Jude felt bad for leaving his mum, but his priority right now was Ashley. She was afraid of her own dad, which he couldn’t possibly imagine, having barely ever known his own. Even so, he couldn’t imagine being afraid of a parent. His mum had plenty of issues, but he never doubted that she loved him.
Jude caught up to Ashley as she exited the alleyway. She’d seen him coming, having peeked over her shoulder at the sound of his hurried footsteps, but she didn’t say anything as he joined her. She stared ahead in silence.
This used to be so much easier. We always used to know the right thing to say to one another.
“I love you, Ash. You’re my best friend, and I’m sorry you’re having to deal with all this shit on top of everything else. I didn’t realise things had got so bad with your dad.”
“Not your fault. Just the way it is.”
And that was the end of the conversation. They walked until they reached the playground, and when they saw somebody sitting there alone, they grimaced.
Ricky was slumped with his head between his knees and a mostly empty bottle of cider at his side. Jude was disinclined to disturb him, but Ashley decided differently and called out, “Hey, Ricky? What are you doing here on your own?”
He flinched and looked at them. His brown hair was a mess and his eyelids were sagging. He said nothing until Jude and Ashley were inside the playground’s railings. “Did you tell the police anything about me?” he slurred.
“We didn’t tell ’em anything,” said Ashley, “Have you heard anything? Have the police found Lily?”
Ricky pulled a face and let out a silent belch. He reeked of alcohol, and it wafted towards them on his breath. “The plods were all over the fucking place earlier,” he said. “They went into the woods, and to Lily’s house too. Her family’s on the warpath. If they find out we left Lily to die out there in the woods, we’re fucked. We’re all fucking fucked.”
Jude leant against the railings and folded his arms. It wasn’t cold, but he felt a shiver. “We weren’t the ones who hurt Lily. It was Rose. You need to tell the police you saw her, too. They need to catch her.”
Ricky said nothing. He picked up his bottle of cider and took a swig.
Ashley moved directly in front of him. For a moment, she stared at the top of his head. Then she rolled her eyes. “You’re a complete mess, Ricky. If the police question you, how are you going to keep your story straight? We might need you to back us up. If the police don’t find Rose, they’re going to start looking for other answers.”
Ricky tried to look up at her, but he couldn’t keep his head still and his eyes were all over the place. “You don’t say nothing about me to the police, you get me? I’ll fucking kill you if you drag me into this.”
“You dragged yourself into this,” said Jude, “when you marched me back to the farmhouse. If you’d just let me call for help, you wouldn’t have got involved in anything. In fact, if anybody is to blame for what happened to Lily, it’s you.”
Ricky stood up and took an unsteady step towards Jude at the railing. “The fuck you say to me?”
Ashley grabbed Ricky’s arm and pulled him away from Jude. “You weren’t to blame, Ricky. It isn’t fair for Jude to say that, but we’re done with you and your threats, okay? You ever lay a finger on Jude again, I’ll kill you.”
Ricky glared at her and took a step so that he was right inside her personal space. He leant forward so that his face was up against hers. “I’d like to see you try, flabby tits. Maybe we could even have some fun. You should ditch this prick and hang with me. I’ll show you what a real man’s like.”
Ashley rolled her eyes and spat on the floor. “You spend so much time telling other people they’re losers, Ricky, but the funny thing is, you’re the biggest loser of all. You’re a train wreck waiting to happen, and if you were the last person on Earth, I still wouldn’t hang out with you. If you can’t be a normal human being, then just leave us both the fuck alone.”
“And what if I don’t? What if I kick the shit out of Judy right here and now? What if I put him in hospital with a feeding tube? You going to do something about it?”
“Don’t test me.”
Ricky chuckled, then turned clumsily and took a step towards Jude. Ashley’s tough bitch act had been impressive, but Ricky was clearly incapable of good behaviour.
He’s going to hit me. It’s happened enough times for me to know. What do I do? I really can’t cope with it anymore.
Ricky got right in Jude’s face. It was the usual tactic of glaring at him and making him squirm, but this time Jude didn’t squirm. He put both hands on Ricky’s chest and pushed him away firmly. In his drunken state, Ricky staggered and almost fell, but it only made him angrier. He clenched both hands into fists and glared at Jude. “Oh, you’re a dead man now. I’m going to stamp on your fucking balls till there’s nothing left. That’s if you even have any.”
“Leave him alone.” Ashley grabbed Ricky’s arm again and spun him.
Ricky lashed out. He shoved Ashley away and raised his fist. The sight of him threatening her caused Jude to yell out in anger. He shoved himself away from the railings and threw himself towards Ricky.
Ashley threw up her arms to defend herself.
Ricky recoiled, then squealed like a stuck pig. He doubled over in pain and screamed. “My hand! My fucking hand.”
Jude had still been a metre away, his attempt to stop Ricky from punching Ashley likely to fail, but something had happened that prevented the assault. Ricky was
