Mum and Dad exchanged a loaded look and my super Spidey senses went wild, triggering a freaky buzzing sensation at the base of my spine that screamed, ‘Uh-oh!‘ Since when was the world suddenly full of matchmakers? My own parents, for crying out loud! If I didn’t watch out, they’d be either throwing me at Jake or trying to bribe him to take me off their hands. Sure, it could be worse: they could hate him, and then I’d really be buggered if I ever did get anywhere with him.
Jake was in the processes of saying his thanks and goodbyes when the doorbell chimed. Standing nearest, Mum headed down the hall to see who it was. Fascinated, we all watched, curious as to who it could be at such a late hour. After a quick peep through side window, Mum yanked the front door open to reveal two police officers.
‘Good evening, ma’am. Sorry to disturb you. I’m WPC Flood, and this is my colleague PC Bonner.’ They both flashed their ID. ‘May we come inside?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Mum said, putting on her posh work voice. She moved out of the doorway to admit them, then closed the door with an ominous clunk. ‘What can we do for you, officers?’
They’d come for me, though. I just knew it. And then WPC Flood’s gaze found mine.
Chapter Fifteen
POLICE
‘We hoped we could speak to Valentina,’ WPC Flood said, nodding in my direction.
Mum immediately said, ‘Of course, go on through.’
She extended her arm, then tailed the officers along the hallway. My knees trembled and threatened to give out on me altogether, but Jake had my back. Yet again. He took my weight and guided me over to the table, where I could sit down before I fell. The two officers joined us in the kitchen and took up the seats opposite me.
‘I heard him. I heard his voice,’ I blurted. ‘They did it again, didn’t they?’
‘Yes …’ WPC Flood shared a brief look with PC Bonner, their names already imprinted in my brain for eternity. Her calm tone and relaxed manner were the complete opposite of what my body was doing, dragging me closer and closer to hysteria. ‘There’s been another incident.’
Adrenaline surged through my limbs and I leaped to my feet, sending my chair clattering to the floor with a crash. Acid churned in my stomach. The noodles I’d eaten clawed up through my throat and prepared to escape, so I ran. My feet pounded the stairs, climbing them two at a time. I kicked the bathroom door open and slammed it shut behind me. It took me two goes to slide the bolt across and I barely made it to the toilet in time before I heaved, my stomach emptying itself with or without my help.
After the third time, there was nothing left, so I sank to the floor and rested my burning forehead on the cool tiles. There was a gentle knock at the door, as if the person had been there a while, waiting for me to finish.
‘Tink, can you let me in?’ Mum sounded worried but I didn’t want to face her. I needed to be alone.
‘I’ll be down in a minute, Mum,’ I said, my voice hoarse.
‘Are you sure, love? I’ve brought you some water,’ she said hopefully, as if that would make me change my mind.
‘Yeah.’ It was all I could manage, and even then it sounded more like a croak.
‘OK, but if you’re not down in five minutes, I’ll be back.’ Her footsteps told me she’d gone downstairs again, but her concerned voice carried through the floorboards, so I easily heard her say, ‘She wouldn’t let me in. Maybe you could try.’
Who?
Heavier footsteps told me it had to me a man, but which man? Who would Mum send, when she had failed? Surely not Dad? Another gentle rap on the door came just moments later.
‘Tink, it’s me.’ No way! ‘You don’t have to let me in, just let me know you’re OK.’
Mum had actually gone and sent Jake.
And she’d been right: his voice gave me the strength to rise to my hands and knees. I crawled to the door and pulled back the bolt, then scurried far enough away to avoid being hit. The handle turned and Jake’s fingers appeared as he cautiously eased the door open. He poked his head through the gap, then opened the door fully once he saw I was out of the way. Closing the door gently behind him, he slid the bolt back into place. Without saying a word, he joined me on the floor, took me in his arms and held me.
‘It’s my fault,’ I mumbled, once the vicious beating inside my ribs had calmed down.
