Chapter forty-three

Becca

I was comforting Grace in her room. She had called me over since she refused to leave the house. A couple days have passed and I could tell she was gradually breaking down. It would only be a matter of time before she suffered severe depression.

"Does anyone in your family know about this?" I asked as I rubbed her back. She shook her head solemnly. "Not even your mum?"

She sniffed and shook her head once more. "Too scared to tell her."

"Understandable. You know more than anyone how she’d react. But eventually she’ll realise your belly."

She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "I dunno what to do, Becc’s."

I remained silent. I had no expertise in this kind of field. It’s not every day your boyfriend decides to run out on you and disappear... Well it’s happened to me once before, but the only difference between mine and Grace’s situation is that I wasn’t pregnant.

The only thing I can do is console her.

"I wanna help you Grace," I muttered. "But I’m really stuck here. The most I can do is lend you some money-..."

"No," she said immediately. "I’m not charity, I can look after myself. I have enough savings."

I noticed her tone and remained silent. She was slowly going from upset to angry, and it was really frightening.

"Okay. I’ll try Chris’ number." I reached into my pocket for my phone but she quickly gripped my hand.

"No, don’t bother. His phone’s off so there’s no point." She sighed heavily and suddenly I saw the slight snarl on her face. "If he wants to act like a dickhead then I’ll treat him like one. He’s never seeing his child."

I paused and looked at her. "It’s too early to be making that kinda decision."

"He obviously doesn’t want anything to do with this baby in the first place."

"That’s not true, Grace."

"How do we know what’s true or not? He’s gone, Becc’s. I don’t even know if he’s coming back this time."

"He’ll come back."

She watched me silently and her glare grew darker. "How do you know?"

"Because I know Chris. He wouldn’t do that to you. He’s probably gone to clear his head."

"I’m the one carrying the fucking child. If anything my head needs clearing."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know."

"There’s no excuse, Becca. If he’s not back in a week then that’s it. If he really cared he would be here right now."

I nodded again. I wanted to tell her that she was wrong for making this decision while angry, but this had nothing to do with me. This was between Grace and Chris. I could give advice but at the end of the day her choice was what mattered; she’s the mother.

She suddenly stood up. "Gotta pee again," she grumbled before leaving the room.

I watched her leave with a sigh. Grace was usually the vibrant one of the group, she was hardly ever negative. I had never seen her so stressed out before, and it really wasn’t fair on her part.

I was routing for Chris. He has one week to prove himself.

I headed downstairs to the kitchen, passing her mum along the way who was on the phone. I grabbed a bowl and filled it with Walkers crisps then poured some juice for Grace. I then remembered the Cadbury’s bar I had left in the fridge and took that too before going back upstairs. If anything can cheer up Grace, it’s definitely chocolate.

By the time I entered the room she still wasn’t there. I sat on the bed and ate some crisps but was quickly interrupted by my phone vibrating. Thinking it was Chris I quickly answered.

"Where the hell are you?"

"Why, what happened?"

I blinked at the voice and checked the caller I.D. "Sorry I thought you were someone else. Long time no see, Shubdi!"

He chuckled. "You’re still calling me that?"

"Why not? It was always Shubdi and Punjib."

"That was back in the day. Things have changed now."

I scoffed. "Sorry Drake."

He laughed and I smiled at the familiar laugh that I missed. He seemed so serious over the phone now. I was used to him being hyper and cursing every few seconds. He used to be the male version of me.

"How you been though? I ain’t heard from you in a while."

I rolled my eyes. "I could say the same to you. I’ve been alright, just working. Where did you disappear to?"

"I’m still local, that’s why I’m surprised I haven’t seen you about. You were always on road like some hoodrat."

"Don’t chat shit, I was always at home! You’d drag me out whenever you wanted a new piercing."

He paused momentarily. "Ah, you may be right y’know."

I laughed and shook head. He was serious, but still so funny. "Got anymore piercings? I remember you telling me a long time ago you wanted one on your dick."

"Mm, yeah I still aim to get that. I got one on my cheek the other day. That makes 16 so far."

"Oh shit, you’re gonna break the record."

