The Goldsworth Series Box Set

by Davie J Toothill

  They walked outside, avoiding the crowds around the door. A few cameramen were there, snapping pictures, and one woman spoke into a microphone, sounding like she would rather be covering a different story. Keskia went to the roadside to wait.

  “Are you sure about this?” Trent asked.

  Keskia nodded. She wanted Troy to have his second chance at life, but she did not want to be the one to give it to him.

  * * *

  Jessie looked at her brother and knew that Tyrese wasn’t here for chit-chat.

  “What do you want?” she asked again, already irritated by his presence. “If this is about Troy, then I don’t care whether -”

  “Not guilty,” Tyrese told her. Jessie was surprised, but not all that interested. “He’s getting out, sis.”

  “Great,” Jessie rolled her eyes. “If that was all, you can be on your way.”

  She looked around the kitchen, relieved that Corey and his brother weren’t in, knowing that they wouldn’t approve of his visit. There was bad blood between them, there always had been, as far as she was aware.

  “I actually came to talk to you,” Tyrese shrugged, pulling out a kitchen chair and sitting down, seemingly unaware of Jessie’s discomfort at him being in the house.

  “They could be back any minute,” Jessie warned him, her tone anxious. “You know they won’t want you here, so why don’t you just go home and leave us be?”

  “Think I’ll stick around for a bit,” Tyrese said calmly. “I mean, if it’s all the same to you, perhaps I can have a little chat with your precious boyfriend.”

  “No, it’s not okay with me,” Jessie hissed. “What are you up to?”

  She felt bad enough that she had betrayed Corey with Goldie, but letting her brother into the house felt just as inexcusable.

  “You have to go,” she insisted. “Nobody wants you here.”

  “They haven’t heard what I’ve got to say yet,” Tyrese said.

  “And what is it that you’re going to speak to them about?” Jessie demanded. She didn’t trust her eldest brother, and his demeanour worried and irritated her.

  “You,” Tyrese replied.

  “Me?” Jessie asked, startled. “What about me?”

  “I’ve heard some things,” Tyrese said. “Bad things.”

  Jessie felt the stirrings of panic, but tried to keep herself calm. He was bluffing, she told herself. There was no way he could know about Goldie.

  “Yeah right,” she shrugged, hoping it would disconcert him.

  “You mean you didn’t fuck Goldie last night?” Tyrese asked, raising an eyebrow. Jessie gasped, and she knew at once that she’d given it away. Tyrese smiled, shaking his head slowly from side to side, looking pleased with himself.

  “What you going to do?” she asked, anxious. “Tell Corey? Why?”

  “Duty, honour, whatever excuse I think feels right,” Tyrese shrugged. “I don’t have to tell him, of course. Not if you were to help me out a little.”

  Jessie swallowed hard, knowing what Tyrese was after.

  “You want me to spy on Corey,” she guessed. “You’re basically saying that you’ll ruin my relationship, and my whole fucking life, if I don’t snitch on my boyfriend and tell you what him and Jayden are getting up to. That right?”

  “Pretty much,” Tyrese nodded. “You’re a smart girl, Jess.”

  “Whatever,” Jessie grimaced.

  “Well, then again, smart girls wouldn’t fuck Goldie,” Tyrese said. “I mean, he’s been running his mouth to any fucker that’ll listen.”

  Jessie cursed him, feeling even more ashamed by her actions, especially now that half the estate would know she’d had sex with him.

  “What if Corey finds out anyway?” Jessie asked.

  “Maybe I can silence the rumours,” Tyrese offered. “On a permanent basis.”

  “You mean –” Jessie gasped, hardly able to believe it. “You’d kill Goldie?”

  “If it comes to that,” Tyrese nodded. “Maybe he’ll shut up before that.”

  Jessie considered him, knowing that he was offering her a good deal, but she couldn’t accept it, she couldn’t bring herself to betray Corey all over again. He was all she wanted from life, him and his babies, and she couldn’t hurt him again.

  “I’m not doing it,” Jessie said decisively. “You can leave now.”

  Tyrese looked at her with angry eyes.

