “Should I try to contact Gideon, d’you think?”

  Judy pursed her lips. “I knew you’d ask that,” she said slowly, “and to be honest, I don’t really know. It’s all a bit weird, since he’s just left the band. Maybe he’s coming to look for you,” she added with a laugh.

  Abi shook her head. “Why would he?” she asked sadly. “He thinks I abandoned him. I doubt he’s just found a box of unopened letters that I sent to him.”

  Judy frowned. “Where did you send your letters?”

  “To the record company. Remember in that first letter he said not to do that? They probably never got to him.” She stared down at her hands in her lap. “I always wondered if he didn’t reply because…” She tailed off and glanced up at Judy. “But now I know that isn’t the case. He never received my letters, just like I never received his. He knows nothing about what happened after he left.”

  Judy stood up and started clearing the table.

  “It’s really hard to know what to do. If he comes to England, maybe you should call him and see if he wants to see you. Tell him about the letters?” She stopped as she saw her friend’s face.

  “Oh, Judy, how can I tell him? Then I’d have to tell him everything. I don’t think I can bear to.” She pushed her chair back sharply and stood up. “I really need to think about this.” She shrugged apologetically and made her way back up to the attic bedroom.

  Closing the door behind her, she sat down on the bed, taking care not to bump her head. Her stomach was churning, and she was beginning to feel sick. Her hatred for her mother flared, and she thumped her fist into the pillow. This was all wrong. This was not how her life had been meant to be. This was not how she and Gideon had planned it.

  ****

  Gideon undid his seat belt and sat forward to look out the window of Kurt’s Lear jet. They had left Martha’s Vineyard at six a.m. Eastern Standard Time, and their ETA at Southampton Airport was seven p.m. GMT. Because his friend was on board, Kurt had delegated the flying to his co-pilot, Brett, and was taking a bit of time to socialise in the cabin. Sonia appeared from the galley, carrying a small tray, and handed them two steaming cappuccinos before she slid down into the seat next to Gideon, cradling her own coffee. She curled her feet up under her and leaned back against the cream-coloured upholstery.