Chapter 2 #2
“That ship sailed, Scar, as much as I love your enthusiasm.” I smile over at her.
She took it hard when me and Mason split up.
Luckily, I didn’t lose her as a friend. “I actually wanted your opinion.” I shuffle up the sofa and bring my legs up under me.
“I think I’m going to let Mason come here to drop off and pick up.
I’m hoping it will make things smoother. For everyone.”
“What?” Luce mutters.
“Bad idea?” I wince.
“Not at all,” she says. “Just surprising. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to see him again. It scares me a little,” I tell them.
“As long as you don’t kill him,” Megan says, giving me a soft wink.
“I just feel like it will rip open the wound all over again, making myself vulnerable when I’m only now finding my feet.”
They go quiet, all lost in thought. It’s been a crazy year for us all. They have been there for me every step of the way and I know it hasn’t always been easy. In fact, it’s been a nightmare at times. Juggling full-time jobs and then dealing with me and my issues after dark.
“I can’t rely on you guys forever.” I sip my wine.
“Yeah, you can.” Lucy gives me a reassuring look, one that leaves no room for question. “But I do think this is the next step and the right one.”
“Do you ever wonder about him? Like…” Scarlet looks at me, trying to think of the right words.
I give her a tight smile. “All the time, Scar.”
All the damn time.
Mase
I put the Bentley into park and stare up through the windscreen at the tower flats in front of me. Clothes hang from the balconies, along with flags and football shirts. The place is a dive. “She lives here?” I ask Charlie as he continues to read the file.
“You need to read this before you go barrelling in there, Mase. She has kids.”
“What?” I frown, flicking my eyes to the paperwork. “How many?”
“Two. Both in care.” He shakes his head as he reads. “She was arrested for being in possession of class A drugs. You need to get more details before you do this. Come back another time.”
“When was this?” Who the fuck is this girl?
When he doesn’t answer, I throw open my door. “Lowell, just give me a fucking second,” he snaps.
I climb from the car and button my suit jacket, lifting my eyes to find two men standing on a balcony three floors up. Cigarette smoke rises between them as their eyes find focus on me. I nod my head to them and round the car.
“You coming, princess?” I ask through Charlie’s window.
He climbs from the car and removes his tie and jacket, then runs his hand through his hair, messing up his styled waves. “Let me do the talking.”
“Fuck off.”
“Trust me. Let me do the talking,” he warns, walking past me and into the building’s entrance.
The cold concrete floor is littered with bottles and plastic waste, haphazardly swept off to the sides to create a walkway. The walls have a musty smell, mould lining the cold concrete. The place is filthy.
We take the stairs to the ninth floor and come to a stop outside flat 36. I stand to the left of the door whilst Charlie steps up and knocks.
“She might be at work,” he tells me when she doesn’t answer after a minute, but I give him a look that says, ‘at this time of day’.
She’s probably sleeping off last night’s shift.
The door rattles then opens. “Who are you?” she asks in a strong east London accent.
I can’t see her from my concealed spot, but I can see Charlie, and his reaction has me craning my neck around the door to get a look at her.
Her eyes are scanning Charlie up and down as she pulls on the hem of her jumper. Her eyes meet mine and realisation quickly sets in.
“You,” she panics.
“Lowell!” Charlie warns as I wedge myself between the door and the doorframe, stopping her from shutting it.
I look up and into her face, only inches away from my own.
Those eyes.
I’d remember them anywhere. They still haunt me in my dreams.
She has bleached hair, which throws me off, because if it was dark, you’d think she was the girl I fell in love with once upon a time.
This is Nina’s sister alright.
“Get out or I’ll call the police,” she yells, her voice shaking.
“Good idea. Although, I’d open a couple windows first.”
She scoffs. “No one ever got arrested for smoking a bit of weed, rich boy,” she taunts, stepping back. And I get the sense her words lack the confidence she probably intended.
“No, maybe not, but my friend here. He is one of the best lawyers in the city. I’ve seen the pull he has in a court of law.”
“You don’t scare me,” she says, flicking her eyes to Charlie.
My hand snaps out, grasping her jaw tight enough to show I’m serious but loose enough to not leave a mark. “Who paid you?”
“What? Get off me.” She struggles, trying to snatch her head away from my grip.
“You’ll fucking tell me! You—”
“Lowell!” Charlie steps between us as she pushes my hand from her face. “You were paid to pose in photos with this man, yes?” he asks.
I put my hands on my hips as my nostrils flare.
“I want you to leave.” She looks at the clock on the wall. “You need to leave.”
“Not until you tell me who paid you!” I snap, completely losing my cool.
“Lowell,” Charlie repeats.
“We leave now, and she’ll never let us through the door again!” I turn back to face her. “Tell me!”
“I don’t know, okay? I just did what I was told to do.”
I can feel my face heating as I step towards her. I go to run my hand through my hair, and she flinches, making me pause and question why.
I tilt my head, glaring as I search her bloodshot eyes.
She walks to the window and peeks out, her hand shaking on the curtain. “You need to leave. Please!”
“Are you safe here, Jasmine?” Charlie asks, picking up on the same feeling I am.
She frowns, smoothing the yellow strands of hair behind her ears. “Yes. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“You need to tell me who paid you! I won’t hesitate to have you arrested and thrown in prison.”
Threatening her is probably the last thing I should be doing right now.
