by Sarah Bailey
“He wants the kids apparently.”
I saw her peering at me out of the corner of my eye.
“She has kids?”
“Six of them by three different guys.”
There was no point hiding it from Jen. She’d see the estate I grew up on soon enough and the four bedroomed house Cam shared with our dad. It was overcrowded, but the council wouldn’t rehouse them due to the shortage of housing stock. Fucked up if you ask me, but I tried to help them the best way I could. Cam and Dad didn’t work, living solely off handouts from the government and the money I sent them on a monthly basis.
“I didn’t know you were an uncle.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“Then tell me so I know what I’m walking into.”
For the next ten minutes I explained about my sister, her kids and their three fathers. I didn’t mention my absentee mother or my alcoholic father. I had no idea how Cam would react to me bringing Jen. She was my employer’s sister. Cam would likely want to know what I was playing at since I rarely discussed what I did with her. All she cared about was the money I sent, not how I acquired it. I mean, she knew I worked for Dante and him being my friend, but the rest was none of her business.
“Where are we going anyway?”
“Essex.”
“I thought you grew up in London.”
I shook my head.
“I never said that.”
“You don’t say very much about yourself yet you know everything about my family.”
I stifled a sigh. It happened to be my job to know so I could deal with any threats to the Bensons. It might look like all I did was spend my time with Liora and keeping house for Dante, but that was far from the case. Monitoring their public image, background checks on employees along with protecting their secrets. Yeah, I did a lot more than just take care of their household.
“I had a shit hand dealt to me and I don’t like talking about it.”
“Does Dante know?”
“Not really.”
I felt her staring at me, but I kept my eyes on the road.
“Will you tell me?”
“You’re going to see where I grew up, that should tell you enough.”
I wished I hadn’t agreed to let her tag along with me. Why she even wanted to come was a mystery. Was it really because she was trying to be a friend to me? I’d be worrying about her the entire time. Sid wasn’t a violent person, but I didn’t know what we were going to walk into. I hoped Cam was telling me the truth and not just trying to get me home for some other stupid as shit reason. It wouldn’t be the first time.
The rest of the journey was silent. Jen put the radio on and sat back, staring out the window. I kept glancing at her, just wanting to see her face. Did she want to know me? She’d never wanted anything to do with me before. Did that night we slept together the first time really change everything for her? I thought it had, but Jen sometimes kept herself locked up so tight, you could never really tell.
I pulled up outside Cam’s house on the estate I grew up on. It hadn’t changed much in the past twelve years since I’d left. There was still graffiti everywhere, smashed glass on the street and teenagers lurking in the dark alleyways, smoking, getting high, drunk or a combination of all three. The buildings weren’t well maintained. Some of them had boarded up windows and broken furniture in the front gardens.
I got out of the car and went around to Jen who was looking around with wide eyes.
“Stay close to me,” I told her as I took her hand and walked up to Cam’s front door, banging on it. I didn’t trust people in this area.
The door opened a few minutes later and Kyle stood there with his hair ruffled and his glasses perched on his nose. I’d bought those for him last time he had an eye test, which I’d taken him to since his mother had decided she couldn’t be bothered. Kyle was the smart one and I tried to help him as much as I could. He didn’t need to end up staying in this shithole for the rest of his life. I wanted more for him and Cam’s other kids.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” I asked.
“Can’t sleep with Mum shouting,” he told me, shrugging as he stepped back to allow me and Jen in.
“Where is she?”
“Kitchen.”
He eyed Jen for a moment as he shut the door behind us. I didn’t need to ask where his mum was because I could hear her screaming. I sighed.
“Are the girls and Kayden okay?”
“Yeah, they’re in bed.”
“And Billy?”
Kyle shrugged. It didn’t surprise me Cam’s eldest was a no show. He was likely hanging out with the older kids and getting in trouble yet again.
“All right, upstairs with you, okay? I’ll sort your mum and Sid out.”
He nodded, glancing at Jen again before ambling off towards the stairs. If we stayed the night, I’d introduce her to the kids tomorrow. Right now, I had more important things to do.
Jen was still clutching my hand as we moved along the hallway and into the kitchen. There we found Sid and Cam going at it.
“Stay here,” I told Jen, letting go of her hand.
I glanced back, finding her wide eyed and a little trepidation in her expression. I knew I shouldn’t fucking well have brought her here. Who knew what she thought about me knowing I came from this bullshit. Turning back, I found Cam and Sid had quietened and were staring at me.
“What the fuck, Cam? Why is he here?” Sid grunted.
“I’ve warned you not to come around and get in my sister’s face on several occasions,” I replied, walking over to him. “Why are you here?”
“I want my girls.”
“And why is that?”
“You think they deserve to live in this fucking dump? She don’t even look after them properly. Their clothes barely fucking fit them.”
I clenched my fists. Yeah, Cam might not give the girls everything they needed, but they were better off with her than Sid any day.
