Respect (Mandasue Heller) (27 page)

Kermit groaned when his mum showed Chantelle into the living room. He hadn’t seen her since she’d got him into trouble for drinking and smoking, and her appearance now could only mean one thing: Leon had done something bad, and she was going to blame Kermit –
again
.

‘It’s got nowt to do with me,’ he said before she’d even opened her mouth.

‘Don’t be rude,’ Linda scolded, waving for Chantelle to sit down. ‘She just wants a quick word.’

‘I’m watching telly,’ he protested, annoyed with her for not warning him. If he’d known Chantelle was here, he’d have locked himself in his room and refused to come out until she was gone.

‘You
were
,’ said Linda, reaching down and switching the TV off. ‘Now find your manners before I find them for you,’ she warned, giving him a stern look. Then, turning to Chantelle, she smiled. ‘Can I get you a drink, love?’

‘No, thanks.’ Chantelle shook her head.

When his mum herded the smaller kids out of the room and closed the door, Kermit slumped further down in his chair and rested his cheek on his fist.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t keep you long,’ Chantelle said, guessing from the way he was staring at the floor that she was the last person he wanted to talk to. ‘I just need to know if you know what’s going on with Leon.’

‘Why you asking me?’ Kermit muttered sulkily. ‘Haven’t seen him, and don’t want to.’

‘Why?’ Chantelle probed. ‘You’ve been best mates for years.’

‘Not no more.’

‘Because of that night?’

When Kermit just shrugged, Chantelle leaned forward in her seat and peered at him. ‘Look, I know I shouldn’t have had a go at you over that, but I was worried about him. I still am,’ she added quietly. ‘I think he might be being bullied.’

Kermit snorted softly and picked at a fraying hole in the knee of his trousers.

‘What does that mean?’ Chantelle frowned. ‘Are you trying to say
he
’s bullying someone?’

‘Not now,’ Kermit said quietly. Then, biting his lip, because he hadn’t meant to admit that a kid like Leon had the power to intimidate him, he kicked out at one of his brother’s toys.

‘Those boys he was with that night,’ Chantelle said. ‘Who are they?’

‘Dunno.’

‘Yes, you do. You said they went to your school.’

‘So? Doesn’t mean I
know
’em.’

Chantelle supposed she couldn’t blame the boy for not wanting to talk to her after the way she’d gone off on him the last time, but it was frustrating all the same.

‘Look, I’m not asking you to take me to them,’ she said, a little more sharply than she’d intended. ‘I just need to know
about
them. I’ve already seen them, so I know they’re a lot older than you and Leon, and I don’t get why they’re letting him hang around with them.’

‘’Cos he’s their joey,’ Kermit said scathingly.

‘Meaning?’ She sighed when he didn’t answer, and said, ‘
Please
, Kermit, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t worried. And I promise I won’t tell him I’ve spoken to you.’

‘You said that last time, but you did, and now I can’t go out ’cos he says he’ll cut me if he sees me.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Chantelle gasped. ‘Leon would never say something like that. You were his best mate.’

Kermit’s bottom lip crept out, but he quickly sucked it back in and bit down hard on it to stop the tears from escaping. It was humiliating to be scared of a little kid like Leon, but his ex-mate hadn’t been joking when he’d flashed that big knife at him down by the shops the other week, and Kermit hadn’t dared to go out since. He was absolutely dreading going back to school after the holidays, because he just knew that Damo and his boys were going to make his life hell on Leon’s behalf.

‘If you care about him at all, you need to tell me what’s going on,’ Chantelle said quietly. ‘
Please
, Kermit.’

She sounded as if she was on the verge of tears now, and it penetrated Kermit’s shell. He breathed in deeply through his nose. Then, voice muffled, he said, ‘I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard they’ve been dealing.’

‘Who?’

‘Damo and Acky. And probably Leon, seeing as he’s always with them.’

‘
Drugs?
’ Chantelle was shocked.

Kermit shrugged. ‘Big T’s supposed to have set them up with their own patch.’

‘Big T?’ Chantelle’s face creased in confusion. ‘Who the hell’s that?’

Kermit swallowed nervously. He’d said way too much, and it was too late to take it back now. ‘Look, I don’t know nothing,’ he said, pushing himself to his feet. ‘And if you tell him I said anything, I’ll deny it. Just leave me alone!’

