Текст книги "After Forever Ends "
Автор книги: Melodie Ramone
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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 39 страниц)
“I can take the train for that,” I took his hands, “It’s pathetic, but I’ll miss you every day.”
“It’s not pathetic. It makes me feel cool,” He grinned and pushed a stray hair from my eye, “I’ll miss you every day, too, Sil, but I’ll see you every weekend. More if I can make it up there. We’ll have fun. I’ll take you places. Me and you, Sil. It’ll be brill!”
His smile melted me as usual. “Did I ever tell you that you are my favourite person?”
“And you’re mine, Just Silvia Cotton. I’m glad that you’re not hurt or ticked off. You’re just fine,” Oliver kissed me tenderly as my father pulled up to collect me, “I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“See you on Saturday,” I took one last look into those dark eyes before he walked me over to my father’s car.
“Good afternoon, Mister Cotton!” Oliver said brightly, waving an arm.
“Hello, Oliver! How are you?” My father got out of the car with a grin and walked to the back to load in my bags.
“I’m well, Sir,” He helped him stuff my bags in the boot and stepped back as Daddy slammed the lid closed.
“That’s good news!” Daddy gave another rare smile. “Are your parents coming for you?”
“Yes, Sir, a little later.”
“Good then! Silvia, go ahead and say good bye. You can ring him later this evening.” He headed back to the driver’s side of the car, “Good to see you, Oliver.”
“Yes, Sir, you too,” Oliver glanced to see if my father was looking and kissed me again quickly. “I’ll ring you after supper, yeah?”
“OK.”
He opened the door for me and held it until I was in. “I’ll talk to you soon, Sil. Have a brilliant day, Mister Cotton!”
“Yes, you, too! Give your parents my best!”
“I will!” Oliver closed the door.
I turned in my seat to see him watching us as we drove away. He saw me and raised his hand as if to wave, but he didn’t. Instead, he stood there with his arm stretched up and his hand wide open, almost as if he were reaching. I put my own hand against the glass and twisted to get a better look at him, but we were already around the bend in the drive that took us from Bennington. He was out of view.
It was amazing how extremely alone I suddenly felt.
CHAPTER FOUR
When Oliver and I first met at fifteen, we really were just children. Although charming in most every way, he had been a little too thin and quite gangly. He had turned sixteen the last day in April and after leaving Bennington for the summer, began working in May at a flour mill in Newtown. Spending all his holiday loading bags of flour on to and off of the back of trucks had caused a period of radical physical change for him. He had grown taller and his shoulders had broadened. His arms had doubled in size and he had gained a considerable amount of weight, but it filled him out from almost too skinny to having a lean, muscular physique. His voice had deepened into a man’s and was smooth and gentle when he spoke. Oh, my heavens, he was a beautiful boy! One touch from his long fingers could send chills all across my body.
When we’d meet on the weekends, he’d embrace me and lift me off my feet so that I was dangling in his arms. He’d kiss me like he had been away from me for months and whisper, “It’s just us now, Sil. Me and you.” Every time it was the same. Every time my heart soared. Every time I fell more and more in love with the boy I’d met at school, the one who now was rapidly becoming a man.
Physically speaking, I became a young woman that summer as well. I had my sixteenth birthday on 14 May, just two weeks after the twins. I had always had a large bust for my frame, but I found that none of my bras were fitting properly and that my knickers had become snug around my groin. I thought I was gaining weight until I stood on the scale and discovered that the amount was minute. I had transformed, plain and simple. My waist had narrowed, my breasts had filled out and my bum had turned round overnight. My uniforms for school looked comical.
I told my dad that I needed all new clothes. “I'm sorry, Daddy. Nothing fits,” I explained, sucking in my stomach so my jeans wouldn't cut into me. It was horribly uncomfortable.
He nodded without a word and reached into his pocket for his wallet, “I thought you’d grown. Amazing how you girls do that. It happens overnight, doesn’t it? See what you have that Lucy can use, then get a taxi and go get whatever else you need. Take your sister with you or she’ll pout. Don‘t worry about spending, I trust your judgement.” He handed me his credit card.
“Thank you, Daddy.” I tucked the card into my pocket and began to leave.
“Silvia, wait,” He called. When I turned to face him, he scratched his head. “I just had a thought. Why don’t I toss Ana a bell and see if she’d be willing to take the two of you shopping in Powys? I could send you both down on the train and you could get your school uniforms direct. That way you could both be fitted at the shop. I really have no idea what size your sister is these days, either.” He paused blankly, and then added, “You're both getting so big,” as if we were toddlers having a growth spurt.
