Lucas by Kevin Brooks Page A

any. At that moment, I hated her guts.
    But still … she was my best friend. I couldn’t just leave her, could I?
    I leaned across Brendell and took hold of her hand. ‘Bill? Bill, are you all right?’
    â€˜Nn nuh,’ she said, slapping at my hand. ‘Fug ‘em, bassa …’
    â€˜Come on, Bill, it’s me, Cait.’
    â€˜Lemme ‘lone, gwan …’
    Brendell turned his head and looked at me, his face utterly devoid of expression. He didn’t say anything, didn’t move a muscle, just stared at me like I was something in a cage, then slowly looked away. I pulled Bill’s skirt down as far it would go, which wasn’t far, then shuffled back to my side of the car.
    Angel had resumed her bum-in-the-air position and was watching me with a mocking gleam in her eyes. With Brendell seemingly non-existent, Bill semi-conscious, and Robbie lost in a daze of speeding cars, Angel and I were as good as alone. We both knew it. She bent a stick of gum into her mouth and winked at me.
    â€˜Welcome to the world, darling,’ she said. When I didn’t answer she gave me a long hard stare, making a big deal of chewing her gum, and then she snapped the gum and sneered, ‘You like to think you’re something special, don’t you? Something special . Clean and white, Caity McCann … beach baby … little Caity McCann … isn’t that what he calls you?’
    â€˜Who?’
    â€˜ Who , she says … shit – how many are there?’
    â€˜I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    â€˜Course you don’t – you don’t know squat, do you? You just walk on the beach with your dog, looking at the sky …’ She leaned towards me and her voice took on avicious tone. ‘Listen, girl,’ she hissed, ‘just keep your hands off my boy.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Don’t touch what you can’t handle, all right?’
    I shook my head. She was crazy. What boy? Who the hell was she talking about? Malcolm? Talcy Malcy? Simon? Did she mean Simon …? No, she wouldn’t look twice at Simon. Then it struck me – little Caity McCann . That’s what Jamie Tait had called me on the beach. Well, if it isn’t little Caity McCann … Was that who she meant? Jamie Tait? But that was ridiculous. Angel had nothing to do with him. She wasn’t his girlfriend. Sara Toms was his girlfriend – his fiancée, in fact. But then, I thought, it’s not as if Jamie’s likely to be the most faithful partner in the world is it? But even so – Angel Dean? With Jamie? Surely not … And anyway, even if she is talking about Jamie, how does she know what happened? He must have told her, he must have lied to her …
    A terrible groan interrupted my thoughts. I looked over and saw Bill clutching a hand to her mouth, her face as pale as a sheet.
    â€˜Pull over, Robbie,’ Angel said. ‘The little bitch is gonna throw up.’
    Robbie swore and slid the car to a stop. ‘Get her out! Quick, get her out! I only had it cleaned this morning.’
    Bill started gagging, big lurching humps that started in her belly and snaked up into her throat. Angel just sat there, laughing. She wasn’t going to lift a finger. And Brendell couldn’t give a damn. So while Robbie was having a mental breakdown, swearing and spluttering and tugging at his door, trying to unlock it, I opened my door and hurried round to the other side. I got Bill out and helped her onto the verge. After a couple of steps her legsgave way and she sank to her knees and threw up in the grass. From the car I could hear Angel cheering and clapping, ‘Yeah! Go on, girl, let it all out! Ha ha!’
    This is it, I thought, this is it . It can’t get any worse. I looked at Bill, coughing and retching in the grass, and Robbie, who’d finally got his door open and was now walking up and down sucking hard on a