Music and Lies (George and Finn Book 1) (12 page)

It blew me away, totally. And I didn’t even like country music.

The band consisted of three guys from Glasgow, one with a massive double bass, one on drums and the other doing guitar and vocals. They had cowboy boots and jeans and hats which looked a bit odd with their Scottish accents, but when they began to play I forgot all about that.

They were wild, bringing the crowd to life with their exuberance. The rhythm of the drummer was awesome and within minutes the whole place was hopping.

‘This is
INcredible
!’ I yelled at Finn. He shrugged and stood well back, not even looking at the stage. He’d actually tried to get me to leave when this band were announced, but I’d refused. Maybe he thought it wasn’t cool to like country, but who cared? I was having a ball. He didn’t have to stay, did he? The group swung from one song to another and then another, stopping only to take swallows of beer and then they were off again. Some of the songs I vaguely recognised, others I hadn’t heard before, but it didn’t matter. When they shouted there were CDs for sale at the front I was one of the first ones there. So what if it was only a recording done in someone’s back room, I had to have a copy of my own.

And then it was two a.m. and they had packed up and Finn was saying with a faint smile, ‘Well, you certainly seemed to enjoy that one.’

‘Awesome,’ I said as we headed back to our tents. ‘I didn’t even think I liked country.’

‘Faux country,’ he said.

‘So? I wish I could listen to the CD right now but I’ve nothing to play it on. I really liked the double bass, brilliant sound don’t you think?’

His lip was raised in a sneer as good as any from Cami. ‘If you like that kind of thing.’

I felt peeved. Why did he have to be so down on it? But even with his attitude, I was still high and happy from the buzz. Becky was back in the tent before me – Finn had walked her over a while ago – and it was a shame she was asleep so I couldn’t share my enthusiasm.

Still, I was happy enough with my own thoughts. This is what it’s all about, I thought as I lay warm and comfortable in my sleeping bag. Real live music, everyone having fun, spending time with Finn. I was
so
glad we had stayed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

FINN

I was lying in my tent. Not sleeping. I was still too hyped after seeing Jay walking on to the stage. I should have checked out if
The Kings Of Billy
were playing here, but I hadn’t been that interested in Marcus’s stupid line up. So I lay there, just thinking over the evening. Apart from Jay, it had been okay. Beck had been quite up. She was coping better than I’d hoped. And, I had to admit I quite liked spending time with George Wray. I enjoyed the way she enjoyed things. Even if she had taken a shine to
The Kings
, the last band I wanted to hang out near. Watching her kind of reminded me you could be happy like that – without the drugs or the alcohol that everyone else resorted to.

I wasn’t listening for Beck, or for anything really, but suddenly I knew something wasn’t right. There were people moving around all the time, even in the early hours of the morning, but this was different. The way the person sniffed, fidgeted, hesitated and then went on.

I unzipped the tent slowly, and was just in time to see Beck moving off around the back of the campsite.

Shit! I jumped so high I hit my head on the pole at the top of the tent, which fortunately wasn’t that hard. I fumbled around to get my boots on, find a jacket, check the tablet was still in my pocket. I had to stop her. This was the dangerous time, the really dangerous time. No one knew that better than I did. I was an idiot, a moron. I’d got complacent and left her with George who didn’t have a clue.

I headed straight for Dex’s van. That was the worst place, the one she’d most likely go to. I needed to get there as soon as possible, even head her off if I could.

I wasn’t quick enough for that but for once in my life I was lucky. Dex wasn’t in.

I found Beck banging on the door, trying to speak through the crack at the side. ‘Please, Dex, I need some. I really need some.
De-ex!
’

‘Hiya Beck,’ I said, as though I hadn’t heard her words. ‘Don’t think Dex is in just now.’

‘He must be. He has to be.’

‘Look, why don’t we go for a walk? We don’t want to disturb everyone.’

She looked around and seemed to notice for the first time that faces were peering through windows of a couple of nearby vans. She didn’t like that, thank God.

‘Oh, I didn’t realise …’

I took her arm and led her away, not sure where we were going except that I didn’t want her anywhere near the van when Dex came back.

I headed up the slope towards the trees. It was quieter here, people were less likely to overhear us if she did start shouting. But the fight seemed to have gone out of her. She followed me docilely, and, when I tripped over a tree trunk lying on the ground, we sank down onto it.

She put her face in her hands, ‘Finn, I can’t do this.’

