by Helen Harper
‘I don’t know what kind of game you think you’re playing,’ Alicia hissed in her direction, ‘but don’t think for one second that you’ll get away with it.’
Yuri drew herself up. Enough was enough. ‘I’m not playing any game, I’m doing my job. If you have a problem with that then take it up with Yell yourself. Your client certainly didn’t seem to mind.’
‘He doesn’t have to mind. That’s what he pays me for. I protect him from the more predatory elements of the press corps who seem to think they’re more important than he is.’
Yuri batted her eyelashes. ‘Why, who on earth could you mean?’
‘Ladies, ladies!’ Dirk interrupted, rubbing his hands together. ‘I think perhaps we should leave things as they are for now and pick them back up again on Thursday at the interview.’
‘Fine,’ Yuri muttered. She really hadn’t meant to get herself on the other woman’s bad side. It’s just that her hackles were well and truly raised after being forced to sit across the table from Oz – who clearly couldn’t remember her from Adam, despite everything that had happened between them in the past. That stung more than Yuri was willing to admit even to herself. She forced a smile on her face. ‘Thank you for your time.’
*
‘So he really didn’t remember you at all?’ Sibyl asked.
Yuri shook her head. ‘Nope.’
‘I can’t believe that. Are you sure?’
She growled in response. ‘He acted like he’d never seen me before.’
‘Oh, sweetie.’ Her friend drew her into a hug. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s fine,’ Yuri murmured into her shoulder. ‘It’s for the best.’
‘Really?’
Yuri pulled away, unable to look her in the face. ‘Really.’
‘Are you going to go to this club?’
‘What choice do I have?’
The gilt envelope, containing a single VIP pass to Nemesis the following evening, sat on the table between them, taunting her. Yuri stared at it morosely.
‘He smells the same,’ she said absently.
‘Ohhhh,’ Sibyl said, shaking her head in dismay.
‘What?’
‘You’re still in love with him.’
‘No! Definitely not!’ Yuri protested.
‘He still smells the same? Are you kidding me?’
She shrugged uncomfortably. ‘I just thought it was strange that after all these years he’d not changed his aftershave, that’s all. It doesn’t mean anything.’
‘Yeah, right,’ Sibyl scoffed.
‘It’s true!’
Her friend pursed her lips. ‘I did a divination when you were out.’
Yuri glared at her. ‘I told you I didn’t want that.’
‘It wasn’t for you,’ Sibyl said. ‘It was for him.’
‘Ozzy?’ Yuri shook herself. ‘I mean, Oz?’
She nodded. ‘Do you want to know what it said?’
‘No.’ She bit her lip. ‘Okay, yes.’
Sibyl looked troubled. ‘It’s not good, Yuri.’
Alarmed, her eyes widened. ‘What?’
Sibyl sighed. ‘It was difficult to tell exactly. It was dark. He was upset, I could tell that much. He seemed to be on his knees begging someone.’
Yuri found it hard to imagine the self-assured man she’d just met on his knees begging for anything. ‘Right.’
‘There were shadows everywhere. A woman as well.’
Yuri snorted. ‘Why am I not surprised?’
Sibyl shook her head. ‘Not like that. I think she was more of a friend of sorts. She was on his side and trying to help him.’
‘Help him with what?’
‘That I don’t know. It felt,’ she paused, searching for the right word, ‘wrong, somehow. Like he was where he wasn’t supposed to be. I have a bad feeling about it all.’
‘You have a bad feeling? Sibyl…’
‘It doesn’t mean anything. You know sometimes the visions don’t come true.’
Yuri shot her a troubled look. ‘Whatever you say, it’s got nothing to do with me,’ she finally asserted. ‘I’m going to go to this stupid mock concert tomorrow night, do the interview on Thursday, and then I’ll never have to see him ever again.’
Sibyl nodded vigorously. ‘Sure. Yes. You’re right.’
‘I’m going to take a long hot bath with lots and lots of bubbles.’ Yuri turned and padded upstairs while Sibyl watched her go with a worried expression marring her usually smooth face. ‘The problem is,’ she whispered softly, ‘you were there, Yuri. You were there in the background and he couldn’t see you. And you weren’t well at all. You looked more dead than alive. It’s happening all over again.’