"Aha, yeah man. Oi I wanna see you one day next week."

"Saturday would be best for me. I really miss you man."

"Miss you too...Punjib."

My mouth opened wide at the mention of my old nickname. It had been a while since he called me that. "You said it!"

He laughed quietly and playfully kissed his teeth. "Don’t get used to that. Anyway I’ll holler later on. Got work."

"You work?"

"Mm, ODEON in Streatham."

"Ahh that’s awesome. I get a discount now." He laughed and I smiled. "Speak to you later."

Grace stumbled back in as soon as I hung up.

"You took your time," I said as she slumped back on the bed.

"It’s like my bladder grew. I literally peed for 2 minutes." I laughed at how confused she looked. I gave her the bowl and we began eating the snacks.

"Grace, I know it’s all stressful right now, but it’ll get better. I don’t want you to go throughout this pregnancy stressed all the time."

She huffed and crunched on the chocolate. "Yeah I know. I’m glad you’re here though. You’re a good friend." Her frown was replaced with a smile. I sighed in relief at seeing Grace back to normal again. "How’s Kayden by the way?"

Now it was my turn to frown. "What makes you think I’ve seen him?"

"I know you have. You two can’t keep away from eachother."

"You’re acting like we’re lovers."

"You were once upon a time."

I rolled my eyes. "We’re on talking terms. That’s all I can say."

"You still want him."

I turned to her with a raised brow. "Come again?"

"You heard me clearly. You want Kayden, but you’d feel guilty for leaving Tyreece after all he’s done for you."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Ah Grace, your hormones are getting to you."

"I’m pregnant, not stupid."

I watched how serious she was being and tutted in annoyance. "Why do we always have to talk about him?"

"Honestly? Cos I liked Kayden. You were always happy when he was around."

"Then he left, remember?"

"I remember. There was a good reason why he left."

"Mm. Well he’s still a prick, and he’s too busy fucking another girl so why would I want him back?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "Really? Who?"

"Some chick Aaliyah. They’re like childhood friends. He lost his virginity to her and now they’re banging again."

"Is he with her now?"

I shrugged. "Fuck knows. I don’t care."

"You do though. Look at your hand."

I glanced down to see I was crushing the chocolate in my palm subconsciously. I kissed my teeth and took a bite. "I’m happy with Tyreece."

"But why do you feel the need to reassure yourself all the time?"

I sighed heavily. "Leave me alone, Grace."

"It’s like you have to keep telling yourself that you’re fine with Tyreece just so you can actually believe it."

"Not true."

"When really you’re still infatuated with Kayden. You loved him first so you can’t expect those feelings to just disappear, can you?"

"Grace..."

"You forget that I can call you out on your bullshit. Every time you deny it, you just prove my point even more."

"Seriously..."

"You can’t even look me in the eye and tell the truth. How hard is it to admit that you still have feelings for-...?”

"I don’t! He doesn’t deserve me and he fucked up, that’s it. I’m with Tyreece and I’m happy...and I’m not bullshitting either. I don’t wanna talk about him anymore so just leave it."

She watched me for a few seconds before shrugging and sipping her juice. "Alright. Be stubborn."

I tutted before lying back and closing my eyes. When will Grace just believe me and let it go?

As soon as I arrived home I heard loud Reggae music thumping through the speakers. That could only be Uncle Clayton rinsing out his vinyl collection. I passed him in the living-room and was greeted by Diamond in the kitchen.

I approached her by the table and smiled. "Hey dumpling."

She waved and continued drawing on the paper. I looked down and saw two colourful stick figures surrounded by trees.

"What you drawing?"

She cracked her knuckles and pointed at the taller brown figure. "Dat’s Dutty Kieran," then she pointed to the other red figure. "An’ dat’s di gyal ‘im bring upstairs. They’re in a forest."

I raised a brow. "Why in a forest?"

She shrugged. "Change of scenery."

I laughed at how creative she was and ruffled her hair. "It’s nice, keep up the good work." She gave a thumbs up and I turned to leave. Then I looked back. "Oh by the way, you remember Zaine’s coming round today, init?"

