As if knowing what was on Amal’s mind, Naz continued to scowl.
* * *
Serena Patterson swung her sports bag over her shoulder and shuffled through the crowds thronging at the entrance to the train station. She glanced around as she left the building, scanning the faces around her.
It had been months since she had left London. She had known she would always have to return to give her evidence, but now that the time had arrived she felt the familiar uncertainty that she always experienced when she returned to the city.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the time. She was five minutes early. Perhaps Casey had not yet arrived. She drifted through the crowd a short distance from the entrance and leant against the wall a few metres away, giving her a better sight of the people milling around.
Though she did not wish to be here, she had never hesitated in booking her train ticket. This was something she had to do. She would give her evidence, and she would celebrate when she saw Troy Banks get locked up. It was exactly what he deserved, and she would do whatever she had to do to help that happen.
She caught a glimpse of Casey and waved at him. He smiled as she approached. He reached out to take her bag for her, but she shifted it on her shoulder and shrugged him off.
“It’s been a while,” Casey said, leading the way down the steps towards where he had parked on a yellow line. He caught Serena’s gaze and blushed. “Don’t grass me up.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back,” she laughed.
He unlocked the car, and Serena dropped her sports bag into the back seat and sat down up front. She clicked her seatbelt as Casey started the engine.
“You pleased to be back?” he asked.
Serena considered her answer as he navigated back into the chaotic traffic.
“I’m here, that’s what matters,” she replied.
“Fair,” Casey nodded. He hesitated, before glancing at her. “It’s good to see you again, though.”
Serena smiled. When she had first met him, she would never have believed those words would have come out of his mouth.
“It’s good to see you too,” she agreed.
She looked out of the window, expecting the familiar route to Scotland Yard, and she was surprised when Casey took a wrong turn, then another.
“Where are we going?” she asked, frowning.
“I’m taking you to your hotel,” Casey replied.
“Not Scotland Yard?” she asked.
“No,” Casey said. “You’re not on a case. Just relax.”
Serena bit her lip, refraining from arguing. She returned her gaze to the streets passing by. She sensed that Casey was holding something back, but she did not want to prod him for information, not this soon.
She tried to relax, unable to shake the feeling that something was off.
* * *
Adrianna felt a smug sense of satisfaction as she pulled her knickers back up and wiped herself with a tissue. Trent pulled on his boxers and looked down at her, sat on the edge of his bed. She remembered last night, Sanjay’s hands on her body, lips on her mouth and breasts, as he had taken her right there up against his bedroom door. The thought pleased her, not because of the pleasure, though she had not been disappointed, but because she had got one over on Trent, who seemed to dismiss her so casually, as if she was nothing to him. In sleeping with Sanjay, she knew she had reclaimed a bit of power, showing him that she could be as dismissive of him as he could of her.
“You have fun at the party last night then?” Trent asked, pulling his jeans on and barely glancing at her, making Adrianna feel frustrated.
“Yeah, it was fun,” she said. Now was the moment, if she was really going to make him jealous. “I met someone.”
Trent paused, fingers on his zipper, and glanced at her, eyes narrowing.
“What do you mean?” he asked, put out. Adrianna shrugged as she did up the zip on her dress. She heard the irritation in his voice, and loved it. He zipped himself up and looked down at her, hand on hip, glaring. “Come on, tell me then.”
“I had sex with someone else,” Adrianna said, unable to keep the smile off her face as she said it. Trent gritted his teeth. She sighed, “Don’t tell me you ain’t been sleeping with other girls.”
“That’s different,” Trent hissed.
“Why?” Adrianna asked. Trent snorted, shaking his head.
“Well, as long as you don’t see him again,” he said, turning from her.
Adrianna felt her own anger rise. He hadn’t denied seeing other girls, yet he expected her to have eyes only for him. She wanted him to respect her, and he was treating her like a slut.
