The Pact

by Dawn Goodwin

  Maddie grabbed her jeans from the floor and her jumper from where it had been flung onto the chair. She emerged from the bedroom and almost collided with Jade as she made her way down the corridor.

  ‘Oh, there you are. Were you sleeping?’

  Maddie smoothed down her hair with her hands. ‘Um, how did you get in?’ She pushed past Jade and went into the kitchen, hoping she would follow. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Jade dangled a set of keys in front of Maddie’s face. ‘I got a copy made of your keys, just in case. You never know when they might come in handy.’

  Maddie felt ice inch over her. Her eyes flicked to the keys hanging behind her door. ‘When?’

  ‘When you were ill. Listen, that’s not important. I just… wanted to apologise for leaving so abruptly last night. I was hammered and stressed, took it out on you. You’re right, we should be putting our heads together to work on a plan when we are sober and thinking straight.’

  ‘That’s ok. I understand.’ Maddie wasn’t quite focusing on what she was saying.

  ‘So I was wondering if… you know, the money… have you spoken to Greg yet?’

  ‘Not yet. Thinking about it, I’m not sure what Greg would say and I’ve got a bit of a headache, so if you don’t mind…’

  ‘Yes, but will you speak to him?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Maddie avoided her eyes.

  ‘Oh, hello,’ Jade said suddenly and Maddie turned to see Greg emerging from the bedroom, his hair on end and wearing just his jeans. He stopped abruptly and flushed a deep red.

  ‘I didn’t know there was someone here.’

  ‘Clearly,’ Jade smirked. ‘Well, three’s a crowd and all that. I’ll leave you to it.’ She moved to leave, then turned back to Greg and said, ‘I’m Jade.’

  ‘Greg, hi.’

  ‘Greg, huh?’ she said and threw another smirk at Maddie. ‘We were just talking about you. Nice to meet you. By the way, your fly is down.’

  She left, slamming the door behind her.

  The silence was awkward. ‘You could’ve warned me,’ Greg said.

  ‘She let herself in. I didn’t invite her.’

  ‘She has a key?’

  ‘Apparently.’ They stood uncomfortably, neither sure what to say next.

  ‘Well, I should go,’ Greg said.

  ‘Tea before you do?’

  ‘No, I, er… I told Gemma I was going to the gym. She’ll wonder what I’ve been doing for so long.’ He waved his mobile phone in the air. ‘There’s been a few missed calls.’

  ‘Yeah, I bet there have,’ Maddie replied and started to giggle.

  ‘Mads, about what we…’

  ‘Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. As far as I’m concerned, that was a goodbye. I still think we should get a divorce. It goes no further than this room.’

  ‘Oh, right. Ok, um, well….’ He looked surprised, as thought that wasn’t what he was expecting to hear from her. He recovered his composure and stepped towards her with his arms open.

  ‘No more hugs – that’s how it started in the first place,’ Maddie said with a smile.

  He laughed and said, ‘I’ll get the rest of my clothes from where you flung them, shall I?’

  She hit him playfully on the arm, blushing, and watched him go back to the bedroom, a wide smile on her face.

  She could hear him making a phone call, probably spinning Gemma a lie like those he had spun for her before. Something under the couch caught her eye. His keys must’ve fallen from his pocket and were glinting in the light. She grabbed them and followed him into the bedroom just as he was ending his call.

  He looked flushed, embarrassed. ‘Told her I’d been for a drink after the gym with a friend.’

  ‘I don’t want to know.’ Something about how easily he had lied annoyed her and she turned to look out of the bedroom window. She could see his Porsche in the car park and next to it a large Range Rover that looked familiar.

  ‘Where was Gemma when you called her?’

  ‘At home, I think, why?’

  Maddie shrugged. ‘No reason.’ She watched as the Range Rover reversed out of the parking space and pulled away at speed.

  *

  Maddie climbed the stairs nervously, not sure what she was going to say to Jade. Sleeping with Greg had been stupid, spontaneous and, as much as she flushed with embarrassment when she thought about it, her stomach clenching and churning, it had been thrilling. For a second she could understand the buzz of an affair, if it weren’t for the hurt that went hand in hand with the excitement.