I didn't think much of what he said at the time, but in retrospect he must have been remorseful about our growing up. As usual, however, I was only thinking of myself. I loved his idea. Ana and I had become great friends over the summer. I adored her. She'd taken me shopping before once or twice and I'd embraced it since I'd never had a mother with whom to shop. It didn’t hurt, either, that the outing would give me the opportunity to spend some extra time with Oliver. Sometimes my father was brilliant without effort. Life was good. Life was very good.
Lucy and I caught the train south the next morning at seven. She was tired and difficult. “Have a kip!” I finally snapped at her after she practically burst into tears over dropping a pasty.
“I'm not tired!” she swore, but her eyes were pink and puffy.
“Right,” I mumbled, agreeing to avoid any further argument. I was quite relieved when she nodded off five minutes later and left me to my book.
Ana met us at the station, dressed in blue jeans and a rose coloured satin shirt, all full of excitement and smiles. “So this is Lucy!” She held out her arms, “It’s so wonderful to meet you, Darling! Oliver’s told me all about you! He said you were just as lovely as your sister and you are!” She shook her head, still grinning. “Where did the two of you get that gorgeous hair?”
“Both Mum and Dad are gingers,” Lucy said quietly, accepting the hug. “That’s where.”
“Well, it’s beautiful,” Ana rocked her in an embrace. “It’s going to be a wonderful just us girls together on the loose! We’re going to have so much fun it’ll be sick!” She grinned at me, released Lucy and took me into her arms instead. “Hello, Silvia Sweetie!” Now she was rocking me. “I was thrilled that your dad phoned me and asked me to take you both shopping! Ollie and Xan are working until five, but they have something planned for this evening for the four of you, so the whole day should be loads of fun...let's go! Let's go!”
We went to first to be fitted for uniforms as our father had suggested. It was Lucy’s first year at Bennington and I was looking forward to having my sister closer at hand. We had never attended the same school and I saw it as a chance for the two of us to become tighter knit. I’d always loved my sister, but I was five years older and we’d never had the opportunity to be very close since I was away at boarding school by the time she was two. Unlike me, our father had chosen to keep Lucy home until she was eleven before he sent her off to board. I'd only known her after that on occasional weekends and holidays.
“I can’t imagine what my life would’ve been like without Alexander if our parents had decided to split us up,” Oliver told me when I explained my sister’s and my relationship. “Very boring, I imagine. Sad, really. Lonely, for sure. Mind, I hate him sometimes, but at least he’s there for me to hate,” He paused, as if contemplating that, and then asked slowly, “Have you ever hit her?”
I laughed. “Lucy? No!”
“Oh, God!” He was amazed, “You’ve never hauled off and walloped her straight in the face-like?”
“No!”
“Then you have to spend more time with her!” He was so sincere. “If you don’t love-hate your sister and have never set a bruise on her then you don’t know her well enough! Gor blimey! We’re going to remedy this situation immediately! You‘ll be beating the crap out of Lucy by the end of the summer if I have anything to do with it!”
Now knowing the situation in full, Oliver began making it a point to invite Lucy along on some of our day trips when he came up North. Lucy adored him almost as much as I did.
“Is he coming here tonight?” She’d ask on Friday, her eyes twinkling, “I don’t have anything to do tomorrow if he’s going to be here then, either! Can I come along with you two? Do you mind?”
Sometimes I did mind, but I took her along anyway. She was, after all, my sister and I was supposed to want to black her eye every once in a while.
We did all of our shopping that day with Ana, giggling and being silly as girls are known to do when set loose in a department store with their father’s credit card. I didn't go mad with it, though. I was frugal even then when it came to money and could stretch a pound further than dough.
Ana noticed it. As we were standing in the middle of the cosmetic section in a department store she turned to me, “Silvia, you have such lovely skin. You should start taking care of it now. Let me buy you some cream, Sweetie. It's never too early to start moisturising!” She took my chin in her hand and smiled, “And we'll get you a good cleanser as well, nothing harsh. Always make it a point to pamper yourself. It's most likely that nobody else is going to do it for you, so you have to do it for yourself. No matter what, always remember that you deserve it.”
I hung on her every word. Everything I knew about being female I'd learned from magazines. Having my period for the first time was terrifying. It wasn't that I was not aware of what was going on, but it was shocking to wake up and have my knickers and sheets covered in blood. I'd panicked and had my dorm mate go and get the house mother.
