Broke (8 page)

When the taxi pulled up outside her parents’ house ten minutes later, Amy guiltily dipped her gaze when her mother stepped forward to pay the driver.

‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, herding the kids inside and taking Bobby’s coat off while Cassie shed her own. ‘If there’d been any other way, I’d have—’

‘I don’t want to hear it,’ Sonia cut her off, shoving her purse into her dressing-gown pocket and marching into the kitchen. Coming back with two plates of food, she handed them to the kids, telling Amy, ‘I didn’t make you any, but you can get yourself a butty if you’re hungry.’

‘I’d rather go home, if you don’t mind,’ Amy said quietly. ‘Mark’s gone walkabout, and I want to be there when he gets back.’

Sonia gave her a scathing look. ‘I never thought I’d raised an idiot but I’m seriously starting to wonder about you.’

Amy flashed a cautious glance at the kids. ‘Please don’t start, Mum. I’m not stupid, but he’s my husband. What am I supposed to do . . . kick him out ’cos he can’t find another job? He’s been trying, but it’s not that easy these days.’

‘There you go again, making excuses for him.’ Sonia sneered. ‘I wouldn’t even mind if you knew where he was, but you haven’t got a clue, have you? He could be up to all sorts, for all you know. What if he’s cheating on you – have you even thought about that?’

‘I’m going,’ said Amy desperate to get out of there. She leaned down and kissed the kids. ‘Be good for Nana, and I’ll see you in the morning.’ Then, thanking her mum again, she rushed out and set off on the long, cold walk home.

6

Mark woke to the delicious scent of fried bacon.

‘What time is it?’ he asked, sitting up when Jenny put the tray she was carrying on the bedside table.

‘Half-ten,’ she told him, taking a cup of tea off the tray and walking around to the other side of the bed.

‘At night?’ Mark’s eyes swivelled towards the curtains.

‘No, morning. I would have woken you earlier, but you looked so comfortable I didn’t want to disturb you.’

Mark groaned, shoved the quilt off and looked around for his clothes. He couldn’t remember coming into her bedroom last night, never mind getting undressed. After the tea Jenny had cracked open a bottle of Scotch, and the last thing he remembered was her giving him a blow job. And he could only imagine that it had been a belter for everything that had come after it to be erased. But, good or not, nothing was worth the grief he was going to get off Amy when she got her hands on him.

‘You might as well eat your butty before you go,’ said Jenny, hoping to keep him a little while longer. She’d slept with a couple of lads in the years since their first encounter, but none had ever matched up to Mark. And she had never spent a full night with any of them, so it had been absolutely magical to wake up beside him this morning.

Mark shook his head. He didn’t even want to speak to her just now, never mind eat the flaming butty.

‘You’re not angry with me, are you?’ she asked. ‘I did try to wake you, but you were completely out of it. Hope I haven’t got you into trouble.’

With his back turned towards Jenny, Mark heard the threat of tears in her voice and rolled his eyes. Why did women always turn on the waterworks when you were trying to get away from them?

‘Look, don’t worry about it,’ he muttered, pulling his socks on. ‘I’ll sort it.’

‘How?’ Jenny wanted to know. ‘Where will you say you’ve been?’

‘Steve’s. That’s where I usually go, so she’ll believe me. Just hope she hasn’t spoken to him already.’

‘Maybe you’d best ring him and check?’

‘I’ll call in on the way home,’ Mark said, zipping his fly. ‘I was supposed to be going round there today, anyway.’

Jenny hugged her knees and watched as he hurriedly pulled on the rest of his clothes. She didn’t want him to leave but she was in no position to ask him to stay. Not yet, anyway.

When he was ready, Mark gave her an awkward smile. ‘Right, well, I’ll, er, see you, then.’

‘Okay.’ Jenny smiled back. ‘See you.’

Already at the door, Mark hesitated. He’d borrowed one hundred quid off her before the Scotch had come out last night, and he had fully expected her to use the loan to try and force him into some kind of relationship. By rights, she ought to be grateful that he’d shagged her in the first place, considering that he was cool and she was a ginger freak – albeit brunette now, and not really all that freaky any more. But she didn’t seem to care that he was leaving, and he couldn’t help but wonder why. Embarrassed when it suddenly occurred to him that he might have performed badly, he gave her a quick nod goodbye and fled.