“And what, Sid? You think you can do better?”
He puffed his chest up which was laughable considering he was at least a head shorter than me.
“Yeah, I do.”
“How about you go take it up with the courts? You know as well as I do she has full custody. You can barely hold a job down let alone look after three girls. Cam’s trying, but you, you just piss away all your dole money on whatever high you’re chasing.”
Yeah, the reason I’d told Cam to kick Sid to the curb happened to be because he was a fucking drug addict. The piece of shit didn’t deserve to see his daughters let alone have them full time. It was clear he hadn’t kicked his habit. His eyes were glassy and he kept scratching his arm where he had several scars from all the heroin he kept shooting up.
“Fuck you, Brent. What the hell do you know?”
“I know you’re leaving this house right now before I make you.”
He tried to get up in my face but I put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back. The little shit was trying my patience. It wouldn’t be the first time my fist landed in his face for trying to come at my sister.
“You think you’re such a big man, don’t you? Living it up in the city, flashing your cash whilst your sister fucks about with dickheads like Manny Smith and keeps pumping out kids like nobody’s business.”
I clenched my jaw, grabbing him by the t-shirt and hustling him towards the front door.
“You don’t know a single fucking thing about me. I suggest you keep your mouth shut. If I find out you’ve come around to harass my sister or my dad again, you won’t like the consequences.”
He struggled in my grasp but I managed to get him to the front door and throw him out of the house.
“Stay away from Cam and the kids, Sid. I mean it.”
He stuck his middle finger up at me before walking backwards up the street. Idiot needed to learn he couldn’t just come here and start trouble. I slammed the
front door shut, taking a deep breath and wishing I didn’t have to deal with this kind of shit for Cam on a regular basis.
When I got back into the kitchen, Cam was glaring at Jen like she wanted nothing more than to tear Jen’s hair out.
“Who the fuck is this, Brent?”
Chapter Eleven
Jennifer
Brent stepped in front of me, putting himself between me and his sister. I had no idea what just happened, but I’d never seen Brent so worked up before. There was a second there where I thought he might punch his sister’s ex in the face. To be honest, it sounded like the guy deserved it. Did Brent have to deal with this kind of thing regularly?
“Dante’s sister, Jen.”
“Your boss? Why the fuck did you bring her up here? What’s she got to do with this?”
“Quit with the attitude, Cam. I came and Sid’s gone, that’s what you wanted.”
Brent’s sister looked like she’d been through a hard life. You could tell they were related. They had the same hair colour and eyes, but hers were dull and lifeless. She had nicotine stained teeth and nails. Her greasy hair hung limp around her shoulders as if she hadn’t washed it in weeks. I wasn’t judging but seeing Cam and this place made it very clear why he didn’t want me to come with him.
“I don’t need you coming around here with some rich whore.”
I stepped around Brent. I didn’t care if this was his sister, no one was going to get away with calling me a whore.
“Excuse me, what did you just call me?”
Brent tucked an arm around me and pulled me into his side. I looked up at him, finding his hazel eyes full of irritation.
“Camilla Coleman, you’re going to take that back and apologise to Jen right now or so fucking help me, I will walk out and you won’t see another penny from me. Do you understand?”
His sister crossed her arms over her chest and continued to glare at me. Well, holy shit. Did he mean that? My heart skipped a beat. Guys didn’t really come to my defence very often so this was something new for me. I was used to having to stand up for myself.
“Yeah, right, as if you’d ever walk out on your own family.”
“Watch me.”
He turned us around and started towards the door. I wanted to ask him what the hell was going on, but his expression told me saying anything right now would only make it worse.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You can’t just leave.”
He ignored her and continued to pull me down the hallway towards the front door.
“Brent!”
I could hear footsteps behind us so I assumed his sister was following.
“Are you sure we should go?” I asked quietly.
“I’m not letting her talk to you like that.”
“But she’s your sister.”
He looked down at me with a frown as we reached the front door.
“Cam needs to learn some fucking manners.”
I wasn’t going to refute that. His sister didn’t seem like the type to say please or thank you. Even I was polite to people I’d just met regardless of my first impressions of them. And I certainly didn’t go around calling them whores.
“Brent, please, I’m sorry,” Cam cried out from behind us.
His hand stilled on the door handle.
“You should be apologising to Jen, not me.”
“Fuck, fine, I’m sorry I called you a whore, I didn’t mean it.”
Brent turned us back around. Cam looked thunderous, but at least she’d said sorry even if it didn’t particularly sound genuine.
“What is this anyway? Is she your girlfriend or something?”
“No, we’re friends.”
Cam rolled her eyes, her expression betraying her disbelief.
“Then why’d you bring her?”
“Because I did. Was Sid right? Have the girls grown out of their clothes?”
She shrugged, looking down at her nails.
“Yes.”
Brent stiffened next to me.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“You told me not to call you unless it was an emergency.”
“For fuck’s sake, you can’t let your kids go without, Cam. It’s not acceptable.”