‘What?’ Jake drew away far enough to be able to see my face. ‘How the hell can it be your fault?’
‘I should have called the police when I heard him at the pool,’ I said.
‘And told them what?’
‘I dunno. Warned them he was around, or something.’
‘I doubt very much he ever left, Tink. It was only a matter of time—’
‘Way to make a girl feel better, Jake,’ I snapped, shrugging him off so I could get back to my feet. Keeping my back to him, I turned the cold tap on and waited until the water ran ice-cold before stooping over the basin and cupping my hands beneath the flow. I caught the water and lifted it to my face, the chill attacking my skin as if I held a nest full of hedgehogs instead of liquid. Not caring that Jake was watching, I dipped my head and drank greedily in an effort to cool my poor, abused throat.
‘Better?’ Jake asked, as I dried myself off on the towel he held out to me.
‘Not really,’ I huffed.
‘Tink, it is not your fault,’ he repeated firmly.
I spun to glare at him. ‘Whose is it, then?’
‘Nobody’s.’
‘So what am I supposed to do?’ I said, launching into a rant. ‘Stand here and wait for it to happen again? What if it’s Flick next time, or Gemma?’
‘No.’ Jake’s eyes flashed and he practically snarled. ‘You’re supposed to get your arse back down those stairs and talk to the police. Listen to what they’ve got to say. Help them hunt down the bastards that did this before they can strike again.’
‘Fine!’ I made short work of the bolt and wrenched open the door. With fire in my belly, I stormed from the bathroom and stomped down the stairs, only realising once I’d reached the bottom that Jake had done it again.
‘Ah, here she is,’ Dad said as I approached the kitchen with Jake hot on my heels.
‘Valentina, I’m sorry for startling you,’ WPC Flood said the moment I entered. She offered me a smile and signalled for me to sit down. ‘Please … We think you may be able to help.’
‘Really?’ I slipped into the seat Jake was holding out for me, then instinctively reached for his hand. ‘How?’
‘We think you can help identify them, especially after what you said about hearing them today.’
‘You told me there was another incident?’
‘Yes, a girl a similar age to you was walking home alone and got chased by two men,’ WPC Flood said.
My grip tightened on Jake’s hand. ‘And?’
‘It would appear we have a pair of practical jokers on our hands, two guys who get a kick out of scaring young girls for their own amusement.’
‘Huh?’
‘When they caught her, they just laughed and let her go again.’
‘That’s sick!’ I blurted, but my own memory backed it up. I hadn’t imagined the laughter outside the takeaway. ‘Who would do such a thing?’
‘That’s what we want to know, so we can put a stop to it.’ WPC Flood sat back in her chair and reached for her notebook. ‘You said you heard him at the pool. Can you tell me about that?’
The nervous tension in my stomach dissipated, swiftly replaced by the urge to hit something—preferably the pranksters who had given me countless nightmares and made me afraid of my own shadow.
‘Definitely,’ I said, dropping Jake’s hand and sitting up taller in my chair. I filled WPC Flood and PC Bonner in on my near-drowning, and gave them Zac’s name to verify the details and act as a witness. ‘And, if I’m right, it’s not just two of them: another one acts as their driver.’
Everything I told them was good news as far as the police were concerned, especia
lly as I’d been at a members-only swim session. All the police had to do was get a record of who was swiped it at the time and use it narrow down their list of suspects, then bring them in for questioning. My statement, combined with the detailed physical description the other girl had given, meant there was a strong chance of a positive identification. The clock was ticking for the sick, twisted creeps.
Unfortunately, my excuse for putting off Operation: Popping the Cherry was also now null and void, my grace period over, but who to go after next? Unbidden, my gaze lifted to seek out Jake. He immediately turned his head as if I’d called him and gave me a smile. My stomach did a loop-the-loop and a flush threatened to colour my cheeks.
Nuh-uh, not going there.
