‘Really?’ Leanne narrowed her eyes and peered at the woman’s face. ‘Didn’t she used to have brown hair?’
‘Yeah, and tiny tits,’ Chrissie sniped. ‘Wonder who paid for those bazookas, ’cos she sure as hell hasn’t done a day’s work in her pampered little life.’
Leanne sighed as an uncomfortable feeling of envy settled over her. She hadn’t run in the same circles as Sally when they were younger, so she’d never actually spoken to her, but she remembered seeing her around and thinking that her parents must be mega-rich, because she always had the latest trainers and the trendiest clothes. In stark contrast, Leanne’s mum and dad had worked their backsides off just to keep a roof over their heads, so she’d had to make do with whatever they could afford. And twenty years on, she was no better off.
‘Well, Pissy might look hot, but he’s obviously a bit thick if he prefers her over you,’ Chrissie said loyally. ‘But sack him. We can still have a good time, so drink up and I’ll get another round in.’
‘To be honest, I’d rather go home,’ Leanne admitted. ‘The music’s awful and, apart from us and them,’ she nodded in Jake and Sally’s direction, ‘everyone looks about twelve.’
‘Oi, we’ll have less of that,’ Chrissie scolded. ‘It’s not healthy to stay locked away in your room all the time. You’ve not been out in ages, so you’re bound to feel a bit weird, but you’ve got to let go of the past and start thinking about the future.’
‘What future?’ Leanne asked dejectedly. ‘I’m thirty-three and I live in a shithole. I’ve got no job, no money, and the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with cheated on me and ripped me off. How am I supposed to come back from that?’
Chrissie saw the despair in her friend’s eyes and squeezed her hand. ‘I know it’s tough, but you will get past this. And you’re already halfway there,’ she added with a sly grin. ‘On the way here you reckoned you were never going to look at another bloke, and now look at you . . . getting all excited over Pissy Pearce.’
‘Don’t call him that,’ Leanne chided, still feeling guilty about the way she had treated him in the past.
‘Whatever you want to call him, it’s a good sign,’ said Chrissie. ‘Trust me, this time next year you’ll be all loved up with a new man who treats you like a princess, and all that shit you went through with Dean will feel like a bad dream.’
‘I doubt that very much,’ said Leanne. ‘But thanks for trying to cheer me up. I don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.’
‘Ah, shut up before you have me in tears, you soppy mare,’ Chrissie scoffed. ‘And drink up, ’cos this music’s doing my head in.’
Leanne didn’t need telling twice. Downing her wine, she grabbed her handbag and jumped to her feet. As they made their way to the door, she cast one last sneaky glance in the direction of the bar. Sally seemed to be in mega-flirt mode, judging by the way she was pouting her glossy lips and flicking her platinum hair extensions around like some kind of animated Barbie doll. Jake’s back was turned, so Leanne couldn’t tell if he was enjoying the attention. But he was a man, so she figured it was a fair bet that he was.
Out on the pavement a few seconds later, Leanne thought about what had just happened as she and Chrissie made their way to the bus stop – and, more importantly, what it signified. She had built a massive wall around her heart after Dean, and no man had even come close to scaling it, so the fact that Jake had excited her was a definite sign that she was healing. And that was a welcome glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel she’d been stuck in all year.
*
Jake hadn’t seen Leanne leave, so he was disappointed when he stole a glance at her table only to see that she’d gone. Pissed off with himself for not thinking to ask for her number when he’d had the chance, he swallowed the rest of his pint and summoned the barman to order something stronger.
He’d never been to Manny’s before, and was only here now because it was the designated meeting point for the stag party he’d been invited to. The plan had been to have one drink here, and then go on a bar crawl around town. But the groom had already been pissed when they got here, and none of the other lads seemed in any hurry to leave, so it looked like they’d be staying put for the rest of the night.
‘So what do you think?’ Sally asked.
‘Eh?’ Frowning, because he hadn’t listened to a word she’d been saying for the last fifteen minutes, Jake gazed down at her. ‘About what?’
‘The party?’ She batted her false eyelashes at him – one of which, he noticed, was coming unstuck. ‘It’s not too far from here, so we could easily walk there. Unless you’d rather take a cab?’