She'd been rather mean about it. “Congratulations. You're a woman now. Here,” She tossed a box of cheap maxi pads at me, “Go have a shower and clean up. Then come back and strip your bed. You'll have to do your wash.” Then she'd left me standing there all soaked and in tears.
It was my father's way of helping me out, buying me subscriptions to young girl's magazines and having them sent to my school. So I knew how to care for my hair and I knew how to apply my makeup. It didn't matter what clothes were in fashion as I wore uniforms ninety-five percent of the time. But with all the knowledge those magazines gave me, I knew nothing of what it was to be a woman. From the moment we met, Ana showed me how to smell pretty and be soft from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
That day at the department store she brought me in front of a mirror and stood with me. “Look at yourself, Silvia. You're such a pretty girl, but you can be more.” She brushed my hair back with her fingers, “The trick to being a woman is it's effortless. The trick to being beautiful is that the effort never ends. Just don't ever let anybody see how hard you work for it.” She looked into my eyes through my reflection in the mirror, “Being beautiful is the most powerful position in the world. Part of it is your face. Part of it is your breasts. The most of it is your heart. Never allow anybody to take your heart for granted, especially not my son.”
When we were through shopping that day and she'd filled a bag with beauty supplies for me, the three of us had lunch in an upscale pub. Neither Lucy nor I were used to such luxury, but Ana seemed to think nothing of it. I watched her, casual and relaxed, and I realised suddenly that I didn't have to be tense and shy. I could sit and smile as easily as she did. I could be like her. Comfortable in my own skin like she was in hers. Beautiful like she had said. Beautiful like her.
When our lunch was over we took a walk through a city garden and then made the drive home to Welshpool. Ana did her favourite thing and made tea. Lucy chattered non-stop, but I didn't listen to her. I watched Ana instead, trying to set into my mind how she did things and the way she moved.
When Alexander came through the door a few hours later, Lucy popped right up, ran over and threw her arms around him. He looked a bit stunned, but recovered quickly and hugged her back. “Hi, Lucy!” He said smoothly, “It’s nice to meet you, too!”
She saw Oliver stride in behind him and turned candy apple red. She let Alex go. It was obvious she’d forgotten Oliver was a twin. “Oh, my!” She whispered.
“Little Lucy Cotton!” Oliver cried, dropping his car keys on to the floor and not bothering to pick them up, “Where’s my hug then?” Lucy looked even more embarrassed as Ollie gave her a tight squeeze. He bent and kissed the top of her head, “So you met my brother, yeah?” He asked casually, then whispered, “Don’t worry about mixing us up, Sweetie. It happens all the time. Even our own mum does it sometimes. We look just alike, don’t we?”
Lucy looked hopelessly at Ana, who smiled and nodded. “Yes, you do,” Lucy smiled.
“I’m better looking, of course,” Alexander boasted, “That’s the easy way to tell who‘s who.”
“Yeah,” Oliver agreed, absently stroking her hair as he turned away, “He’s really the good looking one.” He came over to me and lifted me up, kissed me and whispered in my ear the same thing he always said. Then he set me down, smiled and announced, “We’re going to have so much fun!”
Oh, and that weekend was fun, too. I remember it like it was yesterday. After my sister got over her embarrassment at confusing the twins, she took to Alexander like she’d known him her whole life, but she still got mixed up when he and Oliver were in a room together. The frustration almost sent her to tears.
“I’ll tell you what,” Alex offered with an easy smile, “I’ll wear blue the whole weekend so you know which one I am!”
“OK! Since Oliver is Sil's boyfriend, can I be your girlfriend this weekend?” She giggled.
“Well, I sort of have a girlfriend…”
“Try three.” A voice came from the other room.
“Very funny, Mum!” Alexander called over his shoulder, then turned back to my sister, “No, seriously, Lucy, I have a girl at school that might be my girlfriend, but since she’s not here, you and I can have a date weekend. Is that all right?”
Lucy giggled again, “Sure!”
With as quickly as Alexander became annoyed with people, I thought for sure Lucy would begin to bother him, but he didn’t seem to mind her. He played with her, but not in a bad way. He played with her exactly the way she wanted him to. She was the princess and he was the handsome prince who was going to take her to a ball. I've said it a million times, but for all his foul temper, Alexander had more good in him than bad. He was just so frightening sometimes that people were too scared to find that out before he sent them scurrying like mice for cover.
