Brandy sat on her bed, the door to her room open, and she heard her mum’s door fly open and she stood in her underwear, her weave discarded, and looked furious as her eyes adjusted to daylight.
“Bo, what the hell you think you doing?” she yelled down the corridor towards the lounge, where Aunt Bo was trying to soothe Frazer’s crying. “I’m trying to get some sleep, can’t you control that brat?”
There was an indecipherable response from the lounge and her mum stormed down the hallway, stomping on the floor, kicking a toy out the way as she went. It gave a squeak as it bounced off the wall and landed further down the hall.
Raised voices came from the lounge, barely audible over Frazer’s screams, and Brandy felt the beginning of a headache. Her mum hurried back down the hall and slammed the door to her bedroom shut.
Brandy hated Aurora for making her stay here, for forcing her to abandon her plans to flee the estate. She wished she could get out of here, away from her mum and her crying baby, but she knew that she wouldn’t get far anyway, not on what little money she had.
The crying stopped and Aunt Bo came down the hall, glancing to Brandy before knocking on her mum’s door.
“Deanna,” she called softly through the door. “You want a drink?”
“Vodka,” Deanna called back. “And don’t try and fool me, sis, I know your tricks. I got your card marked.”
“How about a coffee?” Aunt Bo suggested, her voice quiet so she didn’t disturb the baby.
The door swung open and Deanna glared at her, adjusting her weave, a tangle of dark hair that looked like a nest more than a hairpiece.
“You taking the piss?” she seethed. “Don’t hand me a turkey and call it a rainbow, girl, I ain’t having that.”
Brandy snorted with amusement. Her mum’s eyes snapped to her and narrowed. She nudged Aunt Bo out of her way and stood over Brandy, face contorting with anger.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, her voice rising. “You find me funny do you?”
“Sssh, Deanna, the baby!” Aunt Bo said, trying to calm her sister down.
“Who gives a shit about the baby?” Deanna snapped, shrugging her off and slapping Aunt Bo’s hand away from her. She turned back to Brandy. “Eh, you not so tough now I’m up in your face?”
Brandy kept quiet, wishing her mother would just fuck off out the flat. Deanna grew bored of provoking her and stormed from the room. The clinking of bottles came from the kitchen. She returned to her bedroom a moment later with a glass and a bottle of vodka. She shot Aunt Bo and Brandy a scornful look and slammed the door behind her.
“You staying for dinner?” Aunt Bo asked through the door.
“Like hell I am,” Deanna shouted back. “You can’t cook for shit. I’m going down the pub. I got people to see.”
“Are you sure?” Aunt Bo persisted.
“You fucking deaf?” Deanna screamed back, setting off Frazer’s crying again.
Brandy pulled her headphones towards her and popped them into her ears, turning up her music, so she wouldn’t have to hear any more.
* * *
Kojo could tell that Clint was annoyed with him, but he tried not to pay any mind to his older brother and looked down at his phone, re-reading the text he’d received from Scarlett, unable to stop smiling.
“Have you even been listening to me?” Clint demanded, standing in front of the sofa and staring at his brother.
Kojo sighed, frustrated with Clint’s behaviour. He always acted like he was his parent, and he wasn’t. He had no right to tell him what to do, to lecture him on anything, especially after all he’d done.
“I said I’m sorry,” Kojo said defiantly. “Nothing else I can do.”
Clint chewed his lip, looking like he had more to say, but Aurora came into the lounge with her mum behind her, and Kojo knew his brother wouldn’t cause an argument whilst they were here. He was scared of Aurora’s mum, but Kojo thought she was quite funny sometimes. She was a drunk and a nutter, he thought, but she was funny when she fell asleep in her chair, or when she tripped over after a few too many vodkas.
“Who are you texting anyway?” Clint asked, suspicious.
“Nobody,” Kojo shrugged.
Clint’s eyes narrowed but he shot a glance at Aurora and Marlena, and said nothing else. Kojo felt relieved, the last thing he needed was to have to explain his feelings for Scarlett to the whole room.
