Afraid

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘Okay,’ she called back, looking around for a toilet roll. Seeing none, she was forced to use a sheet of newspaper instead.

  When she’d heard Tom going back down the stairs, she opened the door and reached for the small towel he’d left on the floor outside. She ran water into the sink and washed herself quickly, using the sliver of soap she’d found stuck down beside the bath taps. Then, ashamed of how greasy her hair was when she glanced into the pitted mirror, she dipped her head into the water and scrubbed it with the soap.

  The house was freezing, and she shivered as she made her way to the room that Tom had pointed out to her. He had turned on the bedside lamp, and a nightdress and a dressing gown were laid out neatly on the bed. Skye gazed around in amazement. The wallpaper in here was every bit as faded and old-woman-like as in the other rooms, and the furniture was just as ancient. But in contrast to those rooms, this one was tidy, and the nightclothes and girly bedding looked so clean that they could have been brand new.

  Skye guessed that Jade must obviously be tidier than her brother, and she smiled when she spotted the boy-band posters pinned to the wall facing the bed, most of which were of Blue – the band over which she and QTPye had first bonded on WhisperBox, and from where Skye had taken her screen-name BlueBabe. Hayley preferred One Direction, but Skye and Jade had better taste, which was probably why they had got on so well from the start – and why Hayley had always been jealous of their friendship.

  At the thought of Hayley, Skye sighed and touched her angel. They had been best friends for as long as she could remember, and she missed her; but she just couldn’t shake off the niggling little thought that Hayley could have helped her if she’d really wanted to. Jade didn’t even really know her, but she hadn’t hesitated to offer Skye a place to stay when she’d heard how bad things were – and that made her a real friend, in Skye’s eyes.

  Determinedly pushing Hayley from her mind, Skye towel-dried her hair and combed it with her fingers before changing into Jade’s nightclothes and heading back down the stairs.

  Tom was sitting in the armchair with the laptop on his knee when she walked into the living room. He looked up and smiled when he saw her. ‘Feeling better?’

  ‘Yeah, loads.’ Skye smiled shyly back and took a seat on the couch.

  ‘Hope you don’t mind wine?’ Tom nodded towards a cup sitting on the coffee table in front of her. ‘I was going to make tea, but the milk’s off.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Skye lied, reaching for it. She’d only tasted wine once before, and had absolutely hated it. But she wasn’t about to say no, because it was a thrill to be treated like a grown-up after being pushed around and treated like a kid by all the other adults she’d come into contact with recently.

  ‘I’m just catching up on some work,’ Tom told her. ‘Won’t be long.’

  Skye nodded and sipped her wine. It tasted every bit as disgusting as she’d thought it would, but she forced herself not to grimace and took another sip.

  The open fire made this room far warmer than the rest of the house, and Skye felt the tension slide off her shoulders as she gazed into the crackling flames. After a few minutes, she cast a surreptitious glance at Tom and decided that he wasn’t quite as ugly as she’d initially thought. He was nowhere near as handsome as her dad, who was the best-looking man in the whole world, in her opinion; but his eyes were quite nice, and she liked the way he talked to her: as if she was his friend as well as Jade’s. An only child herself, Skye couldn’t help but envy her new friend for having a big brother like him to look out for her.

  She dipped her gaze when Tom suddenly looked up and smiled at her. She took another sip of her drink. It still tasted nasty, but she liked the heat as it slid down her throat; and the floaty sensation that was starting to settle over her was quite nice, too.

  8

  ‘Help! Someone help me!’

  Skye’s harsh breath seared her raw throat, and she cried out in pain when her bare foot snagged on the exposed roots of a tree. She crashed to her knees but, terrified when she heard heavy footsteps pounding the ground close behind, scrambled back up quickly and forced her legs to carry her on.

  A buzzing noise was coming from the darkness up ahead, and she raced towards it, praying that somebody was there who could help her. But just as she opened her mouth to scream again, she was blinded by a piercing white light.

  ‘Morning.’

