I studied him in the fading light. He was good-looking in a scruffy way, but I hadn’t realised there was any similarity to Finn. Now I saw the eyes, pale and slanted, with their straight, slim eyebrows, were exactly the same. I suppose Cami’s dark hair and swarthy complexion had stopped me recognising it before.
So Finn was here with Marcus. That at least explained why he knew everybody, always knew what was going on. But he never quite belonged. He went to a ‘posh school’? And there was something else Cami was hinting at. I was trying to work it all out in my head, gazing across the grassy clearing, when I saw Finn himself emerge from Dex and Becky’s van. It was a long way away but I was pretty sure it was him. No one else wore that camouflage jacket, with the dark hat pulled low in just that way.
‘There he is now,’ I said, and then felt guilty as though I’d given him away.
Cami swung round. When he saw where his cousin was coming from his lip curled. ‘Oh-oh, cosying up to Beck again, is he? Trying to make it all right after Dex’s had a go at her? He’d better watch out, Dex won’t like that.’ He noticed my expression. ‘Finn’s got a thing for Beck, didn’t you know?’ He laughed, not in a nice way.
He up-ended his can, found it was empty, and wandered off.
I was still trying to make sense of all that when someone else took up the guitar and began to play songs I knew very well indeed. Covers of Murdo Mensah. Immediately I was drawn in closer, wanting to enjoy the heavy rhythms, almost reggae style, with the haunting, moody lyrics. I didn’t recognise the guy who was playing but he was pretty good. I loved this music, even if the guy didn’t have Murdo’s amazing deep voice. But soon I was going to see – and hear – Murdo himself! I took a sip of beer and told myself to enjoy the moment. I was so lucky to be here.
By the time I’d finished my first can and was half way down the second someone else had provided, I was feeling pretty happy with the world.
‘Enough fucking karaoke already.’ Dex was standing at my side. Probably not my first choice of someone to talk to. I looked round for Becky but couldn’t see her. It was dark now, lit here and there by the fires of barbecues and lamps people had brought from their tents. The patterns of light and dark made me want to get out my sketch book. ‘Can’t you lot play anything original?’ yelled Dex, looping an arm around my shoulders. I tried to move away a bit, but failed. Probably he was just being friendly; he wasn’t so bad.
‘You certainly can’t,’ someone shouted back.
‘But Murdo Mensah is brilliant,’ I said, eagerly. ‘Don’t you like him?’
Dex shrugged. ‘The original’s okay, not this doing the same thing over and over.’
‘Get Finn to play some of his stuff,’ said someone else.
‘Finn! Don’t make me laugh.’
‘I’ll play, if you want,’ said a slight blond girl who had been standing nervously on the sidelines, holding what looked like a small guitar.
‘Aye, go on, let’s hear Hailey, she’s no so bad,’ said someone.
Suddenly the girl didn’t look nervous anymore. She moved to the stool that performers had taken to occupying and tuned her funny little instrument quickly and competently. She was dressed in jeans and a baggy white shirt with a pin-striped waistcoat. Her hair stood out in little tufts. She looked odd, but no odder than most of the other people.
‘What’s that thing she’s playing?’ I asked Dex. I’d have preferred it if he didn’t stand so close, but it was useful to have someone to tell me things.
‘Mandolin. Looks stupid, but I hear she’s quite good.’
And she was. She sang odd, high-pitched little songs, accompanying herself on the mandolin. She was so totally into the music that I had to listen, even if it wasn’t quite my thing.
I realised I’d finished my second can of lager and still hadn’t had anything to eat. That was Finn’s fault. I’d been kind of waiting for him, but he’d only been interested in spending time with Becky. Why did he want to spend so much time with her?
Dex saw me looking around for somewhere to put the can. Instead, he took it from me and poured in some of the contents of the bottle he was holding. ‘There. That’ll keep you going for a bit.’
‘Oh. Thanks.’ I’d probably had enough to drink already, but who cared?
Eventually Hailey ran out of songs and someone else took her place. We were back to cover versions, karaoke as Dex called it. A boy doing ‘Mad World’ then a girl doing some Ed Sheeran. Neither of them very good.
