by Jim Eldridge
She typed in 0-0-0-1. Bleep. Access denied.
0-0-0-2. Bleep. Access denied.
It was the vibration that woke them. Kerrys dragged herself out of sleep and saw Jas pushing herself up from the couch beside her. The panic room was vibrating around them.
‘Shit!’ said Kerrys. ‘What’s happening? How long have we been asleep?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Jas. The walls and ceiling of the room shuddered around them. ‘Maybe it’s some sort of earthquake.’
‘You don’t get earthquakes in London.’
‘Maybe we do now.’
Jas looked towards the CCTV monitor. The apartment was filled with people partying, dancing, drinking, lying around.
‘It’s the music,’ said Jas. ‘The bass is turned right up.’
Kerrys scanned the screens for any sign of Manuel or his gang, but they weren’t there. These were all strangers. Manuel’s revenge: bring in a pack of strangers to party and wreck the place, and when Cass came back she’d open up the panic room and Kerrys would be caught red-handed. Kerrys felt her eyes welling up with tears of anger, and she turned on Jas.
‘This is all your fault!’ she stormed. ‘You brought Manuel here!’
Jas stared back at her, open-mouthed, angry. ‘My fault?’ she snapped. ‘We wouldn’t be here if you could have a decent conversation with your father without mouthing off at him.’
‘He’s not my father!’ rejected Kerrys passionately.
‘Then why do you wind him up all the time and make him shout at you like he is?’ countered Jas hotly.
‘Because I wish he was!’ shouted Kerrys. There, she’d said it out loud. She wanted Mr Jauo-Pinto to be her dad. She knew he did his best, but she never told him that.
To her surprise she found that she was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks. Jas put her arms round her, hugging her tight.
‘It’s OK, baby,’ Jas murmured. ‘It’s OK.’
Angrily Kerrys wiped the tears from her eyes with her hand.
‘We’re getting out of here,’ she said in a low voice full of determination. She picked up the landline and dialled. Cass answered, obviously puzzled as to who would be phoning her from her own phone. ‘Yes?’ she asked.
‘Hi, Cass,’ said Kerrys.
‘Kerrys?’
Kerrys gritted her teeth, took a deep breath. She didn’t have time for long explanations. They’d just have to fight about it later.
‘Hi, Cass. Long story, but I’m kinda stuck in your panic room.’
There was a pause, then Cass said: ‘What the fuck are you doing there?’
‘I stole your keys,’ said Kerrys.
‘You stole . . . ?!’
‘I need the code to get out.’
‘4-3-2-1,’ replied Cass automatically.
‘That’s it?’ said Kerrys, incredulous. ‘That’s a stupid code.’
‘Yeah, a stupid code for a stupid fucking girl!’ raged Cass. ‘I’m gonna kill you when I get back.’
Kerrys winced as Cass hung up on her. Ouch! It was going to take some talking to get Cass to forgive her, but the main thing was they had the code. Now to get these fuckers out of the apartment!
35
The effect on the partygoers as the bed slid back and Kerrys and Jas burst out into the room from beneath it was electric, like two ghosts or Ninjas had suddenly materialised out of nowhere. The couple making out on the bed above the panic room had been alarmed enough when the bed moved and then slid to one side; but the sight of the furious Kerrys appearing from below sent the woman into shock and she began screaming. When Kerrys snatched up a ceremonial sword hanging from one of the walls and advanced on the bed, her expression one of supreme menace, the man began screaming as well and both of them snatched up their clothes and ran.
Jas grabbed hold of Kerrys.
‘Not the sword!’ she advised. ‘You can go to jail for murder!’
Kerrys hesitated, then dropped the sword and snatched up a nearby music stand.
‘Just GBH then!’ she snarled, and began swinging it at the nearest partygoers, at the same time shouting, ‘Get out! Get out!’
Panic spread through the room, people snatching up clothes and bags and running for the door, screaming. It was all over in minutes, the partygoers scattering. Kerrys looked round at the room. The beautiful fabulous room had been trashed, and it was all her fault. No, it was Manuel’s fault. Well, he was going to pay for this.
