Chapter Forty-One
‘What are you doing here?’ said Riley, scowling at Chegs.
He remained in the doorway, swaying, before putting his hand out to steady himself. ‘I knew you’d be at book group tonight. I’ve come to win you back.’
‘I’m not a maiden at a fucking jousting match,’ she said, crossing her arms.
‘I’m not sure it’s the right time for this, young man,’ said Joe. ‘Why don’t you go home and sober up?’
‘I want to talk to Riley,’ Chegs slurred. ‘I want to tell her how sorry I am.’
‘Too little, too late. You made your choice,’ said Riley, ‘and since then, I’ve made a few of my own.’
‘Off you go, Chegs,’ said Erin. ‘We’re in the middle of something here.’
‘Hold on. Maybe you should stay.’ Riley stood.
‘Take a seat.’ Chegs stumbled into the room and Riley directed him into a chair at the other side while the others watched on, confused.
Riley turned back to the group. ‘If it’s all right with you, I’ll do my last pages now, and then Chegs can hear what I’ve got to say. ’
‘Righto,’ said Susan, and Erin and the others sat back and waited for the scene to unfold.
Riley took her phone from her pocket and handed it to Adam who was in his usual upright chair at the edge of the group.
‘Can you film this for me, please?’ She adjusted the settings to make sure the shot was what she wanted, before moving closer to Chegs, who was slumped in a chair, breathing heavily.
‘You happy to be in this if I post it?’ she asked. He nodded mutely.
‘My next chapters,’ announced Riley. She dropped her gaze to the floor, then up again, her eyes bright and defiant.
‘In the story of your life, plot and character matter most,’ she began.
‘And you need a structure, so I’ll start with my inciting incident, the thing that changes the status quo.
’ She walked to the left, then returned to the same spot, a thoughtful expression on her face.
‘Mine was my mum’s first overdose.’ She paused.
‘Or was it? You see, it was her body limp, drooling onto the threadbare carpet, a needle sticking out of her arm, not mine. My body was still growing – too fast for my clothes to keep up, two inches of skinny ankles showing below last year’s skinny jeans. ’
The image of Riley standing over her mother, a scared, neglected child, appeared in Erin’s mind and she wanted to scoop her up and hold her to her chest.
‘And it’s my story I’m telling, so let’s focus on that scrawny kid.
’ She tapped her cheek. ‘In terms of genre, my youth would be a work of worthy literary fiction, the kind where well-written tales of poverty and addiction win prizes.’ She made her eyes wide.
‘The only prize I won was for having the best cheekbones in our class. It was made up by the popular girls in Year 9, and they gave me a tatty piece of paper with a star drawn on it. I’ve still got it somewhere at the bottom of a drawer.
You see, I was thrilled to be noticed by anyone beyond the kids on our estate.
’ She lowered her voice. ‘They only spoke to me when they wanted me to deliver packages. I took those packages because that’s how I got the money for the beans and bread we lived off – the diet that gained me the desirably gaunt face and award-winning cheekbones. ’ She vogued. ‘Win, fucking win.’
She dropped her hands.‘It’s a bit bleak, so I’ll spare you the rising action.
’ She addressed the camera and narrowed her eyes conspiratorially.
‘But we all love a midpoint reversal, right? I went further than that. I changed genres. I left the award-worthy misery and embarked on a love story.’ She put her hand to her chest. ‘I won’t lie; I thought it was a fairytale.
’ She gestured to Chegs. ‘Cue Prince Charming.’ He peered at the camera and smiled.
Erin cringed as she anticipated what was on its way.
‘Prince Charming invited me into his black-tie world. She shall go to the ball!’ Riley did a twirl.
‘For a while I stopped dreaming of the needle sticking out of my mother’s arm every night, and maybe I should be grateful for that.
’ Her tone turned dark. ‘But I’m not, because this love story ends with the cute, rich boy shaving my head because he wanted to see what it looked like.
’ She touched her fingers to her scalp where the hair was still only an inch long.
‘And in the next chapter he moved The Wicked Witch of the West into his flat and shagged her.’ She wrinkled her nose and turned her back on Chegs.
‘So that’s when I stopped reading.’ She mimes closing a book and throwing it over her shoulder.
‘And now the pages ahead of me are clean and bare and I’m excited about that.
I’m going to choose the words I write in the coming chapters so very carefully and be very discerning about the characters I allow onto the page.
Between you and me, I’ve already learned who my true supporting cast are.
’ She blew a kiss to her assembled friends, before focusing back on the camera.
‘And I’m going to write and perform, to share my next pages with anyone who’d like to follow what comes next for me.
My name is Riley Moore, and this is the start of my brand new story.
You can find me on my social media channels and at the gigs I’ll be doing, if you’d like to see where future chapters lead. ’
Riley grinned and bowed as applause rang out.
‘You are brilliant,’ said Erin, getting to her feet and taking Riley in her arms. She tried to convey how sorry she was for all that her friend had experienced in her young life, and how much she loved her in the intensity of that hug, before letting her go because the others were queuing up to do the same.
A cough from behind reminded them Chegs was still there. Riley turned. ‘You can go now,’ she said.
He scowled. ‘But I haven’t said what I wanted to yet.’
‘I’m really not interested. I’m the one doing the talking these days.’
Adam stepped forwards but before he had a chance to speak, Susan addressed Chegs, ‘On your way, you silly little man.’
He peered up at her, as if not quite able to believe she was talking to him.
‘You heard the lady,’ said Joe.
‘Want me to escort you to the door?’ asked Adam, pulling himself up to his full height and looming over Chegs.
Chegs stood unsteadily and, with a practised expression of indignance, he left the café, wobbled down Brigade Street and out of sight.