You Don't Know Me

by Mandy Lee

  ‘Say hello to Sara,’ I whisper into his ear. ‘And apologise.’

  With a sigh, he makes his way through the chaos of the toy cars, almost tripping over Clive’s legs in the process. I watch as he leans over, speaking earnestly, as my sister gazes up at him and finally nods.

  ‘Come and sit down.’ Dad motions for me to join him at the table. Squeezing myself into position, I comply.

  ‘What do you think?’ I ask.

  ‘Where’s he from?’ He picks up a sandwich and waves it in Dan’s direction.

  ‘London.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Of course. He grew up in Surrey.’

  ‘Only I never forget a face.’

  I examine my dad’s expression. For the life of me, I just can’t work out why he’s so interested.

  ‘If you’d met him, Dad, you would have worked it out by now.’

  ‘Sometimes it just takes me a few minutes.’ He takes a bite of the sandwich and chews thoughtfully.

  ‘Well, good luck.’

  ‘All done,’ Dan mumbles. Seating himself next to me, he places his glass of water on the table, in between a mound of cocktail sausages and a plateful of pork pie slices.

  ‘Dig in,’ my dad urges him. ‘We’ve got more for later. Come on you lot!’

  At last, after much fussing, all the adults are seated around the table, while my two nephews settle for a picnic on the floor. And while we set about wading through the mountains of party food, Mum grills Dan on his company, his background and his upbringing. Apparently satisfied with his curt answers, she moves on to Clive who’s half way through his explanation of what he does at Fosters when I notice that my dad is staring resolutely at Dan.

  ‘Your eyes,’ Dad muses. ‘I just can’t put my finger on it.’

  Dropping his food onto his plate, Dan picks up the glass of water and takes a sip. I notice that his hands are trembling again. And then I notice that the conversation has fizzled out. I glance around the table, from Lucy who’s far too busy biting into a lump of pork pie to notice anything much, to Sara whose attention is fully fixed on Dan, and finally to Clive. Holding a forkful of salad in one hand, he’s simply frowning at my dad, waiting for his next words. They’re not long in coming.

  ‘I never forget a face. Audrey, I never forget a face, do I?’

  ‘No, you certainly don’t,’ Mum smiles.

  ‘I just can’t work it out.’ He continues to stare at Dan, and I’m about to inform him that he’s being rude when he waves a finger in the air. ‘I’ve got it! I know who you remind me of. It’s that boy, that boy from down the road.’

  Taking a gulp of wine, Mum narrows her eyes and shakes her head.

  ‘Which boy?’ she demands.

  ‘You know, the one who went off. You remember, Audrey. The kids round here used to think he’d been murdered.’

  Something stirs at the back of my brain, something unseen and unwanted. It begins to shuffle the evidence.

  ‘The ghost?’ I ask. ‘The ghost in the woods?’

  ‘That’s the one,’ Dad laughs. ‘Only he never got murdered.’

  I watch as my mum shakes her head, and then I turn to Dan. He’s staring down at his plate now, his face inscrutable.

  ‘The Taylors,’ Dad goes on. ‘That was the family.’ He shoves a mini pizza into his mouth and chews happily. ‘They had the two girls, didn’t they? And then there was the boy, the one who went away. What was his name?’ He gazes down at his plate, his brain obviously working at full pelt. A few seconds later, his head flips up. ‘Daniel!’ he exclaims. ‘He was called Daniel too. Well, there’s a coincidence. Daniel Taylor. You remember him, don’t you, Audrey?’

  ‘Daniel Taylor,’ Mum muses. ‘Yes, Daniel Taylor. He had bright blue eyes, just like yours.’ She takes an uncertain peek at Dan before she goes on. ‘You wouldn’t remember him, Maya. You were just a little dot at the time. But Sara was in his class at school, weren’t you, Sara?’

  ‘Yes.’

  A hiss. The word comes out as a hiss. And then it fades into nothing. Only the children are eating now, happily oblivious to the events unfolding next to them. And while the silence seems to stretch out forever, my eyes focus themselves on Dan, just like every other pair of eyes around the table. His head is dipped.

  ‘You really do look like him,’ my dad smiles at last. ‘I never forget a face.’

  My brain stirs again. And then it begins to lay out the cards, one by one, making connections that I just don’t want to make. His anger towards my sister. His reluctance to come to Limmingham. His words about my painting. One day you’ll understand.

  ‘Dan?’ I touch him on his arm. ‘What’s going on?’

  He says nothing. He does nothing. The silence returns, holding court for a few moments before it’s broken by my sister’s voice.

  ‘It’s you, isn’t it?’ she demands quietly. ‘That’s why you can’t stand me.’

  His lips part. He shakes his head.

  ‘What’s going on?’ I hear my own voice quivering its way through the air. Again, he doesn’t respond.

  ‘It is you,’ my sister presses.

  ‘Dan?’

  There’s a sudden flurry of action at my side. Pushing back his chair, he gets to his feet.

