***
“Is it true? Was he really hassling you?”
I glanced up at Deco and shrugged. “I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
“Aw, Dev. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me? I could have done something about him.”
“I can handle myself.” I smiled. “Besides, he hasn’t been back. Maybe I ran him off for good.”
“I hope so.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his feet. “So.”
“Yeah, I better get to class.”
“Right.” His face fell. “See you.”
Maisy linked arms with me before I could make it to the classroom. “Well? Alls well again, yeah?”
“With me and Deco? Nah. I don’t make the same mistakes twice.”
“Neither will that creep. I still can’t believe he was stalking you like that.”
“Yeah, well, he’s…”
I was about to say gone. I was about to savour the word. But I was wrong. He wasn’t gone. Not at all. He had only been absent for a few days. And now he was back, this time sitting next to Aoife who seemed to be lapping up everything he was saying to her. Her normally timid demeanour was still there, but she watched him out of the corner of her eye, half-afraid to look straight at him, probably.
I leaned over Sully, outraged.
“What are you doing?” I could taste my irritation, and I knew part of it had to do with how much he scared me. There was something wrong about him. More than just a general creepy stalker. He was more like a general creepy serial killer.
Deep down, that’s what I was afraid of. I sensed something dark in him. I feared he would find pleasure in another’s pain, but what I didn’t know for sure was how far he would go. And Aoife was pure innocence itself. The kind of girl who couldn’t defend herself. I couldn’t let him hurt her just because I hadn’t let him hurt me. There wouldn’t be any trade-offs if I could help it.
He leaned back in his chair and gave me a cold smile. “You’re not interested. I moved on. Good choice, no?”
“Leave her alone.”
“Dev, I…”
“Aoife, seriously. You know what he’s like, right?”
She reddened and looked away.
“Maybe Aoife here knows how aggressive you can be, Devlin. Maybe she thinks you weren’t telling the truth.”
“It’s the truth,” I snapped. “People like him take advantage of people like you, Aoife.”
She met my gaze, her face flushed with anger now. “People like me? How exactly would you know that, Dev? When do you ever bother to get to know anyone?”
“Fine. Be walked all over. See if I care.” Except I did care. I cared a great deal. I saw Mam in girls like Aoife, as long as they were next to boys like Sully, and I wanted to firmly guide her off that particular path.
I took my seat next to Maisy, but I couldn’t help noticing Base sitting at the back of the room alone, staring miserably at Aoife. I felt an odd pang of sympathy for him, but when he caught me watching, his eyes narrowed and cast their gaze to his book instead.
I observed Aoife and Sully together all day, scrutinising his every move. Fuming, I realised Aoife was more than willing to soak up everything Sully pulled on her. All the broody, angsty crap. All the rudeness followed by sweet sentimentalities. It was all an act to pull her in. A well-played act. Smooth for a teenage boy. How many girls had he taken in so far?
The tables turned, and I skulked after the pair all day, noticing how many times Aoife snubbed Base for Sully. They always sat together, and now suddenly Miss Sweetness and Sunshine was ditching him for the noob? That made no sense at all.
I confronted Sully as soon as Aoife wasn’t looking. I didn’t want to make an enemy out of her. I knew from experience that Mam would always get defensive about her boyfriends if I tried to show her what they were really like. Scaring away the men sometimes worked. But when Sully stared me down, I knew there was nothing I could do that would likely run him off. I had been too loud of a target, too outspoken about letting people know what he was like. Aoife would never embarrass him.
“What are you doing?” I murmured under my breath.
“What are you? Jealous?” he said loudly. A couple of heads turned. I sneered back at him.
“If I find out you hurt her in any way, I’ll make sure life is never easy for you again.”
“Terrifying,” he said mockingly. “How about this? If you keep out of my way, I’ll make sure to keep out of yours. It might be difficult. After all, I have a bit of a taste for your mother.”
“What in the actual fuck is that supposed to mean?” I demanded. “You keep away from her as well.”
“I usually like them a bit younger, but her misery is kind of addictive.” His voice changed, somehow sounding a lot older. “Broken women are always that much more enjoyable.”
He swept away, leaving me stunned. What on earth did that even mean? He liked broken women? But I wasn’t broken, and Aoife didn’t exactly look broken either. And a taste. That was an odd word to use. Images flashed before my eyes. My mother’s behaviour. Drops of blood. Red eyes. Shadowy figures at my window. Was I losing my mind? Or did Sully really get into that bad boy persona of his?
After school, Maisy asked to walk home with me, a look of worry in her eyes.
“Yeah, but we have to hurry. I have work tonight.”
“That’s fine. I just… I need to talk to you about something.”
Icy fingers poked my stomach. “That sounds ominous.”
“It’s not. But people have been talking today.”
“Let me guess. Shauna?”
She shrugged. “Not just her. It’s just this thing with you and Sully. You embarrassed him, and he hid out for a couple of days. Kind of normal. Then he comes back, maybe interested in Aoife, maybe trying to make you jealous, and you pretty much shadow him all day. It makes you seem a little… obsessed.”
“Are you serious?”