  “You ain’t serious?”

  “Yeah, I am,” Jessie insisted. “I’m not going to betray Corey again, ever.”

  “Your mistake,” Tyrese said, rising to his feet, chair legs scraping over the floor, making Jessie wince. He went to the door. “You’ll regret this,” he warned.

  Jessie watched him go, and she wondered if he really would expose her. Perhaps he wouldn’t even need to, she thought, thinking of how many people Goldie must have told by now. It would be a miracle if Corey hadn’t already heard.

  As the back door closed behind Tyrese, the front door swung open. She felt her breath catch in her chest. She had come so close to being caught talking to her brother that she felt her hands shake with anxiety.

  Jayden and Corey walked into the kitchen and saw her. Corey looked pale and edgy, and Jessie wondered if he knew about Goldie, Tyrese, or both. Jayden gave his brother a squeeze on the shoulder.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” he said, and left the room.

  Jessie looked at her boyfriend as Corey sat down in the chair that Tyrese had vacated a few seconds ago, her mouth twisting, struggling to hold back an apology for everything she had done, all the hurt and heartache she had caused him. It was almost too much to bear.

  She went to touch Corey, but he shrugged her off, and her heart sank.

  “You fuck anyone else whilst I was out?” Corey asked, his voice cold.

  * * *

  Clint heard the front door and glanced down at Angel, sleeping in the pram, his mind racing with what might have happened at court. He heard sounds in the kitchen, but nobody spoke. No celebratory cheers, no calling out to him with good news.

  He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and went out to the kitchen. Marlena was already opening a bottle of wine, and from the look on her face it was not to celebrate. Aurora dropped her handbag onto the kitchen table and barely looked at him as he walked in. She sat down heavily and ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head.

  Clint cleared his throat quietly from the doorway. He was dreading hearing what the verdict had been, he already knew from the tension in the air. Marlena caught his eye as she turned from pouring her drink.

  “Not guilty,” she answered his unspoken question. She gave Aurora a glass, and knocked back her own, downing it almost in one. “Bastard,” she groaned, shaking her head and refilling her glass.

  “I’m sorry,” Clint murmured.

  He looked at Aurora, who was studiously avoiding looking at him. Her make-up had run, and he wondered if she had cried all the way home. He wanted to reach out to her, hold her close, but he knew that she would not let him.

  “Sorry for what exactly?” Aurora asked, finally fixing him with a cold, blank look. Tears clung to her eyelashes, and her hand clasped the wine glass.

  “Everything,” Clint said, taking a step into the room.

  Aurora gave a bark of exasperated laughter, shaking her head. She took a long drink, held out her glass for a refill. Marlena eyed her closely but poured her some more.

  “If you’d had a backbone, if you’d had any morals at all, none of this would have happened,” Aurora said. “You could have saved her. If you had just -”

  “Aurora, this isn’t helping,” Marlena interjected, putting a hand on her shoulder. Aurora shrugged the hand away, and Marlena retreated back to the counter.

  “You’re right, I should have called an ambulance,” Clint sighed. “I should have stayed with her or stopped Troy from doing it. I wish I had, but I can’t change it now. I wish I could.”

  Aurora glared at him. Silence filled the room,
the tension palpable. Clint did not know what he could say, what he could do, to make things right between them.

  “I’ll go and check on Angel,” Marlena said, looking from one to the other. She hesitated, and then left the room, closing the kitchen door behind her. Clint took another step forward.

  “Aurora, I’m sorry this happened,” Clint persisted. “I tried to get justice, didn’t I? I did what I could.”

  “It was too little, too late,” Aurora snapped, her voice rising. “Don’t you think?”

  Clint did not know what to say to that.

  “I’m sorry,” he managed.

  Aurora sobbed, but she flew out of the chair when Clint went to put his arms around her shoulders. She backed away from him, jabbing a finger in his direction, face twisted with hurt and anger.

  “Now that psycho is free to do whatever he wants,” she shouted, tears sliding down her cheeks. Spittle clung to the corner of her lip. “He killed my sister, and he just gets away with it. Shaniqua deserved better. From the court, from you and your mates, from me.”

