The taxi pulled up outside the block of flats where Tasha lived with Lucy. She drew in a very deep breath. She was back, and while one part of her was glad, a larger part of her was sad.
She climbed the stairs, pulling her case behind her and let herself in. She dumped her luggage at the bottom of her bed and quickly changed into clean pyjamas and crawled into her comfortable, but suddenly small and lonely bed she doubted she’d fall asleep in. She was wrong.
Waking with a start, Tasha realised her phone was ringing. She grabbed for it and answered groggily.
“Tash, it’s Angie. I thought I’d better make sure you’d remembered you had an appointment at ten.”
“Thanks. What time is it now?”
“Just before eight. Do you want to do lunch on Monday and fill me in on your week?”
“Yeah. Shall I meet you at the office, about twelve?”
“Cool. See you Monday and good luck later.” In her usual Angie straight to the point way, she hung up.
After she’d dragged herself out of bed, Tasha went through to the kitchen where she screamed when she came face to face with a naked man. “What the fuck?”
Lucy appeared behind him and laughed. “Shit, Tash. I didn’t think you were back yet. Meet Ryan. Ryan, my flat mate, Tasha.”
“Hi,” he muttered with an embarrassed wave before disappearing into Lucy’s room.
Looking at each other they both began to giggle and laugh before closing in for a hug.
“He looks nice,” grinned Tasha, her heart still thudding in her chest.
“He is, very nice,” giggled Lucy as she hugged Tasha again. “He is a fireman and is on nights tonight so shall we have a takeaway and a bottle of wine and you can give me all the dirt on America?”
“Sounds good. Are you joining your friend back in bed?”
“Yeah, what about you?”
“Kinky!” Tasha grinned again.
Lucy laughed. “I didn’t mean with us.”
Tasha shook her head. “I have an appointment this morning, but I’ll be back later.”
With a wink and a smile, Lucy skipped back to bed making Tasha happy for her friend, but sad for herself when she thought that Jim would be in bed, his bed, alone and thousands of miles away.
Nursing a fresh cup of tea, she sat down to text Jim.
There was no reply, so presumably he wasn’t up still.
After attending her appointment Tasha decided she should check on Dan and Pippa. She pulled up outside her family home and sighed with a sense of dread in the very pit of her stomach. She took out her phone to check her messages, but there were none, so text Jim, again.
Tasha put her phone away and made her way to the front door. She knocked and waited until Pippa opened it.
“Hi Tash. I’ve missed you. How was New York?” she asked, flinging herself into her big sister’s arms.
“Good. How are things here?”
“So-so. Crap at the beginning of the week then better after you sent Dan some money and a bit shitty again last night. I think he’s fucked-up again,” explained Pippa to a nervous looking Tasha.
“Don’t swear,” she chastened disapprovingly. “Where’s Dan?”
“Here I am,” he called from the stairs. “Hi sis, you look great.”
She smiled at him and as he pulled her in for a hug asked, “Is the house all sorted again?”
He nodded. “But Dad was in a weird mood last night.”
“Where is he now?”
“Pissed and sleeping it off in bed,” whispered Dan, “and Mum is with him.”
Tasha shuddered. “Any chance of a cup of tea?” Their parents being in bed might be for the best because it would give her the opportunity to check on her siblings without interruption.
“I’ll do it.” Dan left his sisters together and it was the younger one who quickly refocused excitedly.
“How was America? Are you going to do a movie out there? Did you buy me a present?”
Tasha shrugged and watching her younger sister’s excited questions thought of Lizzie and in turn, Jim. Pushing away the sense of sadness she felt, she focused on Pippa’s questions. “Not yet, but it was great. I’ll be spending some more time out there though and I may have bought you something, but it’s at home.”
They were sitting in the lounge drinking tea when her father appeared. “Oh, you’re back. What do you want?” he spat at her.
“Just popped in to see Pippa and Dan.”