  Because no matter how much she disliked Gemma, Maddie knew first-hand what that kind of betrayal felt like and she never thought she would be the kind of person to inflict that on anyone.

  And she had no doubt that it was Gemma’s Range Rover parked out front, watching, knowing where he was. She was now also convinced it had been Gemma watching her when she was with Ben.

  Maddie knew that moment of madness with Greg was something that wouldn’t be repeated, but it had felt right at the time – a farewell of sorts – and she didn’t regret it.

  Even so, Jade would be full of questions that Maddie didn’t want to answer.

  And then there was the question of the money she had offered. Greg had planted a seed of uncertainty in her mind. He had a point – Maddie didn’t exactly trust or know Jade. Who’s to say she wouldn’t disappear once she got what she wanted? Jade had proved herself to be greedy, a magpie attracted to sparkly things and expensive objects. Was all of this ultimately just about money? Would she take Ben away anyway?

  Maddie paused halfway up the stairs as she heard a door open above her. She half expected Jade to come barrelling down towards her and braced herself. Instead, the footsteps headed away from her.

  She frowned and carried on up the stairs, treading lighter than she had before. As she emerged on the top floor, she noticed a pair of scruffy trainers heading up the other flight of stairs set deep into the corner. She followed quietly and reached a heavy door that scraped lightly as she pulled on the handle. A blast of cold air greeted her as she stepped out onto the roof of the building.

  It was like a different world up here. She could see for miles – buses and cars streaming past, tiny people walking with purpose, lights flickering on and off. A whole miniature town laid out before her.

  She turned in the direction of where she thought her old house would be and found herself looking at Luke sitting in a deckchair, sipping on a can of beer.

  He seemed unfazed at her sudden appearance.

  ‘Oh!’ she said. ‘Hi.’

  ‘Hey,’ he said with a nod. ‘Sit, have a beer.’ He indicated the spare deckchair next to him.

  She paused, thought it would be impolite not to and lowered herself gingerly into the deckchair, which looked quite fragile at close range. It creaked and groaned alarmingly, but held.

  He held a can out to her.

  ‘Thanks.’ She opened it and took a sip, feeling the bubbles shoot up her nose. She hated beer, but her inability to say no kicked in again.

  She smiled at him and took another sip. ‘I didn’t know this was here.’

  ‘I found it by accident. It’s nice up here. Quiet.’

  ‘Yeah, it is.’ They fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence as they both gazed out at the fairy lights of the city laid out below them and listened to the distant thrum of traffic.

  ‘So Jade tells me you work in computers or something?’

  ‘Yeah, something like that. I have my own company doing programming and stuff.’

  He clearly wasn’t much of a talker.

  Silence had always made her feel on edge. It seemed to say more to her than conversation did. ‘I’m thinking of starting a business actually, as a bookkeeper,’ she said, even though he hadn’t asked what she did.

  ‘Cool. Actually, I could do with someone helping me with my books. I’m rubbish at it. Would you be interested?’

  ‘Sure, I can help. You’d be my first cli
ent,’ she said with a smile.

  ‘I like the sound of that.’ He smiled back, his thin top lip almost disappearing into his teeth.

  Maddie got up, the deckchair straining as she did, and walked to the edge of the rooftop. Directly below her was her garden.

  ‘Careful, there’s no rail,’ Luke said from his chair.

  ‘It’s surprisingly high up.’ The ground seemed to sway, so she took a step back.

  ‘I don’t think we’re supposed to be up here, but it’s not locked or anything and I like it,’ he said. ‘Sometimes it can get a bit… noisy down there.’ He gestured with a nod to the stairs down to the flats.

  Maddie thought about this, then said, ‘What’s Jade like? As a neighbour, I mean?’

  He looked at her sharply, then looked away again. ‘Alright, I suppose. Why?’

  Maddie shrugged. ‘She just mentioned you two might have… you know…’

  He chugged from the can, then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. ‘None of your business, really, is it?’

  ‘No, I guess not.’ She looked off into the imperfect darkness. ‘It’s just… I’m getting to be quite good friends with her and I just wondered, you know…’ Wondered what exactly? If she was trustworthy? ‘Anyway, the woman opposite me said something the other day that made me think, that’s all.’