‘You can,’ I said, because there was nothing else to say. But I knew just how easy it was to turn back. The words tasted bitter in my mouth. ‘You’d do better with help.’

She put a hand on my arm. ‘Help me then. Please. Take me to Michelle’s. I need something. Now. Please. I can’t stand this anymore.’

She sounded absolutely desperate and my heart clenched in panic. How could I get her to the Centre in the middle of the night?

I squeezed her hand. ‘It’s okay, you’ll be fine. I can’t take you now, but we’ll contact Michelle again in the morning, arrange transport. I’ll do it first thing, I promise. And in the meantime ...’ I hesitated. I didn’t like doing this. It would be me giving her stuff, illegal stuff. But what choice was there? She was really bad, sweating and crying. ‘Listen. I managed to get hold of some buprenorphine. If you take half a tablet, it’ll help you till tomorrow.’

‘Buppy? Oh, Finn, Finn, you’re amazing. Thank you, thank you.’ She grabbed my arm and I was glad I’d already broken the tablet in two. She grabbed one half and stuck it under her tongue with shaking fingers. She was so trusting, so vulnerable. You could have given her anything just then and she would have taken it.

I shivered and put an arm round her, keeping her safe. ‘That should be okay for now. But remember, I’ve got the other half if you need it tomorrow.’

She just closed her eyes and leaned against me.

We sat like that for a while. I needed to get her back to the tents, but first I needed to be sure it was working. You never knew with stuff you got off the street.

Then I heard someone trip and swear. It sounded like they were climbing up to us. Not good. Then the moon broke through the clouds a little and I saw the tell-tale hair. ‘George? Is that you?’

She groaned. ‘Ouch. Yeah.’ She came to stand beside us. ‘How’d you know it was me?’

‘It’s that hair, you really should cover it if you’re going to be sneaking around.’

‘I wasn’t sneaking around! I was looking for Becky.’

‘She’s here.’

‘I know that now.’

In the faint moonlight Beck huddled lower on the log, sniffing and shivering, but she no longer felt so tense she might break apart at any moment.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘She’s not feeling – well.’

‘Is there anything I can do?’ said George doubtfully.

‘Yes. In a minute you can help me get her back down to the tent.’

‘I don’t want Dex to see me,’ whimpered Beck.

‘That’s good. We’ll go the other way, then, no need to go back past the vans. We can climb through the fencing at the side of my tent. It’ll be fine.’

It took a while to get Beck moving. George wasn’t much help, just staring while I talked soothingly, easing Becky to her feet.

The moon disappeared again but I knew where we were going. Beck stumbled along between George and me, sniffing. George, for once, was absolutely silent.

When we reached George’s tent I shook Beck’s arm to get her attention. ‘You’re going to be all right, okay? I’ll get hold of Michelle first thing tomorrow. You’re going to lie down, and in a while you’ll sleep, okay?’

‘Yeah.’ She crawled inside the tent.

I waited for George to follow her, but unfortunately she’d found her voice again. ‘What’s going on?’ she said urgently. ‘What was she doing out there?’

I shrugged although she probably couldn’t see me. Did she need to ask? ‘Looking for drugs, of course. She was desperate. I didn’t think I was going to be able to stop her. It was … bad. Thank God Dex wasn’t in his van or I don’t know what would have happened.’

I felt rather than saw her lurch as she took in the words.

‘So it’s true? Becky’s taking drugs. You mean hard drugs, heroin or something, don’t you? And she gets them from Dex?’

‘What do you think?’

‘Thank God you found her.’

I shrugged again. ‘I just happened to hear her go.’

‘I should have heard her. I was asleep right beside her. I didn’t notice anything until she’d gone …’

‘No harm done. I hope. She’s taken something to help her just now. And I’m going to try and make arrangements for her to get away first thing tomorrow. She’s trying to come off the heroin. Which is good. But she thought she could do it on her own and she really can’t. She needs to go to Michelle’s or some other rehab place.’

‘Michelle runs a rehab centre?’

‘Yeah, what did you think? That it was some kind of holiday camp? Look, can you stay with her until morning? I mean, really stay with her, don’t leave her side for anything?’

‘I will,’ she said in a small voice. She sounded scared. No wonder. Hadn’t I told her she was getting involved in things she had no idea how to handle?

‘Okay, best go and lie down yourself, then.’

She turned towards the tent, and then turned back to me. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Thanks for looking out for Becky – and everything.’

I sighed. This was only the first step. It could still all go wrong.

