The Girl in the Rug (13 page)

‘I’m sorry Maggie, but I just thought you had a right to
know. I mean after all you’ve done for the girl you’d think she would be more
grateful, I just thought…this is disgraceful, I must tell Maggie,’ Maylee
finished with a look of concerned pity on her face.

Maggie was stunned, stunned and very hurt. If what Maylee
was telling her was true then she had been mistaken in someone that she held as
dear as a daughter. According to Maylee, Jools had been bragging about how she
could twist Maggie round her finger, from the way that Maylee told it Jools had
inferred that Maggie was so stupid that she could be conned into buying
anything for her and Jed just with a bit of flattery and a sob story. Maggie
felt betrayed in the most hurtful way…not least because it was Maylee telling
her about it.

‘I mean,’ went on the relentless Maylee, ‘if you’d bought
all that stuff for Dom and me, well we would have been so grateful wouldn’t we,
like anyone would, and I did say to her…you shouldn’t be talking about Maggie
like that, she’s been very good to you. That made her feel a bit guilty I think
Maggie because she stopped talking about it to me then…but I’m sure she was
still having a sneaky giggle about it with her other friends.’

‘Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand Maylee? Maybe she was
joking,’ asked Maggie hopefully.

‘No…not a chance, sorry Maggie I know this must be
hurtful…oh here comes Dom,’ she lowered her voice to a whisper, ‘he didn’t want
me to mention it to you Maggs so don’t let on you know ok?’ Maylee quickly sat
at the kitchen table and began flicking through a recipe book, which, if Dom
hadn’t been so love struck, he would have immediately been suspicious about,
because Maggie didn’t even think Maylee knew where the oven was.

She made her excuses pretty quickly and went into the living
room to think about what Maylee had just told her…surely she had to be wrong.
Jools had been Jed’s girlfriend since they had been at school together, she had
been in and out of her house for years and Maggie had considered Jools a
wonderful extra member of her family. It hurt her to her core that Jools would
say something so hurtful about her. Hot tears streamed down her face, she wiped
them away crossly, ‘Come on now, this is not like you,’ she said to herself. It
did cross her mind that it was rather thoughtless of Maylee to tell her about
Jools’ comments, surely it would have been kinder to have kept it to
herself…but no, she shouldn’t shoot the messenger as it were; if what Maylee
said was true then it was Jools that had betrayed her…not Maylee.

Getting herself together she decided that she had to
confront Jools about this, she knew from bitter experience that the longer you
let these things fester the worse they became. So she sent her a text asking to
meet her for a coffee later in the day, Jools’ reply was almost immediate.

OOH LOVELY, COULD DO WITH A CATCH UP X SEE YOU AT 3 XX

Well if she was slating Maggie left right and centre then
she was a much more duplicitous than Maggie had given her credit for. Maggie
went back into the kitchen; Maylee obviously noticed her red rimmed eyes and
gave her a little moue of sympathy.

‘So how’s the birthday plans coming on Mum?’ said Dom
oblivious to Maggie’s misery.

‘Oh…pretty good I think,’ said Maggie fiddling with the
coffee machine. ‘I managed to get him that watch that he wanted…I found it
online, so hopefully it will arrive in time. Did you manage to get hold of your
dad, Dom…is he back from France yet?’

‘Oh yeh I meant to tell you soz…um he said he hoped he would
be able to make it for the dinner, but things are a bit touch and go with
Felicity at the moment, so he’d have to let you know…’

‘Oh for fucks sake!’ shouted Maggie flinging down the
teaspoon she’d been holding. ‘Surely he can put his son before his love life
just once!’