Suddenly everything bad that had happened to her these last few days — the bag-snatcher at the Cappuccino, the fights with her mum and stepdad and Manuel, failing her driving test and being locked in the panic room — overwhelmed her. Her body began to heave with sobs, and she sank on to the bed. Her life was shit, and it was never going to get better!
She was aware of Jas sitting down next to her and enfolding her in her arms, hugging her, cuddling her close, letting all her agony pour out of her.
‘Come on, baby,’ whispered Jas. ‘It’s OK. You got me.’
It was her phone that woke Kerrys. She snatched it up. It was Cass.
‘Hello? Oh, hi, Cass. What time is it in New York?’
‘Five in the morning.’
‘You ain’t asleep?’
‘Long story,’ said Cass. ‘Did you get the note from Shannon’s mum? The one I sent by courier.’
Kerrys hesitated. What note? Then she realised Cass must have sent it to her house. Which was where Cass thought she was now, instead of still here in Cass’s apartment.
‘Yeah,’ said Kerrys. ‘Wow.’
She threw in the ‘Wow’ because if Cass had gone to all the trouble and expense to jet a note over from New York instead of waiting another twenty-four hours, there had to be something really special in it.
‘I didn’t have her address,’ said Cass. ‘I guessed you’d know where to get it to her.’
‘No problem,’ Kerrys assured her.
There was a brief pause, then Cass added, ‘I hope you cleaned up my place.’
‘Yeah,’ lied Kerrys. ‘Left it spotless.’
‘OK,’ said Cass. ‘See you later.’
There was a click, then Cass had gone.
OK, thought Kerrys. Three things to do: one, clean up the apartment; two, go home and find this note from Shannon’s mum; three, let Shannon know about the note. Number three first. She dialled Shannon’s mobile. No answer. She tried her landline. This answered immediately and Shannon burst out, ‘Jo?’
‘No, Kerrys,’ Kerrys told her. ‘Listen, I got a message. Cassandra found a note meant for you.’
‘Where is it?’ asked Shannon.
‘Like I say, Cass had it. She phoned me from New York . . .’
‘I’m sorry, Kerrys, I can’t talk now,’ Shannon cut in. ‘I gotta do things.’
And then the phone went dead.
Kerrys looked at the phone, bewildered. This note obviously meant something. Cass had said so, and the tone of anguish in Shannon’s voice when Kerrys had told her about it reinforced that. So why had Shannon blown her off like that?
The note. The answer would be in the note. She had to get home and find it.
She looked around the wrecked apartment. But first she had some cleaning to do.
36
Kerrys arrived at her house. Her brother’s birthday bash was already in full family swing. At least Kerrys guessed so from the new car, complete with a coloured ribbon tied in a bow around the aerial. Happy birthday, brother. A whole fucking car! As she entered the house the first person she saw was Manuel. He froze, a moment of panic on his face, wondering what Kerrys was going to do in the way of revenge for locking her in the panic room and filling the apartment with partygoers. Kerrys just blanked him and walked past, into the living room.
The room was empty. The party hadn’t started yet, just the present-giving. She hurried to the table where the post was. There wasn’t much — most of the post had been birthday cards for Manuel, and they were now proudly displayed around the room. Bu
t there was a large envelope stamped IPS, with her name written on it. Kerrys tore the envelope open and took a smaller white envelope from inside. It had ‘Shannon’ on it, and she began to read. OK, it was private, but the envelope was already open, and she had to know what was going on, find out what sort of trouble her friend was in. As she read the words her mouth opened in shock. No! Not Shannon!
A slight cough behind her made her turn. Her stepfather was standing behind her, looking at her disapprovingly.
‘It’s your brother’s birthday,’ he told her. There was no anger in his voice, no rage, just disappointment. Once again, Kerrys felt her emotions being pulled by him.
‘I’m sorry, Dad,’ she said quietly, genuinely.
Mr Jauo-Pinto shook his head sadly as he looked at her.
‘Why do you do these things?’ he asked. ‘It hurts me. What have I done to deserve this?’
Kerrys sighed, a deep sigh, and moved nearer her stepfather.
‘I want you to love me, Dad,’ she told him. ‘I want you to hug me. I want to know that when you look at me you don’t see an embarrassment but you see your daughter . . .’
