‘You’re not kidding you got carried away,’ Suzie said, shaking her head. ‘They’re pretty nasty. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.’
‘Ah, well, it’ll teach me not to let my nails grow so long in future.’ Rob grinned. ‘Anyhow, I only came to say sorry, so I’ll let you get back to whatev—’
‘Rob, shut up.’ Suzie sighed.
‘Sorry,’ he apologized. ‘I wasn’t trying to—’
‘I said shut up,’ Suzie repeated, stepping closer to him. ‘And bloody kiss me.’
‘What?’ He tipped his head to one side and gave her a questioning look.
‘You heard me,’ she purred, sliding her arms around him and gazing up at him. ‘Unless you don’t want to? Because I—’
Rob pressed his lips down on hers before she could finish and, holding her against him with one strong arm, shrugged the rucksack off his shoulder and wriggled out of his jacket. Dropping both to the floor, he lifted Suzie off her feet, his mouth still covering hers, and walked her backwards towards the stairs.
‘Not up there,’ Suzie whispered, pulling her head back. ‘Holly will hear us.’
Rob glanced up the stairs, as if expecting to see the girl standing there. Then, kissing Suzie again, he turned and walked her into the living room, kicking the door shut behind him.
Falling onto the sofa, Rob tugged Suzie’s pyjama bottoms down while she unzipped his fly.
‘God, I’ve missed you,’ he groaned, climbing on top of her.
‘I’ve missed you, too,’ she gasped, arching her back when he bit her neck and slid his hand under her top to caress her breasts.
‘ROB!’ a woman bellowed, followed by a flurry of raps on the window pane. ‘GET OUT HERE, YOU CHEATING BASTARD!’
Suzie’s eyes popped open, and a cry escaped her lips when she saw that the blinds weren’t fully closed and a woman was staring at them while hammering on the glass with her fist.
‘What the fuck . . .?’ she spluttered, grabbing a cushion to cover herself when Rob leapt up and grabbed his jeans off the floor. ‘Who is she?’
‘Stay there,’ he growled, shoving his legs into the jeans and heading for the door. ‘I’ll deal with this.’
Suzie wanted to know who the woman was and why she was here, so she pulled her pyjama bottoms on and followed him out into the hall.
‘I knew it!’ Angie Scott roared, glaring at Rob when he opened the door. ‘I fuckin’ knew you were still screwing her, you lying piece of shit!’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, you crazy bitch,’ Rob hissed, physically pushing her away from the door.
‘Fuck you!’ Angie yelled, her alcohol-laced spittle covering his face when she slammed her hands against his chest and pushed him back. ‘This is why you started that fight with me earlier, isn’t it? So you could nick my money and sneak round here to shag your bit on the side!’
‘What’s going on?’ Suzie asked, looking from the woman to Rob.
‘Nothing,’ Rob said through gritted teeth.
‘He’s my boyfriend,’ Angie cried at the same time.
‘Rob?’ Suzie gaped at him.
‘Tell her,’ Angie ordered. ‘Tell her you’re with me!’
‘You’re pissed,’ Rob said, gazing down at her in disgust. ‘I suggest you go home and sleep it off.’
‘Is that a bruise?’ Suzie frowned and pushed past Rob when she spotted a flash of purple beneath the mascara streaking the woman’s cheeks.
‘Yeah, it is,’ Angie spat, glaring at Suzie now. ‘He punched me – because of you and those filthy messages you’ve been sending him! Why can’t you leave him alone, you home-wrecking whore? You must have known he had a girlfriend?’
‘What messages?’ Suzie was genuinely confused.
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know,’ Angie yelled. ‘I’ve read them, you stupid bitch!’
Embarrassed when she noticed Carol from across the road watching with a smug grin on her face, Suzie said, ‘I haven’t sent him any bloody messages, and I don’t appreciate you coming round here making a scene.’
‘And I don’t appreciate you fucking my BOYFRIEND!’ Angie screeched in her face.
‘When are you going to get it into your thick head, I am not your boyfriend?’ Rob yelled, shoving her away from Suzie when she swung her arm back to hit her. ‘Now quit stalking me and get a life, you fucking nutjob!’
‘You weren’t calling me that when you were screwing me earlier, were you?’ Angie cried, whacking his arm. ‘I should’ve known you were only using me to get at my money, you lying bastard!’
‘Rob, what’s going on?’ Suzie asked, suspicion in her eyes. ‘I want the truth.’
Turning to her, his own eyes angry, Rob took a deep breath and held up his hands. ‘OK, I’m not gonna lie,’ he said quietly. ‘I did have a one-night stand with her. But it only happened once, and it was after we split up. I was pissed out of my head, or I would never have touched her, I swear. I felt sick straight after and told her it was a mistake, but she won’t let it go. She’s been following me, and harassing my mum.’
‘You liar!’ Angie squawked.
‘Oh, really?’ Rob pounced. ‘I’m lying, am I? How come she messaged me about it last night, then?’
He scrolled through his messages until he found the one he’d received from his mum the previous night – the one he had initially missed, because it had come in the middle of the flurry of messages from Angie.
‘“Robert,”’ he read out loud, ‘“whoever that woman is who turned up here shouting the odds and demanding to see you, I’d appreciate it if you could tell her not to bother us again. Reg has a bad heart, and he doesn’t need the stress. Mum.”’
He turned the phone round when he’d finished, so Suzie could see that he hadn’t made it up.
‘OK, so maybe I did go round there,’ Angie spluttered, her face scarlet. ‘But only because
