Authors: J. B. Leigh
“It wasn't a hissy fit, and besides you promised you'd warn me if he was coming over.”
“I didn't know he was coming. Anyway, it was you he came to see.”
“He needn’t have bothered.”
“You’re being a bit hard on him, Megs. Sorry, I meant Megan.”
“You can call me Megs if you like. He’d better not say it again though.”
“Why don’t you like him? Is it because of what he said in Dandy’s? He's apologised for that.”
“Let’s not get into it. He’s your brother, so you’re bound to see the best in him. It’s best that he and I keep our distance.”
“That might not be easy.”
“What? Why not. I’ll just lock myself in my bedroom whenever he comes over.”
“It’s not that.”
“What then?”
“He came over to offer you a placement with his company. I told him about... ”
“You told him? I don’t want you talking to your brother about me. I don’t need his help.”
“Megs—you’re being a prat.”
Julie’s reaction stunned me for a few seconds. She never lost her rag with me.
“He’s only trying to help. What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t need any help.”
“Oh yeah—I forgot. The great Megan doesn’t need help from anyone, ever.”
“That’s right.”
“Bullshit. You’ve worked hard on that course, and now it’s all going to be for nothing because you’ve lost your placement.”
“I’ll sort something out.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“There isn’t time. JJ has spoken to the college, and they've approved the placement. It just needs you to say yes.”
“No.”
“Give me one good reason why not.”
I couldn't. I shook my head.
“Then you’re an idiot. No wait—I’m the idiot. I actually told JJ that you would be pleased. He knows you better than I do—he said you were too stubborn to accept any help. I guess he was right.”
“I’m sorry Julie. I didn’t mean to throw kindness... ”
“So take it. Take the damn placement.”
There was an uneasy silence for what felt like minutes, but was probably no more than a few seconds.
“What is it? This placement?”
“I don’t know the details. It must be legit or the college wouldn’t have approved it. That’s why he came over—to tell you all about it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Does that mean you will take it?”
“I suppose... I don’t have much choice.”
“So, shall I ask JJ to come over to go through it with you?”
“Not tonight. I’m not up to it.”
“Tomorrow then?”
“Okay. Do I have to apologise to him?”
“You’d better not. The shock would kill him.”
Chapter 6
“Cya,” Julie shouted.
“Where are you going?” I called after her.
“It’s Karen’s birthday.”
“I thought you'd be here when JJ came over.”
“Sorry. I did tell you I was going out.”
“I didn't think I'd be alone with him.”
“He doesn't bite. He's a big softy. Besides, he's only coming over to tell you about the placement.”
“I guess. Okay then, have a good time.”
“I will. Try to keep your hands off my brother.”
I wasn't sure if Julie had told me she was going out or not. Knowing Julie—probably not. Either way, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing JJ by myself.
Forty minutes later, there was a knock at the door—his knock. It was completely irrational, but even the way he knocked annoyed me. When I opened it, he was on his knees, waving a white handkerchief. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t hold it in.
“Truce?” he said.
“Okay. Truce. Come in.”
“Where’s Julie?” he asked as he slipped off his coat.
“Birthday party.”
“You didn’t miss out just for me did you?”
“No. It’s one of Julie’s friends. I don’t really know her. Besides, I’m not big on parties.”
“Too much like fun?”
I gave him my death glare.
“Sorry—bad joke.” He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Did Julie tell you about the placement?”
“She didn’t give me any details. Just that you had spoken to the college about it.”
“DraxSoft.”
“What?”
“That’s my company. It's where the placement is. You'll get to spend a few days in a number of departments: marketing, sales, accounts. The college seemed to think it would be ideal for your course.”
“The one you think is a waste of time?”
“You shouldn't take any notice of anything I say.”
“Don’t worry—I don’t.”
“Touché.” He laughed.
“I won’t have to work with you will I?”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be around, so you might see me from time to time, but you won’t be working with me.”
“That’s all right then.”
“You will have to call me 'Sir' though.”
“Screw that.”
“I'm kidding.” He laughed, but only for a moment. Serious again, he said. “Look, I really am sorry about the things I said in the club. It was stupid.”
