“Do they know you’re gone?” I ask.
“Not sure. I visited my brother a few days ago, and he told me to come here if I needed a place to stay.”
“Anyone following you?”
“Not that I saw.”
I nod, but my pulse is already pounding. “I’ll take you back and you can get some more of your things.”
“But what if they won’t let me go?” Her lip trembles.
“You’re eighteen now. It’s not up to them” Nobody will get in my way. And if he’s there, there won’t be enough of him left to scrape off my boots.
5
FAITH
The helmet fits snugly over my head; the visor makes the sky grey at this time in the afternoon. I wrap my arms around Hayden tighter as he drives us to my mum’s house. The wind whips at my hair, but the warmth from his body soothes the dread tying my stomach in knots.
I chose this time, knowing Nigel would be out. Hopefully Mum is out, too. The last thing I want is to bring Hayden into my family problems. Mum hated the club, said it got my father killed. She never got over his death, and she’s been drinking ever since.
Hayden brings the bike to a slow prowl as we drive down my mother’s street. The place I called home is now a shell. My mother’s let it go to rack and ruin. The metal gate at the front hangs on one lonely hinge, the grass well overdue a mow.
The bike comes to a halt and I steel my spine as I climb off. I lift the helmet from my head and hide the tremble in my voice. “This is the house.”
Hayden takes the helmet from me and places it on the bike. “I remember.” He nods towards the front door. “Want me to come in with you?”
I search the drive for Nigel’s van and shake my head when I don’t see it. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just pack up a few things. I won’t be long.”
“All right. I’ll wait here. Shout if you need me.” His fingers tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, sending tingles through me at the contact. His deep grey eyes peer down at me through his thick black hair.
I want to run my fingers through it, pull it back from his forehead to get a better look at his eyes as deep as a vortex in the middle of the ocean.
“You sure you’re all right?”
I gulp and nod as I break eye contact and step away from his hypnotising gaze. “I’ll be back in about five minutes.”
The handle clicks as I open the front door. The house is too quiet, like the eery silence before a storm. Gently, I close the door behind me and pad up the stairs, desperate for clean clothes. I don’t know why I didn’t pack some before, but I never thought I’d find a permanent place to stay.
The air smells like mildew and stale cigarettes, with an undertone of cheap wine and rot.
My old school rucksack is in the wardrobe and I fill it with clean underwear, leggings and t-shirts. Along with the framed photograph of my dad from the dresser and a bracelet my brother gave me.
A door slamming makes me jump out of my skin. I smell her before she speaks. Her overbearing perfume fills the room and as I turn, she’s firing daggers at me through her sharp fiery eyes wide enough to swallow me whole into the depths of her despair.
“Nice to see you’ve graced us with your presence.” She shimmies to the bedroom window, her dressing gown floating behind her like she’s just woken up in the middle of the afternoon. “You haven’t done your chores. Those pots will staythere until you’ve done them. Don’t let Nigel come home and see them still in the sink.”
I lift my rucksack onto my shoulder. “I’m moving out. Nigel can do his own pots.” I keep my voice steady, not wanting to show any emotion. “I just came to get my things.”
She twitches the curtain and sneers. “You dirty slut.” Her hand flies at me.
A crack slices through the air. I step back on the impact, my cheek stinging, head pounding with ringing in my ears. “Owe.” I rub the soreness in my cheek, shielding my face with my palm.
“Running off with one of your brother’s filthy biker mates now, are you?” She laughs. “You’ll be back when he’s done with you, or landed himself in jail.” Her face contorts. “Don’t expect me to have you back when you’re alone and pregnant.”
“Don’t worry, this is the last place I’d want to raise a child.”
“You ungrateful little whore. After everything I’ve done for you.”
