by Graham West
Maybe it would be better just to go in a cheap baggy top and a pair of jeans and those worn out trainers that had served him for two years inside. At least it wouldn’t look as if he was making too much of an effort.
“You off out, lad?” Harry stared at him.
Darren nodded, wishing he didn’t have to come back.
“I’m presuming it’s not a girl, then.”
“Nah, some lad I met online.”
“Online?” Harry frowned.
“Yep.”
“So you’ve never met him before—you don’t know who he is?”
Darren shook his head. “It’s cool. He just wants to meet up as mates.”
“You sure about that?”
Darren didn’t answer. He wasn’t.
“Where you meeting up?”
“The Unicorn.”
“What? That country place?”
“Yep.”
“How you gonna get there?” Harry asked, looking a little perplexed by something that sounded more like a blind date.
“Bus and walk.”
Harry shook his head. “You’re not thinking this through, lad. It’s a limited bus service and one hell of a walk.”
Darren looked at his phone. His uncle was right. He wouldn’t get there in time, even if the bus arrived the moment he got to the stop. Harry shook his head, exhaling loudly. “Get your coat, lad. I’ll drop you off.”
***
The Unicorn was the kind of place you would bring a girl for the night. It had cosy corners with candlelit tables and plenty of spots to park up on the surrounding lanes afterwards.
“Alright, son?” the round faced bar landlord greeted him. “Not seen you here before—got any ID?” He reminded Darren of Humpty Dumpty. He glanced twice at the face on the card and then back up at Darren. He wasn’t the kind to start checking on fakes. “You wanna beer, then?”
“Just a Coke, please.”
The barman raised his eyebrows. “You meeting someone?”
It seemed a little intrusive, but Darren guessed the guy was just being friendly. “A mate—a bloke. Jake. His name’s Jake.”
That was more information than was necessary considering he might be about to hook up with the village gay. “Just a mate. Jake Huxley.”
The manager shrugged. “Not heard the name. Must be a night for newbies.” He handed Darren a Coke topped with a slice of lemon. He turned to find a guy standing less than a couple of metres away, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He recognised the face—the looks girls seemed to go for. And judging by the physique, he looked after himself.
The guy nodded. “Are you—”
“Darren. Yes.”
Jake didn’t smile or offer to shake his hand. That was when Darren remembered. Jake Huxley was Jenny’s bloke. He froze.
“Are you okay?” Jake asked.
“Er…yeah, yeah. Erm, can I get you a drink?”
Jake shook his head. “Nah, just a chat. Wanna grab a seat?”
Darren made his way over to a small table in the centre of the lounge. He didn’t want things to get too cosy. Jake still had his hands in his pockets as he sat opposite, and Darren wished to hell the lad would give him a smile—or at least stop staring at him. This was worse than the day the cops pulled him.
“So, tell me about yourself,” Jake said.
Darren shrugged. Maybe it was best to act dumb for the time being. Much better to sound cool and unruffled. “I’m pretty dull, really. I live with my uncle, work in a fucking greasy back street garage.”
“What about your parents?”
“What?”
“Your parents. Just wondered why you’re living with your uncle.”
Darren’s face was burning. He wasn’t going to go into all that shit, not with Jenny’s guy. “Okay, what is it you want, Jake. You know exactly who I am.”
Jake frowned. “Yeah, I do. That’s why I figured we should have a chat.”
“I don’t mind chatting. Just don’t treat me like an idiot.”
Jake nodded. “I’m not. I’m just getting to know you. That’s all.”
“Fair enough,” Darren replied. “I live with my uncle and I work in a back street garage. I’m guessing you know everything else.”
“Like what?”
“Like what happened to my parents? Where I’ve been for the last two years?”
Jake smiled for the first time. “You look uncomfortable. What’s up?”
Darren had already decided it was time to leave and he might as well be honest. He didn’t like being interrogated. “Cos I don’t want to talk about my past. How about we talk about you instead?”