“Forget it.”
“Julie told me about your mum. I had no idea... ”
“Julie shouldn’t have said anything. It’s none of her business, and it certainly isn’t any of yours.”
“Okay. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry.”
“Right. Is that everything then?” I began to walk towards the door.
“Yes, I suppose so.” JJ grabbed his coat, and made to leave, but then stopped. “There is just one last thing.”
“What now?” My patience was just about exhausted. I just wanted him out of the flat.
“About the placement.”
“What about it?”
“The dress code.”
“Your company has a dress code?”
“This isn't a companywide policy. This relates only to you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It occurred to me that, seeing as you and I are obviously so very attracted to one another, it would be advisable... ”
“Whoa. I never said.... ”
“If you wear anything too sexy when you’re on your placement—I'm never going to get any work done.”
“I’ll wear a black sack. Will that be okay?”
“You would look pretty sexy in a black sack. Particularly with a few strategically placed holes.”
“Go home, JJ.”
“I’m going.”
Damn it. Not only was he hot, but he could make me laugh too. That was a deadly combination. It would have been much simpler if I could have gone back to hating his guts.
Julie arrived home much earlier than I'd expected.
“Good night?”
“It was shit.”
I could see her makeup had run. She'd obviously been crying.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She'd no sooner said that than she started to cry.
“Come on.” I put an arm around her. “What’s up?”
“Alan Rhodes.”
“What about him?”
“I saw him. He was with Lisa Draycott.”
“Are you sure he was actually with her? Maybe they were just... ?”
“His tongue was down her throat, and his hand was all over her tits.”
“Oh? Oh well—never mind. He’s an ugly bastard anyway.”
She managed a laugh.
Thirty minutes later, Julie had come around a little. I'd persuaded her to have a coffee rather than the vodka she'd asked for. I knew the Alan Rhodes thing would hit her hard in the morning. She didn’t need a hangover to go with it.
“How did it go with JJ,” she asked.
“Okay.”
“Have you two kissed and made up?”
“Let's just say we’ve buried the hatchet.”
“Not in his head I hope. Are you going to take the placement?”
“Yes. I think so...”
“You don’t sound very sure.”
“I was.”
“What's changed?”
“Something JJ said. I think it was just one of his stupid jokes.”
“What?”
“Nothing. It was stupid.”
“Tell me. If you won't, I’ll get it out of him.”
“He made out that he fancied me.”
“Yeah, sure.” Julie laughed.
“I’m not joking.”
“Are you sure he wasn’t?”
“Why? Don’t you think I’m good enough for your precious brother?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that you’re not JJ’s usual type.”
“Not pretty enough? Not a stick insect? Not clever enough?”
“Don’t be daft. If JJ does fancy you—I couldn’t be happier. It’s just a surprise—that’s all.”
Chapter 7
It was the first day of my placement. I was determined not to be late, so I was ready with over an hour to spare. I was just about to leave the flat when my phone rang. No one calls at that time of day unless it’s bad news.
“Megan?”
“Billy? What’s up? I’m just on my way out.”
“It’s Mum. She’s in hospital.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She fell.”
“Where?”
“Down the stairs.”
“How is she?”
“Not good.”
“What does that mean?”
“We’re at the hospital, but they won't tell me anything. I think it’s bad, Megan.”
“Is she conscious?”
“No. You'd better get over here.”
“I can’t. I have to go to work.”
“Megan. You’ve got to come. I think she might be dying.”
“Shit!” What choice did I have? “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Julie had pinned a business card for a local taxi company to the corkboard in the kitchen. It took me three attempts to get the right number because my hand was trembling. I could never be sure with Billy; he had a tendency to panic. It wouldn’t be the first time he'd got me out on a wild goose chase, but there was something in his voice that made me think he wasn’t exaggerating this time. I rushed outside and waited—the woman had said the taxi would be there in five minutes. I should have called DraxSoft to tell them I wasn’t going to make it, but I didn’t have their number handy. The taxi didn’t arrive for fifteen minutes by which time I was spitting feathers. I wanted to give the driver a mouthful, but I was worried he might drive off and leave me standing there.