Oliver and Alexander had wanted to take us to see a play that evening, but they’d been too late to get tickets. We went to the cinema instead and saw an American film so horrible I’ve never forgotten it. I couldn’t tell you the name of it or what it was about, but I remember who starred and I remember that we left midway through and went to get a bite at an all-night café. It was a darkly painted little place, barren of any genuine personality, with bright florescent lighting and black table tops.
The boys obviously knew the waitress.
“Oh shit!” Alexander shifted in his chair. He quickly tossed his arm around the back of Lucy's seat and slouched toward her as if to read off her menu.
Oliver noticed this odd behaviour and looked over his shoulder. He turned back to his brother and raised his brows. They stared into each other's faces, another of their silent conversation passing between them. Neither moved or made a sound until Alex frowned and dropped his eyes. Oliver sniggered and flipped open his menu. His brother made a sound in his throat that was something between a cough and a pig's snort.
The waitress apparently had a history with Alex. A pretty girl, she marched up to the table, set a hand on her hip and glared at him, “So you’ve given up on older women and moved on to elementary school students, eh?” She demanded.
“I’m not in elementary school,” Lucy told her irritably.
Alex looked slightly uncomfortable. Slouched low in his chair, he raised his dark eyes to meet hers. “She’s a friend.”
“Well, Little Girl,” She looked at my sister, “Watch out for your friend.”
Oliver slapped his hands on the table and looked around in irritation, “Can we have another server?” He called, “Please? Send out the cook even! Anybody will do! This one‘s mental!”
“Mental?” She demanded, “Your brother...”
“Shut it!” Oliver snapped rudely, his eyes wide and his brows nearly touching his hair line. There was a great pause where he slowly waved his finger at her as if he were warding off an evil spirit. He shook his head slowly from side to side. “What's done is done!” He continued, “The past is the past! All of that! It's time to get on with your life!” Then slapped his hand flat on the table again and twisted in his chair. “Sir!” He called to a man standing behind the counter, “Another server! Now! Please!”
It was Alexander's turn to snigger. He covered his smile with his hand, but the glee in his eyes simply sparkled. The girl gave him a filthy look, huffed and stomped away. A moment later another waitress without an attitude appeared.
We had a pleasant meal and quite a few giggles, even though Alexander thoroughly inspected his food several times for any signs of sabotage before he ate it and Oliver spilled his Coke all over the table twice.
“Damn the gravity!” He swore.
When we got home, the four of us sat in the dining room and played cards until Lucy couldn’t keep her head up. Refusing to go to bed, she followed Alex into the living room and sat down in front of the tele, staring at the screen with eyes I am not sure were actually seeing.
Oliver led me by the hand through the kitchen and out into the garden to look at the stars. That lasted about fifteen seconds. After an extended groping session on the bench in the back garden that was ended when his mother let the dog outside, I woke Lucy, who was now zonked on the sofa, and brought her upstairs where I tucked her into bed with me in the guest room.
We lie there whispering to each other in the darkness.
“I'm so glad you're here,” I told her honestly.
“Me, too. You know Oliver loves you?”
“Do you think so?” I could see her in the moonlight. Her face was turned toward me, but her eyes were closed and her mouth was slack.
“I know he does.”
“Go to sleep, Lucia,” I giggled and kissed her cheek.
I lie there awake for a long time after she took my advice, listening to the sounds of the house and wondering what it must have been like to have grown up there.
The next morning the four of us took the car to Brecon Beacons and spent the day wandering the trails. We had dinner in a lovely little pub in Llangynidr. We then journeyed South to Ebbw Vale to meet up with the twins’ cousin, Karenna, who had rang the boys the night before and invited us to a do her friends were having in the middle of an empty sheep pasture. “It’s going to be banging!” I could hear her voice over the phone, even though I was a chair away from Alex, who was speaking to her. “Everybody’s coming! I haven’t seen you two in forever! I can’t wait!”
I had never met Karenna before, although she had been mentioned from time to time with fondness by Ollie and his family. She was the same age as Oliver and Alex, the oldest child of Ana’s younger brother and she turned out to be one of the nicest people I had ever met. Short, light haired and sweet natured as she could be, she looked similar to Ana with her baby doll complexion and a lovely smile, although she was already a bit pissed by the time we go there.