He fled from the room and ran into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

‘What’s going on?’ Linda rushed out from the kitchen as Chantelle walked out into the hall. ‘What’ve you said
now
?’ She looked at the girl accusingly. ‘He’s not set foot out of here in weeks so, whatever he’s supposed to have done, it wasn’t him.’

‘He hasn’t done anything,’ Chantelle assured her. ‘I was just asking about those boys our Leon’s been hanging round with. I think he’s being bullied, and your Kermit knows them, so I thought he might be able to help me find out what’s going on.’

‘Yes, well, he can’t,’ Linda said frostily. ‘And I’ll thank you not to come round here again if you’re just going to keep upsetting him. He’s a good boy, and I’m not having him dragged down by your brother.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Chantelle apologised. ‘Will you please tell Kermit that I meant what I said – I won’t mention his name to our Leon, or
any
one. I promise.’

Linda shook her head disapprovingly. ‘I’ll tell him, but this is the end of it, Chantelle. I said I didn’t blame your Leon for all that stuff with the drugs, but I do. My Kermit never did nothing like that before he hooked up with him, and I’m not having any more of it. Just keep your brother away from him in future. Okay?’

Chantelle could have said the same: that Leon had never done anything like that before he’d started hanging out with Kermit. But she doubted it would go down too well, so, nodding her agreement, she went on her way without another word.

Leon was in the toilet when Chantelle got back to the flat, and she wrinkled her nose at the telling noises that were coming out through the door. His stomach was obviously upset, and that, added to him crying, convinced her that he was definitely in some sort of trouble. Praying that it wasn’t drugs, as Kermit had suggested, she decided to check his room while he was out of the way. He’d go mad if he caught her, but she had to know what she was dealing with.

A quick search of his jacket and trouser pockets yielded nothing but scrunched-up tissues and chocolate wrappers, and the contents of his wardrobe and dresser drawers were spilling out, but there was nothing druglike in any of them. She kneeled down and looked under the bed. Again, there was just rubbish, and she was about to give up when she spotted a piece of plastic bag poking down through the springs of the bed-base. She raised the mattress and was shocked to see a flick knife sitting beside a mobile phone and a charger.

No wonder Kermit had been scared. He’d said that Leon had threatened to cut him if he saw him, so he must have seen this knife to have taken the threat so seriously. But where had Leon got it from?

Aware that he could walk in at any moment, she laid the knife and phone on the floor beside her and reached for the plastic bag that was stuffed at the back near the wall. As soon as her fingers touched it her instincts told her exactly what it was, but her mind refused to accept it. A knife was one thing, anyone could get a knife. But a
gun
 …? No way.

She didn’t hear Leon walk into the room, and almost jumped out of her skin when he bellowed, ‘What are you doing, you nosy bitch? Get out!’

‘Pack it in,’ she protested, almost losing her balance when he ran at her and tried to grab the bag out of her hand.

‘It’s mine,’ he yelled, jumping up at her when she stood up and snatched the bag out of his reach. ‘Give it back!’

‘Not a chance,’ she snapped, struggling to hold him at bay. ‘I knew you were in trouble, but this is way worse than I thought. What the hell do you think you’re playing at?’

‘It’s none of your business,’ Leon cried, still fighting to get at the bag.

‘
STOP
IT!’ Chantelle squawked, wincing with pain when he kicked her in the shin. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, but if you carry on, I’m gonna leather you.’

‘Do it, then,’ he challenged, his eyes wild. ‘I’m gonna die anyway, so take your best shot.’

‘What are you
talking
about? Chantelle grabbed him by the front of his jumper and shook him. ‘Tell me what’s going on, or I swear to God I’m going to call the police. Where did you get this? Did Big T give it to you?’

Leon’s face drained of colour, and his mouth fell open. ‘How d’you know about him?’

‘Oh, God, it’s true.’ Chantelle stared worriedly down into his eyes. ‘What have you got yourself messed up in, Leon? This is really serious.’

‘You don’t know
nothing
,’ he spat, baring his teeth at her. ‘You’re just a stupid ho who thinks she’s in control of everything. But you ain’t in control of me and my bros, so keep your nose out before you get hurt.’