Yuri didn’t hear her. She was already at the top of the stairs and thinking about other things. Sibyl sighed heavily. She didn’t have many friends; she was damned if she was going to let anything happen to this one.
*
The following evening, Yuri was more focused on what to wear than anything else. At least it took her mind off the impending inevitability of having to talk to Oz again. She frowned critically at her reflection in the mirror. The pink dress was too damn tight and too damn showy. She was a journalist, for heaven’s sake, not a bloody groupie. She yanked it off over her head and cast around the debris of her room for something else more suitable. Her work clothes hung on the back of her door. She jutted out her bottom lip. Well, this was for work. Without thinking, she pulled them off the hanger and got dressed.
‘You’re not wearing that?’ Cam, glass of wine in hand, stood in the doorway, appalled.
‘This is what I normally wear when I work.’
‘Yes, but…’
Yuri put her hands on her hips. ‘But what?’
‘They’re so boring! Yuri, you’re going to a nightclub.’
‘To work. I’m going to a nightclub to work.’
‘You’re not going to impress Oz looking like that.’
‘I’m not trying to sodding impress Oz,’ Yuri said through gritted teeth.
‘You wore sequins to work the other day.’
‘That was different.’
Cam raised his eyebrows.
‘It was!’
‘Yuri, you look like a schoolteacher.’ A knowing look suddenly crossed his face. ‘Or is that the plan? Give him a bit of kink?’
‘Fuck off.’
‘I think you should change.’
Yuri stubbornly dug her heels in. ‘No,’ she asserted, ‘I’m going like this.’
‘You’re the boss.’
‘Damn right I am.’ There was just the tiniest quaver to Yuri’s voice. Cam shot her a sympathetic look.
‘It’ll be fine. Have you booked a taxi?’
She shook her head. ‘I was just about to.’
‘How’s everyone doing?’ Sibyl appeared behind Cam’s shoulder. ‘You know, maybe Cameron should go instead. It’ll keep things less complicated.’
‘Can’t darling. As much as I’d love to, I have a date. I only popped by to wish Yuri good luck and to remind her to pack some condoms.’
‘Is sex all you ever think about?’
He frowned. ‘No. Well, okay, maybe. Yes. I admit it. I always think about sex.’
Both Sibyl and Yuri rolled their eyes then the doorbell chimed, making them all jump. ‘I’ll go see who that is,’ Sibyl said.
Cam watched her go. ‘She seems tense.’ He tutted at Yuri. ‘And you should at least put on some make-up.’ He drained his glass. ‘I need to get out of here.’ He thumped down the stairs after Sibyl.
Yuri sighed and picked up some lipstick. She supposed a little bit wouldn’t hurt. She was just blotting her lips when Sibyl reappeared.
‘Er…’
‘I hate you, Yuri Tateno!’ Cam’s voice called up from downstairs. ‘I’m leaving now before I scratch your eyes out in jealousy!’
Yuri looked blankly at her housemate. ‘What?’
Sibyl shrugged uncomfortably. ‘You should come and see
.’
Puzzled, she followed her out. Standing in their small doorway was a dark suited man, holding a brimmed cap under one arm. When he caught sight of Yuri, he gave her a tiny bow.
‘Oz sends his apologies, but he needs to get ready for the show,’ the man said. ‘However, I will drive you to Nemesis so you can get there safely on time.’
Sibyl and Yuri exchanged looks. ‘How did you know where I lived?’ Yuri asked suspiciously.
The chauffeur was confused. ‘I was given this address by Oz.’
Irritation uncoiled inside her. ‘Fine. But how did he know where I lived?’
‘Miss, I’m sorry, I’m just doing what I’m told.’
Sibyl nudged her. ‘He’s cute,’ she whispered in an undertone. ‘You should get his number.’
Yuri scowled at her. Her friend just grinned back innocently.
‘I’ll be two minutes,’ she told him, before running back upstairs to check her appearance and pick up her bag.
‘He probably just asked Yell,’ Sibyl murmured, coming up behind her. ‘Or got his people to ask Yell and arrange it.’