‘Let’s go for a walk,’ said Dex, steering me away into the shadows. I didn’t object. The music was crap and my head was spinning. I could do with the exercise.
Dex kept his arm around my shoulders. I tried again to shrug it off, but he kept it there, hard and insistent. We were already at the edge of the trees and I was wondering vaguely if this was a good idea.
Then we were deep in the forest and he was swinging me round to face him. It happened so suddenly I slipped, but his grip was strong enough to hold me upright. And then his mouth was down on mine, all beer and bristles and horrible.
I tried to push him away, twisting and struggling. I’d just been drifting along, we were just walking … How could I have been so stupid? I knew he was awful. I kicked and struggled, feeling puny and useless and terrified.
He lifted his mouth and hissed, ‘Don’t play hard to get. You’ve just been waiting for this, haven’t you? Come on.’ His breathing was heavy. He dropped the bottle he was holding and used both hands to clamp me to him, rubbing his crotch against me, bringing his awful slobbery mouth down on mine again.
‘Agh … No …’ I turned my head from side to side. I was feeling sick and it wasn’t because of the alcohol. He was so strong and I was frantic. What was he going to do? A kiss was bad enough, but if he tried anything more … I couldn’t break away no matter how I tried. ‘Stop it!’ I kicked him but made no impression. ‘What about Beck …’ My voice was high-pitched, panicky.
‘She needn’t know. Serves her right. Bitch.’ He took one hand away from my arm and began to pull at my shirt. I heard the sound of ripping.
That did it. Now I was terrified. My mouth was free for a moment and I started screaming. ‘Help! No! Nooo …’ I needed someone to hear me but I couldn’t even remember how far we’d come from the campsite.
He slapped me, hard, but I kept on screaming, incoherent now, until he clamped his hand over my mouth. ‘Shut it! Or do you really want me to hurt you?’
I could hardly breathe. My heart was beating so crazily I felt my chest would burst. I struggled, trying to twist and free myself. But his arms were like metal, completely unyielding.
And then I heard – miraculous – the sound of someone running towards us.
‘George? George? Is that you?’
It was Finn.
Chapter Thirteen
FINN
If it hadn’t been for that bright hair, I probably wouldn’t even have seen George going off with Dex Barker. I’d been looking out for her, knowing I should offer to cook, and then I’d spotted the solid figure of Dex, with his arm round her, leading her towards the forest.
Jesus, what was she doing? She didn’t look exactly steady on her feet. And hadn’t I told her to stay away from Dex?
I started walking quickly after them, then I began to run. I didn’t trust Dex at all. I thought I’d lost them in the dark of the trees, and then I heard her scream, long and high and terrified. I could feel my heart pounding with fear and fury and the adrenaline made me run faster.
Dex was shaking her and yelling, ‘Shut the fuck up! Shut the …’
‘George!’ I shouted. ‘Dex!’
At first he didn’t let go of her, just turned his heavy face towards me. ‘Piss off. There’s nothing for you here.’
‘Leave her alone,’ I said, taking a step forward, but warily now. Dex had huge fists and knew how to use them.
‘Finn …’ said George faintly. I took another step. God, the bastard had a hand at her neck.
Suddenly he pushed her away, viciously so she fell. ‘Stupid bitch. It was only a kiss.’ And he stalked off.
I actually turned after him, with some kind of a mad desire to trip him and then hammer the bastard to smithereens. But that was crazy. Dex was going to be much better than me in a fight, and anyway I couldn’t leave George. She was half-sitting, half-lying on the damp, twig-strewn ground, retching and sobbing, wiping her face with her sleeve.
‘George. It’s okay, George.’ I found my own voice was shaking a bit. I took a breath and felt through my pockets. ‘It’s okay, George. Here, let me help …’ Thank God, I found the torch on my phone. I shone the light at her.
‘Don’t,’ she said, turning her face away, but I’d time to see the blood on her lip and her wide, stunned eyes.
