CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It was the following Friday and I was waiting with Penny in my car outside the school. We were talking about Will.
She’d been to the school and talked to Will’s teacher about the bullying and she said she was feeling so much better just knowing the school was now aware of what was going on.
‘But honestly, I think being in the show will help Will so much with his confidence,’ she said. ‘I feel like he’s blossomed since he got the part of Shrek. And that’s all thanks to you.’
I smiled. ‘I’m really glad.’
‘He’s made some new friends as well. His best buddy seems to be a boy called Daniel. He plays the part of Donkey in the show?’
‘Hey, that’s great. I’m so pleased for him.’ I felt quite emotional hearing about Will’s transformation from being the target for Lewis’s bullying to being the star of the school Christmas show.
‘Look, I realise things are a bit awkward for you with my brother at the moment,’ Penny was saying, ‘but I know Will would love it if you came to see him in the show. We’ve got a spare ticket?’
I hesitated, weighed down by heartache. ‘Maybe. We’ll see.’
Penny had guessed I wasn’t myself and I’d found myself admitting to her that my relationship with Caleb seemed to be on the rocks .
. . that he’d obviously gone off me. She’d rubbished that idea immediately, saying it was clear he was crazy about me.
But I’d known she was only saying it to make me feel better.
By her own admission, she hadn’t actually seen Caleb to talk to for ages .
. . and a lot could happen in a few short weeks . . .
‘Oh, here he comes.’ Penny smiled. ‘Don’t wave. He gets embarrassed.’
We watched as Will chatted to another boy outside the school gates. Then he ran over to the car and hopped in the back seat, saying, ‘Daniel’s got a new bike so he’s going to ride over tomorrow afternoon and we’re going on a mish.’
‘That sounds good. As long as you’re careful.’
Will sighed. ‘I’m always careful, Mum.’
‘Of course you are.’ Penny’s eyes swivelled to mine with a secret smile.
‘A mish?’ I murmured, puzzled, as we set off for Penny’s house.
‘Mission.’
‘Ah, right.’ I glanced at Will in my rear-view mirror. ‘Hi, Will.’
He smiled. ‘Hi. I don’t need babysitting any more, you know.’
‘I’d still prefer someone to be with you when I go out,’ said Penny. ‘But you are twelve now, so we’ll have a chat about it soon, okay?’
Will shrugged. ‘Okay. So you’re going out with Dad tonight? What’s that all about, then?’
‘Just a friendly drink and a meal.’ She turned and smiled at him. ‘We’ll probably spend the evening talking about you. I said I’d take your dad out for dinner to thank him for rescuing me from that awful date the other week.’
Suddenly, there was a loud roar from behind us and when I looked back, a car I’d noticed travelling close behind me earlier, was now overtaking and getting dangerously near to actually shunting me off the road.
‘Whoa! That was mad!’ exclaimed Will as it screeched past, missing us by what seemed like a hair’s breadth, before cutting in front of us in an aggressive manner, which meant I had to stamp on the brake. A few seconds later, the car accelerated away from us at speed.
‘What the hell was he doing?’ Penny looked white as a sheet.
‘I don’t know. He was virtually tailgating me from the moment we drove away from the school.’ I leaned forward, peering at the black car as it vanished into the distance. There was something about it that seemed familiar.
‘Total maniac!’ exclaimed Penny. ‘Honestly, there are so many angry, impatient people on the roads these days, it’s really quite scary.’
I murmured my agreement.
But when I parked outside the house and got out of the car, my legs were shaking so much I had to lean against the door for a second to steady myself.
I’d recognised the vehicle that had deliberately cut us up back there. It had a roof rack that wasn’t quite straight.
It was the same car that had mounted the pavement that night outside my flat and almost mown me down . . .
*****
A little later, after Penny had gone out to meet Tom, I sat in the living room and tried to watch TV. But I couldn’t concentrate – I just kept thinking about that car and who could have been behind the wheel – and eventually, I switched the TV off and went through to the kitchen to make some tea.
Was someone intent on harming me? Or at least scaring me?
But who?
It made no sense at all, and in the end, I decided I must have been mistaken in thinking that the aggressive driver on my tail tonight was the same one who’d driven at me on the pavement a few weeks ago. I’d jumped to a very big conclusion, linking the two in my head.
It had looked like the same car because of the roof rack. But lots of black cars had roof racks. As far as I knew, I didn’t have any enemies, and certainly no one who would want to hurt me physically – or even psychologically, by scaring me to death.
I was shaking my head at my overactive imagination as I left the kitchen and wandered back to my spot on the sofa.
