Afraid by Mandasue Heller Page A

to wash up?’ she offered.
    ‘Nah, it’ll keep,’ he said. ‘Come through here. I’ll get a fire going.’
    Skye edged around the table and followed Tom into a small, shabbily furnished living room. It smelled strongly of the dog in there, and the threadbare sofa was coated in its fur. ‘Do you think Jade will be long?’ she asked, perching on the edge of a cushion.
    ‘I’ll ring her in a minute,’ Tom said, switching on a standard-lamp before kneeling in front of the soot-blackened fireplace. After piling some lumps of coal into the grate and shoving a little pile of kindling under them he lit it, and watched to see that the flame had caught before pushing himself back up to his feet and heading back into the kitchen.
    Skye looked around when he’d gone. Apart from the sofa she was sitting on, there was one battered armchair in the room, the ancient-looking lamp with its old-lady-style shade, a heavily scarred coffee table, and a bookcase – one shelf of which contained a row of dusty old books, while the rest seemed to be crammed with letters, yellowed newspapers, tobacco tins, and empty beer bottles. There was no TV or hi-fi, and if there was a house phone she couldn’t see it. In fact, the only thing in the room that looked as if it actually belonged in this century was a laptop that was sitting on a small table beside the armchair – and even that looked battered.
    Torn from her observations by the sound of Tom’s voice floating through from the kitchen, Skye cocked her head to listen as he hissed, ‘You’re joking! What am I supposed to tell her? She thinks you’re on your way.’
    He went quiet for several moments after this. Then, sounding irritated, he said, ‘All right, but you’d best get here first thing. And let me know if it gets any worse.’
    Skye looked up when he walked back into the room, and gave him an innocent smile. But it quickly slipped when he said, ‘I’m really sorry about this, but Jade’s not coming. My mum’s kicked the old man out, and now she’s insisting our Jade stays with her in case he comes back and tries any funny business.’
    ‘Oh, right,’ she said, sitting forward. ‘I’d best go, then.’
    ‘You don’t have to,’ Tom assured her. ‘It’s not your fault, is it? Anyhow, Jade asked if you could stay the night, and I’ve already said yes.’
    ‘I don’t mind,’ Skye insisted, feeling awkward for putting him out. ‘You probably want to go to your mum.’
    ‘Like hell!’ Tom snorted. ‘I had enough of them when I was living there. Anyhow, it’s freezing, and I haven’t got enough petrol to get back to Manchester. It’s up to you if you fancy walking, but I’m not going out again tonight.’
    Skye was torn. She desperately didn’t want to outstay her welcome, but she didn’t have a clue where they were, and the thought of trying to find her way home in the pitch dark terrified her.
    ‘I’ve got a spare room, if that’s what you’re worried about,’ Tom went on persuasively. ‘Jade sleeps there when she stays over, so it’s no problem you using it.’
    Relieved that she wouldn’t have to go back out into the cold, Skye gave him a grateful smile. ‘Okay, then. Thanks.’ Then, shyly, she said, ‘Can I use the toilet, please?’
    ‘Course,’ Tom said. ‘Come on, I’ll show you where it is. It’s a bit of a mess, though,’ he warned as he opened another door and went out into a dark, narrow passageway.
    ‘It’s okay,’ Skye said as she followed him. ‘I’m used to it.’
    After leading her up a steep flight of stairs, Tom pushed open a door and pulled a light cord, revealing a manky old bathroom.
    ‘Feel free if you want to take a bath,’ he said, stepping aside to let Skye enter. ‘It might take a while for the water to get hot, though, ’cos the boiler’s a bit knackered. That’s your room,’ he said then, pointing out a door at the other end of the landing. ‘And I think our Jade might have left some nightclothes