She suddenly looked up with wide eyes.

"Yeah, he’ll be here in a couple hours."

"Mi haffi put arn makeup!" She frantically rushed out the room and I blinked in shock.

"You’re NINE!" I called after her.

I heard her little footsteps ascend the stairs and a door slam. I sighed and shook my head.

Later on that evening the men went out, leaving just us girls. Uncle Clayton warned me that if anything were to happen while they were gone, I had permission to use his trusted machete. I decided not to ask him about where he got him from, and rushed them out the house instead.

I sat doing Claycia’s nails. She had asked for a design and since I was a boss, I was able to meet her standards. She sat opposite me on the bed, cross-legged and admiring my work on the nail of her middle finger.

"I spoke to grandma yesterday over the phone," she suddenly announced.

"Oh, really?"

"Mm-hm."

I smiled. Our grandma was truly a saint, not to mention a boss ass bitch. I hadn't seen her since I was 10, maybe younger. I missed her and everyone else back in Jamaica.

"How is she?" I questioned.

"Complaining about her bad back, but fine. She went to a party and almost got daggered by some guy called Delroy."

My face dropped and I gave her a blank look. "She told you that?"

She started laughing and nodded.

"Alright, don't tell our dads." About my 67-year-old grandma was drawing in young men. What a time to be alive.

Just then the doorbell sounded and chimed throughout the house. I glanced at my watch to see it was just after seven.

"I'll get it!" I heard Diamond yell from next door.

"No, I will," I called as I stood up from the bed. I left the room and told Diamond to wait before heading down to open the front door. Kayden stood there with his hands in the pockets of his jeans but I took no notice of him. I smiled down at Zaine. "Hey cutie. You finally made it."

"Hi Becc’s."

I stepped aside. "Hurry up and come in. It’s cold." I waited for the little munchkin to step in and scowled as Kayden walked in after him. I shut the door and turned to Zaine. "She's in the spare room," I told him.

He kicked off his shoes and dragged off his coat before hanging it on the banister and quickly running up the stairs. I made a mental note to check up on those two in a few minutes.

I felt a pair of eyes on me and turned to Kayden who was still stood there. He removed his hat and hung it up. Seeing him make himself comfortable in my house made me sneer.

"You're unbelievable," I muttered as I headed to the kitchen.

He raised an eyebrow and followed after me. "How?"

"Using Zaine as an excuse to come round here." I tutted in disgust and opened the fridge.

"You said I could come."

I glared at him. "I didn’t mean it. Why would I want you here?"

He shrugged and sat at the kitchen table. "Next time don’t say things you don’t mean."

I ignored his remark and poured my drink into a glass before facing him. Best thing to do now is change the subject. "Any news?"

"Chris and a couple other man are gonna travel up Portsmouth tomorrow. Hopefully that prick should still be there."

"What happens if he is?"

He fiddled with his golden ring. "That’s up to them to decide."

I nodded slowly and felt slightly giddy at the possibility of getting my friend back. Work just wasn’t the same without Chanel; I was really beginning to worry about her wellbeing. If all goes well, she will be safe again in a matter of days.

I glanced at Kayden and realised he was watching me expectedly. "What?"

"You gonna offer me a drink?"

My eye twitched in annoyance. He was already testing my anger, but I could be mature about the situation. There was no way in hell I was gonna give in to his bullshit and show my childish side. I forced a smile and grit my teeth. "What would you like?"

"Apple juice please."

I grabbed the carton from the fridge and poured it into a glass. Thoughts of throwing it at his head and knocking him unconscious came to mind but I decided to ignore them. I slid the glass across the table and he continued to stare at me.

I huffed. "What now?"

"I bought you that shirt," he muttered. I glanced down and realised that I was wearing the knitted jumper he had bought me a while ago from Zara. "It looks good on you," he said. "Nice fit."

"Mm-hm." I looked away and continued sipping my drink. He spoke so softly and I didn’t want to be captivated by those expressive brown eyes.

I quickly finished my drink and glanced to Kayden. He was silent as he texted on his phone. I scowled. What was the point of coming over to sit there and be antisocial? Not that I wanted to be around him anyway.