“We’ll see,” Adrianna said, knowing the words would anger Trent. “He’s a nice guy, and he’s hot too.” Trent was silent, back to her, but she sensed he had tightened with anger at her words. “And he was a really good shag and all.”
Trent turned and Adrianna barely had time to register the anger on his face before his arm shot out towards her. The back of his hand hit her hard across the face. Her cheek rang with pain and she felt tears sting in her eyes from the shock.
“Don’t take me for a fucking mug,” Trent said, his voice low and dangerous, standing over Adrianna and glaring down at her. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
Adrianna looked up and knew she had pushed him too far. Trent walked out of the bedroom, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went, and she heard the television begin to blare. She blinked the tears away, gathered up her things, and left the room. She passed Trent on the sofa, and he didn’t even look up at her. She knew he didn’t regret hitting her.
She bowed her head and left the flat, feeling humiliated that just as she had felt so powerful he had made her weak again. When the door to the flat had closed behind her, Adrianna wondered if she had just made a big mistake.
* * *
Tyrese left his bedroom and found Trent sitting in the armchair, looking down at his mobile, face scowling, and Tyrese wondered if he’d had a row with Adrianna.
“Another fight?” Tyrese asked, sitting down on the sofa.
“Don’t start,” Trent groaned, shaking his head.
Tyrese let it go. He didn’t really care either way at any rate.
His mother was busying herself in the kitchen and he sat up when he heard her squeal of delight and low voices from the other room. A few seconds later, Jessie appeared in the doorway. She was the youngest in the Banks family, the only girl in a flat full of sons, and she didn’t look happy to be back at home. Tyrese smiled at her, but she barely looked at him as she came in and sat beside him.
She was wearing jeans and a top that had food stains on it, and her hair was pulled into a scruffy ponytail, her eyes downcast. Tyrese wondered what was wrong with her, why she wasn’t taking such pride in her appearance as she had always done in the past, and he questioned whether living at the Healy house was to blame for the change in her, or if it was just because she’d had a couple of miscarriages. Either way, his sister had changed in the last few months and he didn’t like that.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked, looking at Tyrese for the first time. She looked irritated that he had summoned her, and he wondered if he was only about to make things worse between them if he asked her what he intended.
“Yeah, can’t I check up on my little sister every now and then?” Tyrese asked, keeping his voice light. Trent didn’t look up from his phone, barely looking at Jessie, and Tyrese knew the tension was still there between them.
“You never wanted to check up on me when I lost the babies,” Jessie said, her voice testy, and he felt a moment’s remorse. “Why the hell would you care now?”
“Don’t be like that,” Tyrese said, trying to sound compassionate. “Of course we care, right Trent?”
“Yeah, ‘course,” Trent muttered, still on his phone.
Jessie rolled her eyes and then fixed Tyrese with a beady look that let him know she wasn’t fooled by the pretence.
> “We’ve been busy,” Tyrese said, by way of an apology.
“Yeah right,” Jessie said, bemused. “From what I’ve heard, you ain’t been up to much. Word is you’re letting things slide.”
“Who told you that?” Tyrese demanded at once.
“People,” Jessie replied.
“Would these people perhaps be called Jayden and Corey Healy?” Tyrese asked, skeptical, not liking the fact his sister was so clued-up, and that she showed such indifference to their plight. Jessie shrugged, and kept quiet. Tyrese sighed. He had hoped to win her round before asking for such a favour, but he could see now that it was no use. He would just have to jump straight in and try his luck. “Listen, Jess, I need a favour from you.”
“Oh, goodie,” Jessie said sarcastically.
Tyrese ignored her remark.
“Like you say, we’ve begun to slip up, but it’s only temporary, understand that much,” Tyrese said, annoyed that Trent was offering no help in the matter. “And I’ve heard rumours that the Healy brothers might be overstepping the mark, making pathways onto the Goldsworth when we all know they ain’t welcome here.”
“Maybe not by you,” Jessie shrugged. “I ain’t heard no complaints though.”
