13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough Read Free Book Online Page B

(I’m so bored of resting) and looked at me with such warmth it was as if she loved me. She must be a good nurse. ‘They’ll be round with your dinner soon,’ she told me and then spied the crisps and chocolate. ‘If you still have room after all that.’ She’s a large woman, comfortable with her fat. I doubt she’s ever eaten just one piece of chocolate from a bar and thrown the rest away. Did she ever feel the pressure of perfection? Yes, I wanted to eat chocolate. Someone like her would eat it without a second thought. I almost envied that.
    Hayley and Jenny hugged me and we three became a tangle of hair and coats and hot breath. Lean arms were the tightest on me and I knew that was Hayley. When they pulled away, we were all damp with condensation.
    ‘Text us,’ Hayley said. She looked sad. She paused for a moment. And then she said, ‘We do love you, Tasha. You scared the shit out of us.’
    Jenny nodded. ‘Hurry back to school. We miss you.’
    It’s only been one day. I wonder quite how much they could have missed me when no doubt all they’d done was talk about me the whole time. I know it’s a bitter thought. I should be happy we’re friends again. It’s what I want, after all. Things have been a bit creased between us recently.
    ‘I’ve missed you, too,’ I said. The past tense slipped out but they didn’t notice it. I have missed them, in my own way. They’ve been my best friends.
    Maybe things will be different now.

 
     
     
    Nine
18.20
Jenny
That was 2 weird. Don’t u think?
 
18.21
Hayley
U really txting me from
the back seat? ;-)
 
18.22
Jenny
Want 2 talk about it. Grrrr to ur mum. And what is this shit music?
 
18.23
Hayley
90s crap.
 
18.24
Hayley
Yeah it was weird. She really
doesn’t remember.
 
18.24
Jenny
U think she will? Im scared.
 
18.24
Hayley
Me 2. I’ll call you l8r.
 
18.25
Jenny
I wish she’d died.
 
18.25
Hayley
DELETE! We’ll be ok.
 
18.25
Jenny
Delete thread or just that?
 
18.26
Hayley
Thread.
 
18.26
Jenny
This shit is so crazy.
 
18.26
Hayley
Don’t worry. Now delete.

 
     
     
    Ten
    Aiden rolled joints faster and smoother than anyone Becca knew. His joints, Becca concluded as she sucked in deep and watched the paper burn orange-red, small grass seeds popping inside, were goddamn awesome. Three, five or seven Rizlas, they were always even, a perfect balance of weed and tobacco, and you never had to tug too hard nor did you ever get a mouthful of shit because the roach and paper were too loose.
    She giggled and coughed as the buzz hit, warming her face which still stung from the cold outside even though the room was roasting. Aiden’s mum did not skimp on the heating. And long may she live for that alone. That and the pizza she’d bought for them.
    ‘Good shit?’ Aiden said.
    Becca was lying in the crook of his arm looking up at the ceiling. ‘Good shit,’ she said and grinned. ‘Now feed me pizza.’
    He dragged a heavy slice out of the box, holding it over her head. She reached up for it and he held it just out of her reach.
    ‘Swap.’
    She waved the joint at him and then hauled herself up, letting her head fuzz, smiling at him as she took a huge bite of the Hawaiian, cheese stretching out in a long thread until it broke and landed wetly on her chin.
    ‘Sexy.’
    She shrugged. ‘I’m not a Barbie. What do I care?’
    ‘A Barbie?’ Aiden blew a lungful of sweet smoke into her face, and she breathed it in while pulling away the offending food.
    ‘You know, like Natasha and her gang. They never eat. They probably purge . How fucking tragic.’
    ‘I think you’re an amnesiac bulimic,’ Aiden said, thoughtfully. He grinned. ‘You binge and then forget to throw up afterwards.’
    ‘Arsehole!’ The word had less potency spluttered around a mouthful of pineapple and cheese. She finished the slice and then took the joint back from him.
    ‘Anyway, why are you even talking about them? You never do. Why do you care? Natasha’s fine.