Mr Jauo-Pinto’s eyes filled with tears as he heard her say this, and he moved forward, taking her in his arms. He hugged her to him, his heart going out to her.
‘When we had Manuel, we were young, your mother and I,’ he said, his voice near to breaking with the tears. ‘Then your mother left me. I had cheated. I was a bad husband.’ He sighed heavily. ‘She got with another man. When I saw her just a year later, I knew I’d been a fool. The other man was gone, and she was already pregnant with you.’ He leaned back from her slightly, his arms still wrapped around her, and looked her full in the face as he said, ‘I was at your birth. I’m your father. You are my little girl. I love you most.’
Kerrys felt herself fill up at these words. She hugged him back tightly. Her father.
‘Please, promise me, you’ll be a good girl,’ he whispered in an appeal.
Kerrys leaned back and smiled genuinely at him.
‘I will, Dad,’ she assured him. Then she remembered she still had one piece of unfinished business she had to deal with. ‘Starting next week.’
Mr Jauo-Pinto looked at her, puzzled. Then, when he saw the broad and warm smile on her face, for him, he laughed.
Kerrys laughed with him, then gave him a kiss on the cheek and hurried up to her room. He thought she was making a joke, but Kerrys was serious. There was no way Manuel was getting away with what he’d done.
Kerrys opened her bag and took out the Kamagra sachets Jas had given her. She had just begun squeezing the contents into a glass when her phone rang. It was Jo.
‘Kerrys, is Shannon with you?’
Jo sounded worried.
‘No,’ said Kerrys. ‘Why?’
‘I fucked up big time,’ sighed Jo.
‘Well, when she reads the note her mum wrote her, she ain’t gonna be happy.’
‘Note?’ asked Jo. ‘What note?’
‘Long story,’ said Kerrys, ‘but she’s gonna need us.’
‘OK,’ said Jo. ‘The thing is, if anything happens to me, it’s someone called Tee.’
Kerrys frowned, baffled.
‘What do you mean, if something happens to you?’ she demanded. ‘Who’s Tee?’
But she was speaking to nothing. Jo had gone.
‘OK,’ she said to herself. ‘Jo’s in trouble . . . maybe. If she ain’t, she won’t want me busting in. But if she is, I’m gonna be there.’ She looked at the Kamagra and gave a smug smile. ‘Once I get this done.’
She continued squeezing the blue jelly into the glass. Manuel was so proud of being a macho man — well, she was going to give him something to be really proud of.
37
The whole family was in the living room when Kerrys returned to it: Manuel, Mum, Dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends, all praising Manuel for having reached this birthday and for being ‘such a lovely young man’. Kerrys carried the two full glasses over and handed one to him. She gave him a smile. ‘Let’s do this for Mum and Dad,’ she said. She turned to the others, smiling widely at them. ‘Everyone knows me and my brother don’t always get along. I wanted him to know that I’m sorry for being the way I am sometimes, and deep down . . . I love him.’
She smiled at them all, her glass held aloft in a toast.
‘Happy birthday!’ she said loudly and cheerfully.
The family and friends cheered, and scrambled for their glasses to raise them, full or not. Her parents smiled, and Kerrys could once more see tears in her dad’s eyes. Kerrys turned to Manuel, still smiling. Manuel smiled back at her, then leaned in and whispered, ‘You think I’m drinking this? I’m not stupid.’
Still smiling, he reached to take her glass from her hand. Kerrys kept the smile on her face, but she resisted, gripping her glass tighter as his fingers pressed against hers, trying to force the glass out of her hand. All the time, they kept the smiles on their faces as they looked at one another, eyes locked, while the family smiled too: brother and sister happy now, but still playing games with one another. Finally, Manuel dug his finger beneath one of Kerrys’s fingernails, pushing it back, and she was forced to release her hold on the glass. Immediately, Manuel snatched the glass from her and forced his own glass into her hand. He grinned at her and winked, and then downed the drink in one gulp.
Kerrys shrugged resignedly, and downed her drink. Manuel looked at her, surprised. Kerrys put the empty glass down and went to her dad and mum, hugged them both and kissed her mum, and baby Lewis, who was cradled in her mum’s arms.
