Lily Alone by Jacqueline Wilson Page B

didn’t come. And Mikey didn’t come either. Baxter got more and more restless. He pretended to be a bull himself, his hands curved at the top of his head as horns, and then he ran round after the little girls, butting them. He wasn’t really hurting them, but Bliss started crying, and Pixie fell over and cried too.
    â€˜You’re all stupid sissy girls, you’re no fun at all,’ Baxter bellowed. ‘You wait till my dad gets here. He’ll play with me – us boys together, we’ll sort you out.’
    â€˜Well, he’s not here, is he, your precious dad? I’m glad, see, because we don’t need Mikey bossing us around, do we, girls?’ I said.
    Bliss agreed. Pixie wasn’t so certain.
    â€˜Growly bear Mikey,’ she said, and then she started up her maddening chant.
    I shut them all up by going into the kitchen and fetching down a big tin of peaches from the cupboard.
    â€˜But we’ve had our tea,’ said Bliss. ‘We had chicken sandwiches.’
    â€˜Well, we can have another tea, if you’re all good,’ I said.
    â€˜Can we have whirly cream too?’ asked Baxter.
    â€˜We can have two squirts each,’ I said. ‘Though I’m doing the squirting, Baxter. And you all have to be sitting down properly at the table, quiet as mice.’
    â€˜Squeak, squeak, squeak,’ said Baxter, being a very loud mouse.
    We ate our peaches and cream. The kids were meant to savour them slowly as a special treat, but they swallowed them down in three or four gulps and then jumped up, on the rampage again. If I could only get them quietened down with food we’d have eaten everything in the cupboard by ten o’clock.
    It was half-past eight now. I had to face it, Mum wasn’t coming back. She was on her plane, maybe flying over our heads right this minute. And where was Mikey?
    At that exact moment the phone rang. I ran to it, praying that it was Mum after all, coming back from the airport. No. It was Mikey.
    â€˜Lily? Look, hand me over to your mum. I’ve been trying to get her on her mobile but she’s got it switched off. What’s all this rubbish about a boyfriend?’
    â€˜She’s gone on holiday with him.’
    â€˜No, she’s not. You tell her to cancel all her daft plans, pronto. I can’t take a week off and look after all you kids. Who does she think I am, Mary blooming Poppins? It just so happens I’m on the coach up to Glasgow at the moment. I’m going to be helping a mate with a building job for a couple of weeks. So tell her to get her skinny butt back home to look after my kids, OK?’
    â€˜But Mikey—’
    â€˜What?’
    All I had to say was ‘She’s already gone.’ That would have been enough. I couldn’t stand Mikey and he couldn’t stand me, but I knew he cared about Baxter and Bliss. He had a very soft spot for Pixie too. If I’d said we were all alone Mikey would doubtless curse and swear but he’d call his mate and get off the coach and come all the way back to look after us. But I didn’t want him to come. When he was in a bad mood he frightened us all, even Baxter. He could turn so quickly. One minute he’d be laughing and tossing the kids up in the air, then one of them would splutter something silly or kick him accidentally, and his face would darken and he’d shout and smack. He hadn’t smacked me for years because I was too quick and wary, but I caught him staring at me sometimes, his eyes darting this way and that as he looked me up and down. I knew he was waiting to get me. I didn’t want him here with no Mum around.
    â€˜Nothing, Mikey,’ I said. ‘OK. I’ll tell Mum she can’t go.’
    â€˜That’s right. Where is she? Let me talk to her.’
    â€˜I can’t, she’s busy right now.’
    â€˜Busy with this boyfriend? You tell her to keep her mind on my kids, that’s what