‘Let’s wait here until they’ve gone,’ said Crystal, slowing down and taking hold of Candice’s arm. ‘Then we can talk to Amber on her own.’
They pretended to look in the shop window. While they waited, Crystal made eye contact with Amber and she noticed a look of recognition flash across Amber’s face. Her friend seemed to cut short the conversation she was having and then she walked back towards the ragged old rug on which she had been sitting.
Crystal stepped forward. ‘Amber.’
She didn’t know what sort of reaction she had expected but, nevertheless, she felt disappointed when Amber stared vacantly back at her and didn’t say anything. Crystal knew it was up to her to take the initiative. There was no point in asking how she was; that was obvious from her appearance. Ignoring the unclean stench that emanated from her, Crystal reached forward and took hold of her arm.
‘Come on, Amber. You’re coming with me.’
Amber shook her head. ‘Where? Where are we going?’
‘Back to mine.’
‘But… why?’
‘Because I want to help you, Amber.’
Amber gazed across at Candice, and Crystal picked up on her doubt. ‘It’s OK, Candice knows you’re an old friend. She wants to help too.’
Crystal noticed Amber chewing on her bottom lip, an old habit of hers that had never gone away. She remembered how she always used to do it whenever she was under stress, nervous or uncomfortable about something.
‘It’ll be fine, Amber, I promise. I’m gonna get you booked into rehab. It worked for me so, hopefully, it’ll work for you.
‘And after that, it’s up to you what you make of your life, but you’ll have the chance to change things. You don’t have to live like this anymore.’
67
October 2016
It was later that evening and Crystal and Amber were sitting in her living room having a chat. Crystal had sorted out some clothes for Amber to wear and, after she’d showered, they had eaten. It was easy to see how ravenous Amber was by the way in which she had demolished every morsel of food that Crystal put in front of her.
Candice had gone out and Crystal was taking the opportunity to do some catching up with Amber. She glanced across at her friend who looked a lot better than when she had found her earlier. Amber had washed and styled her hair and put a bit of makeup on, but she was still painfully thin and unhealthy-looking.
‘Did you recognise me the first time I walked past with Candice?’ Crystal asked.
‘Yes, but I knew you wouldn’t want to talk to me when you were with your daughter, so I didn’t say anything.’
‘Thanks. I know I ignored you a year ago and I feel bad about that now, but I was frightened of Candice finding out about my past.’
‘Does she know?’
‘Not all of it. You won’t tell her, will you?’
‘No, don’t worry, I won’t tell her anything you don’t want her to know, Crystal.’
‘How long have you been homeless?’
‘A few months,’ said Amber.
It wasn’t long before she was confiding in Crystal about everything that had happened to her recently. Crystal was shocked to hear just how much her friend had been through. She knew the need to divulge must have been weighing heavily on Amber so she sat quietly and let her go through everything: the death of her mother, her brother abandoning her, losing the house, ending up on the street and the dodgy boyfriend who she suspected of murder.
Finally, when Amber had finished, Crystal said, ‘Jesus Christ, Amber! You haven’t half fuckin’ been through it, haven’t you? Why didn’t you go to someone for help? And why didn’t you report Kev to the police?’
‘There was no one to ask. I hadn’t seen my grandparents for years because of what my mum was like. Apparently, they’re really old now and don’t go out much. Most of the relatives didn’t turn up at the funeral and those who did couldn’t get away quickly enough. And I’ve lost touch with most of my friends.’
Crystal felt a pang of conscience knowing she had ignored Amber the previous time she had seen her. She also noticed that Amber hadn’t answered her question about Kev, and she was determined to come back to that later.
‘What about Sapphire?’ she asked. ‘Wouldn’t she have helped you? Doesn’t she still go in the Rose and Crown?’
‘Yeah, but I haven’t been in there for ages because of Kev looking for me, and last time I saw Sapphire we weren’t on very good terms. She was the one who warned me about Kev, only I wouldn’t take her seriously at first, so things got a bit awkward after that.’
‘Jesus, I can’t believe all this has been going on. I didn’t know old Angie had died either.’
‘Old Angie? You mean, you knew?’
‘That she was your mother? Yeah, I guessed. Don’t forget, Amber, I knew you better than any of the other girls, and I had a feeling right from the start. From the bits you’d told me about your mother, it all seemed to fit.’
‘Did anybody else know?’
‘No, not as I know of – just me. You might have tried to disown her, Amber, but you still cared despite how she had treated you, didn’t you? She was your mother after all. But I presumed you had your reasons for not telling anyone, and it was your secret to keep, not mine.’
‘Thanks,’ mumbled Amber.
Crystal noticed her eyes glisten with tears, but she didn’t add anything more, so Crystal decided to move on. There were other matters that had to be dealt with.
‘I’m going to get you booked into
