Black Girls and Bad Boys: Changing his Tune (11 page)

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A
ngelique hadn’t given herself time to stop and think. She’d slipped
out of Noah’s bed and dressed while it was still dark, telling herself he’d be
better off with her out of the way. The full extent of her plan was going to
Wesley’s house and waiting for a glimpse of her son.

She needed to see him. In the two years since she lost him, she
hadn’t even seen a photograph. She didn’t know if he’d cut off his dark brown
curls, if he was tall for his age, if he still liked to dip his French fries in
caramel sauce. Two years was such a long time for kids that age. Would he even
remember her?

She tried not to think about it. She wouldn’t get near him. Not with
Wesley in the picture. But she had to see him. Just from a distance. Maybe risk
taking a photo.

Her train slipped through the early morning gloom, rushing past
fields and factories. Leaning her head against the window, she wished she could
sleep. Hours of travel stretched out in front of her and she knew she wouldn’t
be able to concentrate on anything like a book or a magazine. Then she thought
of Wesley and it seemed the journey would pass too soon. What if he caught her?

As long as she was careful, he wouldn’t even know she was there.

***

D
eep in his heart, Noah had known he wouldn’t bump into Angie at the
station, but a part of him had still hoped he’d find her before she got on a
train. He searched the ticket office, the platforms and both waiting rooms.
Feeling deflated, he went to buy himself a ticket and caught his first break of
the day – only one southbound train had left so far. He may have missed her,
but she was only an hour ahead of him. He paid his fare and walked off to find
a seat on the platform.

He’d turned off his phone back at the hotel, but he’d been growing
steadily guiltier about it ever since. John would be worried out of his mind.
He had to tell him something reassuring. The trouble was, he couldn’t think of
a single explanation that wouldn’t make everything sound ten times worse.

When he turned his phone back on, there were nearly fifty missed
calls. All of them from John. He took a deep breath and phoned him back.

He picked up after two rings. “Where the fuck are you?”

“I’m fine and I’ll be at the venue tonight, okay?”

“No, it’s not fucking okay. Where are you?”

“I promise I’m sober and I’ll stay that way. I’ll see you tonight.”
He hung up and put the phone on silent. He would have turned it off, but he
needed to go online. If he was going to have any chance of making it back in
time for that night’s concert, it would involve booking a plane ticket.

Make that two tickets. When he found Angie, she’d be flying back
with him.

***

T
he journey down the country felt like purgatory, but it did
eventually come to an end. Angelique climbed down onto the platform on legs
that felt as substantial as drinking straws. Five hours sitting on a train had
left her aching all over. She kept moving and found a taxi to take her out to
Wesley’s house.

As she got closer, she realised she’d arrive early enough to see him
come home from school. Not that she even knew where that was. She walked out to
the front of the station. How could it be possible that there weren’t any taxis
waiting?

Calm down, Angelique.
It was okay. She
had the number for a local firm. The idea of lunch crossed her mind, but she
felt too sick to eat. Afterwards. Once she’d seen Lewis.

She sat down on the kerb and phoned for a taxi. Apparently it was
the first day of a big free festival and they couldn’t promise her anything within
the next half hour. She almost ended the call in frustration, but she told them
to send a car. Thirty minutes wasn’t the end of the world. But when a taxi firm
said half an hour, it usually meant forty-five minutes or more. At least Wesley
lived on the opposite side of town to the park where the festival was. The
roads should be pretty clear.

She got up and went back inside the station to find a sandwich. She
hadn’t eaten all day and it would kill some time.

***

W
hen the announcement came that his station was next, Noah typed out
one last text message to Angie and got off the train. There was no reason to
think she’d picked up any of the messages he’d sent, but she was more likely to
read a text than answer her phone. They all said the same thing – he knew where
she was going and he was on his way.

He hurried round to the front of the station. No taxis. Bloody
typical. He dashed back inside and asked for a taxi number. Instead of waiting
for the office to answer, he strode out to the road with the phone still
ringing. If he started walking in the right direction, he could ask them to
pick him up on the way. The mood he was in, he wouldn’t be able to sit around
and wait.

