Silent Victim(75)

‘If you’re looking for burn scars there aren’t any,’ she said, catching my lingering gaze. ‘No thanks to you.’

‘Oh, please,’ I said, narrowing my eyes in a look of disdain. ‘I knew I’d never get rid of you that easily – and besides, you lit the match, not me.’

‘I’m glad my dad found me in time. You weren’t worth dying for. I must have needed my head seeing to, getting tangled up with you. You’re nothing but a predator.’ She gave me a look of unveiled disgust. ‘As if you’re capable of loving anyone but yourself.’

I took a step towards her, closing the gap between us. ‘You couldn’t get enough of me. Remember? On this table, how I hitched up your skirt and—’

‘What did you call me here for?’ she said, taking a step back. She was looking less sure of herself now, her eyes telling me it hadn’t been such a good idea to come here after all.

‘I hear you’ve been trying to befriend Sophie Smith. I want you to back off. Stay out of my business.’

I felt a flicker of anger rise from within as a smug smile appeared on her face.

‘I’m just biding my time until I catch you in the act. I might not be able to follow you about, but there’s nothing to say I can’t look out for her.’

I stabbed the air with my finger. ‘I’m warning you . . .’

‘And I’m warning you,’ Emma said, surprising me by answering back. ‘She’s only fifteen. Leave her alone.’

‘She’s sixteen soon,’ I said. ‘And if you don’t stop getting in my way I’ll call the police, tell them you’ve been harassing me again. You could get sent away this time.’

Sudden laughter erupted from Emma’s mouth, dark and throaty. ‘And what are you gonna do? Report me for protecting her from becoming your next victim?’ She shook her head. ‘Do you know what you’ve put me through over the last year? Do you? You were my first kiss. Then you took my virginity. Two things in the world most precious to me. But I let you have them because I thought you were special. I thought you cared. It was bad enough that you dumped me so callously, but then you fixed it so I couldn’t talk to anyone about it.’

Her chin wobbled as she spat out the words. ‘I had to bottle it all up, because confiding in anyone could explode in my face. I’d be called a slapper – sixteen years old and sleeping with my teacher. But it didn’t stop the whispers in the girls’ toilets after class. You drove me to attempt suicide. But you weren’t happy with that. After you called the police, I knew nobody would believe me. I was a silent victim. But not any more.’

She prodded me in the chest. ‘You lay a finger on Sophie, or any other girl in school, and I’ll catch you out and I’ll tell, I swear it. I’ll tell everyone. I won’t rest until they put you behind bars.’

‘Oh no you don’t, you little bitch.’ Grabbing her hand I twisted it around her back. She screamed as I led her to the table, pushing her face down hard on the wooden surface. Leaning over her, I exerted every ounce of my strength to show her she was sorely mismatched in this fight. ‘I’ve lots more evidence against you. Remember that time you broke into my bedroom? Climbed inside my bed? I’ve got you on CCTV, and I’ve manipulated the date. So all I have to do is call the police and say you’ve been back.’ I ground my pelvis against her hips, my erection straining against my jeans. ‘This is why you’ve really come back here, isn’t it? Because I’m happy to give you a repeat performance if you like.’

‘No, please,’ she whimpered, completely at my mercy.

‘Because if you say one word about me to anyone,’ I leaned over her ear, spitting the words into the side of her face. ‘I mean one fucking word, I’ll come back to get you. Maybe not now, but sometime in the future. Just when you’re least expecting it.’ I licked her face and she squirmed beneath my touch. ‘You can spend your whole life looking over your shoulder, because nobody messes with me and gets away with it. And I’ll make it good. I’ll make it so nobody believes you. You may think you can come in here and start calling the shots, but you remember one thing.’ I pulled her arm back another inch until she screamed. ‘I can fuck you up any time I like and nobody will believe you.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she whimpered, tears flowing freely down her face. ‘I’ll leave you alone. Please, let me go.’

I backed away, my arousal evident. She rose from the table, and with her tear-streaked face and dishevelled hair, she looked half-woman, half-girl. As she pulled the bolt across from the door, I blocked her escape with my arm.

‘Do we have an understanding?’

Emma nodded, a small sob jolting her words. ‘Y . . . yes,’ she said. ‘You won’t hear from me again.’





CHAPTER SEVENTY

ALEX





2017


My throat was scratchy and sore, and I recognised the early signs of a cold, no doubt a by-product of my night-time excursion with Theresa. I looked back on those hours from a distant perspective, as if they hadn’t happened to me at all. I supposed that was how it was becoming with Emma. A coping mechanism when the horrors of her actions ran deep. As I paced Mum’s garden, I couldn’t help but feel that I was missing something. I had thought I was doing the right thing, taking Jamie out of harm’s way. But was Emma that much of a threat? None of my friends in Leeds knew of my troubles, and I did not want to upset Mum by telling her the truth. The only people who knew Emma’s secret were Theresa and me. Emma said she was a victim, Theresa said the exact opposite. Who should I believe? A few weeks ago, there would have been no question. I would have sided with Emma.