by Mel Sherratt
She sat down on the settee next to Amy and took Reece from her. Amy immediately pulled up her knees again, pushing her nightie over them.
Josie looked at Ray, then Sam, then back to Ray again.
‘Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?’ she said.
‘This evil little bastard has been making Amy have sex with him.’
Sam was looking scared now. Underneath his pock-marked skin, it was clear to see that the colour on his face had faded. His right hand was tapping away on the arm of the chair.
‘I didn’t force her, if that’s what you’re getting at!’ he said.
‘So Amy looking away while you’re pumping into her isn’t forcing yourself on her?’ Ray scorned.
‘That isn’t what happened.’ Sam looked at Josie. ‘I swear I didn’t force her. She was up for it all the time.’
‘Is this true?’ Josie asked Amy. ‘Did you want to have sex with Sam?’
Amy wouldn’t look at anyone but she did nod her head.
‘How long have you been calling around, Sam?’
Sam shrugged.
Ray tutted and folded his arms. ‘I’ve caught him here before, once or twice. I said the last time that if I caught him here again, I’d lamp him one.’
‘But Amy likes it, don’t you, Amy?’ said Sam.
Amy saw all eyes on her and nodded again.
Josie sighed. The poor girl was too traumatised to tell the truth.
‘I think you’d better go,’ she said to the men. ‘Both of you.’
Ray sat down on the arm of the settee. ‘You must be joking. I’m not –’
‘Ray!’ Josie motioned her head in Amy’s direction. ‘Can’t you see she’s distressed? Leave me to sort her out.’
Sam stood up pretty sharpish and moved to the door.
‘And don’t think you’re getting away with this,’ Josie told him sharply. ‘I’ll deal with you later.’
When Jay arrived, Kelly was in the back garden. It wasn’t looking too bad now, even if it did consist of a rectangular lawn with a border. She’d done her best to add some colour by planting mixed lobelias around its perimeter but not a lot of them had flowered yet.
She sat on a checked picnic rug that Dot had given to her. The weather had been good for over a week now, making Kelly’s skin a golden flash of colour. Her charity shop halter-neck top looked far more inviting with a push-up bra and she’d teamed it with a skimpy pair of cut-off jeans.
‘Hiya,’ she greeted Jay with a wave. ‘Hot enough for you?’
Jay wiped a hand across his brow. ‘Yeah, I love it when it’s like this.’
‘Em’s inside. She’s been running up and down the path like a blue-arsed fly waiting for you. Her thing at the moment is making ice cubes. The second she saw your car, she dashed to fetch you a cold drink, though I’m not sure how much will be left in the glass when she gets down the stairs.’
Jay sat down next to Kelly on the rug. She flinched, his bare legs inches away from hers, and waved a hand in front of her face. Was it her or had it gone hotter all of a sudden?
‘Yoo-hoo,’ shouted Dot from behind them. ‘I was wondering if a certain young lady would like to nip into town with me. I need to pay a few bills and I think ice-cream will be on order.’
‘Ooh, yeah, that would be great,’ smiled Kelly, getting up. Now she’d be able to relax in peace for a couple of hours and top up her tan. Emily never sat for longer than two minutes at a time when it was hot.
Jay was lying on the rug with his hands behind his head and his long legs crossed at the ankles when she got back. He’d slipped off his shoes, his toes busy waggling back and forth in the grass.
‘Where’s Scott gone?’ he asked.
Kelly dropped down beside him on the rug. ‘He’s doing some kind of job, painting I think. I haven’t seen that much of him really. He’s been out more than he’s been in since he came out of prison.’
Jay rested on his elbow. ‘I think you’re amazing,’ he said.
Kelly blushed. ‘Jay, please. I don’t –’
‘Oh, no,’ Jay cut in. ‘I wasn’t talking about… you know. I was talking about Stephanie and Luke. I think it’s great how you’ve accepted it.’
‘Accepted what?’
‘Well, you never mention them, especially Luke, so you must be cool with everything.’
Kelly frowned. ‘You’ve lost me, Jay. Who the hell is Luke?’