Jake leaned forward, his voice little more than a whisper. “Stop stressing!”
“I’m not stressing. I just don’t know why I’m here.”
Jake frowned “What? Talking to me?”
Darren nodded, wishing he’d stayed in and watched a movie. Why hadn’t Jake just come clean and told him who he really was.
“Tell you what,” Jake said, glancing around the empty lounge. “This place is dying on its feet. Let’s go for a drive.”
“Where?” Darren asked, wondering how he was going to get out of this without offending Jake, who was beginning to scare him.
“Let’s call it a magical mystery tour!”
Darren followed Jake across a small tarmac car park. It was worth making an effort with the guy. After all, if he married Jenny, they’d be family.
Wooden swings creaked in the breeze, surrounded by empty tables crying out for a lick of paint.
“This place is buzzing on a Sunday afternoon. When the sun’s out, of course!”
Sunny Sunday afternoons brought out the demons. Kids playing. Kids with ice creams. Dead kids, lying under the wheels of stolen cars. Sundays… Darren still hated them. He slipped into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt as Jake fired up the engine.
“Relax,” Jake said. “You’re going to enjoy this!”
***
Gordon Huxley answered after three rings, taking Jenny by surprise. Jake’s father was more likely to leave the calls to his voice bank and pick them up when he had the time. “Hi, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”
It took Jenny a second to find her voice. “It’s Jake. I think he’s gone after Darren!”
“Darren? Your—”
“Brother! Yes!” Jenny cut in impatiently.
“What? Why?”
“He added him on Facebook—I thought he was just looking out for me, you know, checking him out.”
“Okay, so why do you think he’s with Darren?”
“He’s gone—just gone!” Jenny could hear her voice rising. “He never leaves the house without telling me!”
“Hey! Calm down,” Huxley retorted. “He’s probably gone for a bottle of wine or something.”
“But he left an hour ago!”
“Have you tried ringing him?”
“Of course. His phone’s off,” Jenny huffed. There was a silence that made her heart beat faster. “Mr. Huxley?”
“I’m here, sweetheart.”
“I’m worried!”
Gordon Huxley exhaled loudly. “Look, Jen, I’m sure he won’t do anything stupid. Jake is a good lad. He just gets a bit…well, intense sometimes.”
“Intense?” There was something about that word.
“If he sees stuff, like men hitting on women, kids robbing old people, and…well, it really screws him up.”
“Kids robbing stuff?” she enquired, guessing there must have been a specific occasion. There was an awkward silence. “Look, it was as while back. Jake was a bit immature…”
Jenny felt a tightness in her chest. “What happened? What did he do?”
“He saw these two lads—must have been about sixteen or something like that—rob this old lady. They knocked her over and stole her bag. Everyone went to help the old woman, but Jake…he ran after the two kids.”
“Please don’t tell me he beat them up?”
&n
bsp; “They got away, but Jake couldn’t let it go. It was eating him up inside, and he went back to the shops thinking that they might come back—you know—try their luck again. Anyway, sure enough, he sees one of them hanging around the off-licence—the one who grabbed the bag. Jake bought himself a marker pen—one of those indelible ink things—and he follows this kid and asks him if he wants to buy a phone for a fiver. The kid was interested, so our Jake takes him down this back alley, tells him it’s private, no one will be watching.”
“Oh God!” Jenny groaned.
“He slapped the lad so hard—knocked him dizzy. Then he must have got him in some kind of head lock and wrote I’m a thieving twat across his forehead and both cheeks.”
“In indelible ink?”
“Yep. Then I think he gave him a good hiding, but Jake never admitted exactly what state the kid was in when he left.”
Jenny’s heart was thumping. Darren could be lying in a gutter somewhere. “Mr. Huxley, I’ve got to go. I’ve got to warn Darren. I just have to. I’m sorry!”
Jenny ended the call, praying that she wasn’t too late.