‘Manuel is so happy,’ her mum whispered.
‘He’s also so predictable,’ Kerrys said. She turned to her brother, gave him a last smile and left the room.
As Kerrys left the living room, the doorbell rang. She opened the door and saw Jas standing there. She looked uncomfortable.
‘I didn’t know whether to come,’ she began awkwardly. ‘You know, it being Manuel’s birthday, and after what happened . . .’
Kerrys gave her a smile.
‘I’m glad you came,’ she said. ‘But let’s go up.’ She indicated the living room. ‘That place is packed like a tube train at rush hour.’
The two girls walked upstairs to Kerrys’s room.
‘Look, babe, I’m sorry I brought Manuel over,’ apologised Jas. ‘I really thought . . .’
Kerrys shook her head.
‘Don’t worry about it, babe,’ she said. ‘It’s no problem.’ She felt the envelope in her pocket, and the image of Shannon flashed into her mind. Shannon, worried, distracted, her strange manner on the phone.
‘I just gotta call Shannon,’ she said to Jas, and dialled Shannon’s mobile. As before, there was no answer. She dialled the landline again, but this time just got the answerphone. She left a message.
‘Hi, Shannon. It’s Kerrys. Call me back.’
She hung up.
‘Answerphone?’ asked Jas.
Kerrys nodded.
‘Is something goin’ on?’ asked Jas.
Again Kerrys nodded.
‘Yeah,’ she said.
‘What is it?’
Kerrys sighed, weighing it up, then said, ‘Her mother wrote her a note. Only it didn’t get to her. For some reason Cass got it instead. And she sent it to me.’
Jas looked at her, stunned.
‘Not from New York?’
Kerrys nodded again.
‘Wow, must be some note!’ said Jas, awed.
‘It is,’ said Kerrys, a sad tone in her voice.
‘You read it?’
‘Yeah,’ said Kerrys.
There was a pause, then Jas asked, ‘And?’
Kerrys shook her head.
‘I gotta let Shannon see it first,’ she said. ‘It’s her thing.’ She gave a heavy sigh. ‘And she’s gonna need friends.’
38
Kerrys and Jas sat watching the TV. About an hour had passed since Jas had come over.
It was night now and the party was in full swing. Jas had worried that Kerrys was being unusually silent. Like she was waiting for something, or someone. Jas was aware that Kerrys’s attention was only half on the TV; she was listening to the sounds of the music pulsing, voices rising and falling. Jas felt her heart sink a little at Kerrys being so . . . silent. So distant. She was obviously upset at Jas bringing Manuel to Cass’s place. And she was right to be so.
‘You think we ought to go down there?’ asked Jas tentatively. ‘Manuel’s party an’ all? Your mum and dad?’
Kerrys gave a small, tight grin.
‘I think we will,’ she said grimly.
‘When?’ asked Jas. When Kerrys didn’t reply, Jas said, ‘Look, I know I messed up bringin’ Manuel over to Cass’s . . .’
Kerrys held up a hand to stop her.
‘Like I said, babe, that ain’t no sweat,’ she said. ‘I’ve sorted him out for what he did.’
Jas frowned, puzzled.
‘What do you mean? How? When?’
‘How? You’ve got to wait and see. As for when . . .’ Kerrys looked at her watch. ‘I’m thinkin’ maybe right about . . .’
There was the sound of a scream from downstairs.
‘I think that’s it,’ grinned Kerrys, and for the first time since Jas had got there, Kerrys appeared to be genuinely laughing as she got up and ran out of the room. Jas stared at her, bewildered, and then ran after her.
In the living room there was consternation. Some of the relatives hid their eyes, others made the sign of the cross, while Kerrys’s grandmother stared in horror, her mouth open, at Manuel, whose erection was pointing straight at her, like a weapon. One of the aunts hastily put her hand over the shocked grandmother’s eyes. Mr and Mrs Jauo-Pinto didn’t seem to know where to look, their eyes going to their son and his erection, and then away from him.
Manuel’s face was a picture: distorted, angry, flushed red. He saw Kerrys standing in the doorway of the living room, a wicked smile on her face, and roared, ‘I’m gonna kill you, bitch!’