‘Sorry, I can’t,’ he said. ‘I’m on a stag do.’
‘Aw, don’t say that,’ Sally moaned. ‘I told my friends to go on ahead because I’d be coming with you. Your mates could always come with us, if you don’t want to leave them,’ she persisted, determined not to lose her grip on him. ‘There’ll be loads of booze and sniff, so they’ll have a great time. But they’d have to ditch the bimbos first,’ she added with a hint of disapproval. ‘I don’t think my friend would be too happy if we turned up with a load of underage girls in tow.’
Jake glanced over at the tables in the corner where the lads were sitting, and saw that they had managed to persuade some girls to join them while he’d been away. A stick-thin redhead in a lime-green dress that consisted of little more than a few strategically placed straps was perched on Ben’s knee. When the girl turned her head at that exact moment and stared straight at him, he instinctively knew that she would ditch Ben and attach herself to him if he went back over there.
Sighing, he turned back to Sally. He’d have preferred to be taking Leanne home tonight, but that ship had already sailed, so he had two choices: go with Sally and have a bit of fun; or stay here and risk upsetting Ben if the redhead made a play for him.
Decided, he downed the double brandy the barman had just served him, and jerked his head at Sally. ‘Come on, then; let’s go check out this party of yours.’
2
Leanne and Chrissie had called in at the local pub on the way home. More at ease there than they had been at Manny’s, they’d had a few drinks and a sing-song with the old-timer regulars before staggering merrily back to Leanne’s house.
They had been laughing at the antics of one of the old men in the pub as they rounded the corner, but the laughter abruptly stopped when they reached Leanne’s front door and a foul smell hit them.
‘What the hell is that?’ Chrissie asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
‘The drain in the backyard must be blocked again,’ Leanne said as she slotted her key into the lock. ‘And it’ll be worse inside, so you’d best hold your breath.’
‘Actually, I think I’d best give that nightcap a miss,’ Chrissie said, wafting a hand in front of her face. ‘I didn’t realize it was so late, and I’ve got to go in early to open the shop in the morning, so I can’t risk sleeping through my alarm.’
Guessing that it was the smell rather than the time that had changed her friend’s mind, Leanne said, ‘Go on, then. Get yourself off home.’
‘I’ll call round for a brew after work tomorrow,’ Chrissie promised, taking a step back to distance herself from the stench when Leanne opened the door. ‘But I’ll be drinking it on the corner if that hasn’t been sorted by the time I get here,’ she added with a grimace. ‘When I think how you used to live before that swine—’
‘Don’t!’ Leanne held up a hand to silence her. ‘I’ll end up slitting my wrists if I let myself go there tonight. Anyway, the smell doesn’t really reach the top floor, so I hardly notice it.’
‘I suppose it can’t be any worse than shitty nappies,’ Chrissie grunted. ‘Dylan’s got diarrhoea again, and the house reeks of it. But our Tina doesn’t seem to think there’s a problem. Not that she’s seen much of him since she moved back in, mind; she just dumps him on my mum and pisses off out with whatever man is
stupid enough to buy her drinks. If she wasn’t my sister I’d report her to social services, she gets me that mad. But my mum would never forgive me if they took Dylan away, so what can I do?’
‘There’s no point letting it get to you,’ Leanne counselled. ‘Just keep reminding yourself that she’ll have her own place soon.’
‘Like that’s ever gonna happen,’ Chrissie snorted. ‘It’s been two months now, and she hasn’t even started looking yet. Still, I suppose it keeps Mum off my back, ’cos she’s too busy fussing over the baby to nag me about my weight.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with your weight,’ Leanne said loyally. ‘You always look gorgeous to me.’
‘I think someone needs new glasses,’ Chrissie chuckled as she started walking backwards. ‘See ya later, Specky.’
Leanne stuck two fingers up at her before heading inside. Plunged into darkness as soon as she’d closed the door, she flicked the light switch and tutted when nothing happened. Forced to feel her way down the narrow passageway, she cried out in pain when the pedal of a bicycle she hadn’t seen dug into her shin.