Chapter Forty-Four
Darren wondered why he had ever agreed to get into a car with Jake Huxley. The guy still wasn’t giving much away. “I’d really rather know where you’re taking me,” he muttered.
Jake smiled but didn’t answer, swinging left at the top of the lane.
“Listen, could you just drop me back home?” he asked as the panic rose inside him. “We don’t seem to have much in common.”
Jake turned. “Really? What about Jenny?”
Darren didn’t answer.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you home. I just want to show you where she lived.”
“Jenny? Why?”
Jake didn’t answer, taking a right turn and heading in the direction of Alshaw Park. Darren had never been near the place since the day he and Taylor had taken the car, but nothing had changed. The gates may have been given a lick of paint but that was about all.
Jake slowed. “Remember hanging out there?” he asked suddenly.
Darren felt a chill running through his veins. “Why are you asking? Why are we here?”
“Don’t panic, it was just a question, that’s all.”
“Yep. I remember.”
Jake nodded. He took another right at the lights.
Darren wondered if was worth diving out the next time he slowed down. “Why are you doing this?”
“I told you,” Jake answered sharply. “To see where my Jenny and her mother used to live.”
“I’d rather just go home, to be honest,” Darren said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Jake took a left and then a right. He slowed and then turned onto the road Darren saw so often in his dreams. He slowed as they approached Robert Adams’ house. “I guess you remember all this,” Jake said calmly, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
Darren didn’t answer. Of course he remembered.
“What’s up? Don’t you want to talk about it? That Sunday afternoon when you wiped out my girlfriend’s mother and her little sister?”
Darren tried to open the door but Jake grabbed his arm.
“Let me out!” he hissed—you’re fucking crazy! Let me out!”
Jake smiled and hit the accelerator. At the end of the road, he took a left and swung into a car park at the back of a gymnasium. It was quiet. Only two other cars had parked up. This wasn’t good.
“So now you know why I decided to check you out, Darren,” Jake said, his eyes still fixed ahead. “Jenny Adams is going to be my wife, and I don’t want you in her life.” He spun round, “Do you understand that? I don’t want you in my family. I don’t want our kids to have an Uncle fucking Darren!”
“But she’s my sister,” he replied bitterly.
Jake glared. “I couldn’t give a shit. I’m telling you: stay out of our lives!”
Darren remembered the panic attacks. Those nights when he woke, shaking, screaming as the walls of his room tumbled in. Now he was locked in a car and it was happening again. Breathe slowly—it’s okay. Breathe!
Jake was glaring at him. “If you don’t—if you ever try to contact Jenny again—I’ll come looking for you. Understand?”
Darren nodded as the blood drained from his head. Jake fired up the engine. “Now,” he said. “Tell me where you live. I’ll take you home.”
***
Jenny was frantic. “He’s not answering his phone! He’s going to kill him, I’m telling you!”
Robert Adams knew it wasn’t the best time to start siding with his future son-in-law. “He won’t do anything stupid, babe. Stop worrying.”
“Yeah, like you care!”
“I care about you, Jen. You! Not Darren Pascoe.”
“Then you have to accept that he’s my brother. Even if I didn’t want him in my life, I still wouldn’t want him beaten up!”
They both turned as Jake walked through the door. Jenny stood, eyes blazing. “What the hell have you done?”
Jake shrugged and gave them a smile. “Nothing.”
“You’ve been to see Darren, haven’t you? What did you do to him? Scrawl all over his face with indelible ink?”
Jake’s smile faded. “What?”
Jenny felt the tears welling in her eyes. “Your father told me what you did to that lad!”
“That was ages ago!” he protested “I was angry—I couldn’t deal with it!”
“And you can’t deal with this, either,” she accused, her voice breaking. “This isn’t your fight, Jay. It’s mine. He’s my brother, my flesh and blood.”
“He’s bad news, Jen. He’s screwing with your head,” Jake roared.