  ‘I should go now,’ he announces coldly. ‘It was nice to meet you, Mr Scotton. I hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday. Mrs Scotton, thank you for the meal. I’m sorry.’

  I watch in disbelief as he leaves the room. Finally gathering my wits about me, I push back my own chair back and follow. Scurrying through the kitchen and out through the open back door, I catch him halfway down the drive.

  ‘Wait!’ I shout.

  He swings to a halt, but he doesn’t turn.

  ‘Aren’t you going to tell me what the fuck’s going on?’

  ‘He’s been lying to you. That’s what’s been going on.’ My sister’s voice grabs me from behind. ‘And now he’s been caught out.’ She comes to stand at my side. ‘I knew we’d met before. We were at school together. You are Daniel Taylor.’

  He turns slowly.

  ‘My name is Daniel Foster.’ He clenches his fists. His entire body seems to be coiled up now, ready to explode.

  ‘So what? You changed your name. But you’re still the boy from down the road. Go on! Admit it!’

  I glance between them, trying desperately to make sense of it all.

  ‘Yes,’ he growls. ‘It’s me. What of it?’

  I catch my breath, staring at the man I thought I knew, struggling to keep my balance while thoughts whip themselves up into a whirlwind. Everything he ever told you, a voice cries out, everything you came to trust and love, it was nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

  ‘But how can you be?’ I glance down the road, towards the house where the Taylors used to live. I remember them now. I remember the girls, but not the boy.

  ‘You never told her,’ my sister grimaces. ‘Why didn’t you tell her who you were?’

  Silence cloaks us while up above the clouds gather, threatening to disgorge themselves at any minute.

  ‘Dan!’ I shout. ‘Just tell me who you are! How the fuck can you be Daniel Taylor?’

  ‘Why don’t you let your sister tell you?’ His words scratch at the air. His eyes flash darkly as he stalks his way back towards us. ‘Go on, Sara. But make sure you don’t leave anything out.’

  I turn to find my sister shaking, her mouth open, her eyes wide with fear. For a moment, I’m distracted by the fact that we’ve been joined by Clive and Lucy, that Clive is edging his way towards Dan, holding out a hand, nervously, as if he’s approaching a dangerous animal.

  ‘You can’t do it, can you?’ Dan seethes, drawing my attention back to his face. ‘Because if you tell her about me, then you’ll have to own up to what you did.’ He points a finger at Sara and for a split second, I wonder if he’s actually going to lash out.

  ‘Dan, no!’ Clive springs forwards, grabbing Dan by the arm. ‘Don’t do thi
s here. Go home and calm down. I’ll bring Maya back and you can explain later.’

  ‘I don’t want him to explain later!’ I spit. ‘I want to hear this now.’

  Dan shakes his head. Breathing hard and fast, he shakes himself out of Clive’s grasp and moves closer to me, locking me into his gaze.

  ‘Alright, Maya. If you want to know the truth, I’ll give it to you.’ He points down the road. ‘Number fifteen. I spent the first ten years of my life in that fucking house.’

  ‘Dan.’

  He shoots a glance at Clive and shakes his head.

  ‘My real dad walked out before I was born. I never knew him. But I knew my step dad alright. And he was a bastard.’

  Clive reaches out again. He’s shaken off for a second time.

  ‘And I mean a real bastard, Maya.’ He chews at his lip for a moment before he speaks again. ‘My sisters were his kids but I wasn’t, and he hated me for it. My sisters had everything.’ He reaches up and touches his own chest. ‘I had nothing.’

  His words filter back into my head: I wasn’t spoilt when I was child, Maya, and I wasn’t overindulged.

  ‘Dan, not here.’

  Ignoring Clive, he presses on.

  ‘My sisters were well dressed but I wasn’t. My clothes were always in tatters, always too small, always wrong …’

  It’s not nice, is it? Wearing the wrong clothes?

  ‘Do you like the story so far? Do you want to know the rest? Do you want to know how he poisoned my mum against me? Do you want to know that I was filthy because my clothes were never washed? That I was never allowed in the family bathroom? That I stank?’

  He grabs me by the arms and I flinch.

  ‘Or do you want to know that they didn’t feed me? That I had to scavenge for food? That I got thrown out of my bedroom and had to sleep on a mattress in the outhouse?’

  ‘Dan!’

  ‘No, you don’t want to know any of that, do you, Maya? Because then you’ll never be able to look me in the face again.’

  I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes.

  ‘And now we get to the good bit.’ He squeezes my arm. ‘The bit about school.’ He turns to my sister.

  ‘This needs to stop,’ she pleads.

  ‘No, it doesn’t. Maya needs to know the truth. She needs to know that you bullied me relentlessly. She needs to know that I couldn’t go anywhere without your taunts, that you had every single child in that school following suit, that you made my life a fucking nightmare.’

  ‘And I’m sorry for that.’

  ‘Well, it’s too late.’

  I hear a gasp.

  ‘That night,’ Sara murmurs. ‘The night you disappeared, there was an ambulance.’

  He opens his mouth to speak and falters. His eyes soften, flicker for a moment, and the anger has gone.

