The Chaos by Rachel Ward Read Free Book Online Page B

Sarah’s dad. 
    He don’t ask me in.
    ‘You know something about Sarah?’ he says. ‘Have you seen her?’
    So she’s not here either. She’s run off.
    ‘No,’ I say, ‘I haven’t seen her for days. I thought she might be here. I wanted to talk to her.’
    ‘Talk to her?’
    ‘Yeah, we’re … we’re friends.’ It sounds lame as I say it. 
    ‘She’s friends with you?’ He don’t believe me or he don’t want to. I don’t like him, don’t like his tone. 
    ‘Yeah,’ I say, ‘we sit together in Art.’
    ‘And you like her, do you?’ What’s he getting at? 
    ‘Yeah. Like I said, we’re friends.’
    He steps out of the doorway and starts down the steps towards me.
    ‘She was only there a few days,’ he says, ‘and now she’s run away. What did you do to her? At school. What did you say?’
    ‘Nothing. I didn’t say nothing. We were just friends. That’s all.’
    I’m picking up on his body language and I know I should get out of here. I start backing off, but I’m not quick enough. A hand shoots round my neck and pins me up against one of the pillars. He leans in so his face is close to mine, puts his weight into his hand so I start to choke.
    ‘You touched her, didn’t you? You got your filthy hands on her, my daughter.’
    ‘No.’ I force the words out. ‘No, I never.’
    ‘You couldn’t keep your hands off her, could you? You’re disgusting. Disgusting.’
    His number’s in my face now. He’s a twenty-seven, but not like the others, there’s something different about his death – it comes from inside him, pain radiating through his body, shooting down his arm, crushing him.
    ‘Gary? What is it?’
    Over his shoulder, I can see a woman just inside the doorway. Must be Sarah’s mum. She’s in her dressing gown, with bare feet.
    ‘What is it? Have they found something?’
    Her dad loosens his grip.
    ‘No,’ he calls back to her. ‘It’s nothing.’
    I twist away from him, holding my hands up to my neck, my chest heaving as I try to get some air.
    ‘Nothing,’ he says. He watches me stumble down the drive and break in to a run. The gates are still open, thank God, and I’m out of there and running down the road. I don’t stop until I’m shot of that whole hateful estate and back to a place where there are shops and cafes and houses that open onto the street.
    I go into the first paper shop I find and buy a Coke, opening it as soon as I’ve paid.
    ‘’Ere, not in the shop! Take it outside,’ the guy behind the till shouts at me. I take no notice. The sugar in the drink is hitting my bloodstream, and my shakes are starting to go. God, I need this. I thought he was going to kill me. What a wanker! Okay, he’s worried about his daughter, but that’s not normal, going off on one like that, nearly choking the breath out of me.
    I drain the can and hold it out to the shop-guy. He tips his head towards the recycling bin and hands over my five cents,like it was killing him to do it.
    ‘Thanks, mate,’ I say and I wander out of the shop and start heading for home. My legs are tired and slow, but my mind’s still racing. She’s not at home. She’s not at school. Where the hell is she?

Chapter 12: Sarah
    I t’s a two-bedroom flat, and six girls sharing, including me. It’s okay. They’re friendly enough, show me a corner in one of the bedrooms where I can put my bag.
    Meg introduces me to the others, then takes me into the kitchen and cooks us both egg and oven chips. I’m starving. I can’t eat in the mornings, but by the afternoon, I’m ravenous.
    ‘One good meal a day,’ she says. ‘Other than that, it’s the rock-chick diet – fags, vodka and … well, you know.’ The thought turns my stomach. I’ve never drunk alcohol, never smoked, and I’m even less likely to now.
    I must have pulled a face because Meg says, ‘You’ll have to have a drink. Everyone drinks. It’s the only way to survive here. Not today, though, not on your first