SOMEONE DIFFERENT (17 page)

‘Jay! Oh, thank God.’ She squeezed my hand then kissed it.

Although my mouth opened as soon as I asked it to, no sound came out. I tried to wet my lips, but I had no spit. It took quite a bit of doing, but eventually I croaked, ‘Are ya OK?’

She laughed. ‘Me OK? I’m on top of the bloody world now you’re awake. How do you feel, does anything hurt?’

Why would it? I felt a bit dizzy, a bit
head-achy, and proper knackered, but nothing hurt.

I began to shake my head, then decided not to; maybe it didn’t feel quite so good after all. ‘I’m fine,’ I said instead.

‘Shall I go and tell them you’re awake?’

‘Who?’

‘The doctors, the nurses ... Jay, you’re in hospital.’

I glanced around and went cold. The Mazda, the five guys, the baseball bat. Oh, God. ‘Billy?’ I said.

Anna touched my shoulder. ‘Shush. Don’t worry, I’ll go and get someone, I’ll come straight back, I promise.’

She stepped away but I grabbed her arm. I couldn’t face being left on my own.

She glanced down at my shaking hand, moved closer again and stroked my forehead. ‘It’s OK. Jay, you’re safe now; everything’s OK.’

I don’t know what she did, but she pressed something behind my bed, and a couple of seconds later a nurse walked in.

‘Oh, hello there,’ she said cheerfully. Then as she got nearer, ‘Is everything alright?’

I made an effort to lift my head off the pillow, but only managed about an inch before it dropped back down again. ‘My mate, Billy – where is he?’

The nurse hesitated. ‘Is that the young person who was attacked at the same time as you?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I don’t know for sure I’m afraid, I’d have to go and find out. But first I need to check you’re all OK.’

Anna held my hand while the nurse did my temperature and blood pressure and stuff, then wrote it all down. It took ages; I swear she was slow timing, but at least it gave me a chance to stop shaking.

‘Can I have a drink?’ I said, when she’d finished.

‘Only a drop for now.’ She helped me lift my head so I could swallow the mouthful of water, then she said, ‘Your mum was here a little while ago.’

‘Was she?’ I turned to Anna. ‘Did you see her?’

‘Yes. She, err, was ever so worried.’

‘How long did she stay?’

They glanced at each other. ‘Quite a while,’ Anna said.

I sighed. ‘Wish I’d seen her. Did she look OK?’

‘She seemed fine. And I’m sure she’ll come back to see you again soon; she really was concerned.’ Anna smiled, and for a second I even believed it myself.

‘So, what about Billy then?’ I asked the nurse.

She put her pen back in her uniform pocket. ‘Give me a few minutes, and I’ll try my best to find out.’

Anna kissed me as soon as the door closed.

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘My breath’s probably a bit mingin’.’

‘Don’t be silly.’ She undid the buttons on her coat. ‘It’s become roasting in here.’

I tried to whistle, but my lips were still proper dry. ‘Nice dress,’ I said.

She smiled. ‘My parents think I’m at that party. I should receive an award for the story I invented so they’d drop me off at six.’

‘How ya gonna get home though?’

‘It’s alright – I’ve thought it through this time. I’ll get a taxi back to Lizzie’s, then Dad’s picking me up at midnight.’

The nurse came back in then, and another nurse followed her. I watched as they stopped at the end of the bed, and when they didn’t say anything for a bit, I started to burn up.

‘What?’ I said.

The one who’d been there before spoke first. ‘Your friend, is his full name Billy Clayton?’

‘Yeah.’

She put her hand on the metal part of the bed. ‘Jayden, I’m really sorry, but he died – shortly after he’d been admitted.’

Anna made a sort of choking noise at my side, but I just shook my head. ‘He can’t have,’ I said.

‘He has, love. I’m sorry. It happened just after eight o’clock last night.’

My face screwed up and a pain stabbed deep inside. ‘They killed him? That fuckin’ ginger rat killed him?’ I breathed hard and fast, but it still felt like I was suffocating. ‘They can’t have ... not Billy ...’

I slid my arms back. The pain in my ribs made me gasp, but I managed to wriggle up on to my elbows and glance from side to side. I had to get out. I don’t know where to, but I couldn’t stay there.

The nurse came round, leaned over me and put her hand on my shoulder. ‘Jayden –’

‘Get off me,’ I yelled. ‘I want to see him. I don’t believe ya.’

‘I know you’re upset,’ she went on. ‘But please, just try to calm down.’

I yanked my arm away from her. ‘I’ve told ya, take ya fuckin’ hands off me. And shift outa my way.’

She glanced round at the other nurse, but stayed exactly where she was. I tried to sit up more. If she didn’t move, I’d just have to move her, that’s all.

But Anna touched my hand. ‘Jay, don’t.’

I looked up at her, her cheeks wet with tears.

‘It’s awful, so, so awful what’s happened,’ she said. ‘And I know you must be devastated. But it’s not her fault.’

I closed my eyes as my own tears started to fall. No, it wasn’t her fault. And it wasn’t Billy’s fault either. It was down to me. If I hadn’t have got us into that whole mess in the first place, it never would’ve happened.

The side of my head hit the pillow as the nurse spoke again. ‘I really am sorry,’ she said. ‘Is there anything at all I can get for you?’

I shook my head before burying it further into the pillow. I heard them walk away, then Anna sat on the edge of the bed and put her arms round me. She didn’t say anything, just rested her head on my arm and hugged me.

After a few minutes, I sniffed and wiped my eyes with my hand. ‘You won’t go yet, will ya?’ I asked.

‘No, of course not. I’ll stay for as long as they let me.’

I closed my eyes again. She’d leave eventually though, wouldn’t she? I knew that.