  ‘There’s only so much you can take,’ he whispers at last.

  ‘You tried to …’

  I can’t bring myself to finish my question, but he knows what I mean. He nods, swallows and looks to Clive for help. For a few seconds, the two men stare at each other before Dan releases me, turning away, leaving Clive to fill in the gaps.

  ‘He was ten years old,’ Clive explains quickly. ‘He tried to cut his wrists. One of his sisters found him and called the ambulance. Social Services were called in at the hospital. Dan was taken into care. Two years in a children’s home, and then he was adopted.’

  ‘That’s why,’ I whisper. ‘That’s why there were no photos.’

  Dan turns back to face me.

  ‘And what Betty said. She said you deserved some happiness after everything you’d been through. That’s what she meant.’

  He nods, but I barely register it. My brain has sparked into life.

  ‘Clive knew all of this.’

  ‘Of course he knew, but it wasn’t his place to tell you.’

  ‘And that’s why he warned me off. He said you’d latched onto me for a reason. That was the reason.’ He reaches out to me. I take a step backwards. ‘You knew who I was right from the start. You and me, this was no coincidence.’

  His shoulders slump. He runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. ‘A quirk of fate.’

  ‘But I don’t …’

  ‘Fate brought you into my building.’

  ‘You knew?’

  ‘I knew exactly who you were when I first called you.’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘I’m a control freak, remember. I skim over the details of all the new staff. When yours landed on my desk, I couldn’t believe my luck. Your dad might never forget a face but I never forget a name, especially not that name. Maya Scotton. Sara used to go on about you at school. I knew exactly who you were.’

  Suddenly, I feel sick.

  ‘It was too good an opportunity to miss.’

  ‘Dan, there’s no need for this.’ Clive’s voice intervenes. It’s ignored.

  A hand reaches out to me.

  ‘I need to be honest with you, Maya.’

  ‘Am I getting this right?’ I bat the hand away. ‘You used me to get to my sister?’

  ‘It crossed my mind.’

  ‘So, what was the plan? Revenge?’

  ‘I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking straight. All I knew was I wanted to meet you. That was it. I didn’t know what else I’d do.’

  ‘You used me?’ I blink a few times and stare at the ground. My brain has just laid out another card, a fresh piece of evidence. ‘That was you,’ I breathe. ‘That was you outside my flat on the motorbike. Fucking hell.’ I look back up at him. ‘I can’t believe I missed that one. It was my first day at work and you were stalking me.’

  ‘Researching you.’

  ‘Planning exactly how to use me.’

  ‘It wasn’t like that. As soon as I laid eyes on you, things changed.’

  ‘Did they?’ I laugh.

  ‘Yes, they fucking did.’ He grabs hold of my arm, drawing me into him. ‘I’m not proud of it, but I’m not going to lie to you. A few minutes of madness. That’s all it was. Are you telling me you never once thought about getting your own back?’

  I shake my head, knowing damn well I’ve thought about it plenty of times.

  ‘Oh come on, Maya.’ He shakes me. ‘We’re all human, for fuck’s sake. You’re not going to hold this against me.’

  I pull my arm away from his grasp.

  ‘And you’re not going to tell me how to react.’

  He’s panicking now. I can see it clearly in his eyes.

  ‘You don’t know me,’ I breathe. ‘That song you played in the car. It was a message.’

  He holds out a hand.

  ‘I wanted to tell you who I was. So many times I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. I got in too deep, too fast and I just couldn’t. I never meant to deceive you.’

  ‘But you did deceive me, Dan. You kept telling me to trust you, and I gave you my trust.’ I hear myself laugh again. ‘I trusted a man who didn’t even exist.’

  ‘I do exist. I’m Daniel Foster. That’s my name. That’s who I am.’

  ‘And it’s just a name. I don’t know you at all. And I certainly can’t trust you. And do you know what the worst thing is?’ I wait a moment before I let out the answer. ‘You don’t even know yourself.’

  There’s a rumble in the distance. The clouds are breaking now. The first spots of rain begin to make landfall as the storm sweeps in from the sea. I need to get inside. I need protection. I need to hide from it all.

  ‘Maya, this isn’t the end.’

  ‘Yes it is,’ I snarl, determined to see this through. ‘Just get in the car, Dan, and leave.’ Washed through with fear and dread and determination, I look into his eyes for one last time before I walk away. ‘It’s over.’

  Author’s note

  Thank you for reading my book! I would love to hear from you. You can contact me on my Facebook page:

  www.facebook.com/pages/Mandy-Lee/424286884398779?ref=hl

  Or on my w
ebsite:

  http://www.mandy-lee.com

  I certainly hope you had as much fun reading my book as I had writing it. If you liked it please tell a friend - or better yet, tell the world by writing a review on Amazon. Even a few short sentences are helpful. As an independently published author, I don’t have a marketing department behind me. I have you, the reader. So please spread the word!

  Thanks again.

  All the best,

  Mandy Lee

  Contents

  Copyright

  You Don’t Know Me

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Author’s note