“My God!” She exclaimed, looking me up and down, “You’re fucking gorgeous, Love! Look at you! You look like bloody Kate Winslet or something!” I didn’t look like Kate Winslet at all, but it was a good compliment, so I thanked her. “What are you doing with these two pieces of crap?” She demanded as she laughed and hugged Alexander, “I’m glad you’re with Oliver and not this one! Oliver’s bad enough, but this one’s awful!” She turned and drew Oliver into a deep embrace, but she turned her face to me, “No, really, they’re wonderful chaps, aren’t they? Both of them! My two favourite scuzzes…I mean cousins…”
I’d never seen so much liquor in one place. There were literally barrels of it lying about and tubs filled with ice and bottles of all sorts. People had driven their cars up into the grass and were sitting on bonnets and rooftops with their radios going, shouting and talking and laughing with each other. Loads of couples were getting off all over, writhing in the grass.
“Isn’t their sheep shit on the ground?” I asked Ollie as we walked hand in hand around to see who was attending.
Oliver laughed, “Drink enough alcohol and I don’t think you’d consider it.”
We made our way around the lot. It was astounding how many people Oliver and Alexander knew. A lot of them were former Bennington students or rugby opponents from different schools. We were hailed to chat several times. I was surprised to see so many of our classmates there as well, including Josh McGuigan, who was drunk off his arse. He ran up and threw his arms around Alexander, “No bangers on you tonight, Buttie?” His heart was obviously overflowing with intoxicated infection. He turned to Oliver, “And buttie! Which one of you is which? Do I care? Not really!” He let go, shoving him by the head, “Aren’t you going to have a drink, Mate?”
“I’m Oliver and no,” Ollie shook his head, “I’m driving.”
“Good man then!” Josh grinned, drooling slightly, “Well, what about you, Alexander?”
“Nope,” Alex had his hand on my sister’s shoulder, “I’ve got to keep an eye on my girl.”
The smile that spread across Lucy’s face could have lit the night ablaze. Oh, no! I remember thinking, Lucy really has fallen in love with Alexander! Oh, the thought was terrifying. I thanked God she was only eleven years old. Four more years and Alex might have had her pinned down in the back seat of the car. The thought gave me shivers.
We sat for quite a while with Joshua and some mates from school, Connor and Malcolm McCrary. They were brothers who had relocated from Ireland, not twins, but born on the same day a year apart. They were nice boys and I was glad that they were there because Peggy McGhee was as well. She sat in the bed of someone’s truck with Amber Monahan and Serena McLaughlin, staring me down as much as they could without giving themselves away as bitches in front of the boys. I stared right back, not a bit afraid of giving myself away as a bitch to anyone.
“You could take any one of them,” Malcolm whispered to me at one point with a half-cocked grin. He seemed to be the only one who noticed the non-verbal showdown.
“Thank you,” I returned the smile.
He saluted me with his bottle and shrugged another grin.
“Sil,” Lucy came trotting up to me after a couple of hours. She’d been off with Alexander in a different clutch, “I have to pee so bad! Can you take me?”
Having a pee where we were at meant walking away from the crowd out into the darkness and then squatting in the field. I had to go myself and took her, thankful that I always wore skirts. Lucy, on the other hand, had to strip off her shoes, socks and jeans. The process took a while.
I had never known before I returned that I was the jealous sort, but as Lucy and I re-entered the party, I stopped dead in my tracks. Serena, Amber and Peggy had circled Oliver like three vultures. I had an impulse to go running up and club them over the backs of their heads, but I didn’t. Instead, I hung back and watched.
Oliver was still sitting where I had left him. He laughed at something Joshua said and shook his head in response. It appeared that the McCrary brothers had found another place to go, as they were absent. Amber was sitting on the ground where Con had been and Serena was on her knees beside her. Peggy was off to the side, staring at Oliver like a disregarded puppy stares at someone who is teasing it with a scrap of meat.
Amber said something else and Oliver laughed again, but looked away from her. He glanced at Serena as she spoke. I couldn't hear what she said, but I heard him reply, “No, I don’t think Sil’d want to go.”
I began walking toward them slowly, listening carefully as I went.
“Well, who said Silvia was invited?” Amber asked.
“So rude!” Joshua cooed.
Oliver raised his eyebrows, “Really?” He climbed to his feet, peering down at her, “Well, who says I would go even if she were?”
“Oh, come on, Ollie!” Serena moaned, “You used to be so much fun!”
