The boy’s voice quivered. Billy’s heart went out to him. He was a good kid, just had a lot of energy that needed to be channelled. Billy had known kids like Ollie growing up – kids who’d had more energy than they knew what to do with. Kids who’d hated sitting at a desk for six hours a day. A lot of them had got into trouble in later life. You had to harness the energy in a positive way. The kid needed to focus on something, occupy his mind.
‘Lookit, Ollie, you’re a good lad. I was a bit like you when I was a boy,’ Billy lied. ‘My uncle Johnny, who was a carpenter, taught me how to make things. It helped me to focus my mind. Why don’t I teach you a few basics? Stand here beside me at this workbench.’
Billy showed Ollie how to cut plywood with a handsaw, supervising him like a hawk while he did it. Ollie still ended up sawing through the sleeve of Billy’s jumper and almost his skin. Luckily, Billy pulled his arm away just in time.
They managed to make a lopsided box. Billy decided to glue it together rather than involve nails or hammers or any other implements that could cause serious bodily harm.
Ollie held up the finished box and beamed. ‘Deadly!’
‘What will you do with it?’
‘I’ll give it to Dad to put stuff in.’
‘Good idea.’
‘Maybe he’ll forget about the glasses when he sees this.’
Billy patted his shoulder. ‘I’m sure he will.’
‘Is there anything to drink in there?’ Ollie eyed up the small fridge.
‘Only water for you and beer for me.’
‘That’s cool. I’ve given up fizzy drinks anyway. It’s important to keep hydrated and water is the best thing for that. By the way, Billy, if you ever get locked in here and you have a heart attack or a stroke or one of those things that happens to old people, and you can’t get out or call for help and you’re stuck here for days and you run out of water, you can drink your own pee.’
Billy spluttered on his beer. ‘Thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully, if I do have an old person’s issue, one of my daughters or grandchildren would notice me missing.’
Ollie sipped his water. ‘Maybe, but it’s good to have a backup plan.’
Billy looked at his watch. ‘It’s nine o’clock. Shouldn’t you be heading home?’
Ollie sighed. ‘Not yet. Mum and Shannon are watching Gossip Girl again and it’s so boring. Dad’s working late on a job. Can I stay for a few more minutes?’
‘Okay. Finish up your water and I’ll see you home.’
‘Billy?’
‘Yes?’
‘Do you think I could call in here sometimes, like, to hang out and stuff?’
Billy wanted to say no. In one hour the kid had nearly sawn his arm off. But his little face was eagerly staring up at him. ‘Sure, Ollie. Not all the time, mind you, but maybe once a week. How does that sound?’
‘Deadly.’ Ollie beamed at him. ‘I’ll see you next week same time. We can make a skateboard or something cool.’
Billy walked him to the front gate, then watched him run up the road and into his house. So much for a quiet night. He turned and went back to his shed to have one more beer and listen to Frank’s soothing voice.
22
Lucy held out the menus. ‘So, what do you fancy tonight, Chinese or Indian? Kelly, that new legal drama is on BBC tonight. It’s supposed to be really good.’
‘Actually I’m going out,’ Dylan said.
‘So am I,’ Kelly said.
‘Oh.’ Lucy’s hands dropped to her sides. ‘I thought you were both staying in for a change. Where are you going?’
‘Just the cinema with Shannon,’ Kelly said.
Lucy turned to Dylan. ‘Where are you off to?’
He needed to play this down. He knew if he said it was a house party he’d get a lecture about being led astray and the evils of alcohol. ‘I’m meeting up with a few of the lads on the team.’
‘You’re not going to be drinking, I hope,’ his mum said. ‘You know you can’t get caught doing anything silly, Dylan. You don’t want to get into any trouble, and Jordan would go mad if he found out you were drinking.’
‘I’m not drinking, Mum. Relax.’
‘Where are you meeting up?’
‘In Justin’s house,’ he lied.
‘Which one is he?’
‘He’s centre mid.’
‘Oh, yes, he seems nice. Well, don’t be late. You’ve got training at eleven tomorrow.’