And suddenly, it was like being little again, when I never wanted my mum to go out, but I knew she always would. What if Anna went and didn’t come back? What would I do then? Tears ran down my face again. That’d mess me up good and proper, wouldn’t it? Cos now Billy’d gone, Anna was all I’d got left.

28 – Anna

Visiting time finished at eight, officially, but the nurse came in a few times after that and never asked me to leave, so I didn’t. Jay hardly spoke. He lay still, staring straight ahead, and only blinked very occasionally. Finally, his eyes closed and stayed closed, and his breathing slowed, but thankfully his heart stayed strong.

When the nurse came in again, she saw Jay sleeping and smiled at me. ‘That’s absolutely the best thing for him at the moment,’ she said. ‘And you’ve been great with him, but it’s almost ten-thirty; you really ought to be thinking about getting yourself home.’

‘I know, I will, soon. But what if he wakes up in the night? He’ll be on his own.’

‘We’ll take extra good care of him, I promise. We’ll check in on him every few minutes.’

‘Do you know if he had his phone with him when they brought him in?’

‘Erm, I think so.’ She opened the locker at the side of Jay’s bed, took out his phone and placed it on top. ‘I’ll leave it here, where he can reach it easily.’

I gazed down at him for a minute before I went.
A tough un
. How could his mum have described him like that? Didn’t she know him at all?

A
tough un
wouldn’t have cried like Jay had cried. OK, he hadn’t sobbed or screamed or wailed or anything, but his face had been in agony. He’d reacted how I imagine someone would to the death of their child, or their parent, or their sibling.

I kissed his lips lightly and stroked his hair.

Perhaps that was it? Perhaps for Jay, losing Billy had been like losing a brother.

***

It took me a long time to fall asleep that night, but when I finally did, I slept and slept and slept.

I texted Jay the second I woke on Sunday morning, but he didn’t reply. I tried again and still nothing. Was he alright? I resisted for about five minutes, then phoned the ward instead. The sister told me he’d been ‘a little agitated’ in the night, but that he was sleeping at the moment. I wished so much I could have stayed with him. The thought of him lying there, alone in the dark, feeling ill and upset about Billy; it made my heart ache.

There was a knock at my door as I hung up and Mum came in. ‘Are you ready for some breakfast?’ she asked.

‘No, not at the –’

‘Goodness! Is that what Rory bought for you?’ She swooped over, picked up the bracelet off my dressing table and gazed at it. ‘It’s absolutely gorgeous. Gillian said he’d bought you a little something as a surprise, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so pretty ...’ she looked at me and giggled. ‘ ... or quite so expensive!’

I tried hard to make my smile seem genuine.

‘He’s so lovely, isn’t he?’ Mum sighed as she sat on the sofa next to me. ‘Clever, and generous, and thoughtful ... not to mention those good looks.’ She took my hand and fastened the bracelet around my wrist. ‘And one only has to see you and Rory together to know how much he adores you.’

I bit the inside of my lip and shuddered a little.

‘Oh, darling, there’s no need to be shy. I was fifteen once too you know; I had my fair share of admirers. It’s just a case of choosing carefully; you know, someone from a similar background, who’s had the same education and experiences ... someone who shares the same ambitions?’

I watched her painted red thumbnail skim across my fingers, then she said, ‘Don’t you agree, sweetheart?’

Even with a supreme effort, I still barely managed a nod.

‘And you are such a lucky girl; having someone like Rory who cares for you.’ Her voice became high and giddy. ‘So, did the two of you make any arrangements; are there any romantic dates planned that I should know about?’

‘No!’ It came out as a screech. ‘Mum, it’s not like that. I don’t feel that way about Rory – and I never will.’

She dropped my hand like it was something the dog had done, and straightened her shoulders. ‘Dad says those two boys from the riding school have been involved in a horrendous fight.’

I looked at her; why had she brought that up all of a sudden? Struggling to keep my words calm, I said, ‘It wasn’t a fight, they got attacked ...’

She pursed her lips until they went white. ‘Oh yes, and how do you know so much about it?’

‘Becky told me. One of them’s really ill in hospital, he could still die ...’ I lowered my voice, ‘... apparently.’

‘Mmm, and she told Dad this morning that the other lad passed away on Friday, which is terrible of course
; so sad, and an awful waste of a young life. But can you really see them being completely innocent victims?’

I scowled at her. ‘Why wouldn’t they be?’

‘Because people like that seldom are.’

‘What do you mean:
people
like that
?’

She spoke more quietly. ‘You know, who live in those kinds of areas, who lead those kinds of lives; they’re just ... different.’

‘Mum, can you hear yourself?’

‘There’s no need to be rude, Annabel. I know you young people think you know it all, but you’ll soon learn, not everyone’s like us.’

‘In what way?’

‘Well, some people don’t have our honesty, they’re not hardworki
ng, they don’t value education. Some people choose to live differently, and that’s what gets them into trouble. That was my main concern when Dad signed us up for that work experience programme, having people like that around. But hopefully, after this, he might finally see I’m right and not have that boy back.’

My hand clasped my stomach and I shook my head. ‘But he hasn’t even done anything wrong.’

‘No, only because he hasn’t had the opportunity – the staff watched the pair of them constantly. But obviously he keeps getting himself into some kind of bother; it’s only a few weeks ago that he showed up with a black eye, and now this?’

‘Maybe, just maybe, the black eye was an accident – a sporting injury or something – have you thought about that?’

‘Well, it could’ve been, I suppose. But two violent incidents so close together? And him the innocent party in both? Seems a little too much of a coincidence to me.’ She stood up, straightening her top over her slim hips. ‘Which is why, if we do have him back, I want you to make sure you are never left alone with him.’