“So they are trying to muscle in on our patch?” Tyrese asked.
“Why don’t you ask them?” Jessie suggested. “Instead of boring me.”
“That’s the thing, we would, but they won’t tell us straight,” Tyrese said, smiling at his sister, and she looked suspiciously back at him. “You, on the other hand, wouldn’t lie to your brothers, would you? And they’re not going to lie to you, not when you and Corey are so tight, all loved-up like you are.”
Jessie gave a half-smile, shaking her head.
“You want me to spy on my boyfriend for you?” she asked, disbelieving. Tyrese knew then that he had made a mistake in asking her. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she sighed. “You’ve got a fucking nerve asking me for any kind of favour after you’ve ignored me the last few months, when I might have actually needed you. You can both go fucking do one.”
She rose to her feet and stormed out of the lounge without another word, and Tyrese made no effort to stop her. She was still young, and this was just a little hissy fit. She was probably still hormonal after the last pregnancy; he was sure she would calm down, and then she might reconsider what he had said.
He heard the front door slam shut and rolled his eyes.
“That went well,” Trent said from the armchair, and Tyrese groaned.
* * *
Aurora glared at her mum, hand on hips, and knew she was itching to make a remark about the state Kojo had been in last night. He had spent a few hours throwing up in the bathroom, and Aurora felt frustrated because now her mum was on her high-horse, keen to point out that Aurora had given her such a hard time for drinking too much, only to return from the party with a wasted Kojo in tow.
“Just don’t say it, mum,” Aurora sighed, shaking her head.
Marlena narrowed her eyes but kept her mouth shut as she drank her coffee, turning her back on the room and looking out of the window at the city beneath them. Aurora shut her eyes, willing Clint and Kojo to stop arguing.
Their raised voices echoed down the landing from the bedroom, and Aurora knew that Clint meant well and that he was angry that Kojo had got drunk, but she also knew that Kojo wasn’t happy here, that he wanted to spend time with his mates, and she couldn’t entirely agree with Clint that being away from the Goldsworth was in his brother’s best interests.
“He gets angry, doesn’t he,” Marlena said quietly, and Aurora knew she was talking about Clint. “Must take after his father in that respect. Next he’ll be raising his hand to you and that boy, see if he doesn’t.”
Aurora ignored her mother, knowing she was fast losing patience with having the three of them staying in the flat. She wondered again if it had been a mistake in coming down before the trial, fearing her mum might kick them about before Troy had even arrived at court.
The voices grew louder as the bedroom door opened, and Kojo stormed down the landing. He didn’t even look into the kitchen, but threw the front door open and left, slamming it shut behind him.
“Ungrateful boy,” Marlena snapped. “I could’ve been trying to sleep.”
Clint walked down the landing, looking frustrated, and sighed when he saw Aurora and her mother. Aurora knew that Clint didn’t want to be here anymore than her mum wanted him here, and the flat was feeling more claustrophobic by the day. Aurora hoped the tension would ease once the trial started, but she knew that it wouldn’t, not when Clint had to give evidence, and her mother would have to listen to Shaniqua’s final moments, replayed over and over by different witnesses.
“Sorry about that,” Clint said, looking at Aurora, with a swift glance to Marlena’s back. “I’ve told him not to see those mates again, but he wasn’t exactly happy to hear it.”
Aurora smiled weakly at him, feeling tired of all the drama. She wondered, for what must’ve been the hundredth time, if Kojo would not be better off staying with his parents. It would make her mum happier, and it would definitely ease the tension that had begun to appear between her and Clint.
She was about to suggest it when she changed her mind. Clint wouldn’t hear of it, and she didn’t want another argument, and nor did she want to make Clint feel like he had to choose between her and his brother; that wouldn’t be fair.
Closing her mouth, she kept her thoughts to herself, wondering what Shaniqua would have advised her if she was still alive.
