Chapter 17
Seventeen
Tabitha
She sat at the table picking at the pancakes that Aunt Claudia had made.
It was rude that Brian still hadn’t come downstairs but Tabby knew that Brian had stayed up really late because she’d been watching him through the gap in his open door.
Her thoughts returned to their aunt and her strange behaviour.
She’d been out a lot lately and acting a little strange, like she was nervous about something.
Breakfast had been a surprise. Their aunt didn’t make breakfast every day but she had some news, apparently.
‘Can you call your brother again? What’s taking him so long?’ Aunt Claudia began straightening up her suit ready to leave for work. Her blonde hair in a French pleat – pristine as usual. She zipped her laptop bag up and placed it on a stool.
Tabitha shrugged, left her food and walked to the bottom of the stairs before bellowing at the top of her voice. ‘Dumbass, get down now or I’ll eat your pancakes.’
A few moments later, he was pulling his T-shirt on over his head as he hurried down. ‘Good, they’re probably disgusting anyway.’
‘Don’t let her hear you say that. Be kind, you dick.’
He puffed his cheeks up and blew out a long breath. ‘You’re so annoying. Your voice hurts my head.’
‘You’re so annoying because your ugly face hurts my eyes. No wonder you’ve never had a girlfriend.’ She gave him a light friendly punch on the arm.
‘Great, you got up before I left,’ Aunt Claudia said, passing him a plate full of pancakes. He grimaced and took them. However good Aunt Claudia thought she was at cooking, both she and Brian knew that her food was awful. ‘Sit.’
‘What is it?’ Tabitha asked.
‘Thank you for being interested. I’ve got a promotion at work. You’re looking at a manager now so I’m going to be out of the house a lot more.’
‘Congratulations.’ Tabby hurried over to their aunt and hugged her.
She never stopped being grateful that Aunt Claudia had taken them in after their parents had died.
Without her they’d have definitely ended up apart, in care.
Brian sat at the table, pushing bits of over eggy pancake around his plate.
The kitchen smelled like a sulphury drain.
She knew what was on Brian’s mind, omelette and chocolate sauce do not go.
‘Brian.’ She raised her brows and he came over and hugged Aunt Claudia, too.
‘Happy for you, Auntie.’ He sat back down and poured juice.
‘Were you tapping away into the early hours, Brian? I’m getting concerned that you’re not getting enough sleep?’
He looked up. ‘I’m fine. I don’t need sleep.’
Tabitha swallowed, worried about what her brother was getting up to on his computer.
Aunt Claudia was always so busy and hardly ever in, she wouldn’t even notice if something was really wrong with Brian.
She’d seen snippets of messages between Brian and some boy named Cody.
She swore to herself she’d keep an eye on him and she had. What was down the dark path?
Aunt Claudia cleared her throat. ‘Well, the promotion means I have to go on a couple of training days. A space became free on the course but I don’t have all the details yet.
I’ll be leaving either later today or tomorrow, and, well, you guys are sixteen and eighteen so I’d like to think I can leave you here on your own overnight. Can I?’
Aunt Claudia had never left them for a single night.
Tabitha glanced at Brian, wondering if he’d be left in charge.
He was the oldest. With him in charge, he’d boss her around.
There would be no one to tell if Brian got into trouble when he went down the dark path and she was scared of what that might mean.
She couldn’t get those two videos out of her mind.
The woman with the flowery sheets and the man who’d been happily going about his day, clearly not knowing that he had an audience.
Truth be told, she was scared of what Brian was getting himself into.
Their dead dad wouldn’t be proud of Brian junior for spying on people.
‘Of course you can. We’ll be fine, won’t we, Tabby?’ he replied, interrupting her thoughts.
Aunt Claudia raised her perfect brows. ‘I’ll be getting next door to keep an eye out.
I don’t want anyone around here. Well, maybe one person each.
Curtis for you, Brian, because, well… it’s like he lives here anyway, and one of your girlfriends, Tabby.
Any sign of a party, I’ll have to come home and you will blow this promotion.
Do you both understand how important this is for me, for us?
The money would make the world of difference. ’
Tabitha nodded.
‘No parties. Got it.’ Brian put his untouched breakfast by the sink and headed to the door. ‘I best have a shower before work.’
‘Tabby, you’ll keep an eye on him, won’t you? I worry about how much time he spends on that computer.’
She opened her mouth, wondering if she should open up to Aunt Claudia about what Brian had been watching online but she closed it again.
If she was to say something, she’d ruin Aunt Claudia’s promotion because their aunt would end up staying home to be with them and she didn’t want that.
This set up worked because they didn’t cause her any trouble.
She grabbed her school blazer from the back of the chair and slipped it on.
‘Like Brian said, we’ll be fine. He’s only watching dog videos on YouTube. He’s sad like that.’
Aunt Claudia checked her watch. ‘And we’re still not getting a dog.
’ She smiled. ‘I knew I could rely on you guys to be so responsible.’ She came over and hugged Tabitha.
‘Right, you best get your stuff and go to school. Oh, one more thing, Tabby, can you ask Brian to stop off at the chemist over the next couple of days? They have my prescription ready and I don’t have time to collect it. ’
‘No probs,’ she replied. Tabitha bounded upstairs, two at a time until she almost bumped into Brian. ‘Aunt Claudia said can you pick her tablets up when you get the chance?’
He ignored what she said. ‘Why were you lurking outside my bedroom door last night?’
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Damn, he’d seen her walking back into her bedroom. ‘I wasn’t.’
‘Were. Don’t bullshit me, Tabby.’
‘Okay, I’m worried about you after seeing those videos.’
‘I told you. They’re nothing. Everyone watches them.’
‘Did Curtis drag you into all that?’
‘No.’ He scrunched his nose up. ‘If you want to know it was your revolting ex, Abel.’
She stared at him.
‘I found a card in my pocket with the site advertised on it. I think Abel put it there because I’d been hanging around by the shops.’
‘He is not my ex, by the way. I wish you’d stop calling him that.’
‘Really? Because I had to get the pills that prove you had a thing with him.’
‘It wasn’t a thing. It was a one-time thing and Abel Holloway was a bad mistake.’
‘Whatever.’ He stared at her. ‘You should worry less about me, Tabby, and more about the long dark path you’ve been taking. You know Abel is a drug dealer, don’t you? I could go to the police, tip them off and tell them where he keeps his stash. In fact, I might just do that.’
She swallowed and stopped herself from saying what she thought.
Brian was right, she wasn’t doing so well herself.
Only she knew where Abel kept his stash and she’d accidentally blabbed to Brian.
He’d accidentally told her when he’d been high.
Abel would come for her if the police found out.
She had to warn Abel. Brian might not care about Abel and his temper but she certainly did.
Brian shrugged and grinned, obviously feeling like he’d played a masterstroke in distracting her from what was going on in his life.
Please don’t take the dark path, Brian. In her heart she knew something terrible awaited her brother if he did and she knew something terrible would happen to her if she didn’t get to Abel and warn him.
That was her only way out of this because if she crossed Abel, he had something on her and he’d ruin her life in a heartbeat.