He's After Me

Chapter TEN



Poor Livi. She explains it all to me as we make our way home.

There’d been no sign of Ferret when she got to school and he wasn’t answering his phone. She hung round for ages waiting, working herself up into a state. After a while, with everyone else in couples, she took herself off to the loo to shed bitter tears.

When she came out he was there, and Cora was snogging him. She was so angry she marched straight over and slapped her. Cora slapped her back. A fight ensued and was broken up by teachers. She started it, so she was thrown out.

‘D’you know what the worst thing is?’ she says to me between sobs. ‘It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know I was still going out with him. He’d told her he’d dumped me.’

‘That’s what she says,’ I say grimly. But it’s probably true. That’s exactly the sort of lie I would expect Ferret to tell. Two-timing little rat.

‘Come on. Let’s get you home.’

We don’t have enough money between us for a taxi, so I slip my arm through my sister’s and together we dash across the main road, dodging a stream of orange headlights, to take a short-cut through the multi-storey car park to the bus station.

The car park is bleak and dimly lit at this time of night. It’s a horrible concrete jungle of a place, with graffiti sprayed all over the walls. Row upon row of silent cars stand brooding and there are dark, sinister corners where anyone could be lying in wait for you.

But my sister has had enough. She can’t take any more, and I need to get her home. So I grit my teeth and march her through it, my senses on high alert, eyes darting this way and that.

Something is scuttling in a corner. Automatically we grip each other tight.

‘You’re never more than three metres from a rat in Britain,’ whispers Livi, looking petrified.

Don’t we know it! ‘Or a ferret,’ I whisper back and am rewarded by a giggle that bubbles up out of nowhere.

We move on as one, glued tight to each other, stiff with apprehension. From the corner of my eye I think I see something moving, a shadow, a shape … I quicken our pace, Livi stumbling along beside me. In front of us a concrete stairway leads up to the next storey … Anyone could be up there, lurking …

Suddenly, from somewhere above us, comes a dreadful, unearthly wail, like something in torment. I nearly jump out of my skin and Livi screams. We cling to each other as it goes on and on and on …

‘Car alarm!’ I say and we collapse in relief. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here! I hate this place.’

But the next second there’s a skittering, clattering, stamping noise, and down the concrete stairway bounds a guy in jeans and sweats, hood knotted well down over his face. I pull Livi out of his way as he leaps the last set of steps and goes sprawling on the ground, hands outstretched in front of him. My heart misses a beat. In a split second he’s up and vaulting the barrier, then he disappears outside into the night.

Within seconds a uniformed security guard appears, puffing and panting, in his bright day-glo jacket.

‘Did you see him?’ he gasps.

I nod.

‘Would you recognize him again?’

Livi shakes her head, scared stiff. ‘It was all too fast.’

‘You couldn’t see his face,’ I say truthfully.

The guard swears loudly and turns away, speaking into his radio. I grab Livi’s arm.

‘Quick!’ I say, not wanting to get caught up in all this. ‘Let’s go.’

On the bus I ring Jem, but his phone is turned off. I curse under my breath.

‘I thought you said he was working tonight,’ says Livi.

‘He is.’

‘Well, he’s not going to be able to answer his phone, is he?’

‘No, I guess not.’ I stare out of the window, lost in thought.

After a while she says in a small voice, ‘Are you mad at me, Anna?’

‘No.’

‘Don’t tell Mum what happened, will you?’

I turn my head to look at her. ‘Clean yourself up a bit then or she’s going to notice.’

She takes out a mirror and some wipes and starts to repair the damage. By the time she’s run a comb through her hair and reapplied her make-up she’s looking more or less back to normal.

‘All right?’

‘You’ll do.’

‘Are you sure you’re not mad at me?’

‘I said no, didn’t I?’

‘Are you mad at Jem?’

‘Now, why would I be mad at Jem?’

‘I don’t know. But you’ve gone all moody since you tried to ring him.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ I say. ‘You’re imagining it.’

But she isn’t.





He had to be more careful. He couldn’t afford to get caught.

Next time he might not be so lucky.

The last thing he wanted was for them to find out what he was really up to.