‘Sure,’ Yuri murmured, unconvincingly. ‘That makes more sense than him knowing where I live all along.’
‘Because that would be weird and stalker-ish.’
‘And he doesn’t even remember who I am.’
They stared at each other for a moment or two, then burst out laughing. ‘He’s trying to intimidate me,’ Yuri said. ‘Because I wouldn’t kowtow like the rest of his vast entourage. Suddenly I’m a challenge. What he doesn’t remember is that I’ve been there and done that. I don’t need to go there again.’
Sibyl patted her on the shoulder. ‘Definitely not,’ she agreed. She smiled at her. ‘Just in case, I won’t wait up though.’
‘As if,’ Yuri scoffed, then wandered out.
Sibyl watched her go, waiting until the front door closed behind her before she pulled out her mobile phone and jabbed in a number. It rang a couple of times, then a familiar voice answered.
‘Hi Medusa,’ Sibyl said. ‘I think we might have a problem.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
TORQUAY, DEVON, 2003
The next Monday at school, Yuri traversed the dingy corridors on her way to Maths with her head down and her books clutched firmly to her chest. In her time at various different educational institutions around the country, she’d discovered that if she didn’t look anyone in the eye, and didn’t encourage any kind of social interaction, then she was generally left alone. Naturally, there were those around her who still hissed insults, usually of the ‘look, there goes the slitty eyed weirdo’ type, but she found she was able to shrug those off with ease. She imagined a bubble surrounding her, one that sealed her off from the rest of the world and kept her safe. Most of the time it worked.
‘Hey!’ Ozzy bounced up behind her and slung an easy arm round her shoulder. ‘My saviour! How’s life in the land of superheroes?’
Yuri extricated herself from his grasp. ‘Go away,’ she muttered.
‘Hmm,’ he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, stepping in front of her so she couldn’t simply just continue on her way. ‘I would do that, except…’
‘Except what?’ she snapped.
‘Except now that you’ve saved my life, you’re responsible for me. I’m just making your life easier by staying in your vicinity.’
She gave him a baleful glance. ‘Then maybe I shouldn’t have bothered.’
‘Aw, now, don’t say that. If you’d not done what you did, then I wouldn’t be able to stand here now and invite you to the party this weekend.’
‘I don’t want to go to a party,’ she told him firmly, sidestepping to her left and almost getting bowled over by a Year 7 kid with a deathwish in the process.
Ozzy reached out a hand to steady her. ‘It’s not just any party.’ His eyes glinted and he leaned in. ‘It’s THE party,’ he whispered in her ear.
‘Is that supposed to make a difference?’
He grinned. ‘It makes all the difference.’
The bell rang, signalling the depressing start to yet another round of mind-numbing lessons. Yuri tightened her grip on her books. ‘I have to go.’
‘You’ve got Jones, don’t you?’
‘So?’
‘So I passed him about two minutes ago bawling out some girls for caking on too much make-up. He’ll march them to the office so they can wipe it off. You’ve got plenty of time before he’s in his room and starting to impart the joy of algebraic equations to you.’
‘All the same,’ she said, ‘I don’t want to be late.’
‘He’ll never know.’
‘I will.’ She pushed past him.
‘Why does it matter?’ he called after her, sounding baffled.
Yuri sighed and half turned. ‘If a tree falls down in a forest but no-one is around to hear it, then does it still make a noise?’
He blinked. ‘Deep.’
She smirked, and kept going. She was almost at the end of the corridor when the urge to glance back behind her was overwhelming. Before she could think about it, she flicked one quick look over her shoulder. Ozzy was still standing there, watching her. When he saw that she was looking, he blew her a kiss. Yuri quickly turned away again. She scowled to herself. That had been stupid.
He caught up with her again at break. Even though she left Mr. Jones’ room faster than anyone else, he was already outside the door and leaning nonchalantly against the wall. As soon as he caught sight of her, he straightened up and gave her a disarming smile.
‘I’ve been thinking about your problem,’ he said.
She rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t have a problem.’