Dylan left the kitchen and went into his room to get changed. Kelly came in and lay on the bed. ‘Liar!’ she said.
‘What?’ Dylan sprayed on some aftershave.
‘I heard you tell Mum you’re going to Justin’s house. You’re not wearing your best shirt and half a bottle of aftershave for the boys. You’re going to Taylor’s party, aren’t you?’
Dylan fixed his hair in the mirror. ‘Yep, and if all goes well, I’m planning on hooking up with the hostess.’
Kelly sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. ‘I hope Taylor’s nicer than her sister Melissa. She’s a real bitch.’
‘Taylor’s great. Which one is Melissa? Is she the short dumpy one with the long blonde hair?’
‘Yes.’
‘They’re sisters? Seriously?’
‘Step-sisters.’
‘Okay, cos they couldn’t look less alike.’
‘I hate St Jude’s, Dylan.’
Dylan sighed. He just wanted to go to the party and hook up with Taylor. The last thing he needed was a big chat about how much Kelly hated St Jude’s, but he loved his sister and could see she was struggling, so he sat down beside her.
‘I don’t fit in,’ Kelly said, looking at her toes.
‘Maybe if you tried a bit harder. They can’t all be bad in your class. Come on, I know I’m not in the top stream for all subjects like you, but some of those nerdy swots must be decent.’
Kelly shrugged. ‘Some of them seem okay, but Melissa is in all of my classes and she’s constantly making horrible comments.’
‘Just ignore her. A couple of the lads slagged me off about being new and the scholarship and all that stuff in the first week, but I just let it slide. There were some arseholes in our old schools too. If you walk around looking like you hate everyone, you won’t make new mates.’
‘I have great friends already. I don’t need new ones,’ Kelly muttered.
‘Poor Kelly. Come on, give us a smile.’ Dylan lay on top of her and forced his sister’s mouth into a smile. Kelly squealed and tried to push him off, but he had her pinned down. ‘One smile and I’ll let you go. Come on, I want to get to the party before some other fella hops on Taylor.’
Kelly gave him a half-smile.
‘That’ll do. Wish me luck.’ Dylan straightened his shirt.
‘You don’t need luck. You’re Dylan the amazing striker,’ Kelly said.
‘Well, now that you mention it, I guess I am.’ He grinned.
Dylan walked up the long driveway, following the sound of thumping music. When he turned the corner and saw the house, he stopped in his tracks. It was huge. Like, footballer’s-crib massive. A black Ferrari and an Alfa Romeo were parked outside. Taylor’s parents must be seriously minted.
Suddenly Dylan felt nervous. If she came from all this, would she really go for him? She could have any guy she wanted. He knew at least five on the football team who fancied her. He was pretty sure they all lived in mansions too.
You’re brilliant, Dylan. Any girl would be lucky to have you. He heard his mother’s voice in his head. Feck it, what did he have to lose? Dylan put his shoulders back and headed to the front door.
The party was in full swing. Kids he recognized from school and lots he’d never seen before were drinking, kissing and dancing all over the house. Four people were doing lines of cocaine on the hall table. One of them was the step-sister – what was her name? Melissa. That was it.
He tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Melissa, right?’
‘Yes.’ Her eyes were dru
g-induced bright.
‘I’m Dylan.’
‘I know who you are, Dylan. Everyone’s talking about you.’
He smiled. ‘Right, so you’re Taylor’s step-sister.’
‘Yeah. My mum and her dad married last year.’
‘Cool. Nice house.’
‘It’s okay. You should see my mum’s house in St Tropez, though. It’s, like, twice the size.’
‘Right.’
She batted her fake eyelashes at him. One had come unstuck. She looked ridiculous.
‘So, do you want some?’ She offered him cocaine.
‘No, thanks.’
‘Are you sure?’ She put her hand on his chest. ‘We could have some fun together.’
Dylan laughed. ‘I don’t think so. You’re not my type.’
‘Oh, yeah? What is your type, then?’
‘Good-looking.’
Melissa took a step back from him. ‘Prick.’
‘Do me a favour, Shorty, lay off my sister.’
