that he did feel that way made him queasy because he knew how much his stepfather had corrupted his thought processes. There was nothing wrong with their relationship, but he'd had to keep it secret from his stepfather through what seemed like a million minor deceptions and big lies. It had cast a shadow over everything, when they should have been revelling in the feeling of falling in love; that pure sensation had been lost to them and he hated his stepfather for that loss. There was relief when he finally discovered who Lee was seeing after spotting them holding hands on New Street, but that had brought with it a whole different set of problems, the most worrying of which was that Sunita might no longer be safe. His stepfather's associates from his weekly meetings were brutal men with a harsh view of life that didn't allow such weak concepts as love the slightest foothold, and they were relentlessly unforgiving.
Sunita knew all this, and she knew it would be safer for her to leave Lee well alone, but how could she? The choices had been made and imprinted on their souls; they had to live with the consequences. 'What are we going to do? Carry on as normal, just… going to different places?'
'You know we can't do that. They know where you live.' He took a deep breath. 'We're getting out of Birmingham.' He paused while he watched her expression. 'Least, that's what I think. I know it'll be hard with your family-'
'It'll be a nightmare! My dad'11 go crazy, my mum… all that wailing!'
'You're old enough-'
'That's not the point.'
He winced at being so insensitive, but he found it hard to see anything from the perspective of a loving, caring family. 'I'm sorry, Sunny, but, you know, we've got to do something-'
'Where were you thinking of going?'
'Down south somewhere. Just hit the motorway and see where we end up. They'll never be able to track us.'
She sighed. 'It's not just your dad. It'll be good to get out of this city. Sometimes it seems like it's choking the life out of me. There's something… a meanness… it just gets me down.'
'I know what you mean.' He listened to the drone of city centre traffic drifting over the wasteland and abandoned houses waiting for demolition. 'It'll be good, a fresh start.'
'Do you think it will work out?'
'I know it will.' He wondered if he could tell her why he was so sure; saying it out loud made even him feel like he was crazy; and he'd been through it. 'Come on, let's walk.' He took her hand and began to lead her in the direction of the house.
She looked uncomfortable. 'Your dad-'
'He's at one of his meetings, wishing we still had an empire.'
The familiar streets were thankfully empty, adding to the wonderful illusion that they were the only people left in the world. Away from the wasteland the air was a little fresher. They turned down the hill from the imposing big houses towards the line of pokey semis where Lee had lived all his life. It felt odd to think he might not walk down there again. He'd miss his mum, and Kelly, but not Mick; he'd be happy if he never heard Mick's voice again.
'When are you thinking of going?' Sunita asked.
'Now. Tonight.'
'Oh.'
He couldn't tell her that his stepdad's beetle-browed cronies might act after they'd finished their rebel- rousing for the night. They had to be as far away as possible from Brum before everything blew up. But even though he didn't say anything, he could tell from Sunita's response to the tight deadline that she understood the dangers.
'Mum and Dad will understand,' she said confidently. 'I'll call them once we're on the road. They'll be asleep when I get back to pack. Though you know, things aren't so different between us. They both wish I was with a boy who knew the Koran back to front.'
He shrugged, said nothing. There were always too many people wanting to interfere in everybody's life.
Sunita slipped her arm through his and gave it a squeeze. 'We'll never be able to agree on the music for the car, you know. There'll be me with my Groove Armada and Basement Jaxx and you with some ancient old toss like The Redskins or one of those other old fogey bands you like. I don't know how you got into all that stuff. Most of them were playing before you were born.'
'You've got to appreciate the past to know where you're going.'
'You've been reading books again, haven't you? I told you it was bad for you.' She smiled, but it drained away once she realised they were standing outside his home. Over the year her imagination had turned it into some kind of nightmarish haunted house, the place where all bad things originated. Even on the few times she'd been into the empty place there'd been an unpleasant atmosphere mingled in with the cheap cigarette smoke and smell of fried food. 'Are you sure he's not in?'
'He never misses a meeting.' Lee led her round the side of the house. The small back garden was in darkness; a few items of clothing still fluttered on the washing line.
'What about your mum and Kelly?'
'They'll have stopped off for a drink after the bingo.'
'Lee, why are you bringing me here?'
'There's something I want to show you. To put your mind at rest.'
'About what?'
'That everything'll be all right.' She still seemed unsure, so he took her hand and tugged her towards the shed in the shadows near the rear fence. It was much larger than average. Mick had put it up when he was thinking about breeding racing pigeons, but he'd never got round to that, like so many other things in his life.
'You don't want to get down to it here one more time, do you?' she said with a sly smile.
'Wait and see.' They stepped into the darkness of the shed and its familiar smell of turps and engine oil. He took her hand and waited a couple of seconds before saying in a clear voice, 'Come out. It's me.'
In the dark Sunita looked at him in puzzlement; she could feel his hand growing clammy. 'Who are you talking to?'
He hushed her anxiously. He kept his gaze fixed firmly on the back of the shed and when he didn't get whatever response he had been expecting, he tried again, a little more insistently. Still nothing. 'Please,' he said finally. 'This is Sunita. I told you about her. She's okay, you know that.'
He waited for another moment and then sighed. 'We better go,' he said reluctantly.
Outside, she gave him a peck on the cheek. 'It's a good job I love mad people. Now are you going to tell me-'
'You better not laugh!'
'Of course not.'
'Promise?'
'I promise, idiot. Now get on with it.'
He bowed his head with the odd, wincing expression which she knew signalled deep embarrassment. 'It started a couple of weeks ago. I kept hearing noises in the shed.'
'Noises?'
'Yes, you know… voices. They kept chattering in there. I thought some smackheads had broken in, but every time I went to check there was no one in there.'
'Ooh, spooky!'
'Yeah, that's what I thought. But then last week there was someone there.'
Sunita eyed him askance, trying to predict the punchline. 'Who was it?'
He rubbed his chin, obviously not wanting to continue. Finally he said, 'Do you believe in fairies?'
'Fairies?' She burst out laughing.
'You said you weren't going to laugh!'
'Sorry, but… You can't be serious!'
He looked away grumpily.
'Okay, go on!' she said, tugging at his sleeve. 'What did they look like?'
'They looked like fairies! Well, a fairy. Small, pointed ears, green clothes. It was just like one I'd seen on a