“Look. It isn’t me saying this. A lot of people are, but I wouldn’t. Just know that. But…” She shifted her schoolbag, looking uncomfortable. My stomach turned. Had I given Sully exactly what he wanted, after all?
“It doesn’t come over the best, you know? I mean, you say he’s following you, but when he gives someone else attention, you hassle him all day. That’s not cool.”
“I’m not hassling him.” I sighed at the look on her face. “Okay, I am. But it’s not because I’m jealous or obsessed. I’m worried sick about Aoife. He’s threatened me, threatened my mother. He’s been hanging around outside my house and stuff. And Aoife’s been stuck like glue to Base forever. She’s too nice to ditch anyone, but she gets rid of Base because some arsehole pays her attention. Surely you don’t think that’s normal.”
She sucked on her lower lip, looking thoughtful. “I get all that. I do. But I’m warning you how it looks to everyone else. Maybe you could talk to Base, ask him what happened.” She caught the look on my face and laughed. “I know, I know. He’s, like, your arch-nemesis, but better the devil you know.”
“Yeah, maybe. Do you think I’m crazy? For being suspicious of Sully, I mean.”
She looked at me steadily. “I’m on your side. If you say you’re afraid of him, I’ve no reason to think any differently.”
“I never said I was afraid,” I scoffed.
“Then why do your hands shake whenever you speak to him?”
“Do they?” I stared at my hands, hoping he had never noticed. Of course, if Maisy noticed, the rest of the country already knew. “I just get this vibe off him. Like he probably doesn’t have a conscience. He’s just like…”
My voice faded away, but Maisy looked at me with interest. “Just like who?”
I hesitated again, unable to finish the sentence the way I meant to. So I jumped with both feet into pop culture looking for a solution. Mark Wahlberg won the day. “Ever see the film Fear? Reese Witherspoon?”
She shook her head.
“Yeah, well, it’s old.
Anyway, she meets Mark Wahlberg, and he’s really good looking, but he’s totally insane, and he’ll do anything to get what he wants. Gave me the heebie-jeebies bigtime. Anyway, Mark Wahlberg’s character totally reminds me of Sully. All intense and self-righteous and dangerous and shit.”
“Maybe I’ll check it out sometime.”
“Do. You’ll get it, I swear.” Or she might think I was completely exaggerating. And maybe I was. After all, Sully hadn’t physically hurt anyone yet as far as I knew. He might be all talk. Or he might be too subtle for that.
Back home, Mam was putting on a normal face. As far as normal went for her, anyway. She hadn’t begun to drink, probably trying to make me proud or something, and she had even tried to tidy. Of course her tidying led to me opening a press and having its contents fall on top of me, but at least she made an effort.
I cooked her some food, got ready, and went to work. Having time off might have been nice if I had managed to get some decent sleep, but ever since the other night, I had been having trouble sleeping, despite my window and curtains remaining firmly closed at all times.
That evening wasn’t so busy, but I couldn’t concentrate. I broke at least three glasses to many cheers from the drunks at the bar, and eventually sliced my finger badly.
“What are you doing?” Mark chided, putting pressure on the wound. “You’re supposed to be the reliable one.”
“It was all that time off,” I joked. “Got me out of my routine. I’m back into noob mode.”
He grinned down at me. “Yeah, well, hurry up and snap out of it. I don’t want my kid having to take over the slicing. Her mother will kill me if she goes home with less digits than when she left.”
I watched him trying to show his youngest daughter how to hold a lemon and slice it without cutting off her hand. She giggled and teased, but he had a lot of patience. All of his kids, and even some of his nieces and nephews, had worked in the bar at some stage. Most of them half-heartedly, but he was all about instilling work ethics into them. I wasn’t sure it was quite rubbing off, and it was kind of funny that he wished his kids worked as hard as me, but it was because he had been a decent parent that they didn’t.
That night I surprised Tom by asking him to wait in the car until I got into the house.
“Want me to check it out first?” he asked knowingly.
“Nah, it’s nothing. I’m just being silly.”
“Something happen?”
“Just having problems with a kid at school. He’s probably gotten bored of bothering me by now, though.”
“If someone’s making you afraid to go inside then you need to be calling the police.”
“I can’t prove anything.”
“Well, you don’t have to prove anything to me. Okay, Dev? He comes around, just call me. I’ll deal with him. We’re bar family. I have to keep you safe, or Mark will kill me.”
I laughed out loud. “Yeah, he hates hiring new staff.”
Tom pushed my shoulder. “It’s not just that. Go on in, and get some sleep. You on early or late tomorrow?”
I winced. “Early. Lots of cleanup and hangovers with the lunch crowd.”
“At least you’ll get home early enough to have some fun yourself.”
“Or sleep. There’s always sleep.”
I waved goodbye from my doorstep, but my hands shook as I fumbled with the keys. What would I find now?
The answer was nothing. I gave another quick wave to Tom who was still outside, and then locked the front door. Mam was asleep, snoring, a half-empty bottle of vodka on the coffee table beside her. I covered her with a blanket, did a quick clean of the kitchen, and went to bed, purposely leaving my light on, too.
Stake You (Stake You #1) Page 10