I decided to head upstairs to see how Diamond and Zaine were doing. I stood by the door and listened in.

"Dis is too hard."

"You’ll get used to it."

"But mi nuh know how fi work it."

Zaine chuckled. "That’s why you practice. You’re not holding it properly; wrap your hand around it."

"Oh! I get it."

"But not too hard."

"Yeah mi know."

My eyes widened and I quickly burst in. "DON’T GIVE INTO TEMPTATION!"

Zaine and Diamond both looked up in confusion. They were sat on the carpet, cross-legged and holding a toy in their hands.

I paused. "What?"

Zaine held up the lengthy toy. "Diamond doesn’t know how to play Bop It. Help me teach her, Becc’s."

My heart thumped loudly in my chest and I waited for my ears to stop ringing before resting against the door. "...What?" Zaine laughed and I finally understood. "Oh, Bop It. Yeah we used to play that all the time." I crouched down beside them and held the toy, analysing it closely. "It never used to be this long though."

"It’s a new one," Zaine said with a smile. "Try beating my high score."

I laughed and accepted the challenge. I pushed the massive button in the middle and the game started. It didn’t even take two minutes before I messed up the instructions, and Diamond laughed at how frustrated I became.

"What you laughing at, D? Can you do better?"

"Eee, watch." She took hold of the toy and started.

Zaine edged closer to her. "I’ll help," he offered.

I noticed Diamond’s reaction to how close they were sitting and couldn’t help but coo at their cuteness. Zaine was exceeding game without even realising. It was actually adorable. I will start planning their wedding from now.

I stood up and headed to the door. "I’ll do your hair in a minute Zaine. Gimme 15 minutes, yeah?"

"Yep."

I smiled and was about to close the door but decided to leave it open. You never know what children get up to these days.

I noticed Kayden coming up the stairs. We exchanged eye contact and I briefly wondered if he had followed me upstairs but he walked to the bathroom instead. I went back to my room to see Claycia was no longer in there. No doubt she probably gave up and was in dad’s bedroom finishing off her nails. For some reason she liked that room the most, maybe because of his King-sized bed.

I sat down and sighed, thinking over the whole situation. Chanel was out there somewhere, Marik was behind this stupid kidnapping fiasco, Kayden knows where she is, and not only are we speaking—just barely—again, but he was currently using my toilet.

Why did it become like this?

I breathed heavily and ran a hand over my face. I just wanted it all to be over.

The door creaked open and his head popped through. He closed the door behind him and sat at the edge of my bed. It grew silent quickly as I looked through my phone and he looked around my room.

"How’s work?" he quietly asked.

"Good. Yours?"

"It’s alright."

I nodded and heard his phone vibrate. I watched his expression to see if he would smile like he did the last time. Thinking back to that made me cringe...

"Not that I care, but what are those marks about?"

"It’s the result of good, back-breaking sex."

"I’m guessing it was the same girl who text you."

"You really wanna know? I go round to Aaliyah’s couple times a week and we fuck..."

Now that I looked at him, his expression didn’t change. This time he didn’t react. But still, I wanted to make sure.

"That Aaliyah?" I asked quietly.

He watched me for a few seconds before turning away. "Nah."

I looked out the window and decided to express how I felt then and there. "I really don’t get you."

I saw him look at me through my peripheral vision. "What d’you mean?"

"Your mood always changes. One minute you’re being a prick and the next you’re fine."

"When was I being a prick?"

"Last time."

"I was winding you up." I glanced at him with a sneer and he gave a weak smile in return. "Looks like it worked."

"Shut up."

"Did I annoy you, Rebecca?"

"You always annoy me."

"Yet you keep coming back."

"For Chanel’s sake." The smile never left his face, which pissed me off all the more. "Stop smiling."

He chuckled lightly and looked back to his phone. "You’re cute when you’re mad, y’know."

I huffed at his smug voice. "And now you’re tryna sweet-talk me."

"I wouldn’t try anything like that."

"So what about last time?"