‘Damn it!’ she cursed, hopping back just in time to avoid being hit when the bike toppled over.
‘Oi, watch it!’ her neighbour, Speedy, barked, trotting down the stairs with a torch in his hand. ‘It’s worth a bomb, that.’
‘I’m guessing it’s not yours, then?’ She glared at him as she rubbed her injured leg. ‘Been out on the rob again, have you?’
‘I ain’t robbed nothing,’ Speedy retorted, his eyes glinting in the torchlight as he stood the bike up against the wall and examined it for signs of damage. ‘It’s me mate’s, if you must know.’
‘Then it definitely shouldn’t be here,’ Leanne said tartly. ‘It’s bad enough that I’m always tripping over your stuff without hurting myself on your mate’s stuff as well.’
‘Don’t you ever stop moaning, you?’ Speedy jeered. ‘You wanna buy a dildo and give y’self a seeing to, you uptight cunt.’
Leanne opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but clamped it shut again when Mad Maggie, the old lady who lived in the ground-floor flat, yanked her door open and demanded to know what was going on.
‘Nothing.’ She pressed herself up against the wall to squeeze past Speedy. ‘Just him being his usual inconsiderate self.’
‘Least I don’t walk round with me nose in the air thinkin’ I’m better than every other bastard,’ he yelled after her as she set off up the stairs. ‘And it’s got nowt to do with you where I get my shit from, so stay out of my business in future!’
Leanne continued on up to the top floor without answering. Speedy couldn’t have been nicer when she’d first moved in, and she had been grateful for his help when he’d insisted on lugging her boxes up the two steep flights of stairs. But that was before she’d realized he was only ingratiating himself so he’d have an excuse to call round whenever he felt like it and help himself to whatever she’d been careless enough to leave on show. He’d acted so hurt when she had confronted him about some missing DVDs, she had actually felt guilty. Until she’d caught him passing them on to his dealer in exchange for drugs the next day. The atmosphere between them had been icy ever since, and she would happily move out if it meant never having to see his ugly face again. But she could barely afford this dump, so a move was totally out of the question.
It was even colder inside her bedsit than it had been outside, and Leanne shivered as she slipped out of her jacket and pulled off her boots. It had rained earlier in the day, and as she walked into the kitchenette she could hear water dripping into the pans she had positioned around the floor. Already depressed, her heart sank when she switched the light on and saw a soggy chunk of plaster sitting on the ledge.
‘Oh, that’s just bloody great,’ she muttered as she spotted a gaping hole in the ceiling above. ‘So much for light at the end of the flaming tunnel!’
Too fed up to be bothered clearing the mess tonight, she took the half bottle of white wine she’d been saving out of the fridge and, grabbing a mug off the drainer, carried them to bed.
*
Woken by the monotonous thud-thud-thud! of garage music blasting up through the floorboards the next morning, Leanne groaned when her head immediately began to pound in synch with the bass kick. Peeling an eye open, she squinted at the bedside clock and cursed Speedy under her breath when she saw that it was only 9 a.m. He never got up before noon, so he was either doing this to spite her for having a go at him about that stupid bike last night, or he was due up in court today. And she sincerely hoped it was the latter and that the judge would throw the book at him.
Disgusted to find that she was still dressed, she winced when the empty wine bottle rolled off the bed and hit the floor. Kicking it aside, she stumbled, shivering, to the bathroom.
Almost jumping out of her skin when someone pounded on the front door just seconds after she’d parked her backside on the icy toilet seat, she leapt to her feet and, yanking her jeans up, went to see who it was.
Her landlord, Roger, was standing on the landing, and her stomach churned when she picked up the scent of wet dog coming from the revolting sheepskin jacket he never seemed to take off.
‘Well?’ he demanded brusquely.
‘Well what?’ She was confused.
‘What’s the emergency? You rang me last night and left a message.’
‘Did I?’ Leanne frowned, unable to remember making any calls last night.
‘Yes, you did,’ Roger snapped. ‘And I don’t appreciate being disturbed in the middle of the night, so ring me in office hours in future.’