‘I mean the tree thing.’ He ran a hand through his hair and Yuri was abruptly assailed by his scent, a deep green muskiness that was all male. ‘The thing is, that if no-one is in the forest to see the tree fall, then you can’t be sure that it has. It’s in a state of being neither up nor down. A bit like the Grand Old Duke of York’s men.’
‘Huh?’
‘The nursery rhyme. The Grand Ol’ Duke of York,’ he suddenly sang, ‘he had ten thousand men…’
‘Hi Ozzy,’ giggled out a couple of passing girls from Yuri’s Maths class.
He gave both of them a flashing grin and a wave. They looked delighted.
‘You’ve got half the school falling at your feet,’ Yuri said to him, exasperated. ‘Why do you have to bother me?’
‘Because I like you. Let me walk you to Art.’
‘How in the hell do you know what lessons I have?’
He waggled his eyebrows at her. ‘It’s this season’s must-have accessory.’
‘What?’
His cheek dimpled. ‘A stalker. So will you come?’
‘To Art? I have to go. It doesn’t mean you do though.’
He laughed. ‘No, to the party.’
Yuri scowled. ‘No.’
‘I’m going to keep asking until you say yes.’
‘You’ll be asking for a long time then.’
She stepped round him, doing whatever she could to avoid touching him in any way, and then continued along her path. Yuri couldn’t think what she’d done to merit such close attention. She could only presume he felt some kind of obligation towards her because she dived into the sea after him. She reckoned if she continued to make life difficult enough for him, he’d give up sooner or later. When she told Medusa about it later, however, the woman just laughed.
‘I keep forgetting how young you really are.’
‘What?’ Yuri asked, stung.
‘By playing hard to get, you’re just making yourself more desirable.’
‘I’m not playing hard to get,’ she protested. ‘I’m not playing anything. I just want him to leave me alone.’
‘Is there a reason?’ Medusa’s voice was openly curious. Several of the snakes in the hissing halo around her skull raised themselves up in curving question marks as if to mimic her thoughts. ‘He’s a good looking lad. He se
ems nice enough. You could do worse, you know.’
Yuri sighed. She’d thought that Medusa, who seemed just as alone in the world as she did, would understand. The only way to protect herself and her fragile emotions was to avoid getting too close again to anyone. It turned out, however, that the snake woman wasn’t the only person who thought she was acting strangely.
‘So,’ Brittani said, as they were setting up a row of test-tubes for an experiment the following day, ‘Ozzy seems to rather like you.’ There was just the slightest note of bitterness in the other girl’s voice.
Yuri shrugged. ‘I didn’t ask him to. I just wish he’d leave me alone.’
Brittani stared at her as if she was nuts. ‘Why?’
Unable to think of an answer that would make any sense to someone whose biggest concern appeared to be her chipped nail polish, Yuri muttered something under her breath and turned away to busy herself with measuring out the different coloured chemicals. All this energy she was expending in keeping away from Ozzy was starting to seem ridiculous even to her. Maybe things would be better if she caved in and became a little bit friendlier. However, the next time she saw him – in the cafeteria when she was waiting in line to pick up a snack – he was sprawled against one of the tables with a petite blonde girl draped all over him. Yuri couldn’t be sure because of the angle she was viewing him from, but it appeared as if the girl was actually licking his neck. She let out a delicate shudder and turned away. Apparently he didn’t like her as much as everyone seemed to think after all. She told herself she was relieved, but she couldn’t quite prevent herself from feeling just a tiny bit hurt.
Unable to face the boisterous bus crowd on the way home, Yuri decided to forego clambering on board with the others and walk instead. It’d take her at least an hour and a half to meander her way back to their little terraced house, but at least it meant that by the time she returned her mother would have already left to meet her latest cronies in the local club and she’d be able to avoid any stilted chats about how her day had gone. She waited patiently until the bus pulled out of the bay and then crossed the road. It chugged away down the street then abruptly halted. Curious, Yuri turned to see what the problem was. The great rusting doors huffed open as with a vast sigh at the effort and Ozzy jumped off in one elegant sweep. Yuri’s nose wrinkled. Idiot. She shouldered her bag and continued walking.