Chapter Twenty-Three

GEORGE

I did as Finn said and crept back into the tent. Becky was either already asleep or pretending to be. I wriggled into my own sleeping bag and lay there feeling empty and scared.

My sister was a drug addict. She wasn’t just slightly messed up. She was really, seriously messed up. I’d thought, or wanted to think, that Finn was planning to send her away because of Dex. I knew he was hitting her and that was bad enough, but this was worse. It wasn’t easy to get off hard drugs, everyone knew that. People had a really horrible time, sometimes they couldn’t do it. I tried to swallow down my panic.

I wanted to help her, I really did, but I didn’t see what on earth I could do.

It took me ages to get to sleep and then I kept on waking to see if Becky was still there. She was totally out of it, moving restlessly but looking frail and pretty at the same time. Even ill, Becky still managed to be beautiful. For once though, I wasn’t jealous.

I daren’t even leave her to use the loo. What would happen if she went to find Dex again? Finn had said she’d taken something to help her just now, but how long would that last? Once it had grown light and I’d given up trying to sleep, I put on some cleanish jeans and a dark tee-shirt (it showed less dirt), and tried to distract myself by applying make-up using the not-very-useful pocket mirror.

At about half eight someone appeared at the entrance to the tent, but it was Cami, not Finn.

‘What do you want?’ I said, sounding as cross as I felt.

‘I came to tell you today’s list of shifts is out.’

‘Oh,’ I said suspiciously. It wasn’t like Cami to be so helpful. When I didn’t continue, he gave a knowing smile. ‘So, aren’t you speaking to me?’

I sighed. I’d been furious with him yesterday. Today I had other things to worry about. ‘Yes, fine, I’m speaking. Just don’t ask me to hand things on for you, okay?’

He shrugged. ‘I didn’t think you’d get caught.’

‘Oh, thanks. So you wouldn’t have done it if you had thought so?’

He shrugged again. ‘It was only ecstasy.’

‘So?’

‘You don’t approve, do you?’

‘No.’ I didn’t feel like trying to be cool any more. I was still freaked out about Becky. I knew her problem was far worse than taking ecstasy or smoking a bit of weed, but that was still a step in the wrong direction. I didn’t want anything to do with any of it.

‘It’s no big deal. Everybody here uses.’

‘I don’t. Finn doesn’t.’

‘Oh bloody wonderful Finn. He smoked enough in the past, and done worse. He’s not the fucking angel he pretends to be.’

‘I didn’t say he was. Look, do you think you could go and see if he’s around?’

‘Why?’

I hesitated. ‘I’m worried about Becky.’ I’d crawled out of the tent so as not to disturb her, although there was no sign of her stirring.

He paused for a moment and then said, ‘Isn’t everyone?’ I didn’t know if he sounded resentful or not.

‘She needs to get away from here. I suppose you know why. From Dex and … everything. At first she refused to go, but now she’s agreed.’ I shivered. I was pleased she’d decided that, but really I wished this wasn’t actually happening. ‘Finn said he’d try and sort transport so she can get there.’

It was pointless me telling him this, it wasn’t as if he would want to help. He was Dex’s friend, if anyone here was. Predictably enough, he said ‘Why can’t she just walk to the village and get a bus? Other people do.’

I supposed that was true. Not everyone here had their own transport. I said sulkily, ‘I bet there aren’t many buses. And who says they’ll be going where she needs to go?’

I wondered if I should even go with Becky. I was hungry and tired. And I was out of my depth. Maybe Mum was right, this kind of place wasn’t for me.

‘Where is she going?’ said Cami, suddenly looking interested.

‘I don’t know. To someone called Michelle?’

‘Huh.’ He chewed his lip, frowning. I could see the name meant something to him. ‘Listen, just wait there a while, I’ll get back to you.’

I stared after him as he headed off, not to Finn’s tent, but towards the arena. What was he up to now? I thought for an awful moment that he’d gone to tell Dex what I’d said about Becky, but he went to a van at the opposite end of the line, the one I now knew was Marcus’s.

I was just thinking he wasn’t coming back when he sauntered up again and said he’d stay with Beck if I wanted to use the toilets. By then I was desperate for a wee, so I took him up on the offer.

I had to queue for a while, but I didn’t think I was away that long.

And then, when I returned to the tent, it was empty. No sign of Cami, or Becky.

Well, not empty exactly. All my stuff was there, but Becky’s had gone. What on earth? I’d kept an eye on her the whole time and I left her with Cami for five minutes and this happened. Shit, where had she gone now? Not with Dex, surely?