‘Screw you,’ Melissa shouted at his back, as he walked away.
Dylan made his way towards the kitchen, nodding to a few of the kids from school. He found Taylor perched on the edge of the marble counter, in a very tight mini-dress. She was surrounded by guys and girls all cheering as she threw back a Jägermeister shot. When she saw Dylan, her face lit up. ‘Hey, you, come here.’ She held out her hand and pulled Dylan towards her. She handed him a shot. ‘Party time!’
Dylan hesitated. ‘I don’t really drink.’
‘Come on, it’s a party, for God’s sake.’
He smiled at her. ‘What the hell?’ He knocked it back.
The others whooped and cheered him on.
‘Can you help me down?’ Taylor asked.
Dylan held out his arms and she swung into them. He put her down but kept his arms around her.
Taylor leant into him. ‘Strong arms, I like that,’ she said, and stumbled on her high heels. Dylan steadied her. She reached for his hand and pulled him towards the lounge where people were dancing in very dim light.
‘Come on.’ She pulled Dylan into the dark room. A disco ball bounced coloured lights around the ceiling. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snaked her body into his. He held her tight. Then he pulled her head up gently with his hand and pressed his lips to hers. She opened her mouth and let him in.
Kelly turned her back to the mirror and swivelled her head to check her bum.
Shannon sighed. ‘For God’s sake, you look amazing. Stop obsessing about your bum. It’s half the size of mine.’
‘Are the jeans too tight?’
‘For the millionth time, no! You look amazing. He’s going to hop on you when he sees you.’
Kelly bit her nail. ‘He’s just so gorgeous and I know loads of girls fancy him. I can’t believe he likes me.’
‘He’s mad about you. I saw the way he looked at you last week in the park. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.’
Kelly grinned. ‘Really?’
Shannon was glad to see her smiling. She’d been so miserable since she’d gone to stupid St Jude’s. ‘Yes, really. Now, come on. We have to get past your psycho mother. She’s better than the CIA at sniffing out lies. If she suspects anything, she’ll probably waterboard me to ’fess up.’
Kelly giggled as she put on her leather jacket. She had one last look in the mirror. Shannon was right, she did look good – as good as she ever could. If Sean didn’t fancy her, there was nothing more she could do.
They popped their heads into the lounge, where Lucy and Billy were watching TV.
‘We’re off to the cinema,’ Kelly said.
Lucy looked round. ‘Okay. Now, I want you straight home afterwards. No later than eleven and make sure you get the bus home together. It’s dangerous on your own.’
‘Don’t worry, Lucy. I’ll glue myself to her,’ Shannon said.
‘Have you enough money?’ Billy asked.
‘Yes, thanks, Granddad.’
‘Here, take a few quid for sweets.’ He handed Kelly ten euros.
‘No, honestly, it’s fine.’
‘Take it, you’re a great girl. You deserve a night out.’
‘She’d love to, thanks, Billy.’ Shannon took the money and shoved it into Kelly’s hand.
‘Will there be any boys?’ Billy winked.
‘You never mentioned boys.’ Lucy looked at Kelly.
‘I wish.’ Shannon took control. ‘Sure we don’t know any decent boys. It’s just me and Kelly. Right then, see you later.’
They scurried from the house and ran up the street. Kelly let out a deep breath. ‘Thanks, you were great. I froze when Granddad mentioned boys.’
Shannon giggled. ‘I couldn’t believe he said it! Your mum went all squinty eyed and glary and I knew we had to get out of there before she sniffed out the lies.’
Kelly laughed.
Shannon linked her arm. ‘Come on, I’ll walk you down to the bus stop in case she’s watching out the window.’
‘Knowing my mum, she probably is.’
At the corner Shannon hugged her friend. ‘Jesus, you’re shaking.’
‘I’m ridiculously nervous. I really like him.’
‘And he likes you, remember that. He asked you out.’
‘It’s the only nice thing to happen in weeks. I really want it to go well.’
‘It will, but you need to relax, Kelly. Seriously. If you arrive shaking like that, he’ll think you have Parkinson’s!’