Too dangerous. Impossible even, no matter how tempting it was to add him to the list anyway to see if Gemma really would go mental. It would serve her right for being so damned pushy, and probably the only thing that would get her to back off. Either that or she’d never speak to me again. No, there was no point even going there.
Zac could be fair game, though.
Chapter Sixteen
REVENGE
First-year exams put paid to any social plans for the next few weeks: I was either at college, at home studying, or at work. Throughout the exams I’d managed to go swimming every week, hoping to catch Zac on duty, which was fine until Flick joined me after exams had finished. Little Miss Intuitive called me on it within minutes of arriving, so I had to give her to details. It made no sense not to tell the rest of the girls after that, and it got them off my back about Operation: Popping the Cherry at least.
I’d caught glimpses of Zac a couple of times, alas not long enough to make eye contact with, let alone talk to, but I’d managed to point him out to Flick. Each time I’d spotted him, though, my heart had skipped a beat. Nothing like what Jake did to me: even a simple ‘hi’ text message from him made my heart race as if I’d just run the two-hundred metres, but I figured any reaction to a guy that wasn’t Jake had to be a good thing.
Gemma was spending more and more of her time with Ben, and things getting pretty serious between Flick and Sean, so I didn’t really get out much as term drew to a close. Nathan came by, though, fast become my surrogate best friend and shopping partner. Mum even came right out and asked me if we were an item a couple of weeks ago. I’d laughed so hard I’d nearly peed my pants. Of course, she didn’t have a clue what was so hilarious, which only made the whole thing funnier.
Easily the highlights of each week were my driving lessons. Twice a week, sometimes more, Jake had shown up freshly showered, and off we’d gone in my little Ka. We talked about anything and everything, from his plans for the house, to what lessons I’d had that day, to philosophical debates and discussions about current affairs, chatting about my favourite books, even discussing what I loved so much about Shakespeare. Weeks ago, he’d told me I was ready, that there was nothing more he could teach me. After that, my lessons were all about gaining confidence and road experience.
Apparently.
Part of me—a rather large part—had hoped it was just Jake’s way of spending time with me without raising too many eyebrows. Great while it lasted. Our excuse for spending time together had run its course. The last day of term had finally arrived, along with my driving test straight after college. If he’d had any intention of making a move on me, he would have done it by now. Forced to face the facts, I had to accept that my time with Jake was over. I needed to move on while I still had some pride left, before Jake proved to be my downfall.
I’d spent the whole week deliberately avoiding him, trying to get it through my thick head that it was for the best. He’d texted me a couple of times, even suggested a Star Trek marathon, but I didn’t reply to any of them. Spending time with him would only more hurt in the long run. I had the entire summer ahead of me. If—no, when—I passed and got my stupid licence, I would have my independence back. Free to go wherever I liked.
Yeah, right. Keep trying, Lena.
Licence or no licence, I still had nowhere to go and nobody to go with. Even Nathan was abandoning me to do labouring for Jake. To top it all off, I had no one to talk to about any of it. Gemma had always been the one I turned to when it came to guy stuff, which meant this time I was truly on my own. It was almost as if I’d been living two lives over the past few weeks. Not one person knew about my crush on Jake, if I could still call it that. Every single day, I’d had to remind myself that Jake and I were just good friends. And every single day my heart had laughed at me and fallen in love with him that little bit more.
Argh!
As I trudged down the steps of the bus and made my way into college for the last time as a Lower Sixth student, I didn’t think my mood could get any worse.
‘Hey, Lena, watch out!’
‘Huh?’ I jerked my head up just in time to see Malice dip her shoulder, angling it to inflict the most damage possible, right before she body-slammed into me.
Wrong again.
Caught off balance and unprepared, I bounced off my locker, then rebounded backwards. Malice stood over me as I lay spread-eagled on the floor, but then she lunged. My reflexes kicked in, and I automatically raised my arms to block her, which only made it easier for her to snatch her intended target off my shoulder. Wonderful.
‘Let’s see what you keep in here, then. The key to your chastity belt, maybe?’ she said, opening the flap of my bag, then tipping it upside down and shaking it.
