The Mute and the Liar (34 page)

“
Can
we
help
you?
”
he
spits.
The
boy
shuffles,
and
light
pink
taints
his
dimpled
cheeks.
Jayce
turns to
me.

“
So
you
like
posh
boys?
Well,
did
you
know
I
was
a
choirboy
here
too?
Did all the singing and
stuff.
”

“
I
don’t
remember
you,
”
the
boy
mumbles.
Startled
a
little, Jayce
looks
up
at
him,
probably
not
expecting
the
boy
to
talk
to
him.

“
I
wasn't talking to you,
”
Jayce snaps.
“
Go back to whatever
posh boys do. Go
back
to
drinking
tea
and
watching
horse
races.
”

“
That’s
not
very
nice,
”
he
mutters
indignantly,
crossing
his
arms
and
sticking
his
nose
in
the
air.
He
is
probably
the
same
age
as
Jayce
and
his
posh
voice
makes
him
sound
older,
but
with
the
way
he
acts
you’d
think
he
was
a
toddler.

“
I’ve
never
been
'nice.'
Now
would
you
care
to
stop
ogling
my
girl?
”
That
breaks
the
boy’s
‘too
cool’
façade,
and
he
looks
down
again,
his
cheeks
burning
even
more.
And
did
he
just
call
me
‘His
girl?’
What
is
Jayce
playing
at?
I
glare at him,
but he just grins at me.

“
Sorry.
She’s…
She’s
very
pretty,
”
the
boy
says
sweetly,
but
I
am
too
shocked at
what
Jayce
just
said
to
register
it.

“
What’s
your
name,
kid?
Let
me guess,
Jeremiah?
Jonathon?
Jerome?
”
“
Jeffrey.
”

“
I
swear
that
was
one
of
the
options.
”

“
And
don’t
call
me
a
kid.
I’m
probably
older
than
you,
”
Jeffrey
ponders
over
something
for
a
few
seconds,
and
then
shrugs
his
shoulders,
seemingly
coming
to
a
conclusion
about
something.
“
Anyway,
I’m
bored,
so
do
you
want
a
free
tour?
”

“
Why would
I
want
a
tour
of
a
place
I
have
been
in
a
million
times?
”

“
I
wasn’t
asking
you.
I
was
asking
the
lady.
Do
you
want
a
free
tour?
”
he
turns
to
me
with
a
softness
in
his
eyes.
I
nod
just
to
annoy
Jayce
and
feel
a
glimmer
of
triumph
when
Jayce
rolls
his
eyes
and
slumps
back
in
his
chair
.
Jeffrey
grins
,
stretches
out
his
arms
and
loudly
addresses
all
the
pews,
as
though speaking to
hundreds
of
people,
even
though it’s
just the two of us.

“
Welcome
to
the
Abbey!
I’m
Jeffrey
and
I
will
be
your
tour
guide
for
this
morning.
We
are
going
to
climb
a
lot
of
stairs
today,
so
be
prepared!
”

*****

2:00 PM

I
learnt
so
much,
like
how
since
757
AD
three
different
churches
have
occupied
the
site
of
the
Abbey,
those
being
an
Anglo-Saxon
Abbey
Church
in
757
but
pulled
down
in
1066,
a
Norman
cathedral
begun
being
built
around
1090
and
the
present
Abbey
Church
which
was
founded
in
1499, but was only
completed
in
1611.
I
also learnt
it
has
a
lot
of
stairs.

When we finished the tour, I invited Jeffrey to come explore Bath with us. I thought I would feel safer around Jayce if he was with us too. Jayce wasn't too impressed, but Jeffrey said yes. So that's what we did. First we visited
the Roman Baths, which were beautiful, but also a little daunting. They were quite small and the water was green and from where we were standing reflected nothing, like instead of reflecting the world, it was consuming the world into its murky depths instead. Then we just wandered around the town centre. Jayce chased loads of pigeons in this big square area where there were hundreds of them. It looked fun so Jeffrey and I joined in and soon we ended up chasing each other.

We all got ice creams after that. I picked strawberry one. Although I don't usually eat foods other than cereal pasta and some fruits and vegetables, I can't resist an ice cream! Jayce ended up getting his ice cream on his nose, which I found really funny. Then we went to a shop selling sunglasses and tried on the most ridiculous pairs of sunglasses we could find. I chose a bright pink pair with huge butterfly-like lenses.

I didn't feel like I was a hostage. I felt like I was with a friend. I even stopped feeling scared at one point, just forgot about everything. Is that really bad?

I know I should still feel scared of Jayce. I do. But it's so easy to forget that when he acts like this. When he acts like a friend. I had to remind myself at least twice that he's not, that he is a dangerous person and I need to be on my guard at all times and thinking of a way to escape.

I did consider escaping and I kept trying to think of ways I could do that. But there wasn't an opportunity for me to do that - Jayce kept close beside me at all times. I think I will have to wait until we go back to Nick and Kit.

Jeffrey had to go back to the Abbey after that to do another tour. I felt a little sad when he left - I would rather he stayed with me. Now that it's back to just Jayce and I, I'm starting to feel like a hostage all over again.

Now Jayce and I are back in the crowded centre.
He is a little ahead of me.

“
Hey
there!
Watch
where
you’re
going!
”
Someone
has
just
slammed
into
Jayce.

I
look
up
to
see
a
gangly
boy
with
his
raven
h
ai
r
in
some sort of
Mohawk
hairstyle.
There
is
a
scar
running
underneath
his
dark
brown
eyes and he’s
got more
metal
chains wrapped around
him
than Houdini.

“
Jayce?
Is
that
you?
”

“
Ryo?
”

They
share
a
moment
of
recognition,
and
suddenly
both
grin
and
do
that
weird
‘
m
an
-
hug’
all
boys
do.

“
Woah,
what
are
you
doing
here,
man?
”
Ryo
laughs,
and
some
of
his
friends
have
also
started
bundling
around
Jayce
and
throwing
themselves
on
him.

“
Oh
you
know,
just
visiting
family
and
friends
and
stuff.
But
really
just
here
for
the
parties
and
free
beer.
Just
the
usual,
you
know,
sleeping
in,
sleeping with,
same old,
same
old.
”