Irritated by his lecturing tone, her head still pounding, Leanne snapped back: ‘Well I don’t appreciate you hammering on my door at this time of the morning, so wait till afternoon in future. And you’re not supposed to just let yourself in, so ring the bell next time.’
‘This is my house,’ Roger reminded her. ‘And if there’s an emergency I have the right to enter at will. So what is it?’
Leanne had already had enough of him, and she didn’t want him stinking her flat out with his mangy coat. But she needed the roof to be fixed, and she knew from experience that she might not see him again for weeks if she let him go now.
‘In there.’ She stepped aside and jerked her head in the direction of the kitchenette.
Roger brushed past her and walked into the tiny room. When he saw the plaster on the ledge, and then the hole above it, he turned to Leanne with a furious look on his face.
‘Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this before it got this bad? It’s going to cost an absolute fortune to repair that.’
‘Don’t blame me,’ she protested. ‘I told you the roof was leaking ages ago, and you said you were going to send someone to look at it. It’s not my fault you couldn’t be bothered.’
‘I’m a busy man, you should have reminded me.’
‘I tried to, but you never answer your phone.’
‘You could have left a message.’
‘You don’t usually answer them either. I’m actually shocked that you’re here now, considering I only rang you last night.’
‘You should be ashamed of yourself, living like this at your age,’ Roger sniped, casting a disapproving look at the water-filled pans on the floor and the dirty crockery in the sink. ‘This flat was in perfect condition before you moved in, and now look at it.’
‘Excuse me?’ Leanne screwed up her face in disbelief. ‘It was an absolute dump when I moved in, and it’s been getting steadily worse because you refuse to spend money on it. You’re lucky I haven’t reported you to Environmental Health.’
‘Is that right?’ Roger narrowed his eyes.
‘Yes, it is,’ Leanne retorted, refusing to be intimidated. ‘And that hole’s just the latest thing I could complain about. Look at this . . .’ She turned on her heel, marched into the living area, and pointed at the corner above the window where the faded flock wallpaper had turned black and was peeling away
from the wall. ‘That’s got to be a health hazard. And this.’ She yanked the thin curtain aside to reveal a puddle on the windowsill. ‘And don’t even get me started on that,’ she jabbed her finger in the direction of the ancient electric fire, ‘because it’s an absolute deathtrap!’
‘No one’s ever had any problems with it before.’
‘Well, I’m never going to use it, so feel free to take it with you when you leave. I’m sure you won’t mind letting your wife and kids use it if you think it’s that safe.’
‘Typical woman, blowing things out of proportion,’ Roger sneered as he walked into the room and prodded the fire with the toe of his boot. ‘It’s got years left in it, that.’
‘My dad was an electrician, so I think I know dangerous wiring when I see it,’ Leanne argued. ‘And while we’re on the subject of electrics, the hall light’s blown again and I nearly broke my neck tripping over something in the dark last night. Oh, and the drain’s blocked.’
‘And how would you know that? Daddy a plumber as well, was he?’
‘I can smell it,’ Leanne snarled. ‘And I’d hurry up and get it fixed if I was you, because the neighbours weren’t too happy about how long it took you last time.’
‘They’ll live,’ Roger said dismissively as he leaned down to retrieve the empty wine bottle he’d just spotted poking out from beneath the shabby armchair. Tipping it upside down, he arched an eyebrow. ‘Oh dear . . . Does someone have a little problem?’
‘How dare you!’ Infuriated, Leanne snatched it out of his hand and slammed it down on the bedside table. ‘It’s none of your business what I do in the privacy of my own room!’
‘It won’t be your room for much longer if you don’t get your rent arrears sorted,’ Roger drawled, giving her another blast of wet dog mingled with BO as he strolled out into the hall.
‘What are you talking about?’ Leanne demanded, following him to the front door. ‘My rent gets paid straight into your account, so I can’t be in arrears.’
‘This month’s payment hasn’t gone in,’ Roger informed her as he stepped out on to the landing. ‘You’ve got two weeks to get it sorted, then you’re out. And just so we’re clear’ – he wedged his foot in the door to prevent her from closing it – ‘if I do have to evict you, I won’t be bothering to go through the courts.’
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