Page 53 of The Cut
‘He’s a little creep, isn’t he?’ Dave leans on the wall next to Ben. ‘Little weirdo.’
It’s three against three.
Annie stares at Dave with a withering look. ‘Of all the people, I thought you would know better.’ He reddens and his eyes drop to the floor.
She turns to Ben. ‘Cat’s right, you’re all bullies and cowards. When are you going to grow up? This was supposed to be a celebration. This is our last term together and you have to go and ruin it. Come on, I’m going to walk you home, Mark. Let’s go. Now.’
Annie steps in between them and frowns at Ben with such contempt in her eyes that he releases Mark.
‘Cat, I’ll see you at home.’ Annie gives her sister a knowing nod. It’s time for a heart-to-heart. As she turns away, her eyes remain focused on Ben. There is something scathing in her stare. She has a power over him. In moments of mutual connection that power is glorious, but this humiliation in front of the gang is a new experience for Ben. An uncomfortable feeling courses through him that is hard to comprehend. How dare she?
Outside, the air is cooler now. A light smattering of rain has started to fall and the handmade bunting for the Easter parade, which had fluttered with so much joy earlier in the day, hangs flaccid and damp.
Annie and Mark walk in silence until they round the bend of Forest Hill. Mark’s nose has stopped bleeding, but the blood has crusted all over his face. Annie takes out a handkerchief and hands it to him.206
‘I’m sorry he hurt you. But you said something very cruel, Mark. Why did you say it?’
Mark dabs at his nose. ‘I dunno, it just came out.’ His voice is hoarse.
‘But you know about his dad, right?’
‘Of course. I was just angry at him. They all pick on me all the time and I’ve had enough.’ There is anguish in his voice. As they reach the corner of his street, he stops. ‘I know I shouldn’t have said it.’ His eyes dart to the light flicking on through the glass of the front door to his house. ‘This is me.’ Mark turns back to Annie. She smiles at him. His eyes are red rimmed. He looks so lost and alone.
‘Cat really likes you, Mark, but …’ She takes his hand, feeling him tense slightly. His eyes drop to his shoes. ‘I … I think you like boys, don’t you?’
Mark swallows, his face screwed up in pain, as his head turns to the silhouette twitching the nets in the window of the Cherry house. His mum is waiting up for him. Without looking at Annie, almost imperceptibly, he nods. There, it’s done, it’s finally out.
Annie holds out her other hand to him, her fist clenched. ‘Here, I got this from the bran tub, 10p a go.’ She opens her hand.
Mark takes the silver chain from her palm and looks at the small medallion attached.
‘It’s a St Christopher, patron saint of travellers.’ Annie pulls Mark into a hug; his body stays limp, drained from adrenaline. ‘Someone will carry you. I promise.’ Mark has no words. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to be seen or carried. ‘It’s going to be OK.’ She smiles.
She really believed it would all be OK. But she was wrong.
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Dani stood at the sink, filling a saucepan with water. She was watching Ben in his usual spot, pacing at the bottom of the garden on the phone, staring out across the river.
She’d lied to him last night when they got back, pretending she’d taken Lily and Nate to the cinema. She didn’t feel good about it. What had started out as an exciting secret mission had ended in her not being able to meet Ben’s eyes and regurgitating the Wikipedia page of a film she hadn’t seen. She picked at the chipped lacquer on her nail extensions and slid the pan on to the ceramic hob, dropping eggs into the water. Her eyes had been glued to the morning news. The Mill Killer’s imminent release wasn’t just regional anymore; all the major channels had picked up the story and spun it into a national outrage. Everyone salivating over the past, trampling over the details of a case they had no real knowledge of. But he was definitely coming out, and soon.
The front door slammed, making her jump. Dani turned to see Karine standing in the doorway. She was coming and going these days like she owned the place. In a way, she did; they were all living on her film set and Dani was like a runner at her beck and call.
‘Oh, it’s you.’ Dani’s tone was flat. She muted the sound on the TV, the scowl on her face morphing into a pleasant smile that concealed the tension tightening in her gut.
Karine stepped one pace into the room. ‘Lily and Nate were great last night … It was a tough scene – they surprised me.’208
‘Of course they were great.’ Dani’s instinct was to counter with something akin to ‘they’re my kids’, but she checked herself.
Karine stared at Dani. ‘It’s boiling over.’
‘Sorry?’ Something passed between them before a hissing sound like pressure from a piston broke the spell. Dani grabbed the pan and shifted it to the side of the worktop as water spat and crackled on the hot ceramic.
‘Nate will have a few bruises … Sorry about that.’ Karine ran her hand through her hair and laughed uncomfortably. ‘Don’t sue me.’