‘Are you threatening me?’ Chantelle gasped, wondering who this aggressive creature was. She and Leon had always bickered like normal siblings, but this boy was a complete stranger to her. His eyes were filled with hate, and the disrespectful way he was talking to her was shocking. ‘What are you on?’ she demanded.

‘Stupid bitch!’ Leon sneered, pushing her so hard that she almost fell back onto the bed. Then, snatching his knife off the floor, he flicked the blade out and jabbed it at her. ‘Give me my fuckin’ gun, or I’ll cut your throat. I mean it.’

Chantelle was too shocked to speak, and too scared to breathe. Gaze riveted to the blade, she didn’t resist when Leon snatched the bag out of her hand and ran from the room. When the front door slammed shut behind him, her legs gave way and she slumped down heavily on the edge of his bed. He’d been so far out of control just then that it was terrifying, but what was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t let him run around with a gun, but she also couldn’t report him to the police because he wouldn’t just get put into care over this, he’d end up in serious trouble. And once he got started on that path, his life would be ruined.

Aware that she needed urgent help, Chantelle ran into her room and snatched up her phone. She’d put it on silent before going into the restaurant last night, and she saw that she’d missed several calls from Rob. He’d also sent a few texts, and the last one was still showing on the screen: a picture of a bunch of red roses, with a message telling her that he was sorry for upsetting her and would have sent the real thing if he’d known her address; and would she please call him so he could explain himself.

Disgusted with herself all over again, she cleared the image from the screen and rang her mum’s number. When it went straight to answerphone, she grabbed her keys and rushed over to Tracey’s place. Getting no answer after several minutes of knocking and calling through the letter box, she gazed helplessly out over the balcony.

Anton.

The name shot into Chantelle’s head like a bullet, and she seized it with both hands.
He
would know what to do. Even if he’d never dealt with anything quite like this before, he knew a damn sight more about gangs and guns than she did.

Anton folded his arms when he answered his door and saw Chantelle standing there. After the look she’d given him last night, he had vowed to play it cool with her when he saw her again. He’d gone out of his way to be nice to her these last few weeks, but she had completely rebuffed him at every turn, and he was done with mugging himself off. Yeah, she was hot, but that didn’t give her the right to look at him like he was some piece of shit she had stepped in.

‘’S up?’ he asked.

‘I’m sorry for coming to you with this,’ Chantelle murmured, her voice cracking as tears of despair immediately flooded her eyes. ‘But I need help, and I didn’t know who else to turn to.’

Anton dropped the act when he saw the tears and stepped back. ‘Come in.’

‘I’m really sorry,’ she sniffled, following him into the living room. ‘I just don’t know what to do.’

‘What’s up?’ Anton asked again, waving her to take a seat on one of the beanbags.

‘It’s Leon,’ she cried. ‘He’s been hanging out with a gang, and he’s been acting weird for days, so I thought they might be bullying him. He wouldn’t talk to me, so I asked his friend, and he said he’d heard they’ve been dealing …’

Anton had been listening intently as she poured out her story, but when she reached the part about finding the gun, he drew his head back in disbelief. ‘Say
what
?’

‘I didn’t believe it, either,’ she said, terror in her eyes as she stared at him. ‘But it’s true. And now he’s running round with it, and I’m scared he’s going to shoot someone, or accidentally shoot himself. He’s only ten,’ she added, her face crumpling. ‘This shouldn’t be happening.’

‘All right, calm down,’ Anton said quietly. ‘Tell me what you know about this gang.’

Chantelle took a deep breath and told him the little she knew, starting with the run-in she’d had with the boys down by the canal that night.

‘I knew they were trouble as soon as I saw them,’ she said, ‘and I couldn’t get why they’d be letting a little kid hang out with them. But Leon’s friend reckons they’ve been using him as a joey.’

‘Probably,’ Anton said, lighting a cigarette. ‘Go on.’

‘Well, his friend said he’d heard they were dealing for someone called Big T, and—’

‘Say again?’ Anton interrupted, narrowing his eyes.

‘Big T,’ Chantelle repeated, giving him a questioning look. ‘Do you know him?’

Anton didn’t answer. Cheek muscles jumping as he chewed this information over, he took a pull on his cigarette and stared at the floor.

His bedroom door opened just then, and Chantelle was shocked to see a girl peering out at her. The girl had obviously just woken up, judging by her messy hair and smeared make-up, and she was clearly naked beneath the sheet that was wrapped around her.