Even though Jay’s skin had tanned rapidly during the hot spell, Kelly watched him pale.
‘Fuck,’ he said at last. ‘I thought you knew.’
‘Stop talking in riddles. What did you think I knew?’
Jay looked away, knowing he’d never find the right words to articulate what he’d started. Kelly, deep in thought, was adding some of her own.
‘You mean there’s another reason why Scott keeps disappearing? That he isn’t always at the pub so he can get away from me? That –’ She broke off suddenly. ‘Who the hell is Stephanie?’
‘I – I –’ Jay stammered.
Kelly wrapped her arms around her knees. Despite the heat of the day, she’d suddenly gone cold. ‘Tell me,’ she demanded. ‘Tell me everything and don’t miss anything out.’
For the next few minutes, Jay told Kelly about Stephanie, Scott’s eight-year-old daughter and Luke, his three-year-old son.
‘You’re lying,’ she said when Jay had finished. She eyed him with suspicion: Jay, who she thought would never hurt her; Jay, who had said he loved her – Jay, who had every reason to break them up.
‘I thought you knew! I’m sorry!’
Kelly stopped, tears pouring down her face. ‘You think you know me but you have no idea. If you did, you’d never think I’d be happy about my bloke having kids with someone else. A kid from a previous relationship I could handle but…’ she gulped, ‘but a kid who’s a year younger than Emily? What do you take me for – a fucking mug?’
‘I’m sorry,’ Jay said again.
‘And why tell me now? You could have told me when Scott was inside so I could deal with it before he got out.’
‘Until five minutes ago, I wasn’t aware that you didn’t know,’ he replied. ‘You never mentioned them so I thought you weren’t comfortable talking about them. But when you said he’d started staying out again, I thought you meant he was with Anne-Marie and the kids.’
Kelly backed away as his words sunk in. Anne-Marie and the kids. No, there couldn’t be another woman as well. Could there?
‘No… NO! For fuck’s sake, Jay, what are you trying to do to me?’
Jay held up his hands. ‘Whoa, don’t take it out on me. I’m not the one who’s got another family stashed away.’
Kelly could see from the look of anguish on his face that Jay regretted saying that as soon as the words were out, but she couldn’t let him get away with it. If he wanted to get his own back on her for letting him down, then he’d done it in style. Her body started to shake as shock began to set in.
‘No,’ she spoke quietly. ‘You’re the bastard that let it slip for your own means.’
Kelly got up and ran inside. She could still hear Jay’s cries as she slammed the front door shut behind her.
While Kelly’s life was falling apart, Josie made two cups of tea, settled Reece down on the floor with a few toy building bricks and then sat down next to Amy on the settee.
‘Do you want to tell me what’s been going on?’ she asked gently.
Amy shrugged. ‘Nothing.’
‘It certainly doesn’t seem like nothing. What did Ray see when he came to your front door?’
‘I wasn’t doing anything wrong,’ Amy spoke out immediately. ‘Sam calls every day, sometimes twice a day. We have sex and then he goes.’
Josie flinched. Amy didn’t seem bothered by what had happened. This was going to take some working out. Ray had seen something to make him react the way he did, but what was it?
‘Do you like having sex with Sam?’ she asked next.
&
nbsp; Amy wouldn’t look at her.
‘It’s okay. All I want to know is if you enjoy it. If you do, then that’s really good. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, if that’s what you’re thinking. Sex is good, it should be fun.’
When Amy stayed quiet, Josie wondered if she’d got the wrong end of the stick. Maybe she should try a different tack.
‘But when it isn’t fun, that’s when it’s bad. Do you understand?’
Amy nodded.
‘So is sex for you good or bad?’
Amy looked up and Josie’s heart lurched. Would she trust her enough to tell her the truth?
‘I don’t like it. Sam’s not nasty to me but sometimes it hurts.’
‘Did it hurt today?’
Amy nodded again.
Josie kept her anger locked deep inside. ‘Now, Amy, listen to me very carefully. You don’t have to have sex with Sam. You mustn’t let him in again, unless you want to. Can you do that for me?’
Amy smiled then.