  Skye’s eyes popped open at the sound of the voice, and she breathed in sharply when she saw the hazy figure of a man standing in the doorway.

  ‘Nightmare?’ Tom smiled as he switched off the electric razor he was holding.

  Skye nodded, and drew the quilt that was covering her up to her throat. Now that her vision was clearing and she was able to see his face, she remembered who he was. But she had absolutely no memory of having come upstairs and climbed into bed.

  ‘You must have been wiped last night ’cos you were flat out when I finished working, so I had to carry you up.’ Tom answered her unspoken question. ‘I thought about leaving you on the couch, but I figured you’d be more comfortable up here. Hope you slept okay?’

  Skye nodded and slid her chin lower beneath the quilt to cover her burning cheeks.

  ‘I’ve taken the day off work,’ Tom went on. ‘Thought I’d get something special for tea, since I’ve got a guest. What do you fancy?’

  Skye cleared her throat, and said, ‘I should probably go home. My mum and dad will get worried if I stay out again.’

  ‘No, they won’t.’ Tom smiled and walked over to the bed. He squatted down beside her and peered into her eyes, saying softly, ‘Don’t get upset, but Jade’s told me what’s going on, so I know all about your folks, and you getting put into a home and running away.’

  ‘Oh,’ Skye murmured, blushing some more. ‘Is – is she here?’

  ‘No, she rang while you were asleep and we had a long chat.’ Tom reached out and stroked a stray hair off her face. ‘Stop worrying – we’re going to look after you. Okay?’

  Skye nodded, but she was too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

  ‘Right, I’d best get moving.’ Tom straightened up and backed towards the door. ‘Help yourself if you want anything. But don’t try and open the door while I’m gone, ’cos the dog might go for you.’

  ‘I won’t,’ Skye croaked, shuddering when a vision of the mangy dog leapt into her mind.

  After Tom had left, she waited until she heard the sound of his car starting up before she slipped from the bed and peeked out through the grimy net curtain. The back garden looked more like a scrapyard, cluttered as it was with broken cars, rusted old washing machines, fridges and bicycle frames. An expanse of wildly overgrown grass lay behind this, and yet more grass and trees beyond that.

  Wherever they were, it was far away from home, and that both comforted and scared Skye. On the one hand, there was no chance of anybody she knew spotting her and telling the police that she was here; but on the other, if Jade didn’t turn up again and Tom asked her to leave, she had absolutely no clue how to get home. And, as much as he was insisting that he didn’t mind her being here, he was bound to get fed up if she stayed too long.

  Tom had turned his car around by now, and when he leaned forward in his seat and peered straight up at her Skye stepped quickly back from the window. But he’d obviously seen her, so when he smiled and waved she forced herself to wave back.

  Too scared to venture downstairs in case the dog went for her, she climbed back into the bed and gazed around the room. It was comforting to think that Jade had lain here before her, and she wished that the girl would hurry up and get here.

  Skye had dozed off by the time Tom came back, but she woke with a start when she heard him running up the stairs.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, sitting bolt upright when he burst through the bedroom door as if he had the Devil at his heels.

  ‘I just saw you on the news,’ he panted, clutching at his chest as if he’d been running for
miles. ‘I was walking past a TV shop and you popped up on the screen, so I went in to see what it was about, and …’ He sat down heavily on the bed and reached for her hand. ‘I’m really sorry, but they’re saying you stabbed your dad.’

  ‘What …?’ Skye gripped the edge of the mattress with her free hand as the room went into a spin.

  ‘I know you didn’t do it,’ Tom went on, sounding every bit as shocked as she felt. ‘But the police think you did, and they’ve put a warrant out for your arrest. They’re in town right now, handing out posters with your picture on.’

  ‘But it wasn’t me,’ Skye cried. ‘It was my mum.’

  ‘I know.’ Tom gave her a regretful look before adding, ‘I didn’t want to have to tell you this, ’cos I knew it would upset you, but they were on the news as well.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Your mum and dad. She was crying, and he had his arm round her. They both said it was you who stabbed him. They said you’ve always been difficult, and they knew you’d do something terrible one day; they just never thought you’d turn on them.’