Dom, shocked at his mum’s sudden outburst came and put his
arms around her. ‘Hey, don’t worry Mum, I’m sure he’ll try his best…and if he
doesn’t make it well…we’ll be there, and don’t forget Jukie is coming…it’ll be
fine…’

‘Yeh my Jukie is sooo excited to meet you all,’ Maylee
gushed. ‘Oh and you should see this little outfit I got him Maggs…it’s
Burberry, cutest little black jeans you’ve ever seen and this top with the
Burberry logo on it, but not too in your face though…subtle like, he looks so
flash doesn’t he Dommie?’

‘Dommie’ just smiled indulgently, and Maggie said all that
was appropriate and then escaped to her room to prepare what she was going to
say to Jools when she met her later.

A few hours later she was sitting in a coffee shop in
Redbank waiting for Jools. She saw her parking her car across the road, Maggie
heaved a sigh this was going to be so difficult, she thought as Jools came into
the coffee shop with a wide smile on her face.

‘I was so pleased to get your text Maggs,’ she said as soon
as she was sitting down opposite Maggie. ‘I feel like we haven’t had a good
catch up for ages, so what’s new with you Magoo?’ she laughed, using the old
jokey phrase that they had always used whenever they met up with each other.

Maggie took a deep breath, ‘I have to ask you something
Jools,’ she said looking at her sadly.

‘Oh my god Maggie…what’s up,’ Jools asked worriedly.

‘I heard something…or rather somebody else heard something,
something that you said about me…they said you were laughing about me…’

‘What,’ said Jools all at sea, ‘who said I was laughing at
you…what was I laughing about…I don’t understand Maggs.’

‘Okay,’ taking a deep breath, Maggie began again, ‘I have
been told that you have been telling all and sundry that you have me wrapped
around your little finger and that I am a push over for a sob story…there…so I
need to know if that is indeed how you see me, because…’

‘WHO TOLD YOU THAT?’ Jools shouted at the top of her voice,
causing several people to swivel round in their seats. ‘I don’t believe
this…who would tell you such a thing, and why would you believe it…surely
you’ve known me long enough…’

‘Well that was why I was so hurt by it Jools…I had always
thought we were friends…more than friends really so…’

‘Then how could you think I would say something like that
about yyooouu Maaggiiee…’ Jools collapsed in tears.

‘Oh god Jools,’ said Maggie coming round and putting her
arms round her. ‘I didn’t want to believe it…I was stunned actually…but you’re
right I should have known better…I’m so sorry, please forgive me honey, but you
must see I had to ask you didn’t I…’

Jools sniffed for a while and Maggie waited for her to
speak. ‘I suppose I can see that you would need to check it out, that’s just
the kind of person you are…but what I can’t understand is where this came from.
I mean what a tale to make up and who…’ she stopped suddenly and a hard look
came over her face. ‘Oh I am so stupid…this is bloody Maylee’s doing isn’t it?
For fucks sake Maggs, don’t you know that girl hates me…she’d do anything to
see you and me fall out…’

‘Yes but she must have known I’d talk to you about it…’ said
Maggie. ‘She must have been really confident to have completely made something
up like that…’ she stopped seeing that Jools was beginning to look indignant
again. ‘No, no Jools, I know you didn’t say exactly what Maylee said you did,
but maybe she took something the wrong way, she said she spoke to you about it,
told you not to be so out of order apparently…’

‘Ooh the lying little bitch!’ said Jools furious again. ‘She
had never said one word to me Maggie, and do you know why…because I have never
said what she says I have…’ Jools stopped suddenly then with her hand to her
mouth. ‘Oh I did say something…no nothing nasty, I was having a laugh with my
friends a few nights ago, we were at the Bull having a few drinks and I was
telling them about the meal for Jed’s birthday…oh and Martha was there and she
kept piping up about how wonderful you were and how kind you’d been taking her
out for lunch.’

‘Oh for crying out loud I might have known Martha would have
had something to do with it…’ Maggie said giggling.