Jenny stayed where she was until she heard the front door click shut behind him, then ran to the window and watched as he walked away. She felt physically sick at the thought of him going home to Amy. The bitch would probably make him grovel, and then they would probably end up in bed having great make-up sex.

Unable to bear the thought, she shook it out of her head and climbed back into bed. She had loved Mark since the first time she’d ever laid eyes on him, but she’d never dreamed she stood a chance with him, because boys like him didn’t go for girls like her, they went for girls like
Amy
. . . pretty, popular Amy, with her perfect blonde hair and her sickening self-confidence. That was why she’d been so shocked when Mark had taken her down the alley on his wedding night – and even more so when he’d called round later that same night to pick up where they had left off. When he’d told her that he wouldn’t be coming back, she’d refused to believe that it was over and had started hanging around at the corner of his mum’s road in the hopes of catching him on his own. But Amy and that stupid baby of theirs had always been with him whenever he came out, so she hadn’t been able to approach him. And then they had moved into their own place, and Jenny hadn’t known any of his friends well enough to ask for the address without raising suspicion, so she’d been forced to give up and accept that she had lost him.

But now, beyond her wildest dreams, he was back in her life. And this time Jenny was determined to make sure that he stayed.

Mark got no answer when he knocked on Steve’s door a short time later. Assuming that he and his new bird were still in bed, Mark switched his mobile back on and rang him.

‘Shit, man, I’m sorry,’ Steve apologised. ‘I totally forgot you were coming round. I’m in town with Layla.’

‘Oh, cheers,’ Mark muttered, miffed that his friend had so easily forgotten him when they had only just made up after their argument. Showed how much
he
cared.

‘Look, the match starts at five, so why don’t you come round then?’ Steve suggested. ‘I’ll get those beers and treat you to a takeaway. Oh, and sorry I didn’t answer your call last night, by the way.’

‘My call?’

‘Yeah, your name came up, but we were in the middle of dinner and I thought it’d be rude, so I switched my phone off.’

Mark guessed that it must have been Amy calling from the house phone, and said a silent thank-you to God that she hadn’t got through.

‘Couldn’t do us a massive favour, could you?’ he asked. ‘Only me and Amy had a bust-up last night and I didn’t go home. If she asks, can you tell her I stopped at yours?’

‘Oh, mate,’ Steve groaned. ‘I’m a shit liar. She’ll know as soon as I open my mouth.’

‘
Please
,’ Mark pleaded. ‘She probably won’t ask, but I just need to know you’re gonna back me up if she does.’

Steve went quiet for a moment. Then, sighing, he said, ‘Right, fine. But don’t ask me to do it again, ’cos I like Amy and I don’t want to get involved in whatever’s going on.’

‘Nothing’s going on.’

‘So why don’t you just tell her where you really were instead of dropping me in it?’

‘It’s complicated,’ Mark said evasively. ‘Look, I’d best go. See you later. And cheers for that.’

Relieved to have an alibi, Mark sauntered out of the flats and set off for home with the money that Jenny had lent him weighing heavy in his pocket. Amy was doing her best, but he felt guilty every time she cried because she couldn’t afford to give the kids a treat, or go to the launderette, or put the lights or heating on. One hundred quid was all well and good, but how much happier would she be if he handed her
two
hundred . . . or three, or four?

As an excitement that he hadn’t felt in weeks began to stir in his gut, Mark turned on his heel and headed back to the bus stop. Lady Luck was an elusive lover, and only a fool would turn his back on her when she came a-calling. And whatever else he might be, Mark Taylor was no fool.

Amy woke up with a start and stared in dismay at the clock on the bedside table. It had been gone five a.m. before she’d finally fallen asleep, and it was almost noon now. Dreading the tongue-lashing she was bound to get off her mum, she jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to ring her.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she blurted out. ‘I know I promised to pick the kids up early, but I didn’t—’

‘No use saying sorry to me,’ Sonia cut her off. ‘
I
’m not the one who sat here all morning in tears waiting for you.’

‘Oh, God,’ Amy moaned guiltily. ‘Tell them I’m coming now. I just need to get dressed.’

‘Too late,’ said Sonia. ‘Poor little buggers deserved a treat, so your dad and Uncle Ricky took them to Chester Zoo for the day. I’ll ring you when they get back, but I’ll warn you now, your dad’s fuming. Cassie’s told us all about you and that waste of space arguing in front of them.’

