Suzie didn’t blame the girl for staring. She’d have done the same if she had witnessed something like that. And at least the girl hadn’t given her a dirty look, as if to say you must have deserved it, like that old bitch next door had done when Suzie had gone into the backyard for a fag earlier. That stuck-up cow thought she was a cut above because she owned her house while Suzie was only renting. But fuck her. Suzie didn’t give a shit what she or anyone else around here thought about her.
Rushing inside when she heard her phone ringing, Suzie snatched it up. She didn’t usually take calls from withheld numbers but she answered this one without hesitation, hoping that it would be the police calling to tell her that they were going to hold Rob over the weekend and then drag his sorry arse in front of the magistrates on Monday morning.
‘Suze, it’s me, don’t hang up,’ Rob said. ‘They’re letting me out, but they brought me to Wythenshawe nick, so I’m gonna need to take a cab home. I’m skint, so make sure you’re there with the money when I get back.’
Suzie’s hand tightened around the phone. Those coppers last night had told her he would be charged, so why the hell were they releasing him?
Maybe because you let him sweet-talk you into retracting your statement last time, so you’ve been put on the not-to-be-taken-seriously list . . .
Angrily pushing that thought out of her mind, she said, ‘Get lost, Rob. We’re finished.’
‘Come on, babe, don’t give me a hard time,’ he groaned. ‘I know you’re mad at me, but I’ve had a really rough night, so sort it out, then we’ll talk later, yeah?’
‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ she spluttered. ‘I’m not giving you a damn penny. And we’ve got nothing to talk about, so don’t bother coming here trying to worm your way back in. Your stuff’s in bags on top of the bin. Take it and leave me the hell alone.’
‘Make sure you’ve got the cab fare,’ Rob said, as if he hadn’t heard her. ‘And put the kettle on, ’cos the tea’s like piss in here and I’m gasping for a proper brew.’
‘Do not come here,’ Suzie repeated. But it was too late; he’d already disconnected.
Tossing the phone onto the bed in disgust, she immediately snatched it up again and did a Google search of local locksmiths. The first two didn’t answer, and the third told her he didn’t work Saturdays. But he was the closest, and this was urgent, so she pleaded in her best damsel-in-distress voice until he eventually agreed to come out.
In the supermarket, Holly was pushing a trolley along the frozen-food aisle when her mobile rang. Smiling when she saw Bex’s name on the screen, she said, ‘About time! Why didn’t you call me last night?’
‘Soz, I was at a party,’ Bex said. ‘The music was dead loud so I didn’t hear your message come through. Then my battery died, and I didn’t have my charger, so I’ve only just seen it. ’S up?’
‘Nothing,’ Holly said, momentarily forgetting what she’d meant to tell her as she wondered whose party Bex had been at – and why she hadn’t mentioned it at school.
‘OK, well, I’ve got to go,’ Bex said. ‘See you on Monday.’
‘Hang on!’ Holly blurted out before Bex could hang up. ‘What do you mean, Monday? We’re meeting up in a bit, aren’t we?’
‘Ah, yeah, about that,’ Bex said sheepishly. ‘Something’s come up, so I won’t be able to make it.’
‘Something like what?’ Holly asked, wondering if Bex had copped off with a lad at the party and was blowing her out to spend the day with him instead.
‘She’s coming to the pictures with me,’ a girl piped up in the background.
‘Is that Julie Gordon?’ Holly demanded, scowling at the sound of the voice.
‘Yeah, I’m at hers,’ Bex said. ‘The party finished really late, so I stayed over.’
‘Was it her party? Is that why you didn’t tell me about it?’
‘No, it was her cousin’s. And I didn’t tell you ’cos I didn’t even know about it till she called round last night and invited me.’
‘So why did you have to stay at hers?’
‘I didn’t have to, I wanted to. What’s your problem, Holl?’
‘You’re supposed to be my best mate,’ Holly said, aware that she sounded like a petulant child but unable to stop herself. ‘So why are you sneaking off to parties and going to the pictures with her?’
‘I just told you, the party was a last-minute thing,’ said Bex. ‘And her mum gets free tickets for the Multiplex, so what was I supposed to do? Turn it down in case you got upset about it?’
‘Yeah! I wouldn’t hang round with someone who hates you.’
‘Julie doesn’t hate you. Why do you always have to be so paranoid?’
‘She called me a tramp and said my mum buys my clothes from the charity shop. How’s that me being paranoid?’
‘God, chill out, you daft cow. She was joking.’
‘Well I didn’t find it very funny,’ Holly muttered.
‘Well I didn’t find it very funny,’ Julie mimicked in the background, followed by muffled giggles.
‘Have you got me on loudspeaker?’ Holly asked, stopping in the middle of the aisle.
‘Obvs,’ Bex said, as if it was no big deal. ‘I can’t do my make-up one-handed, can I?’
‘I’m not talking to you while she’s listening,’ Holly huffed. ‘Ring me when you get home.’
Losing patience, Bex said, ‘Grow up, Holly! You’re not my only friend, and you can’t expect me to stop talking to Julie ’cos you don’t like her.’
‘I didn’t talk to Kelly after you and her had that fight the other week,’ Holly shot back. ‘It’s called loyalty.’
‘No, it’s called being a lesbo stalker,’ Julie sneered.
The line went dead before Holly could respond. Furious