His face changed as he recalled the incident in my room right after we ate at Nando’s. The day he touched me and I ended up giving in, only because I had missed him so much. I remember waking up shortly after, completely naked in his embrace.

"Yeah, I know that was wrong," he muttered.

I fiddled with my duvet as I continued to look out the window. "It was wrong...but it wasn’t just your fault."

"Mm."

I suddenly turned to look at him. He was watching me now, his eyes full of emotion. "I got a call from Leon’s cousin yesterday."

His expression didn’t change at the mention of his name.

I decided to continue. "Tomorrow’s his birthday. Apparently they’re holding something at his mum’s house for that. She asked if I was going."

"What did you say?" he asked softly.

"I said no." I glanced down and decided to focus on my phone to avoid eye-contact. "I can’t see his family and smile in their face after what happened."

Kayden was silent for a moment before muttering, "I still don’t regret what I did."

"I know. You’re just lucky that you weren’t caught for it."

"Too lucky," he agreed. "But I’m not like that anymore. I keep a low profile now. The only reason I’m still in touch with people like Christian is for situations like this."

"You mean Chanel?"

He nodded. "After this is all sorted out, I’ll go back to focusing on coaching."

"Well that’s good to hear."

"Yeah." He slowly scoped the room and his eyes fell on something. "So he’s treating you good," he said.

I followed his gaze to the side table where Tyreece’s Valentine’s Day presents lay. There was also a picture of us in a frame that he had given me. I watched Kayden’s face but he looked indifferent.

"Yeah," I finally answered. "He’s nice."

I was suddenly brought back to Kayden touching me on this very bed and the words rang in my head like a loud foghorn.

"Is Tyreece not doing his job properly?"

"Does he make you cum, Rebecca?"

"You’re almost there... Come on..."

I breathed heavily and called for Zaine. His little footsteps were heard immediately and he entered the room.

"Ready to get your hair done?"

He nodded and I grabbed a cushion for him to sit on. He crossed his legs obediently and I combed through his thick copper locks with the afro comb.

"Will you ever cut your hair, Zaine?"

"Nope."

"That’s a good boy," I said with a chuckle.

"Dad wants him to get it trimmed soon," Kayden mentioned.

"As long as it isn’t cut any shorter, I don’t care."

Zaine laughed and I began to part his hair to get started with the first cornrow. "Why do you like my hair so much, Becc’s?"

"It’s nice and soft, and long. I bet a lot of girls tell you that."

"At school they all touch it," he said with a shrug.

"Used to happen to me aswell," Kayden added.

"Your hair ain’t as nice as Zaine’s so keep quiet." He screwed me and I smiled sweetly in return.

Zaine brought out his PSP and began to play while Kayden and I made small-talk. After half an hour the atmosphere was less tense. I realised when Kayden wasn’t trying to be a prick and piss me off, he was really cool. This is what I wanted in the first place: to be able to talk to him without any complications or mentions of the past. Just to be cool with one another again.

He was busy telling me about work, and I couldn’t help but admire how dedicated he was to his job. I saw the old carefree Kayden coming back...gradually.

"So are the parents there to watch you coach their kids?" I asked in mild interest.

"Yeah, they just sit back and watch. The boys are annoying though."

"How?"

"Sometimes they stop to play IT in the middle of a match."

I chuckled lightly. "That’s cute. What does Coach Brooks do when that happens?"

"I separate them. They really look up to me, though. Like, it’s weird when they call me coach."

I nodded in understanding. "You really enjoy your job."

He grunted. "Yeah."

"So why don’t you teach me how to play?" Zaine asked.

"You’re not paying me."

"I don’t have money."

"Then don’t talk."

I laughed at their banter and started a new cornrow. "Do you miss Footlocker or is it just me?"

"Nah, I do aswell. I would’ve stayed if it never got damaged."

"Same here. I miss people like Stacey and Mohammed."

"What about Natasha?" he asked.

"The 50 year old that was in love with you?" I scoffed at just remembering her. "Ugh I hated her. She was always on your di-..." I realised Zaine was still in the room and took a deep breath. "Always talking about you," I corrected.

Kayden smiled weakly at that and I saw him hold back a chuckle. "She was 26. I liked her though, she was a nice girl."