He typed out his next message and sent it, almost holding his breath as he waited for her to reply. He had asked her out, and he hoped that she would say yes. He hadn’t been on a date before, wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen or how he was supposed to act, but if she said yes he could take it from there.
His phone beeped with her response and he almost let out a cheer as he read it. She’d be happy to meet up with him, she’d written. The thought made him excited, and he got off the sofa and retreated from the room, aware of Clint’s eyes following him with suspicion.
“Leave him be,” Aurora said quietly, and Kojo wished she wouldn’t get herself involved in his life, even if she was standing up for him. “He’s not doing any harm, Clint. Let him chat to his mates.”
Kojo rolled his eyes and went into the bedroom, thinking of Scarlett. He wished he didn’t have to stay here with Clint, Aurora and the drunk, and he wondered what Clint would do if he packed his bag and moved back to his parents’ flat. Clint would be furious, he was sure, but there wouldn’t be anything he could do to stop him.
Kojo thought on that, wondering if he dared to do it.
* * *
Serena had checked in to her hotel and taken a long, hot shower, trying to shake her thoughts from the CPS’s decision today.
She had sat with Carl for a coffee and he had outlined the Uncle Jasper case to her, though his skepticism over her involvement was clear. Perhaps he did not believe she could handle it, she thought. More likely, he resented the fact that she would be involved when she clearly had her sights on another case. She almost felt bad for encroaching upon his investigation.
Serena toweled herself dry and checked her phone. There was a voicemail message, and she knew that it would be from her partner, wanting to check she had arrived safely. She would call back soon, and speak to her son, let him know she would not be gone too long this time.
As she switched on the television and lay down on the bed, Serena knew that she could not let the Morton and O’Neill murders drop.
She knew that Troy Banks was responsible, even if the CPS did not believe it. She would find the evidence, she would do whatever it took, she decided.
She owed it to them, she knew, just as she owed it to Shaniqua Curtis to testify in court tomorrow.
* * *
Troy eyed Dante with suspicion as he held out his hand for the phone.
“Who do you keep ringing anyway?” Troy asked, sliding the mobile into his cellmate’s hand. “You got a girl on the outside or something?”
The things he had overheard Dante whispering down the phone sort of sounded like they could be said to a girlfriend, but he had his doubts about that.
Dante shrugged.
“Private business,” he said quietly.
Troy didn’t like not knowing what his cellmate was up to and it grated on him that he should be kept in the dark when he was clearly the boss in this cell. He had given Dante a job, let him use his mobile and snort his coke, and Dante couldn’t even share a few secrets with him. Well fuck that, Troy thought.
He was still pleased after his lawyer’s visit, but that didn’t mean he was in an understanding mood, and Dante was starting to annoy him with his behaviour and secrecy. Dante looked at him, as if waiting for Troy to leave him alone in the cell, but Troy made no effort to give him some privacy and sat down on his bunk.
If Dante was annoyed, he gave no indication and climbed up to his own bunk. Troy wondered if he would still make the phone call whilst Troy was here, but there was no sound and he knew Dante would wait until he was alone to do so
.
He was still curious about what Dante had done on the outside to land him in prison, and now he was more intrigued, wondering if the calls had something to do with that.
“You not going for some food?” Dante asked, and Troy wondered if he was really that eager to get rid of him. “I heard they got something good on today.”
“Nah, I’m okay,” Troy said, smiling to himself as he imagined the frustration he was putting upon Dante.
They were silent for a long moment. Troy wondered if it would not be better to just ask his cellmate for the truth. He took a deep breath, knowing that he had a right to know. Dante was his cellmate, and his employee – he deserved answers.
“Can I ask you something?” Troy asked. He didn’t wait for Dante to respond, and went on and asked him anyway. “What did you do to get yourself locked up in here?”
Dante was silent and Troy wondered if Dante would refuse to answer.
He gave a slight cough and a small sigh.
“I’m in here for murder,” Dante answered.