  “You?” Clint asked.

  “I forgave you, Clint,” Aurora cried, snatching her glass off the table and draining it. “You helped to kill my sister and what did I do? Anyone else would have wanted nothing to do with you, but me? I had a baby with you, fell in love with you.” She made a strangled sound, as if she wanted to be sick at the thought of it.

  “You shouldn’t feel guilty,” Clint stammered, surprised that Aurora felt so much guilt herself. He reached for her, but she shot him a daring look and he backed away. He held his hands up in defeat. “I lied to you, and I wish I hadn’t. I can’t change that now, though.”

  “Just get out,” Aurora said, turning away from him. She wiped at her eyes with a shaking hand. Clint felt tears in his own eyes. He did not want to lose her.

  “Aurora, please -”

  “I mean it,” Aurora hissed. “I just want you to leave.”

  “I love you,” Clint cried.

  “I don’t love you anymore,” Aurora said, her voice shaking with the effort of trying not to cry. She bit down on her lower lip. “I hate you.”

  “You don’t mean that,” Clint pleaded, tears sliding down his cheeks. He could not lose her, could not let this be the end. He swallowed hard, trying to find the right words. “It’s just the shock, but we’ll make things right. When we’re back in Manchester, when -”

  “No, Clint, you’re not listening to me. There won’t be any more Manchester, no more you and me,” Aurora said, her voice rising. “It’s over.”

  Clint took a step forward, holding out his arms, wanting to cradle her, to soothe her tears, show her how much he loved her.

  “Please -”

  Aurora stepped back, away from him, looking horrified at the thought of his touch. She let out a strangled cry as her emotions, her anger, finally erupted. She hurled the glass at the wall. It shattered, sending shards of glass flying in every direction.

  “Get out,” she screamed.

  Clint did as she wanted. He opened the kitchen door, threw himself out of the flat as Marlena poked her head round the door to the living room to see what all the commotion was about.

  Outside, Clint gulped down fresh air, struggling to stifle the cries, blinking hard. He let out a howl as he reached the stairwell, kicking out at a wall, cursing at the pain. He had lost Aurora, had lost everything that he loved, and he felt his mind and heart splintering into pieces at the thought that things would never be the same again.

  * * *

  In the kitchen, Aurora leant back against the wall and sank down to the floor. She gasped for air through the tears and the anger, sobbing loudly. The emotions of today, and the ones that had been growing since Shaniqua’s death, filled her mind.

  “Oh, darling,” her mum cried from the doorway, rushing forward. Her shoes crunched on the broken glass as she hurried to her, dropping to her knees and throwing an arm around her shaking shoulders. “Aurora, sweetheart, come on. Let’s get you up off the floor.”

  Aurora could not bring herself to get up, to wipe her eyes, to focus. Marlena kept her arm around her, and Aurora buried her face into her mother’s neck and sobbed, releasing the emotion that she had tried so hard to fight.

  “It’s okay baby, I’m here,” Marlena murmured, stroking her hair and holding her tight, as Aurora’s shoulders heaved. “I’ve got you, baby girl. I’m here.”

  * * *

  Brandy stared at her phone, her pulse racing, as she read Adrianna’s text. It was the news that she had been fearing all day. She swallowed hard and dropped her phone onto the bed next to her.

  She wondered where Troy was now. Perhaps he was back on the Goldsworth already, plotting against her and the others that he thought had wronged him. She shook her head, willing herself not to let paranoia sink its claws into her. She had tried to help him, and if he could not see that, then it was his problem not hers.

  Her phone buzzed again, another text from Adrianna. Brandy read it but did not reply. The last thing she needed right now was a night out, she thought. She would not be able to enjoy herself, not when she would spend the night looking over her shoulder for Troy to make an appearance.

  She remained on her bed, jumping at the sound of the front door. She heard her mother’s drunken mumblings and the door close again. Brandy sighed with relief, steadying her breathing, trying not to think about Troy or the fact he was no longer contained by prison walls.