She glared at him before letting out a hacking cough.
“Money’s tight. You know that.”
He sighed, his arm tightening around me. I wondered why he hadn’t let go. I felt safe next to him so I wasn’t going to pull away. The way his sister kept giving me evils put me on edge. I hadn’t done anything except want to be here for Brent’s sake. I was trying to be a friend to him like Jensen told me to. That meant getting to know him and helping him when he needed it. I felt like this was one of those times.
“It wouldn’t be if you didn’t fund your forty a day habit with what I give you and waste it on other shit you don’t need.”
She didn’t respond, just shrugged again as if what he said meant nothing to her.
“I’m going to pop in on Dad then Jen and I are leaving. We’ll be back tomorrow morning to take the girls to town and sort them out, got it?”
“Fine, whatever. Their uncle saves the fucking day yet again.”
“Watch your fucking mouth, Cam.”
She scowled at him, but he ignored her, tugging me towards a door a few feet away. We entered a living room and an older man sat in a reclining armchair with a can of cider in his hand watching the TV with the volume up loud. He didn’t look up, but Brent let go of me and squatted down in front of him.
“Hey Dad.”
The older man turned towards Brent, giving him a nod.
“Sid still here?”
“No. How’s things?”
“Same old.”
He glanced over at me, his hazel eyes narrowing a little. Brent straightened and put a hand out to me. I walked over and stood next to him.
“You remember I told you about Dante? This is his sister, Jen.”
“Hello love.”
“Hi Mr Coleman.”
He gave me a nod before turning back to the TV. Brent took my hand and led me away. He didn’t say goodbye to his sister, merely took me back out to the car. He locked the doors after we got in. Pulling out his phone, he spent the next few minutes on it before setting off.
“I think I understand why you didn’t want me to come with you,” I said after a long moment of silence.
“Yeah, well, now you know what I came from.”
The resentment in his voice made my gut twist.
“You think that makes me see you differently?”
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, a scowl etched into his features.
“I have no fucking idea what you think of me any longer.”
Was his irritation directed at me or was he still annoyed with his sister? Either way, I wasn’t about to let him take it out on me.
“Are you pissed off at me?”
He glanced over, eyes dark and the sight of them made me flinch.
“Why would I be pissed? You didn’t give me any choice but to agree to let you come with me, you blow hot and cold on me every five minutes and I have no fucking clue what you want from me.”
The thing is, I didn’t really know either. A part of me wanted to be his friend, but the other part wanted something else from him. Something I wasn’t willing to admit. If my life wasn’t so fucking complicated then perhaps I could allow myself to feel the things I did for Brent. But I wasn’t ready for that. Wasn’t prepared to let him in. I didn’t trust myself not to fuck it all up further. Therapy helped, but I wasn’t better yet. Not by a long shot.
And then there was all the shit with Max. That made it all worse.
“I told you, I want to be friends.”
He didn’t respond to what I’d said and we spent the rest of the journey in silence. When we pulled up outside a hotel, he got out and
grabbed our bags from the boot. He waited for me to get out before locking the car. I followed him in and waited whilst he spoke to the receptionist but didn’t pay much attention to what either of them were saying.
Brent tugged my arm to get my attention and indicated the stairs with his head. We walked up together and along the hallway until he stopped outside a room and unlocked it.
“Wait, are we staying together?”
“Yes.”
I walked in with him, frowning.
“Why?”
“Mostly because I want to keep an eye on you.”
“How many times do I have to tell you I can take care of myself?”
Okay, so I wasn’t really annoyed about that part. More because he’d got us a double room so I’d have to sleep next to him. And yes, I’m well aware I’d done that on a few occasions, but we were supposed to be doing the friends thing.
“Don’t argue with me about this, Jen.”
“Couldn’t you have at least got us a twin room?”
“They didn’t have any.”
I wasn’t sure whether I believed him or not. Instead of pressing the subject, I grabbed my bag from him and stomped into the bathroom to get changed, cursing myself inwardly for insisting on coming on this trip with him. Why hadn’t I just stayed at home? I didn’t want to be alone. Liora and Dante had gone to bed early. I thought I’d at least have got to spend the evening with Brent without interruptions. No such luck.
I got ready for bed quickly and by the time I walked back out into the bedroom, he’d stripped out of his own clothes and was folding back the covers. I tried not to look too hard at his bare chest and the heat which flooded my veins at the sight of it. Chucking my bag on the desk, I got in whilst he went into the bathroom. When he came out, I was flicking through the TV channels.
“Not tired?” he asked as he slipped in next to me.
“I am, but I didn’t know if you were.”
“I could do with some sleep.”
I flipped off the TV, put the remote on the bedside table and switched off the lamp. For several long minutes, the two of us lay there in silence. I fidgeted. Having him next to me in bed reminded me of things I should’ve left in the past. Except I couldn’t stop those memories flooding back no matter how hard I tried.