Kelly giggled.
‘Now go on, I’m going to hide in Mandy’s house until you call me. I’ll meet you back here and we can walk to your house together. Enjoy yourself and I can’t wait for all the gory details.’
When Kelly got off the bus her stomach was fluttering. She saw him straight away, leaning against the wall, smoking. He looked so gorgeous. He caught her eye and a sexy smile lit his face. Kelly swallowed her nerves and walked over to him. Her legs were shaking.
‘Hey,’ he said, throwing his cigarette down and putting it out with his boot.
‘Hi.’ Kelly couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Sean moved over to stand in front of her. ‘You look great,’ he said.
‘Thanks, so do you.’
He grinned. ‘I got us two seats at the back so I could do lots of this.’ He leant in, put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her.
Kelly felt herself melt. She leant against him and kissed him back.
‘I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,’ he murmured into her ear.
‘Me too,’ she whispered back.
He smiled at her. ‘Come on, or it’ll start without us.’
He led her into the cinema foyer and over to the machine, where he collected their tickets. They were the only people in the back row. All through the film they were kissing and groping each other. Kelly couldn’t get enough of him. She wanted to kiss him all night. She felt as if she was floating on air.
When the film was over they stood outside, wrapped in each other’s arms.
‘Will we go for a drink?’ Sean said.
Kelly winced. ‘I can’t. I have to be home by eleven. My mum’s really strict. To be honest, I kind of lied about meeting you. She wants me to focus on studying, impress my new teachers and come top of the class. No distractions allowed.’
‘Are you?’
‘What?’
‘Top of the class.’
‘In some … in most of them.’
‘Smart and gorgeous, lucky me.’ He grinned.
She twirled her fingers around his.
‘So, do you like the posh school?’
Kelly shook her head. ‘I hate it.’
‘Really? That bad?’
‘Yes. Some of the girls are total bitches and the others all have their own groups of friends.’
‘Sounds rough. Are the bitches giving you a hard time?’
Kelly nodded. ‘There’s this one girl, Melissa, who seems to hate me and she never lets up. S
he sent a WhatsApp yesterday asking if anyone had a decent pair of shoes to give to Kelly, the scholarship girl, because the ones I wear are so gross. She uploaded a photo of my shoes. Loads of people replied with laughing emojis, and LOLs.’
‘Did you reply? Do you fight back?’
‘I have to be careful. I can’t get into trouble or I’ll risk losing the scholarship and get Dylan into trouble too. I can’t blow it for him. Besides, my mum will have an actual nervous breakdown if I mess up. She’s obsessed with this school.’
‘Why? Did she go there?’
‘No. She just thinks it’s an amazing opportunity and that we’re incredibly lucky. She wants us to shine, Dylan in sports and me in study.’
Sean ran his hands through her hair. ‘Sounds like a lot of pressure.’
‘It is, but Mum gave up everything for us. She got pregnant and had to drop out of college, so I can’t let her down.’
Sean frowned. ‘You have to live your life, not hers. I mean, the fact that she blew her chances isn’t your fault.’
Kelly lay back in his arms – she felt so safe with him. ‘I know, but she wants the best for me. She wants me to have a great career and life.’
‘I dunno … If you want it, fine, but don’t do it for her. We can’t live our parents’ lives, we have to live our own. You know my brother Gavin ended up in prison for six months for selling cocaine? He really messed up and my parents were devastated, but they got over it. He’s still their son and he’s good now. He’s working in a café and he’s got mad into health and fitness. People make mistakes, but it doesn’t mean your life is over. Your mum’s life worked out okay, so she shouldn’t put so much pressure on you.’
Kelly didn’t want to talk about St Jude’s, her mother or Gavin. She wanted more kissing. Sean was right, but he didn’t understand. Lucy had been abandoned at twenty-one with twins and then her own mum had got cancer and died. Her whole life had been turned upside-down and she’d never got to do what she wanted. It was Kelly and Dylan’s job to make her proud. They’d always known that. Lucy adored them, they were her life, and it was their duty to be the best they could be.
Our Secrets and Lies Page 14