Troy stared up at the bottom of Dante’s bunk with wide eyes, hardly able to believe the reply. He had expected robbery, maybe assault. But murder?
His mind raced as he realised he might have underestimated his cellmate.
* * *
Sanjay knocked on the door to Adrianna’s flat and she answered wearing a low-cut top, and tiny shorts that showed off her legs. Her hair was tied up in a knot at the back of her head and she had less make-up on than last night, but she was still pretty hot, he thought, as she let him in and led him through to her bedroom.
He was reminded that she was only a teenager, the same age as Amal, when he looked around the room and saw pictures of her with her parents, and then more of her with friends. There were none of her and Trent, and he wondered if she didn’t dare put them up or if Trent didn’t let her take any of them together.
She sat down on the edge of her bed and patted the duvet beside her. Sanjay gave her a smile and sat down beside her.
“I’m glad you came,” she said quietly, a trace of a smile on her lips. She batted her eyelashes at him. “My brother and his girlfriend are out. They won’t be back for ages.”
She made to kiss him, and he put a hand to her, stopping her. She looked shocked, as if nobody had ever rejected her advances. He tried to smile at her.
“I need to clear something up,” Sanjay said, and Adrianna looked perplexed. “When you said you had a boyfriend, you were talking about Trent Banks, weren’t you?”
Adrianna looked surprised, and Sanjay knew she hadn’t expected him to know that. She was quiet, and he wondered if she was trying to come up with an excuse for why she hadn’t told him that to begin with.
“Yeah,” Adrianna said eventually, shrugging. “He’s not my boyfriend, though.”
“Really?” Sanjay asked, raising an eyebrow. “That why he was round mine, asking me if I’d seen you with any other guys at the party?”
“He did that?” Adrianna asked. She sounded delighted by the thought. She glanced at him, eyes widening. “You never told him it was you, though, right?”
“No, ‘course not,” Sanjay said. “Why’d you want to cheat on him though?”
“Like I said, he’s not my boyfriend,” she said, sourly. “Not really. I wish he was, but he just thinks of me as, I don’t know, a hook-up. Someone he can just fool around with.”
“And you want more?” Sanjay asked. “You tried to make him jealous?”
“Yeah,” Adrianna admitted. She looked anxious now. “It didn’t work though. I told him I’d met someone else, and he just…he hit me.”
Sanjay put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her, and Adrianna leant in to him, putting her head against his chest. He felt himself stirring at her touch.
“I was so scared,” Adrianna said, lowering her voice, and Sanjay couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing it for effect, if she just craved some attention.
“You’re safe with me,” Sanjay said. He rubbed her arm with his hand, and Adrianna turned, looking into his face. “I’ll look after you, just so long as this stays between us, yeah?” Adrianna nodded, hopeful. “Trent never finds out, and neither does anybody else,” Sanjay insisted.
“I promise,” Adrianna said. She licked her lips and this time Sanjay made the first move. He clasped her face and kissed her. She offered no resistance, and plastered herself against him.
Sanjay was pleased with how things had gone. He had only wanted to ensure she wouldn’t mention his name to Trent, but it seemed that Adrianna didn’t want things to end between them. He liked her, she was hot, and although he had a girlfriend, he could not refuse this. Not when it was so easy.
He laid her back on her bed and started to undress her. Adrianna smiled up at him, a playful smile on her lips, and Sanjay knew she wouldn’t tell Trent a thing. He could see in her eyes that she was already wondering whether he might not be a better upgrade than Trent and he would let her go on thinking this; there was no harm in letting her believe that perhaps one day he would make her his girlfriend.
* * *
Jessie read the text from Tyrese and promptly deleted it from her phone. She had no wish to speak to him or hear from him, and she was annoyed that he would even bother with her after she had stormed out of the flat yesterday.
She wished people could understand the torrent of emotions that bubbled within her, but nobody seemed to comprehend that she was still hurting. She knew why; the babies hadn’t been real to anyone yet, not born, no gender, and so it wasn’t like it was a real baby that had died. To her they had been real though; she’d dreamt of holding them and nurturing them, and then they had slipped out of her in a mess of blood and grief and she seemed to be the only one to grieve for them now.