***

I
n the end, forty-five minutes had been closer to the truth. Once
she was sitting in the back of the cab, her heart slowed down a little, but it
was still uncomfortably fast and acid churned in her belly. The driver
obviously thought she was in town for the festival and promptly set off in the
wrong direction, completely ignoring what she’d said.

She felt a little guilty for the way she yelled at him when she
realised what was happening and told herself to give him a generous tip when
she was done. When she asked him to wait on the corner of the street, he looked
rather suspicious.

“I’m waiting for my friend to come home.”

He stared at her in the rear-view mirror and she thought he was
going to tell her to get out, but he only shrugged and looked at the meter.

The day was warming up, so she wound down the window. The house was
only just in sight – far enough away to let her feel comfortable. Well, as
comfortable as she was going to get. She didn’t even know which direction
they’d be coming from. Or if they’d be in a car. Maybe they’d gone to the
festival.

No. If she knew Wesley at all, he wouldn’t take Lewis to something
like that. He’d say it was full of hippies and losers.

She looked up and down the road, trying to cover every angle. And
then she saw them. Lewis was so tall. Tears welled up in her eyes the minute
she caught sight of him kicking a ball up the road, his school blazer bunched
in his hand and his tie pulled open. She didn’t dare to breathe. Her baby. He
looked happy. And well cared for.

Wesley walked along behind him looking every inch the loving father.
But then, he’d never taken his frustrations out on Lewis. They reached the
house and disappeared inside. Her phone. She hadn’t even thought to take a
picture. Now it was too late.

The plan had been to leave once she’d seen Lewis, but she couldn’t.
She couldn’t let the driver take her away when she knew he was so close by.
“How much?”

He told her the fare and she paid him, including the tip she felt he
was owed. Then she got out onto the pavement and watched the car drive away.
She had to get somewhere less exposed. Sneaking back to the corner, she looked
around, knowing she was drawing attention to herself. The streets were empty,
which only made her stand out more.

The seconds slipped by and she decided to retreat to the playground
around the corner to work out a plan.

***

H
e hadn’t been entirely confident he was on the right street until
he spotted Wesley’s blue front door. Noah paid the driver and got out of the
taxi. He was crossing the road when he heard another car door bang shut.
Turning in the direction of the sound, he saw Angie climbing out of a cab. He
thought about calling out to her, but his mouth went dry. She looked so small
and weary. The way she walked – it wasn’t the self-assured Angie he’d first
met. She was hesitant. Nervous.

She hurried away, around the corner. He’d had every intention of
knocking on Wesley’s door and laying into him, but if he let Angie walk away he
wouldn’t know where she’d gone.

He looked from her to the house. By the time he looked back at her,
she’d disappeared from view.

Wesley could wait.

Noah ran across the road and in Angie’s direction.

“Angie,” he called after her and she stopped, whirling to face him.

The fear written on her face melted away when she recognised him. “I
thought you were him.”

He caught up with her and found he didn’t know what to say. He knew
why she’d left like that. He knew why she’d taken the train. “You shouldn’t be
here. If Wesley sees you he’ll call the police.”

“I know. But I saw him, Noah. I saw Lewis.” Her smile was so sad, it
made him angry.

He rushed over and took her in his arms. How could Wesley live with
himself? What had she ever done to deserve any of this?

They clung to each other, standing in the middle of the street.

“I’m sorry I ran away. But I couldn’t —”

“Don’t worry. We’ll sort it out.”

She pulled away from him. “The tour! You shouldn’t have come down
here. You’ve got a concert tonight.”

He took both of her hands in his. “Don’t worry about that. You’re
more important.”

“But John—”

“John’s fine. We’ll sort this out and then we can get a plane back up
in time for tonight.”

She looked a little less worried. “Are you sure there’s time?”