Moments later, tears brimmed in Josie’s eyes as she watched her playing with Reece, seemingly forgetting the past hour. She wondered what to do. She’d never be able to prove that Sam had raped Amy because she wasn’t sure that he had. Amy was nineteen with a mental age of a young teenager. Sam Pearson was seventeen: he wasn’t much better, granted, but he was more capable of bending the truth than Amy was of telling it.
No, there was nothing legally Josie could threaten him with. But when she collared him, he wouldn’t know that, would he?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
When Josie left Amy’s flat, she felt emotionally drained. She knew her job meant that she was there to sort out problems, but when it involved such intense episodes, sometimes it was more than she could take.
As she made her way to the shops to pick up some lunch, she thought about Amy, sitting on her bed, huddled up like a five-year-old who had lost her favourite doll. The image would stay with her for some time. She hoped Sam Pearson would leave her alone now that he’d been caught out. He was only a chancer on the estate, low enough down on the criminal hierarchy to not worry about his features after a kicking, but high enough not to want to ruin his street credibility.
And, for once, Josie was so proud of Ray. Ray had really gone up in her books today. Surprisingly, he did seem to have a heart; he’d gone out of his way to help Amy. Lord knows how she’d be able to thank him for that.
She parked her car and walked across Vincent Square towards the sandwich shop. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Debbie with Scott Johnstone. They looked like they were having a heated conversation. Josie waved to get her attention and pointed in the direction of the shop. Debbie joined her moments later.
‘Sometimes I wish tenants would remember that we’re off duty when we come across here,’ Josie remarked, as she waited for her order to be wrapped. ‘What’s he giving you grief for this time?’
Debbie grabbed a can of coke and a bag of crisps. ‘Oh, he’s moaning about his benefits. Apparently he thinks he should be on more money than he is.’
‘He would be if he’d signed Patrick Street over straight away.’
Debbie sighed. ‘I’ve told him that already but you know he won’t listen. He thinks he should be able to pay off fifty pence a bloody week rather than the few pounds he is paying. If it was left to me, I’d make him pay the lot in one go or take away his benefits until it was paid in full.’
Josie saw Debbie’s hands shaking as she paid for her lunch.
‘Hey,’ she touched her arm lightly. ‘Don’t let him get to you. He’s a piece of nothing.’
Debbie lifted her head and smiled. ‘I’m fine, really.’
‘I know, but sometimes it’s hard not to take things personally.’ Josie pointed to the glassed counter. ‘Do you fancy one of those jammy, creamy doughnut things? Something gooey is always good for the soul.’
At half past three, Kelly rang and spoke to her supervisor, explaining that she wasn’t feeling well enough to complete her shift that night. Like a robot, she bundled Emily off to her mum’s before returning to the flat to wait for Scott. By the time he finally arrived home at quarter to eight, Kelly’s suspicions were beyond question. He looked flustered when he found her sitting on the settee.
‘What are you doing back?’ he asked. ‘You’re not normally home yet.’
‘Where have you been?’ she demanded, ignoring his comment.
‘I told you this morning I was doing a job. Then I grabbed some food at the pub.’
‘And which pub would that be? The Cat and Fiddle, by any chance? I suppose that’s close enough for you to visit Anne-Marie afterwards, isn’t it?’
Kelly couldn’t even take satisfaction from the look of incredulity on his face.
‘I’m right, aren’t I?’ she continued. ‘And we mustn’t forget Stephanie and little Luke.’
‘Kel, I –’
‘Don’t try and deny it! I know it’s true.’
Kelly thumped Scott on his chest, then again and again. But Scott was too strong for her. He pushed her arms forcefully back down to her side.
‘Stop it, for fuck’s sake, or I’ll –’
‘How could you?’ she sobbed, her legs barely able to take her weight. ‘All I ever did was love you, look after you. Did you think of me when you were fucking her and then coming home afterwards? Unless you don’t think of this as home now you’re with her too.’
Scott let go of her hands and moved away. ‘I was fucked up. You know I was using when I met you.’
‘Did you ever stop?’