"Woman. I didn’t like the way she looked at you. Should’ve found someone her own age. Some any cougar."

"You worked with a cougar?" Zaine asked with widened eyes.

I laughed at his expression. "In way, yeah."

He shook his head and went back to his PSP.

"I miss Nathan aswell," I said. "He came to Caffe Nero last week."

"I knew he would."

"It was nice to see him though, he looked nice." Kayden gave me a questioning look and rolled my eyes. "I’m not gonna lie, am I? He’s got a beard now, and he’s been going gym."

Kayden shrugged. "Haven’t seen him. We only spoke once on the phone."

"Can’t believe he moved in with his girl."

"He must really like her then."

I remained silent as I thought about Tyreece. If I really wanted to, I could move in with him by next week. The only thing is, Zion still lived there aswell, and I didn’t know what to think about living with my boyfriend and his twin.

That wasn’t the only issue though. Ty had cut me a set of keys to his place, and I was grateful for it, but something was restricting me from moving in. I just didn’t want anything to go wrong between us to the point where I would have to move out. It all seems like a hassle.

Plus, if I moved out, who would be around to terrorise Andre?

Soon I was finished, and I watched as Zaine admired his hair in the mirror. Now he looked like his usual self with classic cornrows. He turned back to me and hugged me tight.

"Thank you, Becc’s." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and I cooed.

"You’re welcome hun."

He didn’t waste any time in running back to join Diamond in the spare room.

"He’s too cute for words," I said with a sigh. I stood up to pack everything away. If I were to ever have kids, my son had to be like Zaine. He was so chilled and kind. It’s a shame his brother was an asshole.

Suddenly a £10 note was shoved in my face. I looked to Kayden with a raised brow.

"Don’t be stupid."

"Take it, Rebecca."

I narrowed my eyes. It’s not like I did Zaine’s hair for money in the first place. "No."

"Yes. You took the time to do it, stop being stubborn." He grabbed my hand and placed the folded note in my palm. The warmness of his hand caused me to stiffen, and now that he was close his scent was clouding my nose.

I pulled my arm away and sighed. "Whatever."

He gave a small smile. "I’m gonna head out. Got errands to run."

"Is fucking Aaliyah one of them?"

He paused and stared at me, seemingly taken aback by the question. I didn’t mean to say it, but I kept a straight face, waiting for his response.

"Why would you say that?"

"That’s what you do these days init?"

"Do you have a problem?"

I shrugged and placed the money in my drawer. "No. You fuck her, I fuck Tyreece. Why would there be a problem?"

My heart thudded as soon as that left my mouth. The words had slipped past my lips before my brain even had the chance to process them. I realised I always said unnecessary things as some sort of defence mechanism whenever I was in situations like this.

Kayden’s eyes pierced mine, and I saw the conflicting emotions in his eyes alone. Right there and then, I saw brief anger and resentment on his face before he turned and left the room. I stayed still, listening to his voice as he called for his brother.

"Oi, Zaine. Come, we’re going."

"But I’m playing with-..."

"Get your jacket."

I heard footsteps descend the stairs and walked to the landing to see he was already by the front door handing Zaine his things. I slowly walked down the steps and noticed the frown on Zaine’s face.

He zipped up his coat and hugged me. "Thanks for doing my hair."

"It’s alright munchkin." I bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "See you soon."

"Bye, Becc’s."

"Bye hun."

Kayden didn’t even look at me. He opened the front door and my eyes widened when I saw Tyreece stood there about to press the doorbell.

His eyes fell right on Kayden and they watched eachother silently for a few tantalizing seconds. My heart thumped erratically at the growing silence. I watched as Kayden stepped past him, leaving the house with Zaine trudging close behind. I didn’t miss the look they gave eachother as he left. It was a poisonous, lingering look that showed hatred and jealousy on both their parts.

Ty stepped in and closed the door. He immediately looked at me for an explanation.

"I did his brothers hair," I told him before he could assume anything.

"He was in your room," he mentioned, his voice incredibly low.

"I was doing his brothers hair," I said again, more clearly this time.