I tried to call Billy when I arrived at the hospital, but his phone just rang out. A&E was the usual nightmare; it took me ages to find him. He was staring at a vending machine.
“How is she?”
“They won’t tell me anything. Have you got a pound coin for a bar of chocolate?”
“Forget the bloody chocolate.” I dragged him through to main reception where it was a little quieter, and where I could hear myself think.
“They must have said something.”
“Not really. They wheeled her off on a trolley. They wouldn’t let me go with her. She looked really bad, Megan.”
“You stay here. I’ll see what I can find out.”
All of the staff were run off their feet as usual. It took me fifteen minutes, but I managed to get some information from one of the two overworked A&E receptionists.
“They’re doing a head scan,” I told Billy.
“What for?”
“To see if she has injured her brain, I assume.”
“Shit, Megs. She'll be okay won’t she?”
“Yeah—she’ll be fine. She always is isn’t she?”
I didn’t feel nearly as confident as I sounded, but Billy looked terrified. I hadn’t seen him look this scared since Dad walked out on us.
********************
The next few hours were something of a blur. There can’t be many more depressing places than an A&E department. Even though it was early morning, there were still plenty of drunks littering up the place with their self-inflicted injuries. I had no patience with them. If I’d had my way, I would have kicked them all out onto the street. But then, what about Mum? Wasn’t she just as bad as they were?
Billy put his feet up on the seat next to him, and fell asleep with his head resting on my shoulder. I wished I could close my eyes, and make it all go away.
After thirty minutes, I checked with the receptionist, but it was obvious she wouldn’t be able to tell me anything. She said the doctor would call me when there was news. But when? I'd given Billy money for chocolate and a drink. I couldn’t face eating or drinking anything.
“Megan Taylor?”
I was off my seat, and heading towards the middle-aged man in the white coat as soon as he'd called my name. Billy followed a few paces behind.
“I’m Megan Taylor.”
“I’m Mr Price, the Neurological Consultant. Shall we go somewhere private?”
“Is she all right? Is she alive?”
He ignored my questions until the three of us were in a small room the size of a shoe cupboard.
“Is she all right?”
“Your mother is very poorly.”
“But she’s alive?”
“Yes, but she’s taken a bad knock to the head. She’s in a coma.”
“When will she come out of it? When will we know if she’s okay?”
“I can’t say. It might be hours. It could be days or even weeks.”
“Weeks? She will come out of it though?”
“I can’t say for certain.”
“Isn’t there something you can do?”
“We’re doing everything we can. She's on a life support machine which will control her bodily functions until such time as she can do it herself.”
“Can I.... can we see her?”
“Yes, but I must warn you that it may be a little upsetting. All the monitors, tubes...”
He wasn’t kidding. Mum was surrounded by a million different machines, all of them beeping and clicking. There were tubes in her arm and up her nose.
“It don’t look good Megan,” Billy said.
“Shhhh!” I wasn’t sure if Mum could hear or not. “She’ll be okay once she wakes up.”
I could see Billy out of the corner of my eye. He was shaking his head.
We stayed with Mum for hours, but in all honesty, there was precious little point in our being there. The nurse came in at about three in the afternoon, and said we had to leave, but that we could come in any day between the hours of one and three, and then again between six and eight.
“What am I going to do about my dinner?” Billy said while we were waiting at the bus stop. He'd wanted to get a taxi, but had no money. I was almost broke.
“You will have to make yourself something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. Look in the fridge.”
“Can’t you come around and make me something?”
“For fuck's sake, Billy—grow up!”
This was precisely why I'd left home. Billy was my older brother—he was supposed to look after me, but it had never been that way. After Dad had left, Mum held it together for a while, but then she began to drink more and more to the point where she couldn't look after herself—let alone two kids. If I'd said anything at school, me and Billy would've been taken into care, so I took on Mum’s role. I cleaned the house, cooked, and did whatever I had to, to keep up appearances. In the end, I'd been forced to leave or go insane. When I moved out, Mum had been off the drink for a while, and I'd actually convinced myself she might stay off it. Who was I kidding? Once a drunk, always a drunk.