  ‘Don’t worry too much about the old girl. She’s a sweet lady if you’re on the right side of her.’

  Maddie figured that was all he was going to say on the subject. She took another sip from the can and winced as the bitterness coated her throat.

  ‘Yeah, we did have a one-night thing,’ Luke said quietly.

  Maddie waited for more. It was slow in coming, so she sat back down in the deckchair.

  ‘I should’ve known better, like shitting on your doorstep.’

  How romantic.

  ‘It was the night after she moved in, I think. She knocked on the door, wanted to know about the other people in the building. I let her in, we got drinking and…’ It was his turn to shrug. ‘It just happened. Not one of my proudest moments, but there you go. It is what it is.’

  Maddie hovered, unsure if he was finished. He had a habit of taking long pauses between sentences, like he was considering his words carefully or taking in air. As expected, after a lengthy breath, he continued, ‘It really only got messy when things got funny with the woman who lived in your flat before you.’

  Maddie tilted her head. ‘Oh?’ She twisted to look at him and the deckchair swung to the right before correcting itself with a thump.

  He sipped; he paused. She leant forward. The deckchair objected.

  ‘Nice girl was Lucy. Scottish. Young – well, in her early twenties maybe. Worked at a local school – receptionist or something. Very friendly, especially with Peggy Aitkens. Was always in there, checking on her, doing her shopping, that kind of stuff. Peggy’s a nosy old girl, but most of it is loneliness. Just wants someone to care, you know? And to talk to. Don’t we all…’

  Sip; pause. Maddie wanted to give him a nudge, tell him to get to the point.

  ‘Then one day Lucy was gone.’

  ‘Gone? What? Moved out?’

  ‘Dunno, just gone. Didn’t even say goodbye to Peggy. She was gutted about that. Still goes on about it when I see her.’ He leant forward and looked over his shoulder, then dropped his voice and said, ‘But the night before she left, I heard a helluva argument coming from Jade’s flat. Shouting, things breaking, Lucy crying, Jade accusing her of all sorts.’ He sat back again, nodding to himself.

  ‘Accusing her of what?’

  ‘I dunno, something to do with money, a deal they had. I thought maybe Jade had borrowed money and hadn’t paid it back – or vice versa, although Jade never seems to have anything. Last I heard from Peggy, Lucy had sent her a Christmas card from Scotland, so it looks like she moved back home. Anyway, Jade was then all friendly to me again, trying to invite herself over all the time, wanting to know what I had heard, if Lucy had said anything. None of my business though, is it? Better off out of it all.’

  Maddie felt a bit deflated. She had wanted more, but she wasn’t exactly sure what.

  ‘Well, thanks for telling me. I’d better get back downstairs. Thanks for the beer too.’

  ‘Any time,’ he said without looking at her. He was still gazing at the view, can in hand, occasionally raising it to his lips, the picture of relaxation.

  She walked over to the heavy metal door, which still stood ajar, and heard him say behind her, ‘You remind me a lot of Lucy – you seem nice. I’d be careful of Jade, though. She can get right nasty when she wants to be. Just saying. Peggy would appreciate you checking on her though. I think Jade gives her a hard time. Borderline bullying in my opinion.’

  Maddie paused, waiting to see if there would be anything else forthcoming.

  ‘And you don’t have to go if you don’t want to?’ he added, gesticulating at the deckchair.

  Maddie thought about it and then lowered herself back into the deckchair and picked up the beer again. Jade could wait.

  *

  An hour and two beers later, Maddie knocked on Jade’s door, her knuckles slapping against the wood. Seconds later, the door opened on the chain.

  ‘Oh, hello!’ The glee was plainly evident in Jade’s voice. She unhooked the chain and flung the door open wide.

  ‘Hi.’ Maddie felt the flush creep over her skin as she remembered why she was here in the first place.

  ‘Well, well, well! You dark horse,’ Jade said with a wide grin. ‘Wouldn’t have expected that from you.’

  Maddie closed the door behind her and went to lean against the kitchen counter. It looked like every plate and cup in the kitchen had been used and discarded. Crumbs littered the countertop and cupboard doors stood open.

  ‘I’ll put the kettle on and you can tell me all about it,’ she said, the grin feline. ‘Or would you like something stronger?’