‘What the fuck did you do that for?’ I asked, scrabbling over onto my hands and knees to gather up my belongings she’d unceremoniously dumped all over the floor.
‘Ooh, mind your language, Virginia.’ Malice sneered, and my hand fisted. ‘What would your precious mummy and daddy think if they heard you saying such naughty, naughty words?’
‘You are such a bitch.’
‘Why, thank you, I do my best.’ She tossed back her hair, then took great delight in kicking my stuff further out of my reach. ‘I told you nobody shows me up and gets away with it.’
Jeez, is that your problem?
Well, one of us needed to act like a decent human being and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her. ‘And you’ve proved your point. Congratulations. Now will you please leave me alone?’
‘Why on earth would I want to do that when I’m having so much fun?’
She was still laughing when she planted her pedicured toes on top of one of my notepads I’d managed to retrieve. Unfortunately, my fingers were still in between. In a fight between the bones in my hand and her platform shoes, I didn’t rate my chances.
‘Fine. You win, Malice. Is that what you want to hear?’ My eyes could prickle all they wanted. No way was I going to give her the satisfaction in breaking me.
‘You’re learning,’ she said, increasing the amount of weight of my hand. ‘That’s good.’
I must not wince.
‘So are we done now?’
‘Oh, no, Virginia, I’m nowhere near done with you yet.’
‘Great. Then how about a timeout?’ I said, trying to make my request sound perfectly reasonable. ‘I have a class to get to.’
Malice opened her mouth, no doubt to hit me with another delightfully sarcastic insult, but then she closed it again. Distracted by something behind me, she lifted her foot off my hand and stepped around me. Demonstrating what had to be a practised move so as not to show her knickers, she squatted down to pick up whatever it was she found so fascinating.
Her eyes became circles and her eyebrows arched, yet her forehead stayed immaculately smooth. ‘Well, well, well. What do we have here?’
Before I could tell what it was, she shoved it into her bra of all places, and set off down the corridor, summoning her crones with a click of her fingers.
‘Hey, you might want to lay off the Botox for a while,’ I called after her, flexing my fingers.
She didn’t so much as glance back, but her cackle made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
>
‘She’s a psychopath,’ I muttered to myself. I was still getting to my feet when the bell rang, just to add to my misery, giving me a minute, tops, to locate my bag and throw my stuff into it any old how before I ran off to class.
OK, now my mood definitely couldn’t get any worse.
Morning classes turned out to be good fun—thank God—aside from the stack of homework my tutors handed out for us to complete over the holidays. The moment the lunch bell rang, we all stampeded out of class with the majority of us heading for the canteen, but everywhere I went I appeared to be attracting stares. Whispered conversations started up whenever I drew near, sometimes accompanied by lots of giggling behind hands. Some girls openly pointed, suspiciously in my direction.
What’s going on now?
‘That’s the one I was telling you about,’ I overheard as I walked past one gaggle of girls from Upper Sixth.
Paranoid, I checked over my shoulder to see if there was anybody else close by. Nope, I was all on my own. They were talking about me. Suddenly Gemma sprinted up behind me, out of breath.
‘Oh, my God, there you are,’ she said, grabbing hold of my arm and trying to lead me away from the canteen. ‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’ She lifted her phone back to her ear and said, ‘It’s OK, I’ve got her. Meet us by the oak tree, yeah?’
‘Gemma, I’m tired and I’m hungry, and it’s soaking wet out there.’
‘It stopped raining an hour ago, it’s fine.’
‘Look, I’m really not in the mood for any more of your games, I’ve been the butt of enough jokes for one day,’ I said, wrenching my arm back and storming towards the canteen.
‘No!’ She leaped in front of me and barricaded herself against the canteen door, blocking my entry. Panic flashed in her eyes and made my pulse race. ‘You can’t go in there.’
‘Why not?’
‘Just trust me. Please.’ she said, seizing the opportunity to grab my hands.
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