No.
“It’ll be okay. I promise you.” All
these promises were going to come back and bite him. He’d have to worry about
it later. “Right, we need to get you out of here before he sees you. Will you
be alright getting into town on your own?”

She nodded. “What about you?”

“He doesn’t have a restraining order against me. I’m going to have a
talk with him.”

“But—”

“Just a talk. I was on the phone with a lawyer on my way down here.
Trust me, you’ll see Lewis again.”

Her eyes brightened, shining with tears.

“Go into town. Sit in a cafe, go shopping, do whatever you want and
I’ll come and meet you later. Then we’ll go to the airport and get back up
north.”

“Noah,” she said, her brown eyes huge as she looked up at him. “Is
it really going to be okay?”

He drew her close and gave her his most tender kiss. She was already
more like herself again. Once this was all over he’d take her away somewhere
and find out what she was like when there was no drama hanging over her. Maybe
they’d even be able to take Lewis. “Wesley doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
You’ll see Lewis. If he’s sensible, you won’t have to go to court first.”

“He’s not sensible.”

“Then he’ll waste his money on a lawyer and you’ll still get to see
Lewis.”

She gave him a hopeful smile. It felt so good to see her smile.

“Go on.” He kissed her again. “And turn your phone on.”

“Okay.” She got up on her tiptoes to take one more kiss, then left
him, searching in her handbag for her phone.

***

S
tay calm, stay calm.
Noah chanted the
words all the way to the door. What he really wanted to do was rip the
bastard’s head off, but that wouldn’t help Angie’s chances of seeing her boy
again.

“You.” Wesley said when he opened the door.

“Yeah, me.”

He moved to shut the door in Noah’s face, but Noah did the trick
with his foot again and they reached a stalemate.

“Angie told me what you did to her.”

“And?”

Anger started to rise in Noah’s chest like a head of steam. He made
himself take a breath. “You need to let her see her son.”

Wesley didn’t say another word, he just stared at him with a
frightening amount of venom.

“Let her see her son.”

Wesley narrowed his eyes and pushed harder on the door, squashing
Noah’s foot in the gap.

“What’s your problem, man?” His fuse was burning low. The guy didn’t
even have the decency to talk to him.

Opening the door wide, he grabbed hold of Noah’s t-shirt and
practically lifted him out of the doorway. “I know who you are,” he said in a
low voice. “You’re that junkie singer.”

“I’m not a junkie,” he spluttered. He snatched at Wesley’s wrist and
pulled him off his clothes. Drawing back his fist, he got ready to land a
punch.

“Junkie scum. That’s what my whore of a wife’s hanging around with
now?”

A red mist descended and he stepped up into Wesley’s face, breathing
hard.

“Go on then. Do it.”

He tensed his arm and thought about swinging for him, smashing that
smug face into a bloody mess. But that was precisely what Wesley wanted. “No.”
He dropped his fist. “No.” Shaking his head, he took a step back. “She’s right.
You’re not worth it.”

Wesley started to laugh. A great, booming sound from the bottom of
his belly.

“We’ll be back with our lawyer.”

“Really? The whore, the junkie and the lawyer?” He laughed again.

Noah knew it was all designed to wind him up and make him do
something stupid. That didn’t stop it rankling him. He had a whole new level of
respect for Angie, thinking about all those years she’d survived with him.
“You’ve got no right to keep them apart. She’s a good mother.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” The twisted smile vanished from
his face and he went back inside, slamming the door behind him.

Noah went out to the pavement and slammed the gate, then kicked it.
He’d fucked it up. All he’d had to do was explain what the lawyer had said and
he’d fucked it up.

How was he going to tell Angie?

He walked down the street cursing himself. That bastard Wesley. He
punched a hedge as he turned the corner, but it didn’t make him feel any
better. He’d promised her it would be okay.

There was nothing more to be done. The lawyers would handle it. She
had a good case for joint custody. Or at least visitation rights. They’d said
on the phone that there was no argument for keeping Lewis away from her.