  ‘Tea is fine, thanks. I’ve had a couple of beers already.’

  The noise of the tap running gave Maddie a moment to wonder how she was going to explain herself – or even if she needed to. Instead, she said, ‘Who’s Lucy?’

  Jade’s hands stilled on the kettle. ‘Why?’

  ‘I was just sitting with Luke, chatting and having a drink, and he mentioned her, said I reminded him of her.’

  Jade snapped off the tap just before the kettle overflowed. ‘She lived downstairs before you. She was nice enough, but I didn’t know her that well. Since when are you friends with Luke?’ She looked almost jealous.

  ‘Oh, we just got chatting. He’s really nice, got a really good sense of humour once he starts talking. He’s asked me to do some bookkeeping work for him.’ Maddie had enjoyed herself in the end. Once he opened up, they had chatted easily, joking and laughing about all sorts. It reminded her a little of when she first met Greg, but in a gentler and more mature way without the trappings of adolescence. ‘He’s a really nice guy.’

  ‘You’ve said that already.’ Jade’s voice was clipped. She loudly washed a couple of mugs. ‘Luke was keen on her, I reckon. He was always talking to her, offering to do things for her, stuff like that. I think he fancied her, but she knocked him into the friend zone.’ Jade paused, like she was letting her revelation about Luke sink in. ‘Anyway, that’s not important. Let’s talk about what went on with you and Greg!’

  ‘It was a one-off, that’s all. Like a goodbye – well, that’s what it felt like to me, anyway.’

  ‘A goodbye? Why?’

  ‘I don’t know. I think I’m just ready to put it all behind me and move on. Get my life in order.’

  ‘Woah, hang on, what happened to helping me out? Asking him for a loan? You did ask him after I left, didn’t you?’ Desperation hung like a vapour around her.

  Maddie shifted her feet, tracked a crack in the floor tile with her toe. ‘Well, I mentioned it, but he wasn’t really… he said he couldn’t right now, what with Jemima and the business is tight at
the moment and they’re trying for another baby…’

  ‘Fuck’s sake!’ Jade launched her mug across the room. It skimmed past Maddie to shatter against the wall. The handle flew off and landed, spinning, on the counter. ‘What the fuck am I going to do now?’

  ‘Woah, calm down!’ Maddie backed away towards the door.

  Jade spun at her, her finger pointing like a sharp stick. ‘You said he would help. It was your idea!’

  ‘I know and I should’ve checked with him first before I said anything.’ Maddie took another step away. ‘But that doesn’t mea—’

  ‘You’re all the same, aren’t you?’ she spat at Maddie, advancing on her, her finger still pointing and jabbing in the narrowing space between them. ‘All promises to help and great ideas, but when it comes down to it, none of you actually want to do anything to help me. Well, we had a deal and I will see it through. And if I help you, you will help me.’

  Maddie stepped away from the vitriol on Jade’s face until she was backed up against the couch. ‘Jade, you’re frightening me.’

  ‘Frightening you? I should think I am. Don’t forget, I know where they live. Your precious Greg and Jemima,’ Jade spat.

  ‘Is that some sort of threat?’ Now the fear was burning into anger.

  They glared at each other, the air swirling and toxic around them. Maddie took a step forward, closing the distance between them, challenging Jade.

  All of a sudden, the anger and bluster seemed to deflate from Jade as quickly as it had flared up. She sunk to the tiles in a heap and began to cry into her hands, her shoulders shuddering dramatically.

  ‘I just don’t know what to do anymore,’ she said around gasps of air.

  Maddie paused, wanting to make sure there were real tears first and that this wasn’t another show of drama, then sunk down next to her. ‘It’ll be ok. We’ll figure it out. Shhhh… shhhh…’ she said as she put her arm around Jade’s quivering shoulders.

  ‘I can’t lose him, Maddie, I can’t! He’s all I’ve got.’

  Maddie let her cry. After a while the sobs melted away and she sat, sniffing, on the kitchen floor. Maddie was about to suggest they get up when Jade started talking again. ‘I never had a good relationship with my own mother,’ she said in a quiet voice. ‘She was a single mum, very young. She got pregnant when she was at school and left to have me. But she never really forgave me for ruining her life.’