‘You know I did, when Perry died.’ Perry Hedley had been friends with Scott since they’d met in nursery school, right through to him dying of an overdose aged twenty-three. ‘But when Em was born,’ Scott carried on, ‘you hardly took any notice of me.’
Kelly’s face reddened. ‘Don’t you dare blame this on me! I was twenty-years-old with a new baby. And you treated Emily as if she was the apple of your eye.’
‘She was.’
‘Until Luke came along, the baby boy that every man dreams of. God, I bet you thought you were so wonderful.’
Scott pushed past her and into the kitchen. He came back moments later with a can of lager and sat down. As he took a sip, Kelly hit the can with so much force that it flew across the room, landing on its side by the window. Neither of them stopped to straighten it up as its contents oozed into a fizzy puddle on the floor.
‘Back off,’ Scott warned, flashing dangerous eyes her way.
But Kelly wasn’t listening. ‘Are you shagging her?’ she wanted to know.
Scott shook his head.
‘Liar! You stay away for hours on end and you expect me to believe that?’
‘What do you want me to say?’ he cried. ‘Yeah, I have a daughter; yeah, I have a son; yeah, there is an Anne-Marie.’
Kelly wanted to hit him again. She wanted to squeeze every last breath out of his body. In the space of ten hours, her life had taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Yesterday, she’d been dreaming of setting up her own business. Today, she’d found out that her partner had set up another family.
The more she glared at him, the more bile rose in her throat. She ran through to the bathroom where she threw up. In desperation, she grasped the rim of the toilet as all her hopes and dreams went down the pan with the vomit. Afterwards, she sat back against the wall. How could she have been so stupid? The bongo drums on the Mitchell Estate had certainly let her down this time. Scott hadn’t even denied what he’d done.
Minutes later, she heard him go into their bedroom. She listened closely, then heard him opening a drawer. Then another. She got to her feet and raced through to the bedroom.
‘What are you doing?’ she said.
‘It’s obvious that you don’t want me to stay here.’ Scott didn’t even look at her as he threw balled-up socks into a sports bag. ‘I’m just getting a few things and then I’ll be back for the rest.’
‘You don’t get to finish this.’ Ke
lly prodded herself in the chest and screamed. ‘I DO! You’re a cheating bastard and I hate you. How could you do this to me? Maybe shagging someone else I could get over in time, but to have children with her? And that boy was born a year after Emily, which means… which means…’ She paused for a moment. ‘Oh, I get it now. That’s why you were offered a house in Patrick Street – because you had access to a child.’
Scott shrugged.
‘It’s the oldest trick in the book, isn’t it? Single men don’t want flats because of the stigma attached – single bloke equals druggie slash trouble-maker – so they say they need more room because they have access rights to their kids three or four times a week. You got that because of Stephanie before I met you, didn’t you? You wouldn’t have been offered a house so quickly any other way. You would have stayed on the waiting list or had to take a flat.’
‘So what if I did? You still had it good while you were with me.’
Kelly was crying openly now but she was damned if she was letting him get away with humiliating her. She moved towards the door.
‘Where are you going?’ he said.
‘I’m coming with you to Anne-Marie’s. She needs to hear about this. And I hope she throws you out, because you deserve it. Then where will you go?’
Scott grabbed her arm and threw her down onto the bed. ‘Don’t fucking threaten me!’
‘You’re a loser,’ she shouted at him. ‘A fucking LOSER! Don’t ever think you’re coming back.’
‘I wouldn’t want to come back to you.’ It was the last thing he said before slamming the bedroom door on his way out.
Moments later, Kelly heard the front door open and close. She pinched herself and it hurt, prompting yet more tears to fall, not just for the way he’d treated her, but for the chance of happiness she had given up with Jay. Covering her face with her hands, she sobbed.
After checking up on Amy first thing, it took Josie over half an hour to find Sam Pearson the next morning. She’d driven around all the usual haunts and hang outs before realising it was probably too early for a creature like him to be out of his pit. But just as she was about to give up, she spotted him walking towards the shops. He was alone, a skateboard under his arm. Josie tutted: he couldn’t even be bothered to skate, the idle bastard. What a generation was being raised.