“No, I wasn’t,” He told her, speaking very slowly the way the Welsh are known to do,
“Alexander was fun. If you check the record you’ll see I’ve never been any fun at all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I see my Sil.”
“Come on, Oliver!” Amber ran her hand down his leg as he passed. I wanted to bad to run up and kick her, especially when she turned and saw me. She actually had the nerve to smile.
Ollie was oblivious to everything. For as bright as he was, he was certainly stupid when it came to the games girls play. He just pushed past them as if nothing were happening and walked over to me. Boy, did they give me three dirty looks, moving together like a solid brick wall of bitches. The urge to beat them up didn't pass, but I did them one worse instead. I embraced Oliver and kissed him deeply while I held my middle finger up at them over his shoulder.
Josh’s laughter echoed through the fields.
I stared triumphantly at the three girls. Amber and Serena were obviously offended. I thought Peggy was going to cry.
The McCrary brothers suddenly reappeared, “Oy, Ambular!” Connor was being particularly obnoxious, as he was known to do when he'd been drinking, “Serenina! Peggers! How ya doin', you buncha feckin' slags? Ya come to get a shotta Irish?”
They all three gave him disgusted looks and began to walk away.
“Low class,” Amber muttered.
“Oy! Don' leave!” He called after them, “Amby! I love you, you know I do! Serenina! You know you like it Irish!” He stood for a second in the laughter of everybody around him, and then cried, “Peggers! Come back! I'll clean yer cobwebs!”
Oliver, Josh, Malcolm and I all cracked up. After another second of mocking shock at the girls’ departure, Connor dropped to his bottom and struck up a conversation about a completely different subject. Oliver and I hung about with them for a little while longer, but once Alex returned and collected Lucy, who was completely out of her element and being unusually quiet, we took the opportunity to take advantage of the back seat of the car. We were once again in the midst of taking things way too far when the door flew open and we both spilled out on to the grass in a knot.
“What the bloody hell, Alex?” Oliver demanded, drawing himself on to his knees. “Are you trying to kill us?” He turned his attention to me, “Are you all right, Sil? Did I hurt you?”
I thought it was the funniest thing that ever happened, both of us crushed up against the door and then us falling out. I lie on the ground with my legs still inside the car, holding my shirt closed, laughing so hard it hurt, even though I was sure I'd be bruised.
Oliver pulled my skirt down to cover my knickers.
“We’ve got to go!” Alex said urgently. “Lucy, get in the car! Ollie, Sil, get up now! I said we’ve got to go!”
“What did you do this time?” Oliver stood and buttoned his trousers, trying to look casual.
“We’ve got to go!” Alexander repeated, shoving his brother's shoulder as he got into the back seat. He sat and leaned out the door, “Come on now, let’s MOVE! OLIVER! NOW!”
“I’ve got to find my keys,” Oliver answered, not making a move to get in the car.
“LET’S GO!” Alex nearly shouted, “NOW! OLIVER!”
I scooted across the driver’s seat to the passenger’s. I buttoned my blouse and smoothed my hair in the mirror. I had the distinct feeling that Ollie might be moving slowly on purpose, as he still hadn't gotten in yet.
Lucy sat silently beside Alexander. Her face gave nothing away. She sat straight with her hands in her lap, but she kept looking at Alex out the corner of her eye. Oliver was still not in the car. Alex was obviously tense.
“What happened?” I finally asked.
Alex looked at me with the blank face he was so famous for and said nothing. Whatever had happened, he considered it none of my business and wasn't planning on explaining.
It was Lucy who spilled the story and did it at a mile a minute at that, “OK! It went like this! We were just sitting with some people and these three lads came over. The one was very cross with Alex about something and I thought they were going to fight. Alex looked like he wanted to fight anyway, but a girl called Jennifer came over and took the boy away with her, but one of his friends stayed and wouldn't let us leave and Alex had a fight with him and left him lying in the grass. I think he beat him up pretty badly. Then we left. Then on our way to the car another girl came up to us and said we'd better go because Jennifer's boyfriend was back and he was looking for Alex and so were his mates since Alex had beaten up the other boy. They're very angry. There's a group of them going to teach him a lesson, she said!” She squeaked out the last bit, “So we really need to go!”
With that information, Oliver got into the car and put the key in the ignition. “Jennifer, eh?” He looked over his shoulder at Xander, “So let’s fight. How many of them are there?”
“I don’t know. Three? Five? More than I care to deal with.”
“Well, if it‘s only a few, we can get Con and Mal and…”
