Junk - Melvin Burgess [97]
Then Lily tipped back her head and yawned, a big, big yawn. I didn’t believe that yawn; it wasn’t real. She turned and smiled that big Lily smile at me, like she was herself again.
‘I’ve had it, Gems, I’m going to bed.’
‘Okay, Lil.’
She got up and she had to walk past me on her way to the door. I had to force myself not to move back away from her. She looked at me and she said, ‘It’ll be all right, Gems.’
‘I know, Lily.’
‘Night.’
‘Night.’
I watched her as she left the room. She turned at the door and gave me a big warm smile, and that scared little look again. Then she went out. I sat back down on the rug and drank my tea. I listened to her getting into bed. I waited a long time.
That baby was all she had. He’d always been such a good baby, so quiet.
I thought to myself, I’ve followed you everywhere you’ve gone. I’ve followed you everywhere but I’m not following you here…
After a while I went down the hall and got my big coat on. I went ever so quietly down the corridor and let myself out of the front door. It was late, two, three o’clock. It was cold but I was scared to get dressed in case Lily came or Tar woke up. I went very quickly round the corner because I didn’t believe Lily was asleep. I got to the telephone booth and I dialled 999 and asked for the police.
When I’d finished I said to the woman, ‘Will you go round straight away?’
‘They’ll have to get a warrant first, it’ll be a few hours…’
‘Goodbye.’
‘Just a minute, Miss…’
I put the phone down.
It was a real drag that it was going to take so long. I’d been planning on going back and waiting for the music to start with the rest of them, but I just couldn’t stay round there waiting for hours.
I had nowhere to go.
I began to walk up the road. A car pulled up by me – someone kerb crawling. I just shook my head and walked on. I was only in my nightie and my coat and my shoes. I carried on walking for a while and I began to cry, trying to think what on earth I was going to do next…
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vonny
Wednesdays we play badminton.
I moved to Clifton when I got my place at college. Now I pay rent and everything. Boring really, but you need a good base when you’re doing something like that, and you could never tell how long a squat was going to last. I took my course at college seriously and I didn’t want the hassle of having to move every few months.
John’s an art student. After badminton we usually go for a few drinks. He gets through his grant in about the first month, so if I want to go out with him I have to buy the drinks, which irritates me no end. He gets the same as me, why should I pay for him? He says his appetites are bigger, which is true – he drinks more than me. Maybe he should apply for an extra-large drinks allowance.
Normally we stay at my place because it’s so much nicer, but on Wednesday we usually go to his because mine’s a bus ride away and his is just round the corner from the Sports Centre. I usually stay there and go straight into college the next day. So I don’t get home till Thursday afternoon.
I’ve got a garden flat that I share with a girl called Sandy, but she was away that week. Willy lives a few doors up from me. We call her Willy because she has two kids and she used to yell, ‘Are the children all in bed?’ out of the front door when she wants them to come in and go to bed, like Wee Willy Winkie.
She came round to see me an hour or so after I got back.
‘There was a girl sitting on your doorstep yesterday morning. A punky type – one of the scabby ones. She was there for hours.’
I’m a bit of a punky type, as Willy calls it, although never one of the scabby ones. I couldn’t work it out because I don’t know anyone like that any more, not since I left St Paul’s.
‘She was there for ages. I think she only had pyjamas on under her coat, she must have been freezing. She was there first thing in the morning, God knows how long she’d been there. I went out about ten o’clock to see what was going on and I told her you wouldn’t be back till this evening. She looked awful.’
‘Didn’t she tell you her name?