  ‘No.’ Skye shook her head in disbelief. ‘They wouldn’t do that. I haven’t done anything wrong.’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Tom said quietly. ‘I wouldn’t have told you, but I thought you needed to know.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Skye murmured numbly. ‘My mum was holding the knife when the police came in – that was why they arrested her. They know she did it.’

  ‘She reckons she took it off you after you did it, because she was trying to protect you,’ said Tom. ‘And that’s not all,’ he added grimly.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Skye gazed up at him, wondering what else there could possibly be.

  ‘Remember that home you got sent to? Well, the people who run it have said that you threatened them with a knife as well, and then stole a load of money before you took off.’

  ‘That’s not true!’ Skye squawked, her eyes flooding with tears. ‘They’re lying!’

  ‘I know.’ Tom squeezed her hand between his. ‘But the police believe them, and they’re going all out to hunt you down.’

  ‘What am I going to do?’ Skye’s face crumpled as the tears spilled down her ashen cheeks.

  ‘You’re going to stay here with me,’ said Tom, pulling her into his arms and holding her close. ‘I promised Jade I’d look after you, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’

  At the mention of his sister, Skye peered fearfully up at him through her tears. ‘What if she sees the news and tells the police I’m here?’

  ‘She’d never do that.’ Tom was adamant. ‘Trust me, I know my sister, and she won’t tell a soul. I’d best ring her, though,’ he went on thoughtfully. ‘Tell her to stay away while all this is going on. It was all right when you were just talking to each other online, but I don’t want her getting dragged into this.’

  ‘No, she can’t be,’ Skye agreed guiltily. ‘I shouldn’t have asked her for help. It wasn’t fair on her.’

  ‘You didn’t ask, she offered,’ Tom reminded her. ‘And she’ll be fine – as long as you deleted those messages like she told you to?’

  Skye nodded and wiped her nose on the back of her hand.

  ‘Where did you leave your computer?’

  ‘I hid it in the attic, under the floor stuff.’

  ‘Good girl.’ Tom rocked her gently. ‘Now, stop crying, everything’s going to be okay. You’ll be safe here with me while we find a way to prove your innocence.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Skye croaked, clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

  Tom held her for a while longer before gently easing her away, saying, ‘Lie down and try to relax while I ring Jade. I’ll bring you a drink when I’m done; it’ll make you feel better.’

  After everything she’d just heard, Skye doubted that anything would ever make her feel better again. She just couldn’t believe that her mum and dad had said all that awful stuff about her – although she didn’t know why she was so surprised, considering how many times she’d seen them lie to the police in order to protect each other in the past. They would have a fight and her mum would scream blue murder, only to retract her statement as soon as she calmed down and say she’d made it all up – or even deny that she’d said it in the first place. It was like some kind of game to see how far they could push each other; how far they could push the police. But it was serious this time. A knife had been involved, and her dad could have died. And they must have known that the police wouldn’t let it drop, so they’d concocted this plan to pin the blame on Skye, knowing that she wasn’t there to defend herself. And, for some reason that Skye just couldn’t get her head around, the staff at the children’s home had said that she’d pulled a knife on them as well. So now nobody would believe a word she said, and she would go to prison for the rest of her life, even though she hadn’t done a single thing wrong.

  ‘Hey, I thought I told you to stop that,’ Tom chided when he came back a few minutes later carrying a cup and a bunch of roses and found her sobbing into her pillow. He laid the flowers on the floor and sat beside her on the bed. ‘Here, drink this.’

  Chest still heaving, Skye swiped at her tears and sat up.

  ‘It’s brandy,’ Tom said, guiding the cup towards her lips. ‘I was going to make tea, but I figured you needed something stronger.’

  Skye sipped it and grimaced. It tasted even worse than the wine, but Tom had said it would help and he was the only person in the world that she could trust right now, so she drank some more.

  ‘Attagirl.’ Tom smiled when she’d finished and took the cup from her hand. ‘Now relax. You’ll feel better in a minute.’