His jaw clenched and I could tell he was annoyed by what he saw. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were thin with built up fury.

"Ty...let’s go upstairs, yeah?" I spoke softly to try and soothe him. I didn’t exactly blame him for his reaction, purely because of what happened the last time. He had forgiven me, but I knew the trust still wasn’t fully there. It was my fault for breaking it.

He visibly calmed down and took off his jacket. I hung it on the hook for him and led him up to my room...

I stirred before opening my eyes. The weather looked gloomy outside, and the sky was still dark. Droplets of rain marred the window, and a slight breeze was heard whistling through the trees. I turned to see Ty’s face was right beside mine, and his arm was draped over my waist possessively. I reached for my phone to check the time.

"Only 7:15? Why the hell am I awake?" I muttered to myself.

Tyreece was snoring lightly with a cute sleepy expression, which made me smile. I briefly admired his button nose, chinky eyes and full smooth lips. I kissed his nose and he wrinkled his face before relaxing and pulling me closer to his muscular frame. I felt the sinewy arm grip me tighter against firm pectoral muscles as his nose nuzzled in my hair. He squeezed my hip and grunted something unintelligible.

This dude was tryna claim me even in his sleep.

I put my phone away before going back to sleep...

My body was being rocked gently. I groaned sleepily and turned on my side. The same hand rested on my shoulder again, trying to wake me up.

"Go away," I hissed with my eyes still shut.

I heard Ty’s deep chuckle from behind. "Grace is calling you."

Only then did I hear my phone constantly vibrating on the side-table. I frowned at the annoying sound. "What time is it?"

"Just after 12, babe. Answer it. She’s been calling for a while."

I grabbed the pillow from under me to cover my head with it. "I’ll call her back," I grumbled.

He laughed again and I felt his body lean over mine to grab my phone. "Grace? Yeah...yeah it’s me. Mm, yeah. She’s here; still in bed." I heard Grace through the phone and Ty hummed. "Course, hold on." He pressed the phone to my ear and I sighed.

"I’m tired, Grace. Make it snappy."

"I spoke to Chris."

My eyes opened and I held the phone before sitting up. "What happened?"

"He called me on private. It was quick though, I didn’t even get a word in." I heard the irritation in her voice. "So sick of his shit, Becca."

I frowned in disappointment. "So he didn’t say anything about coming back?"

"No. Just said he misses me and that he’ll be back soon." She kissed her teeth long and loud. "What the fuck is soon? Soon ain’t gonna pay for this baby."

"I love Chris, but he really is a prick."

"What do I see in him?"

I briefly wondered if she was actually asking me. I hummed in thought. "I bet he’s gone somewhere far."

"Wherever he is, he needs to come back. I already told you if he isn’t back by next week I want nothing to do with him."

"I know."

She sighed. "So sick of men."

I glanced at Tyreece who was texting on his phone. "They’re not all the same."

"Mm. You’re lucky you have someone like Ty."

I felt a pang of shame when she said that. Grace didn’t deserve to go through something like this. She was pure and innocent once upon a time. I almost wish Chris didn’t contaminate her with his sex acts. For some reason I felt slightly guilty for being happy with Ty when she was so miserable with Chris.

"I know how Chris feels about you though. Just give it time, he’ll be back."

"He better be. I think I’m gonna tell my mum today."

I paused. "About Chris or...?"

"The baby."

I heard the anxiousness in her tone and smiled weakly. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I’ll call you later."

"Bye." I hung up and gave a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Chris still missing?" Tyreece questioned, putting his phone away.

"Yep. Grace is getting more pissed off each day."

He shook his head. "You said this isn’t the first time either."

"It isn’t. He’s such a dickhead."

He pulled me close and gave a gentle kiss to my forehead. "He must have a reason."

"I don’t care. I’m kneeing him in the balls when I see him."

He chuckled. "Get ready, I wanna take you out today."

I raised a brow. "Where to?"

He shrugged. "Maybe Pizza Express, I’m hungry."

"We have food here."

"But not pizza."