Tasha resisted the urge to add, and to see what the fuck you have to show for the £100,000 of mine you’ve spent in the last year. She also managed not to point out he was the one who was permanently wanting something from their meetings, not the other way round.
“Pippa make me some tea,” he barked. “I need to ask Natasha something.”
Pippa disappeared into the kitchen leaving Tasha and Dan with him.
“I know you lent Dan a few quid this week, but any chance of a bit more. I had a bad time at the dogs last night. It’s the least you can do after all we’ve done for you.”
“How much?” She tried to disguise her wide-eyed stare and somehow ignored the fact that they, her parents, had done very little for her and he considered £25,000 to be a few quid.
“Five grand. But a couple of hundred would tide me over for a couple of weeks to keep Liam at bay, unless you would rather pay him the old fashioned way.”
The sight of his perverse sneer caused bile to rise in her throat, but she refocused on masking the old fears rising to the surface.
“I haven’t got five grand, Dad. I can let you have two hundred,” she replied, already taking the money she’d got from the cash point. She did have five grand, but it was her last five grand. Cash she was hoping to keep.
He snatched the money from her, managing to pinch the skin on her hand as he did so. “You are such a bitch, of course you’ve got five grand. Unless you would rather Liam took his payment directly from you.”
“I really don’t have any money left,” she protested, fearful of what might happen on the back of her father’s repeated threat. Suddenly, she thought of Jim and all the times he’d offered to help her to sort things. His words about being careful and his caring treatment of her gave her a renewed sense of strength and determination not to be made into her father’s or Liam’s pawn ever again. “So, you will have to find another cash cow or get a job,” she spat at him.
He leapt up, his anger obvious when he put his face in hers. She winced at the smell of stale beer, cigarettes and him.
“Well, you’d better find some or I may forget I’m a gentleman and introduce Pippa to Liam.” His words were whispered but laced with menace. He squeezed her face, not stopping until she cried out.
When Pippa reappeared with his cup of tea, he kissed her on the cheek as he accepted it.
“Thank you, my lovely, sweet, innocent girl,” he said, staring at Tasha. The threat was
clearly being made and they both knew one way or another she wouldn’t allow him to follow through with his inferred intention, well, at least it was only inferred at this point.
Her phone beeped. She glanced at it in her bag and saw a message from Jim. She smiled and although desperate to read it, to speak to him, now wasn’t the time. She quickly put it on silent, returned her purse and fastened her bag.
“I should be going, but you two should come over and stay with me and Lucy for a few days when you’re free.” Tasha was desperate to keep them safe for a while longer. They both nodded and once she reached the door, she put a handful of notes into Dan’s hand. “Call if you need anything and I promise I am trying to sort this out for us all.”
He frowned at her but kissed her. “Tash, has something happened? Have you met someone? You seem different.”
She nodded. “Please don’t say anything to anyone yet.”
He nodded back and gestured to where their father was. “Don’t let him make you go back to Liam, please. You deserve to be happy, sis.”
Chapter 25
After the visit to her family home Tasha wanted to feel safe and although she knew she’d never feel truly safe until she was with Jim she went to her own safe place where she found Lucy with a selection of takeaway menus laid out in front of her.
“Indian, Chinese, pizza? What do you fancy?” asked Lucy.
“Pizza and white wine.” Tasha smiled but with a small sigh escaping Lucy picked up on the cause of her compromised mood.
“Have you been home?”
“Yes and my knob of a father was a bigger knob than ever. He has bled me dry and is now implying I may need to pay Liam back the old fashioned way.
“Bastard,” spat Lucy.
“I’ve met someone and would never go back anyway so he is screwed on that front, but Pippa...”
“Oh no, has he?” Lucy nervously rolled the pizza leaflet.
Tasha shook her head. “But he’s holding it over me now. Jim has said he will try and find a solution with me when he comes over, but it’s not exactly romantic is it? Him sorting out my fucked-up family.”