  Skye lay back against the pillows and shivered as a warm, tingling sensation began to creep up from her toes.

  ‘I got you these while I was out.’ Tom reached for the flowers. ‘Thought they might cheer you up.’

  Skye’s heart fluttered in her chest as she gazed at the red roses. ‘Are they for me? No one’s ever bought me flowers before.’

  ‘Well, they should have,’ said Tom, laying them on the bedside table and stroking her cheek. ‘You’re a lovely girl, and you deserve to be treated like a princess.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Skye felt the words float up from her throat and out through her lips. She was starting to feel really, really strange; as if she had slipped out of her skin and was floating, weightless, towards some kind of beautiful dreamscape.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Tom whispered, lowering his face and pressing his lips gently onto hers.

  Back in Manchester just then, unaware of what was happening to his daughter, Jeff was thoroughly pissed off. He’d rung his solicitor this morning, only to be told that he stood no chance of having the eviction order overturned, so now he had just over twenty-four hours to pack up and get out. Then he had the problem of finding somewhere else to live – which wasn’t going to be easy, considering he was flat broke.

  Furious with life, he was cramming the contents of his bedroom drawers into the few boxes he’d just managed to scrounge from the local supermarket. But he immediately abandoned his task when he heard his phone ringing downstairs and, hoping that it was Skye, ran down to the kitchen to get it.

  Jeff had been confused yesterday when he’d turned his phone back on after coming home from the hospital and had seen a couple of texts from Andrea. When he’d read them and realised they were actually from Skye, he knew that she had been back to the house and must have found Andrea’s phone. It had been switched off when he’d tried to call it back, but he hoped that Skye had seen his missed call and was trying to reach him again.

  ‘Hello … Skye? Is that you?’ he gabbled when he snatched his phone up off the ledge. ‘Where are you, sweetheart?’

  ‘Sorry, it’s just me,’ the caller said apologetically. ‘You said you were going to call me back.’

  ‘Oh, yeah, sorry.’ Disappointed to hear Shirley Dawson’s voice instead of Skye’s, Jeff pulled a chair out from under the table a
nd sat down. ‘Things have been a bit crazy since you called, and I haven’t had a chance.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Shirley excused him. ‘Are you still in hospital? Can I come and see you?’

  ‘No, I’m at home,’ Jeff told her, shaking a cigarette out of his pack and looking around for his lighter. ‘But it’s not really a good time right now, to be honest. I’ve been evicted, and Skye’s gone missing.’

  ‘Oh, God, that’s awful,’ Shirley said concernedly. ‘Where do you think she’s gone?’

  ‘No idea.’ Jeff lit up and inhaled deeply. ‘The police are looking for her, so there’s not a lot I can do except wait. She’ll be okay, though,’ he added, sounding more convinced than he felt. ‘She’s probably just staying with a mate.’

  ‘Yes, probably,’ Shirley agreed. Then, sensing that he wanted to change the subject, she asked, ‘Why have you been evicted?’

  ‘’Cos my landlord’s an arsehole,’ Jeff replied bitterly. ‘But he’s done it by the book, so I haven’t got a leg to stand on.’

  ‘How long have you got?’

  ‘A day, so I should really get back to the packing.’

  ‘Do you need any help?’

  ‘No, I’ll be okay, but thanks for offering,’ Jeff said gratefully.

  ‘Do you have somewhere to go?’ Shirley asked. ‘Only, you know you’re more than welcome to stay at mine if you’re stuck.’

  Jeff thanked her again. Then, standing up when he heard a knock at the front door, he said, ‘Best go – someone’s here.’

  ‘Just a minute,’ Shirley said quickly. ‘I need to talk to you about something.’

  ‘It’ll have to keep,’ Jeff said, already walking out into the hall. ‘I’ve got an appointment with the doctor tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll see you when I bring my sick note in.’

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to tell you,’ said Shirley. But Jeff didn’t hear the rest, because he had already cut the call.

  When he opened the door, the woman who was standing outside smiled up at him and said, ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you, but are you Skye’s dad?’