I rolled my eyes and got up. "I wanna go Creams after then." I yawned and stretched, still feeling incredibly tired. "Or we can hit Pearly Way, I wanna go arcade..." I turned and realised Ty was focused on something. I followed his gaze to the side-table where Zaine’s PSP lay.

"Whose is that?" he asked.

"Zaine’s. He must’ve forgotten about it when I was doing his hair."

His face didn’t change. The expression proved he still didn’t like the fact that Kayden was here. I sighed and put the PSP away.

"He was only here for an hour," I explained.

He turned to me with a raised brow. "That makes it alright?"

"No. But I don’t want you thinking anything happened. I wouldn’t do that to you."

He shrugged. "Didn’t stop you before."

I felt a stab in my chest at hearing that. I tutted and grabbed my towel. "Whatever. I’m getting ready." I stomped out the room with a scowl and headed to the bathroom.

Chris

Being stuck in the same place for days was making me feel a bit claustrophobic, but I didn’t mind spending some time with my uncle. He was calm anyway, said I’m welcome to come up and stay whenever.

I felt bad for leaving Grace again, but when I got that phonecall I panicked. I managed to talk to her briefly but she didn’t sound too happy. It made me realise that I was going about everything the wrong way. I was a dickhead for running out on my girl when she needed me the most, which is why I’ll be heading back to London early tomorrow morning.

I watched uncle Marik snort another line of coke off the coffee table. He sat back and inhaled sharply, twitching his nose and grunting. He turned to me with a hazy smile.

"Oi, try some."

"Nah, I’m cool, uncle."

He handed me the rolled up £50 note. "Fucking try some. It won’t kill you."

I took the note and looked down at the last line of coke. I’ve seen a few man do it, but I never understood the fascination. Then again...I thought the same thing about smoking crow.

I shrugged and leaned forward, stilling the note by my nostril and sniffing the whole line. My nose tingled and my vision went blurry for a few seconds. I sat back and wiped the residue of coke off my face.

Uncle Marik laughed and thumped a hand on my back. "You good yeah?"

I nodded and saw spots in my vision.

"Don’t tell your mum."

I scratched my neck and rested my head on the chair, feeling fucked already. "It’s Becca I’m worried ‘bout."

He paused and looked at me. "Who?"

"Just a friend." I closed my eyes and felt the effects of the coke taking over. "She comes like a mum sometimes, always nagging me, making sure I get on wid my work and that." I wrinkled my nose and felt my nostrils burning. "She’s probably clocked that I’ve left." I gave a shrug. "Rebecca’s cool though. I’m sure she understands."

"Rebecca?"

"Mm."

Suddenly he nudged me, causing me to open my eyes. He had a distant smile now. "Sounds like a good friend."

"Yeah she is."

His smile grew wider. "She local?"

"Yeah, a few roads down from me."

He nodded and chuckled to himself. "Does she work?"

I raised a brow. "Why the questions, uncle?"

He brought out some rizla and a bud and placed them on the table. "Taking interest in your love life."

I laughed. "Nah she’s just a friend. I’ve already got a girl."

"And you ran away from her. Why?"

I froze at the question and turned away. I couldn’t even answer. For one, my vision was distorted and my nose was twitching, but I felt ashamed for doing that to Grace. No doubt she probably wants nothing to do with me anymore.

He gave an amused grunt and began crushing up the crow. "So does Rebecca work then?"

I sighed. Didn’t really understand why he was suddenly so interested in her. "Yeah, she does."

Uncle began to roll up the blunt, a secretive smile on his face. He then turned to me. "Tell me more about her, Chris."

Just then a loud bang was heard, and the sound of footsteps entered the house. There was a racket by the front door. The floor rumbled at the noise, and shouts of anger resounded through the house. I turned to uncle, who didn’t even look fazed at all. A good 13 man entered the room, all dressed in black carrying various weapons with murderous intent in their eyes.

They were all looking directly at uncle.

One man sneered and gritted his teeth, carrying a large shank. "Yo, Marik."

Uncle glanced at them and chuckled before lighting up the freshly made blunt and putting it to his lips. He relaxed back in the chair and took a pull, blowing out smoke and smiling. "Long time, Christian..."