‘Yes, well one of my friends, Jane…Jane Cordon, you remember
her Maggie she was in my class at school…lazy eye, unfortunate ears.’ Maggie
nodded. ‘Well she said you’d better watch it Jools, looks like Martha’s
muscling in on Maggie…she won’t have any time for you soon it’ll be all Martha
this and Martha that,’ Maggie tutted and rolled her eyes. ‘Yes well anyway I
said to her something like I wasn’t threatened by Martha…’ she stopped and
looked a bit embarrassed. ‘Oh it sounds terrible now, but then I said something
like…Maggie and me we’re just like that,’ she held up crossed fingers, ‘and it
would take a better woman that Martha to come between us, I could just snap my fingers
and you’d come running back to me again…oh I know I know…but I wasn’t being
serious Maggie, I was just teasing Martha, we were all laughing you know. I
would never hurt you or take our friendship for granted please believe me…I
just said something stupid…as a joke, only that little cow must have heard me
and decided to make trouble.’

Jools put her head in her hands and started crying again,
Maggie gave her a hug and assured her that everything was alright but in her
heart she felt a deep dread. Why was Maylee trying so hard to cause trouble in
her family…and how did she stop it from happening?

She chatted with Jools for a while longer and then drove
back home. Even before she put her key in the front door she knew she had more
problems, she could hear Maylee’s high pitched shouts from outside the house.

‘What the hell is going on in here?’ she asked Dom, who was
standing in the hallway looking furious.

‘How could you do it Mum,’ he said angrily, ‘Maylee told you
that about Jools in confidence, and because she cares about you and was trying
to stick up for you, and you just go and tell Jools all about it behind her
back…that’s just low Mum. And now she’s got that bitch Jools shouting down the
phone at her.’ Obviously Jools had got straight on the phone to Maylee as soon
as she’d said goodbye to Maggie.

Dom was pacing backwards and forwards furiously as he was
speaking, Maggie couldn’t ever remember seeing her son this angry or
aggressive.

‘What did you expect I would do Dom?’ she said as calmly as
possible. ‘Of course I’m going to speak to Jools about it, ask her to explain
why she would say such a thing. You must know me well enough to know that I
wouldn’t just let it go…’

‘Well you should have thought about Maylee’s feelings
shouldn’t you…’ he said turning on her, ‘thought about her for a change instead
of your fucking precious Jools, who we all know can’t do anything wrong…and I
warn you Mum if Jed says one more word to me about Maylee I am going to smash
his fucking face in…I’ve told him that…and I will do it if he pushes his luck.’

Just then Maylee came running out of the kitchen in
tears…she gave Maggie a hard reproachful look and ran past her up the stairs.

‘See what you’ve done by being so selfish,’ Dom shouted at
her. ‘And don’t expect us at Jed’s fucking birthday dinner either,’ he finished
as he followed Maylee upstairs.

Maggie went into the kitchen, sat down at the table and put
her head in her hands. How the hell did she sort this out? Her lovely boys were
at each other’s throats and apparently it was all her fault.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ thought Maggie, this was new territory
for her and she was completely lost.

She picked up her phone and automatically pressed Duncan’s
number, it rang a couple of times before she remembered that she was keeping her
distance and ended the call. Two minutes later her phone rang…it was Duncan.

‘Hey Maggs,’ he said when she answered, ‘did you try and
call me just now?’

Just hearing his lovely deep voice was the last straw for
Maggie and she burst into tears.

‘Oh god Duncan I don’t know what to dooo,’ she sobbed
breathlessly into the phone.

‘Bloody hell Maggs what’s wrong…oh no it’s not one of the
boys is it…’

‘I’m such a terrible mother…sob sob…always get things
wrong…sob hiccup sniff…they all hate me…snort sniff gulp…’

‘Oh for god’s sake Maggie you are NOT a terrible mother and
your boys adore you. So for crying out loud go and get a fucking tissue and
blow your nose and then tell me all about it,’ Duncan said gently.