“Exactly. My head. Not yours. You have to let me deal with this on my own,” Jenny screamed, the tears rolling freely down her cheeks. “And if you’re any kind of man, you’ll support me.”
“I was supporting you!”
“What? By kicking him half to death? It’s my mother who died, my sister—not yours. If I can ever learn to forgive him fully, then so can you.”
Jake looked over at Rob, who watched the exchange in silence. “I didn’t touch him! Honestly!”
Jenny frowned, wiping the tears with the back of her hand. “Then what did you do?”
“I warned him. I told him to stay away from you.”
“Or what?”
Jake didn’t answer.
Jenny shook her head, stepping up and jabbing his chest with her finger. “No, Jake. It’s you who will be staying away from him. And if you don’t—if you lay a finger on him—I’ll pack my bags and you can tell your father to put his money back in his pocket cos the wedding will be off! Is that clear?”
Jenny didn’t wait for an answer. She stormed out of the room, grabbing the car keys from the table in the hallway. She heard her father call after her but it was too late. There was nothing more to say.
Cocooned in her car, she found freedom, taking to the country lanes with the window down. After ten minutes, Jenny pulled over and breathed in the fresh air. Maybe she had been a bit hard on Jake. He was looking out for her, after all, but he needed reigning in sometimes. She checked her phone and was relieved to find that he had left a message.
Jen – sorry. Just worried. With all this grave shit and that woman getting murdered! Love you, babe, always xx
Jenny began to cry. He was right. Okay, she would have bet her life that Darren hadn’t been involved in the grave thing, but maybe this wasn’t the right time to be getting involved with someone she didn’t really know. Maybe she should have waited till all this had blown over. It was time to sit and think, and time was something she had. The light was beginning to fade but it would be another hour before dark.
She shuddered. The temperature in the car dropped suddenly. Ice cold. The fresh air had become stale, like water—stagnant water. Jenny caught sight of something in the rear view mirror. She turned to look; there was nothing on the back seat but a coat. But there was something…somethin
g eerily familiar. She closed her eyes and counted to ten before opening them again, glancing back up into the mirror. Amelia was there, looking back at her, smiling sadly as a single tear tripped down her marble smooth skin. Jenny gasped. This wasn’t a dream. Amelia’s face was not clouded by the swirling steam. Her face was clear and youthful, almost childlike.
“You’re beautiful,” Jenny whispered breathlessly.
Amelia smiled. No words left her lips.
And you, my child, are strong. The words drifted through Jenny’s mind.
“I don’t feel strong,” she replied. “I feel confused and frightened.”
Do you fear me?
“No—I only fear the reason you’re here.”
You must embrace those you love. You must look after each other.
Jenny looked down at her hands, the ring that Jake had given her. “I know. I hate it when we fall out.”
When she looked up into the rear-view mirror, Amelia had gone.
Chapter Forty-Five
Jenny found Jake lying across the sofa, flicking through the Freeview channels on the TV.
He looked up and smiled nervously. “You okay, babe?”
She managed a weak smile. It would be so easy to re-ignite the argument but there was nothing more to be said. Jake was stubborn, and she was never going to change him, yet no one was going to tell her how she should feel. It was much better to say nothing and sleep on it.
Jake jumped up. “Want a coffee or something?”
Jenny nodded.
“I’m sorry, babe,” he said suddenly.
Jenny couldn’t help but noticed how tired he looked, as if the whole world were resting upon his shoulders and he couldn’t find a place to unload.
“Me too,” she replied softly. “Can we just have a ceasefire—just for a while?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“And you promise not to do anything stupid?”
Jake grinned like a chastised schoolboy. “I promise, Miss Adams!”
Jenny shook her head. “It’s not funny.”
“I know. I just want us to be happy. No more fighting over Darren.”
The words echoed in her head. Embrace those you love.
“It’s not him,” she said suddenly
Jake turned. “Who?”