Total pages in book: 150
Estimated words: 143633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 718(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 718(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
“Jayden, seriously. If this is about your dad moving to Scotland, it’s got nothing to do with me or my mum.”
He looked at me like I was insane.
“You know full well he hasn’t gone to fucking Scotland! Cut the bullshit!”
I didn’t understand. My saucer eyes must have said it all, because he stared at me, trying to dig in deep.
“You’re going to have to explain things,” I said. “Because I don’t have a clue what this is about. As far as I know, your dad told Mum he’s been offered a new job in Scotland this morning, and he’s going right away. More money, great prospects. Tell him not to go, if you want, but that’s between you and him.”
Jayden sneered. “You are kidding, right? Don’t play fucking dumb!”
His rage triggered a flare in return. He was looking at me like I was garbage.
“I’m not playing fucking dumb about anything! What’s the problem here?”
My mind raced through things. Something wasn’t right behind the scenes, and if Scottie had an ulterior motive for fucking off somewhere… if he was being an asshole… if Jayden was blaming me or Mum for not keeping his dad around here…
“Is he fucking someone else?” I asked. “Is Scotland a cover for leaving Mum? Because if it is, he can at least be honest about it. Not leave her hanging on like he’s a true love from a distance. And that’s hardly my fault, is it?”
“HE’S NOT FUCKING SOMEONE ELSE, AND HE’S NOT IN FUCKING SCOTLAND!” Jayden yelled, then cursed to himself and lowered his voice, “He grabbed his stuff this morning in a holdall and fucked off, because he HAD to.”
He looked suspicious again, like I really was playing dumb. But I wasn’t. I was still reeling, my brain trying to catch up with what was going on.
“Why would he have to?”
Jayden’s eyes were hot on mine.
“Because someone is out to kill him if he doesn’t.”
“What the–”
The panic was intense, because if someone was out to kill Scottie, what the fuck would that mean for my mum? Was she involved? Was she in danger? Was I?
I couldn’t hold back my own voice, shouting as loudly as Jayden.
“WHAT THE FUCK HAS YOUR DAD BEEN GETTING INVOLVED WITH?!”
“YOU!” he yelled back. “My dad has been getting involved with YOU, Rosie! And that freak of a psycho fuck who lives upstairs!”
My senses reeled to another level. I spoke my thoughts out loud, hit hard.
“The psycho fuck who lives…” My voice trailed off as his words kicked in. “You mean Julian? Really? You mean Julian? From apartment six?”
“YES! The freak upstairs! He told my dad he’ll fucking kill him if he doesn’t get the fuck out of town. And it’s about YOU! What the fuck did you tell the creep?!”
I was still trying to fathom what he was talking about. I still didn’t know.
“WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM?!” Jayden yelled again, with his hands in his hair. “Because you told him SOMETHING. And that SOMETHING was enough that he’ll kill Dad over it, and he must have meant it, because Dad’s on the fucking run!”
I felt shivers up my spine. I tried to frame the craziness.
“You’re saying that Julian threatened your dad?”
“Yeah, that fucking creep! He held a knife to Dad this morning as he was off to work. I’m not fucking joking. A fucking KNIFE! Right in his ribcage!”
I would have laughed out loud at how ridiculous that sounded if my senses hadn’t tingled. Call it instinct… intuition… I don’t know, but I knew he was telling the truth.
“He was full on fucking serious!” Jayden carried on. “Dad wouldn’t have bailed if he wasn’t. He’s a lot of things, but he’s not a total pussy.”
I was still battling my mind as he launched into another stream.
“You should fucking know about this, because it was down to YOU! He told Dad to stay away from YOU!” He paused, his eyes still angry. “So, why?! Why the fuck did he tell Dad to fuck off because of you? What the fuck did you stir up?!”
I tried to compose my thoughts, but then, fuck it. I opted for the truth. There was only one reason.
“Your dad came into my room the other night and pinned me down on the bed. He told me to keep my mouth shut and not to cause any waves for him, or he’d make me suffer for it. HE was serious, too. HE meant it, Jay. HE would hurt ME if I even thought of calling him out for beating my mum!”
Jayden stepped back, shaking his head in hurt. His voice was nearly breaking when he said one simple word.
“Shit.”
“Yeah, SHIT!” I said. “He’s a violent piece of shit, Jay, and you know it. He hurts Mum, and he’d hurt me, too. Julian found out about it and rescued me. I guess it set him off somehow.”