‘Jesus! Are you mad? Why did you come out here with him?’
‘I didn’t … I wasn’t …’ She tried to sit up properly, pulling the sides of her top together, and then, maybe realising that wasn’t going to work, zipping up her fleece right to her chin. Her hands were shaking.
I helped her to her feet, holding her until she was steady. I felt sorry for her and absolutely livid, all at the same time. ‘What the hell did he do to you?’
‘He just … kissed me. But if you hadn’t appeared …’ Now she was starting to cry.
‘Well, I did. Come on. Let’s get out of here.’
I pulled her along beside me, walking fast. There was nothing to stop the bastard coming back. The main thing was to make sure George was okay.
I headed for the private campsite set aside for performers. None had arrived yet, so it was quiet here. It would give her a chance to get cleaned up, to calm down.
‘Where are we?’ she said, sounding panicky again.
I tried to speak gently, not to show how furious I was. I knew she was too naive to be hanging out here on her own, she was like a sitting duck, it was so easy to see she didn’t have a clue. Why hadn’t she taken my advice, kept away from Dex Barker?
And why hadn’t I kept a better eye out for her?
All I said was, ‘We’re at the performer’s toilet block. No one’s using it just now and it’s a hell of a lot nicer than the other ones. You can get cleaned up in there. No one’ll trouble you.’
She climbed up two of the steps and then hesitated. ‘What if Dex ...?
‘I’ll wait here,’ I said. ‘Go on.’
There were lights in this clearing and I got a good look at her for the first time. She must have been wiping the tears away with her hands, so now there was dirt as well as blood smeared across her cheeks. She looked a total wreck.
And it wasn’t even the first time I’d seen Dex do this to a girl. Bastard.
She took a while in there. I waited outside, listening for any approaching footsteps, trying not to think of what might have happened if I hadn’t seen her go off. She was just a kid. She shouldn’t be here.
Eventually she reappeared with her face washed and her hair tied back. She didn’t look like a hospital case any more, just pale, and very shaken.
‘Let’s get you back to your tent. Jesus Christ, didn’t I tell you to stay away from him?’ Somehow, I just couldn’t keep the anger down. ‘Haven’t you got a home to go to? He’s dangerous. Maybe you realise now I wasn’t joking!’
She shivered and pushed her hands into her pockets.
‘I didn’t think … the last couple of days he seemed a bit nicer …’ I could smell beer on her breath. She’d been drinking, let her guard down. Jesus, she was a fool.
‘Come on,’ I said, and led her back towards the path along the river.
I stopped when we got to the little wooden bridge. Marcus had set up lights on posts beside the path which meant we could more or less see each other. ‘Listen,’ I said, trying to speak more gently. ‘Really, wouldn’t you be better off going home?’
‘I can’t. My mum and dad are both away. There’s nowhere to go.’
‘There must be somewhere.’
‘There isn’t.’ She shivered again, and then straightened her back. ‘And anyway, I don’t want to go. I’m here with Becky. I’ll be fine.’
‘Beck!’ I said. As though you could rely on her! ‘Listen, you are going to tell Beck what her boyfriend did to you, aren’t you?’
‘I don’t know …’
‘You’ve got to tell her, George. She needs to know. She’s got to realise what a bastard he is.’
‘I’m not sure …’ She shuddered. ‘He’ll just deny it. Or say, you know, it was my fault.’
‘You’re not going to pretend it didn’t happen? She needs to know!’
At least she’d stopped shaking now and was starting to look angry herself. And not with Dex – with me.
She hunched the fleece around her. ‘Like I said, he’ll just deny it. Just leave it, okay? I was being totally stupid. I’ll be more careful now. It would be my word against his.’
‘And my word, too. George, please, you’ve got to tell her.’
‘I don’t have to do anything.’
‘Beck needs to realise what Dex is like.’
‘I presume she does know what he’s like,’ she said, her voice quieter. ‘I saw her one time – without make-up. I wondered what the grey mark was on her cheek. It was a bruise, wasn’t it?’ She touched her face, which would be sporting a bruise of its own by morning.