The curtains were still open so I set down my tea and crossed to the window to draw them, and as I did so, I looked out at the street.
A dark-coloured car with its lights on was parked right outside the house.
I couldn’t see it properly in the gloom, especially as the car was partly obscured by the low hedge that surrounded Penny’s small front garden. But my heart was suddenly beating very fast. Who was it? And why were the lights on? Was that suspicious? Or was it just my imagination again?
I glanced upwards. Will was in his room. He was mad about cars so he would surely be able to tell me if the car parked outside was also the one that overtook us earlier in such a dangerous manner.
I knocked on the door and explained, and he ran to the window to look out.
‘Yeah, it’s that same car again,’ he confirmed.
‘The same car as the one that overtook us and nearly forced me off the road?’
He nodded. ‘I saw it parked out there once before.’
‘You did?’ A cold hand gripped my insides. ‘Are you sure it was the same one?’
He nodded. ‘I can check in my notebook if you like.’ Picking it up from his bedside table, he leafed through and finally found it. ‘There it is. BMW 4 Series Coupé.’ He reeled off the number plate.
‘Can you see the number plate from up here?’
‘Yup. It’s definitely the same one as last time.’
I swallowed. ‘Have you . . . do you record the date in your notebook?’
‘Yes. The time as well.’ He told me when it was, and I felt the colour drain from my face.
It was the night Caleb and I had looked after Will while Penny went out with her friends. We’d driven over to Penny’s in my car.
Had the sinister black car been following me that night as well?
*****
I felt my head swim with confusion. Stars were exploding at the sides of my vision and I thought I might faint so I sat down rather suddenly on the end of Will’s bed, my head in my hands.
‘Are you all right?’
I looked up and Will was gazing at me, a concerned look on his face.
‘Yes. Sorry, yes . . . just a bit faint, that’s all.’
‘You need to put your head between your knees,’ he told me. ‘That’s what Alice in my class has to do when her blood sugar drops and she nearly passes out.’
‘Right,’ I mumbled, and I did what he suggested.
‘Do you feel any better?’ Will asked a minute later.
I raised my head and smiled up at him. ‘I do. Thank you.’
‘Are you worried about that car out there, nearly forcing us off the road? Was that what made you feel faint?’
I gave a shaky sigh. ‘I suppose it was. I’ve . . . seen that car before myself and . . . well, I had to nip out of the way of it on the pavement pretty smartly, otherwise I might have lost a foot!’ I added, keeping it light-hearted.
‘On the pavement?’ Will looked shocked.
I shrugged. ‘These things happen, I suppose. I think the driver must have lost control for a moment.’
‘That’s pretty dangerous, though.’
‘I thought so.’
‘Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘You know what, Will? I would love some tea. My other cup will be cold by now.’
‘Shall I put sugar in it? Gran always says that’s good when you’ve had a shock.’
I smiled. ‘Grannies are very wise. Two spoonsful, please.’
‘Okay.’ He dashed out of the room as if getting sugar into me was a matter of life or death. Slowly, I got to my feet and went to the window, making sure I was hidden by the curtain.
The car with its headlights on had gone.
Relief washed through me. What did it mean? Should I report it? But what would I say? That a mysterious car had almost run me over, and I’d seen the same car several more times in suspicious circumstances? Maybe I would call the police, but not right now. I didn’t feel strong enough.
I made my way downstairs to the kitchen, where I could hear snatches of Will talking to someone on the phone: ‘Yes, that’s what she said . . . nearly ran her over and she was really scared . . .’
I guessed he was probably talking to his friend, Daniel – the one who was playing the part of Donkey in the show.
Ending the call, he peered at me. ‘You look bad. Go and sit down. I’ll bring you your tea.’
‘Thank you, Will.’ I smiled gratefully and returned to the sitting room.
Will brought chocolate biscuits as well, and he sat on the arm of a chair observing me while I drank my tea, like a nurse looking after his patient.
We ate biscuits and talked about the school show, and when he casually asked if I wanted to go and see it because his mum had a spare ticket, of course I said I would love to.
‘I’m feeling much better. I’ll be fine from now on,’ I told him at last, releasing him with a smile from his nursing commitment.
‘Okay.’ He got up, then he looked back at me nervously. ‘If you need anything, just shout?’
‘I will. And thank you so much for –’
A ferocious banging on the front door made both of us jump.
‘What on earth?’ I gasped.
‘I’ll go and see who it is.’ Will dashed through to the hall.
‘Will! No, wait . . .’
But he was already opening the front door and speaking to someone . . . and to my relief, I recognised the voice.
Caleb?