“What for?” She frowns.
I can see Charlie’s eyes burning into the side of my head, but I don’t face him. “For being a fucking whore!” I yell, the last of my control clearly gone.
She frowns, shrinking back, her face awash with sorrow.
This woman isn’t a prostitute.
She hasn’t got it in her.
“What’s that noise?” Charlie asks, but I can hear nothing past the drumming in my chest.
She’s not going to tell me.
She doesn’t know.
Jasmine’s eyes dart to the door between the kitchen and the sofa, and I still as the noise registers.
“Is that—”
Stepping forward, I push open the door with the palm of my hand, which gives me the perfect view of the room behind it.
The blood that was boiling on the surface of my skin seems to drain from my body, leaving me staring wide-eyed at the baby standing up in the cot.
Jasmine moves quickly, bending and scooping the little girl up in her arms, clinging on tight.
She didn’t want us to see this.
Shit.
“What the fu—”
“Lowell, shut up,” Charlie warns, his voice noticeably softer. “You have two boys, both in care?” he asks Jasmine, taking a step towards her.
Her eyes close and when they open tears brim them.
“Not from my doing. I’m getting them back.”
“I’ve read your file, Jasmine, please don’t lie,” Charlie states.
“I’m not lying. I took the blame, but it wasn’t me.”
I snort, making Charlie turn. He pins me with a glare. “And this little one. She’s yours?”
“Yes.” A tear runs down her cheek and I turn, running my hands through my hair. I don’t want to feel sorry for this girl—she ruined my life.
“You have no record for this baby. Why?” I ask.
“She’d be taken away; I can’t lose any more of my babies, I can’t,” she cries.
“Fuck!”
“Lowell!”
I walk to the kitchen, shaking my head as I take in the baby bottles amongst the dishes. How didn’t I notice them before?
My eyes catch something in the sink, and I lean over to get a better look.
A used syringe lies in the bottom of the sink.
I see red.
“Show me your arms,” I demand, taking quick strides to her.
Lifting her arm, I search for track marks but don’t find any, just bruises on her bicep. Four fingers and a thumb wrap around her small muscle in a purple and black marking.
I close my eyes, running my tongue over my teeth, my head fucked.
What now?
How do I leave her here? How do I leave a baby here?
This woman wrecked everything.
She’s Nina’s sister.
Nina.
“You’re coming with us,” Charlie tells her. “Pack a bag.”
I let out the breath I was holding, opening my eyes when her words come out in a rush.
“What?!” she panics. “No, I’m not! I can’t.”
“Pack a bag,” I grit out, watching as she grips her daughter tighter.
She swallows thickly, looking at the window and back to us.
She wants to leave.
“What are you afraid of?” I finally ask her, trying to smooth my tone.
“He will follow me,” she admits, her voice barely audible.
Charlie looks at me, and I nod in understanding. She’s a victim, as we thought. “He won’t find you.” I frown, wondering what the hell I’m doing.
“I can’t.” She shakes her head.
“But you want to?” Charlie asks.
She shakes her head, but tears fall and then she shrugs. “I’m…”
“Pack a bag. Before I change my mind.”
She’s jumpy, looking around us as we load the car.
The street is quiet, but a few people are watching from their balconies in curiosity.
It’s a bad idea—terrible even, and I have no plan to speak of, but I know I can’t leave her here.
A child. A baby. I can’t leave a minor in this hellhole. Neither can Charlie.
“Has she had her injections, health checks?” I ask, looking at her through the rearview mirror once in the car.
She nods her head, not meeting my eyes. “My friend is a midwife. She helped me deliver.”
Charlie scrubs at his face, his frustration starting to creep into his calm facade. He already knows this is now damage control, especially if she had help.
“Do you have a child?” she asks, her voice shaking.
“Why?”
She looks anywhere but at me. “The baby seat, I just presumed.”
Everything becomes real in that moment.
What the fuck am I doing?
This woman fucked me over and I’ve just pulled her from her home.
“You’re going to hand Betty over to the authorities.”
She stands from her spot on my sofa and starts rushing to grab all her things, Betty grasped tight in her arms. “No way. She can’t be without me.”
“Charlie’s looked into every other option. There’s no way they’d let you keep her in your current situation.”
“Bullshit!” she spits out, panic washing over her pale face. “You can’t take her. Please. I’m sorry,” she cries.
“This isn’t about what you did, Jasmine. You said you wanted to get your children back. This is the first step if you want to get them back for good.”
“No. I can do it myself. I don’t need your help.”
“We both know that’s not true. Not like this.” I gesture towards Betty, feeling like the worst person in the world. I don’t want to take them away from each other, but this really is the only option.
“Fuck you!” she snaps, getting worked up, tears streaming down her face.
“Jasmine, you need to listen to Mason. I know this is hard, but it’s an opportunity for you to get better and back on your feet. He’s offering you something not many would, given the circumstances.”
She looks at me, swallowing thickly, then shakes her head no.
“I will put you up and give you a job. Keep your head down and stay away from the shit littered in your apartment—”
“That wasn’t mine.”
“And you will get your children back. All of them.”
She thinks on it, and I see the moment she gives in, her lip trembling as she bounces Betty in her arms, her chin resting on her head as she looks to the ceiling. “What do you gain from all of this?” she croaks.
Me? Nothing.
Nina? Eventually… a sister.