I tried to insist. ‘But she won’t admit it, even to herself. She needs someone to make her see …’ Then I stopped.
Shit! Someone was coming down from the forest, moving softly, as though they didn’t want to be heard. I didn’t hesitate, just pulled George off the path and into the undergrowth beneath the bridge.
‘What the …?’
‘Quiet.’
Then she heard what I’d heard. The footsteps were on the far side of the river, partially hidden by the sound of the water. They moved onto the bridge and then a man’s voice called softly, ‘Dex? That you?’
My instincts had been right. We did not want to meet this man.
George jumped at the name, and huddled further into the shadows.
Nobody answered and we waited for the man to leave, or go on into the site, but he didn’t do either. As far as I could tell, he was still on the bridge, moving from one end to the other. I really hoped he didn’t see us cowering in the darkness down here.
Then there were more footsteps, this time from the campsite.
The voice said again, ‘Dex, that you?’
‘Keep your voice down! Why d’you come so far? I said we’d meet on the path.’
‘I thought I saw someone …’
‘Is that all you got? I was expecting more. The boy said …’
Their voices faded as they moved to the far side of the bridge. I strained to hear more, but the sound of the water drowned out everything else. So this was Dex’s contact. Stupid of Dex to let him come so close. If George hadn’t been here, I might have risked creeping out, trying to get a look at him. I couldn’t help wanting to know more.
The rumble of voices went on for five minutes or so, and at one point they were raised a bit.
George wasn’t in any hurry to venture out and meet her attacker again. She was starting to shake, from the cold or shock. I put an arm around her and pulled her near. She was so small, so slight. I forgot I was only trying to keep her warm and held her closer still. She didn’t resist. She lay her head against me and gave a kind of sigh.
Then footsteps came back over the bridge.
We peered out, cautiously. Dex appeared, on his own. He held something bulky under one arm. He looked left and right, checking he hadn’t been seen. Then he paused, waiting until the other man had disappeared in the direction of the village. Eventually Dex set off himself – not towards the festival site but back over the bridge and up the path into the forest.
‘Have they gone?’ she whispered.
‘I think so.’ I was kind of distracted by holding her so close.
�
�What were they doing? What was that all about?’
‘Trouble. Come on, let’s get out of here.’ That’s what I needed to think about, not George soft and warm in my arms.
I checked the path and then we both scrambled up the banking. We set off towards the tents.
‘What were they handing over? What was happening?’
‘Didn’t I tell you Dex Barker was trouble with a capital T? How totally dim can he be? The police are already sniffing around. Come on, hurry. We don’t want him to have any idea he was seen.’
‘He’s dealing drugs, isn’t he?’ she said, slowing down as though this realisation came as a surprise.
I hooked my arm through hers to keep her moving. ‘I don’t know. You don’t know. Just forget it, okay?’
‘Shouldn’t we tell someone? Marcus? The police?’
‘Tell them what? That Dex Barker was behaving suspiciously? Aye, like that’s something new.’
‘But what do you think the parcel was, and where was he taking it …?’
‘I said, forget it. I really wish you’d just go home.’
‘Stop telling me what to do!’ She swung around, hands on hips. She wasn’t shivering now. ‘Why should I go home? If it’s dangerous for me, it’s dangerous for you. Why won’t you tell me anything?’
I sighed. Wasn’t it obvious? ‘I know what I’m getting myself in to. You don’t.’
‘I’m not a child!’ she snapped. ‘I can look after myself.’
I gave a snort. It was perfectly bloody obvious she couldn’t. We were at the campsite now, and made our way between the tents in silence. I wasn’t going to waste time arguing with her, and for some reason she seemed to think she had the right to be annoyed with me.
I waited until she had unzipped her tent and crawled inside.
‘You going to be okay?’
‘Of course.’
Fine then. I hadn’t expected her to thank me, but it would have been nice if she’d been even a little bit appreciative.
I stalked off to my own tent. She was a fool, but she really wasn’t my problem.
Chapter Fourteen
Music and Lies (George and Finn Book 1) Page 7