Lucy shrugged, concerned for her friend, but unsure if Jim’s input would be beneficial or not. “You have a bath, I will open the wine and phone for pizza then you can tell me all about Jim.” Lucy offered Tasha an excited smile at the prospect of getting details on her friend’s week in The States.
With a small nod, Tasha headed for the sanctity of the bathroom, relieved to have Jim and Lucy in her life, fighting her corner if the need arose and if she was honest she was in no doubt the need would present itself sooner rather than later.
Lowering herself into her bath, Tasha picked up her phone that had several messages waiting. She began to read them as her body sunk beneath the hot water and bubbles of the bath.
Tasha smiled as she thought of Jim missing her but really didn’t want to deal with questions about her family, not because she didn’t trust Jim with the ever darkening and sick things her dad was capable of, but because she felt ashamed of them. Also, she and Jim currently had little enough time together without having to waste any of it on her parents. She composed her reply and hoped it would be enough and they could move on.
Tasha loved that Jim read her so well when they were together, but wished she could shield herself from it sometimes, like now when he was digging and not necessarily going to be happy when she revealed details of the visit to her family home.
He sounded angry now, angry with her dad, with her and Liam. She knew he was right, but what would she do if her dad demanded money before Jim arrived? The police? They were no strangers to their home, but who wanted this level of dirty linen airing in public? And the press would jump on the Former Soap Star’s Family in Child Sex Trade Scandal. She shuddered as she thought about it.
Tasha thought he’d forgotten about her doctor, or at least been blindsided by her father’s behaviour and threats. Clearly not. The final part of the text made her laugh as she imagined Jim’s face when he read her reply.
“Tash, pizza’s here,” called Lucy from the other side of the bathroom door.
Tasha physically jumped as her mind was shifted from thoughts of desperation, wetness, nakedness and sharing a bath with Jim.
****
Tasha and Lucy were still drinking and talking at midnight. Tasha had told Lucy all about Jim and in return her friend had reciprocated with a blow by blow account of Lucy’s week long relationship with Ryan. There had been a small electrical fire at the studio the previous Friday and it had been Ryan’s watch who attended the call.
“So, he impressed you with his ability to handle his hose.” Courtesy of the wine Tasha laughed a little too much at her own joke.
“He has impressed me with his hose more since the fire,” replied Lucy with a dead pan expression.
“Be careful though,” Tasha seemed to w
arn in a very serious tone. “You know what they say about playing with fire—it gets you burnt.”
“Hmmm, but that’s the thing, Tash, I’m not playing with fire, but a firefighter.”
Tasha shook her head at her friend’s cheeky grin before choking on her wine as her friend spoke again.
“And whilst playing with fire might get me burnt, playing with a firefighter gets me wet.”
After finishing coughing, Tasha laughed at Lucy who looked beyond smug. “You are disgusting,” she accused.
“You say disgusting and I say keeping it real, but on to you. So, is he the real deal, Mr Hollywood Hotshot?”
“He could be. I really like him and I have never felt like this about anyone before and the sex is phenomenal.”
“What about Gerry?” Lucy turned serious.
“What about him? He’s with Kara and I’m over it.”
“Wow, Jim must be good.”
“He is, which reminds me, how do I video chat?”
Lucy laughed as she refilled their glasses. “Oh my God. Natasha Winters is going for some online sex action.”
Tasha laughed with her friend and attempted to feign innocence, “Not necessarily.”
“Oh my God, you are! You have changed, Natasha Winters.”
While Tasha laughed, Lucy grabbed her laptop and turned it on. A few minutes later she passed the laptop back to Tasha and talked her through what to do and as her phone beeped a message alert. “I am off to bed, to text Ryan while you do whatever you and Jim do.” She kissed Tasha on the cheek. “You can do it from your phone too, but you might prefer the larger screen for the action shots,” she added with a wink.
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