Corey walked into the bedroom and though he didn’t say anything, she saw in his eyes that he was frustrated with her for spending so much time hidden away. She wondered if he still loved her like he had done once, and she knew that things had changed between them. He had been smitten with her, and she was sure that he had loved her when she had first been pregnant. Even when she’d lost the first, he had still loved her, cared for her, reassured her. When she had fallen pregnant again, he had been thrilled at the news. Jessie had prayed she would do better this time, but when she had lost that baby too, she had seen the heartache in Corey’s eyes and though he had looked after, soothed her, she knew then that he had lost some of the love he’d had for her. Now, he could barely look at her; he had given up trying to have sex, and he was starting to give up on even talking to her.
Jessie wondered how long it would be before they were strangers, bound together only by two dead babies, grief and unspoken frustration.
She wanted to offer him something, so that he didn’t stop loving her, so that he knew she still loved him and that she just needed time to grieve. She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already back at the door. He glanced at her, and gave a weak smile before he left, shutting the door behind him.
Jessie didn’t call out for him. She opened the drawer beside her bed and pulled out her skins, deciding she would just smoke a joint alone instead.
* * *
Corey Healy closed the bedroom door and took a deep breath, willing himself to show patience. He loved his girlfriend and he understood Jessie’s pain at losing two babies, but she never talked to him, never came to him, and he wasn’t sure how to handle the situation anymore, unsure if Jessie was still grieving or if she had simply shutdown on him. He wanted to reassure her, but she seemed so distant now, so lost within her own despair, that he wasn’t sure if she would even hear him out, let alone try to help him overcome his loss too.
It was best to leave her alone, to grieve for as long as she needed to, he decided. He daren’t broach the subject with his brother Jayden. Jayden had enough on his mind, he didn’t want to hear about Jessie and their problems as well. Perhaps he would have a word with Jazz, his younger sister, who had always been best mates
with Jessie; see if perhaps she could talk his girlfriend round, put some light back into those dark eyes of hers.
He went downstairs to the lounge, where Jayden was talking to two lads who worked for them. Chris Patches, aka Patch, was a tall, solidly built guy with a shaved head. He was fair, and Corey knew that his brother trusted him. Beside Patch on the sofa was Sam, aka Goldie, for his set of golden teeth that glinted whenever he opened his mouth, and Corey didn’t hold the same respect for him as he did for Patch, or any of the other guys who worked for them. Goldie always seemed to bring trouble with him; whether it was getting drunk and running his mouth, or the nastier incident when him and a mate had raped the girlfriend of one of the Banks’ brothers. That had resulted in a load of trouble, Corey remembered, and had ended in the death of one of their own.
Corey took a seat and Patch nodded to him in greeting, but Goldie didn’t. He wondered if Goldie had picked up on his indifference to him and had noted it. Jayden looked at his brother, and Corey knew that something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Patch bowed his head, and even Goldie didn’t look happy. Corey looked to his older brother, and Jayden let out a long sigh.
“I just got word,” he said, shaking his head. “Troy Banks ain’t being charged with Wright’s murder anymore.”
“What?” Corey could hardly believe it. “He did it, we all know that.”
“Well, the police don’t reckon so, or don’t have enough to get him sent down for it anyway,” Jayden said. “Nothing we can do about that.”
“It’s a fucking joke,” Corey snapped. “What about that girl? Wright’s girlfriend, Sasha?”
“Same thing, the charges have been dropped.”
Corey closed his eyes and swallowed down his frustration.
“He’s still locked up,” Patch said from the sofa, in a low, deep voice. “That’s something, at least.”
“For how long though?” Corey asked, watching him scratch his head. Goldie had the good sense to keep his mouth shut, and Corey wondered if he felt remorse over what he had caused. He turned to his brother. “If he gets found not guilty for that Curtis stabbing, he’ll be back out on the street in a couple weeks.”
The Goldsworth Series Box Set Page 93