But by this time Maggie had pulled herself together a bit
and was kicking herself for phoning Duncan, really how was this keeping a
distance if she carried on running to him every time she had a problem.

‘No, no…don’t worry,’ she said as calmly as she could, ‘I’m
so sorry I called you, embarrassed really…I’m just getting all upset over
nothing at all…sorry again…bye,’ and she ended the call. Duncan called back
twice but she didn’t answer …she just sat there, tears streaming down her face,
watching the phone until it stopped ringing.

Franklin was locked in his room.

The door was locked as it always was, but it had been a
whole day and night and Mum hadn’t come to let him out.

He had called her over and over until his throat had
hurt. Cried and screamed so much he had thrown up all over himself.

He’d bashed on the door, thrown himself at it, kicked it
until his feet were so sore that he could barely walk.

He was scared…so scared…Mum always opened the door in the
morning…always.

Now he was hungry and thirsty as well. He’d finished the
glass of water he kept by his bed yesterday, and he wasn’t allowed food in his
room.

The bucket, Mum had put in the room for him to go for a
pee in the night, was half full and it really smelt bad…it was making him want to
puke again, and he couldn’t open the window…Mum had fixed it so that it
wouldn’t open…to keep him safe she said.

He had climbed up onto the window ledge to try and call
out to someone, his room was at the back of the house overlooking the gardens,
maybe Mrs Gosling next door would spot him. Sometimes she would be in her back
garden…but it had rained all day so she hadn’t come outside. He’d stayed up
there for ages, until he was so tired he’d climbed back down and burrowed under
the covers of his bed.

He had thought about breaking the window…he had a very
big heavy tractor, if he threw that at the window it might break and then he
could shout for someone…someone might hear him then. But Mum would be so angry
with him if he broke the window.

It was getting dark again…please Mum…please come home
soon.

Franklin shivered under his covers and waited for
morning.

The sun was shining brightly through the window when
Franklin woke the next day. His bed was wet…and his mouth was so dry, he felt
dizzy with hunger…he looked over at the door…it was still locked.

As he lay there, weak and disorientated, he became aware
of the faint sounds of Mrs Gosling in her garden. As quickly as he could, he
climbed unsteadily back up onto the window sill and pounded on the window
desperately. Mrs Gosling looked up and waved at him, he pounded harder and
harder, crying out to her…couldn’t she see he needed help. But she just waved
at him again and then looked as if she was going to go back inside, no, no, no,
she couldn’t go…Franklin needed to get her to fetch Mum.

In a panic he climbed back down and hauled his big
tractor over and up onto the bed, it was really heavy but he managed to get in
onto his shoulders and with an almighty shove he hefted it towards the
window…glass smashed everywhere, all over his bed and all over him but he was
oblivious to it…slicing into his hands and feet, as he clambered back up to the
now broken window.

Down below Mrs Gosling was looking up at the broken
window in shock. She was even more shocked when Franklin, his hands covered in
blood, pulled himself up and screamed at her.

‘DON’T GO PLEASE…DON’T LEAVE ME… MUMMY…I WANT MUMMY…PLEASE
GET MY MUM,’ he sobbed, his tears and snot mingled with his blood as he wiped
his bleeding hands over his face.

‘Franklin...what are you doing up there darling,’ she
called up bewildered, Franklin screamed something at her again, she couldn’t
make out what he was saying but now she could see his face covered in blood and
the panic in his eyes. ’Oh my days…oh goodness me…wait there Franklin…don’t
move sweetheart,’ Mrs Gosling shouted back up nervously ‘I will get help…just
DON’T MOVE OK,’ she said before running inside.

Franklin stayed where he was. A short while later Mrs
Gosling came back outside, with her was Gillian Hill, another neighbour, who
lived a couple of doors down, she called up to Franklin.

‘Ok sweetheart help is on its way…where’s your mum
darling…is she there with you?’

‘I don’t know,’ whispered Franklin, ‘I don’t know where
she is.’