* * *
Kojo walked down the stairs, feeling anger pulsing through his body. It wasn’t fair that Clint, just a few years older than him, was allowed to do whatever he wanted whilst he was dragged along for the ride. Clint had run away from home, got a girl pregnant, and been drunk countless times, and yet Kojo had a few too many beers and got his head bitten off for it, how was that fair? He was beginning to think that Clint’s concern for him was wrong, that Clint was trying to make sure he didn’t make the same mistakes he had, when they were completely different people. Kojo would never be involved in a stabbing, and it was insulting that Clint thought otherwise. Now he was paying for the stupid mistakes his brother had made, Kojo thought angrily, and kicked at a crumpled can on the ground, sending it clattering down the last of the steps and almost hitting someone coming up the stairs.
He muttered an apology under his breath and paced across the courtyard and out of the shadow of the tower block, heading towards the playing fields. He had text Kent and hadn’t had a reply yet, and he wondered if his best mate was embarrassed for him after he had been dragged out of the party like some stupid child. Or maybe Kent was just hung over, he thought, hoping that was the case.
The sun was beating down on the grass and a few lads were kicking a football about near one of the goals, the metal rusted and the net long gone.
He veered off the path between the two fields and sat down on the slope that overlooked the lower playing field, breathing hard, hoping his anger would subside soon. He didn’t mean to get so angry, and he knew it was Clint’s fault rather than his. If he stopped treating him like a baby, let him make his own decisions, then he would be happy.
He lay back on the grass and let the sun warm him, and the anger did begin to fade, replaced with a calm sleepiness as he closed his eyes against the sunlight.
Footsteps sounded on the path behind him, and he heard children laughing and shouting from the playground, and the hollers of the lads playing footie. It was enough to help him forget about Clint and Aurora, and how they had embarrassed him in front of his mates, and in front of Scarlett. His cheeks burned as he wondered what she must have thought, being told off by his brother in front of her.
“You feeling better now then?” a girl’s voice asked, and his eyes flew open as he looked up at Scarlett, stood on the path looking down at him with a smile.
Kojo propped himself up on his elbows, smili
ng at her, pleased to see her.
“Yeah, much better thanks,” he said, feeling nervous. “And sorry, you know, about being sick and that. You must think I’m well weird.” He tried to laugh it off, but it stuck in his throat and he grimaced.
Scarlett sat down beside him on the grass, her summer dress flapping in the breeze and she looked at him with kind eyes.
“I don’t think you’re weird,” she said softly. “I think you’re –” She stopped as her mobile began to ring, a Beyoncé ring tone blaring out from her bag. She gave him an apologetic smile and answered.
Kojo took the chance to observe her and he remembered the maths classes spent gazing at her. She was petite and slim, her dark hair thick, and her smile was dainty. Her voice was bright, cheerful, even as she sounded frustrated as she spoke on the phone. Kojo wondered if she had a boyfriend, and hoped at once that she didn’t.
“Sorry, that was my dad,” she said when she had hung up. “I’ve got to go back now, but it was nice seeing you again.”
He wondered what she had been about to say she thought he was. He wanted to ask her, but would that be weird of him? He hesitated, and she stood up, unaware of the thoughts racing through his mind. He wanted to tell, or ask her – what exactly? He felt sweat on his forehead and wondered why she made him so nervous.
“We should meet up again sometime,” Scarlett said quietly, and he thought she might be as nervous as he felt. “Do you want to take my mobile number?”
Kojo looked up at her, smiling, and she smiled back. She read it out to him and Kojo saved it in his phone. She turned to go, looking pleased.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Kojo asked, before he could stop himself. He was horrified as soon as the question left his lips, and Scarlett turned, looking at him.
“No,” she answered, and Kojo’s relief must have shown because she gave a soft smile, and waved goodbye. He watched her go, and Kojo couldn’t help but smile.
* * *
Adrianna looked at Brandy and felt irritated that her friend wasn’t showing more support in light of what she had just told her.
The Goldsworth Series Box Set Page 91