‘That’s not true,’ Amy protested. ‘We never argue in front of the kids, we always wait till they’ve gone to bed.’

‘It doesn’t matter if they’re in the same room or up the bloody stairs, they can still
hear
you, and they’re frightened to flaming death.’

‘It’s not that bad.’

‘So you’re calling Cassie a liar?’

‘No, but . . .’

‘Oh, shut up!’ snapped Sonia. ‘You’re pissing me off now, Amy, you really are. I told you from the start you were too young to get wed and have kids, but you always knew better than everyone else, didn’t you?
I’ll be fine
, you said.
I’ll be a great mum
. Well, I haven’t seen any evidence of it so far. Your house is a pigsty, and those kids look like they haven’t had a bath in weeks, never mind a decent meal. But all
you
’re bothered about is that pillock who can’t even keep a job for more than two minutes!’

Amy’s chin was wobbling, but she blinked back the stinging tears. ‘It’s not Mark’s fault.’

‘Well, whose
is
it, then?’ Sonia demanded. ‘It sure as hell isn’t mine or your dad’s, but we’re the ones who have to keep picking up the pieces whenever he screws up. It’s a good job the kids have got us to watch out for them, ’cos
you
obviously don’t give a toss. You should be ashamed of yourself!’

When her mum slammed the phone down, Amy sank down onto the couch and sobbed. But with the tears came anger. How
dare
her mum accuse her of not caring about her kids! They were her life, and she was doing her best to bring them up decently. It wasn’t easy, carrying on as normal when her world was falling apart and no one was lifting a finger to help, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t
trying
.

When the tears finally stopped, Amy looked around the room. Her mum was right about one thing – she
had
let it get into a state. A thick roll of dust lay along the join between the laminate flooring and the skirting board, and there were overflowing ashtrays on the coffee table and window ledge. The kids’ breakfast bowls were still on the couch from yesterday morning, along with a pile of old sweet wrappers and comics. And her own stuff was also contributing to the mess, from the hairbrush on the mantelpiece to the magazines stuffed down the side of her chair. And there were cups everywhere she looked, some empty, the rest half full of filmy wasted tea.

Disgusted with herself for letting it get so bad, and determined to prove her mother wrong, Amy shoved up her sleeves and set to work, moving from room to room, clearing, polishing and vacuuming until the house was spotless from top to bottom.

She was just putting the vacuum cleaner back into the cupboard under the stairs when Marnie knocked on the back door.

‘Don’t shoot, I come in peace!’ Marnie teased, holding up her hands when she saw the thunderous look on Amy’s face.

‘I’m having a bad day.’ Amy snatched the kettle off its base and carried it to the sink.

‘Mark pissed you off?’ Marnie ventured.

‘How did you guess?’ Amy snapped sarcastically.

‘Sit down, I’ll do that,’ Marnie ordered, prising the kettle out of her friend’s hand and pushing her towards a chair. ‘You’ve been at it for hours. And don’t say you haven’t, ’cos you’ve been banging around so much I thought you were being raided.’

‘I’m better off keeping busy,’ Amy insisted, sidestepping her and taking two cups out of the cupboard.

‘There’s busy, and there’s manic,’ Marnie said when Amy slammed the cups down on the ledge. ‘And this is manic to the max, hon. Cass and Bobs won’t know where they are when they get up, it’s that clean.’

‘I like it clean,’ said Amy, spooning sugar into the cups. ‘And they’re not here.’

‘No
way
!’ Marnie clasped her hands to her breast and stared at Amy as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. ‘You mean Mark’s actually took them out to give you a break? Hallelujah, kingdom come!’

‘Has he hell. They’re at my mum’s.’

‘Typical.’ Marnie tutted. ‘And there was me thinking he’d remembered he was a dad at long last. I take it he’s still in bed while you’re wearing yourself out?’

‘He didn’t come home last night,’ Amy told her. ‘He was supposed to be borrowing some money, but I’ve phoned all his mates and no one’s seen him.’

‘So they say.’ Marnie gave her a cynical look. ‘Bet he was sitting right there while you were on the phone. Born liars, the lot of them. Or, as I like to call them, pricks with dicks.’

When Amy cracked a sad smile, Marnie said, ‘That’s better. Who needs men when you’ve got mates like me to cheer you up, eh? Now sit down and let me pamper you for a bit.’