  * * *

  “Are you sure?” Zoe asked, sitting up straighter on the sofa. Tamar nodded, putting his phone back into his pocket, and his hands going back to her feet, massaging them.

  “Not guilty,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Damn, I got to admit, that lawyer of his must’ve been good, to get him off those charges. I thought he was a goner, for sure.”

  “She was a right shark,” Zoe said, remembering Khan from court. She hesitated, and Tamar looked at her, sensing her tension. She tried to keep her voice calm. “Do you think that he’ll come back to the estate?”

  Tamar shrugged.

  “Maybe,” he said. “I mean, his family’s here, and his mates. I don’t see where else he’d go, you know? Or maybe he’s had enough of this shithole. Guess we’ll find out.”

  Zoe nodded, not reassured at all by his words.

  “Don’t worry,” Tamar said, reading her trail of thoughts. “Even if he does come back here, you’ll be safe. He won’t want to go back to prison, Zoe, he won’t try anything.”

  “Really?” Zoe asked, raising an eyebrow. “This is Troy we’re talking about.”

  Tamar considered her a moment.

  “Well, that’s true,” he relented. “Listen, I won’t let him try anything, okay? You’ll be safe, you and Sienna. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Zoe looked into his face, knew that he meant it. She smiled, feeling herself relax a little, and his hands resumed their kneading. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about Troy or his release, not wanting it on her mind as she tried to move on.

  * * *

  Jessie looked at Corey, hardly able to believe that he knew what she had done, the thought of what he must be feeling made her feel sick, her body tremble.

  “Corey, I’m sorry,” she said, sitting down in the chair beside him and reaching for his hand again. He moved his hand, his lip curling back as if he was disgusted by the thought of touching her. Jessie put her hands in her lap, mortified by his response.

  “It’s true then,” Corey said sullenly. “You cheated on me.”

  “I was drunk,” Jessie pleaded. “It was a stupid mistake, I thought that if I got pregnant, then we’d be happy again, things could go back to how they were.”

  Corey didn’t even look at her as she spoke.

  “Is that a joke?” Corey asked. “You think I’d raise another man’s kid? You think I’m stupid or something, that I wouldn’t fucking realise it wasn’t mine?”

  “It was a stupid, selfish mistake,” Jessie insisted
. “I never meant –”

  “To spread your legs for some twat?” Corey asked, his voice spiteful.

  “I’m sorry,” Jessie sighed. It was all she could really think to say. “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t know which is worse,” Corey said after a long silence. “The fact that you cheated on me, or that you’ve been acting so fucking miserable for so long.”

  “I can’t help it,” Jessie said. “After the babies –”

  Corey slammed his fist on the table, and Jessie jumped, startled.

  “I’m tired of fucking hearing about those dead babies,” Corey shouted, his face flushed with anger. He glared at her. “They were my babies too, you know. I wished things had been different, but they’re dead. You can sit in bed and cry for months if you fucking want, but that’s not going to bring them back.”

  “I know that –”

  “Do you?” Corey demanded. “Are you depressed, is that what all of this is?”

  Jessie was thrown by the question.

  “What? I don’t know –”

  “I’ve been trying to help you, Jess,” Corey said, shaking his head, voice quiet again. “I’ve done everything I can think of, trying to make it better for you. I’ve tried being strict with you, tried letting you do whatever you want. I’ve done it all, and I can’t fucking think of what to do with you now.”

  “Things will get better,” Jessie said, reaching for him again, tears in her eyes. “It might not seem like it now, but they will, you’ll see, I’ll make them better.”

  “By fucking another guy?”

  “No, no, I love you,” Jessie whimpered.

  “I don’t know if you do,” Corey said. “I don’t know who you are anymore.”

  “I’m still me,” Jessie said, wiping her tears away, but they kept on coming.

  “No, you’re not,” Corey shook his head. “You’re not the Jessie I fell in love with, sorry, but you ain’t. You were so fun, so sweet. You stood up to your brothers, you made me laugh, you made me feel good. Now, I don’t know, you’re different.”

  “I can change,” Jessie wept. “I can go back to that, if we just have a baby I –”