You Against Me

She opened her door a fraction and two of the boys, Freddie and James, were carrying Karyn across the landing between them. She was laughing, her hands clutching for the banister, the wall, the light switch. But her laughter turned into a low moan as they swung her round and edged her into Tom’s bedroom.

Ellie opened the door wider, and there was Tom, coming up the stairs.

‘What are they doing?’ she said.

‘Why are you still awake?’ He seemed embarrassed, was half smiling. ‘Go back to bed, Ellie. They’re just mucking about.’

And he followed them into his room and shut the door.

Mucking about?  Uncertain now, Ellie went to find Stacey, because if she thought the boys were out of order, she’d charge up and yell at them. But Stacey was nowhere. Ellie went from room to room looking for her, but she’d gone and so had Ben, and so their going was probably permanent, which meant it was up to Ellie to decide what to do.

She went back up the stairs and put her ear to Tom’s door. Total silence. Oh God, she was going to look a right prat barging in, but she eased the door open anyway, because her brother was in there – Tom Alexander Parker, who she’d grown up with for years – and surely he wouldn’t let anything terrible happen?

Karyn lay on the bed, eyes closed. The three boys stood round her like surgeons and James had a stick in his hand – the one for opening the blinds – and he was lifting Karyn’s skirt with it, like maybe if he did it with a stick it wouldn’t count, and Tom and Freddie were taking photos with their phones.

‘What are you doing?’

James whipped the stick behind his back, Tom stuffed his mobile in his pocket. Freddie aimed his phone at Ellie and said, ‘Hello, gorgeous.’ The light flashed in her eyes.

She turned to her brother. ‘What’s going on?’

He shook his head. ‘Nothing, just a bit of fun.’

‘She’s out of her head.’

Freddie sputtered with laughter. ‘You can say that again.’

‘Then shouldn’t you leave her alone?’

‘She likes it. She was laughing just now.’ Freddie gave Karyn a nudge with his knee. ‘You’ve been egging us on all night, haven’t you?’

Karyn’s eyes fluttered open and she half smiled at him, before groaning and shutting her eyes again.

‘Someone should take her home,’ Ellie said. ‘She doesn’t look well.’

‘But your brother likes her.’ Freddie pulled a pretend sulky face. ‘She was totally up for it and now she totally isn’t.’ He looked Ellie up and down. She was suddenly horribly aware that she was in her pyjamas. ‘So, what do you suggest we do, little sister?’

‘I suggest you leave her alone.’

Freddie’s smile turned cold. He said, ‘Hey, Tom, you going to let her ruin the party?’

And Tom came right up close and said, ‘Why don’t you fuck off, Ellie?’ And he’d never said that to her before, not ever, and why did he have to do it now, in front of these boys?

Ellie said, ‘Fuck off yourself.’

Freddie and James laughed at Tom like he couldn’t control anything, and Tom, blushing and furious, grabbed Ellie by the wrist, hauled her out and shut the door. At first, she was grateful, like maybe he was saving her from something, but then he said, ‘Stay out of it.’

She shook her head. ‘Make them leave.’

‘They will, soon they will.’

‘Make them leave now.’

‘Nothing’s going to happen. They’re drunk and a bit stoned, that’s all. Everyone’s had too much.’

But you haven’t, she thought. You’re sober. Why are you sober?

Still he didn’t let go of her wrist. ‘You’re making a fool of yourself. Now go to bed.’

‘Not until you make them leave.’ She stood by the door and her heart was pounding so hard she swore he could hear it, and he had a look on his face like nothing she said or did was going to make any difference and there was only one way to get to the bit of him that would make anything change.

‘I’m calling Dad,’ she said. ‘If you don’t make them leave right now, I’m calling him and telling him about the booze and dope and everything.’

‘The first time ever I bring anyone back and you humiliate me.’ He squeezed her wrist tighter. ‘You might not care about having no friends in this shit‑hole of a town, but I bloody do.’

Still, she didn’t budge. She tried to close down the part of her that cared what he thought. ‘Get rid of them, Tom.’

Outside the police‑station window, a motorbike roared into the gated yard. There were police cars and a riot van parked out there and a sky that stretched above, bright and tight and blue. The motorcyclist dismounted, took off his helmet and gloves and walked away.

Detective Thomas leaned forward. ‘And did he get rid of them, Ellie?’

‘He told them our parents were coming home and they had to leave. They didn’t believe him. Freddie said he had no balls and James told him he was a no‑mark. All the way down the stairs, I heard Tom apologizing.’

Detective Bryce looked up from his laptop. Mum shuffled her feet, crossed and uncrossed her legs. The room felt suddenly cold.

Detective Thomas said, ‘What happened then?’

‘I went to bed.’

‘Did it occur to you that Karyn shouldn’t be left alone?’

‘I thought she needed to sleep.’

‘The drinks were strong, you’ve described her as being out of her head, yet you went to bed?’

‘I’m sorry, I just thought… it was late…’

Mum tensed beside her. ‘It wasn’t Ellie’s responsibility to stay with the girl.’

The detective shook her head. ‘Mrs Parker, I have to ask you not to comment.’

‘She’s only a kid. She was doing her best. You heard her say she got rid of those boys.’

The detective smiled wearily. ‘It’s not those particular boys she needed to worry about though, is it, Mrs Parker?’ She turned back to her paperwork. ‘Now, let’s get on.’

‘I did get her a bucket in case she was sick,’ Ellie whispered, ‘and a glass of water. I took her shoes off as well and covered her with the duvet.’

The detective didn’t appear to be listening. ‘Where was your brother by now, Ellie?’

‘Downstairs.’

‘You didn’t speak to him again?’

‘Not then.’

‘You did later?’

Ellie nodded.

She’d felt stupidly proud for saving Karyn. It made up for Freddie’s cold smile, for the humiliation on her brother’s face. Would Karyn remember and be grateful? Would they be friends at school on Monday? Would Ellie finally know someone in this town?

And then, maybe she slept, because there was a noise – like an animal in pain, that seemed to come from a dream, and she sat upright, heart thumping. Karyn was sick and needed her. Ellie stumbled out of bed and yanked the door open.

‘Christ!’ Tom said. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

He cowered on the landing outside Karyn’s room, as if Ellie had thrown a brick at his head.

‘I heard a noise,’ she muttered.

‘You fucking terrified me!’

‘Is Karyn OK?’

‘She’s fine. I went in to get my sleeping bag.’

‘Has she been sick?’

‘No, she’s fine, I just told you.’

But there was something in his eyes, something desperate, and when Ellie didn’t move he said, Go to bed, just go to bed, over and over, like maybe she would if he said it enough. She wanted to help him. Perhaps Karyn was really ill and he’d gone to check and couldn’t cope. He’d been smoking after all, so wasn’t the best judge. She pretended to go back to bed, listened for his footsteps on the stairs, counted to twenty and, when he’d definitely gone, opened the door again and crept out.

Karyn was lying on her back, almost entirely covered by the duvet. She looked sweet, like she’d been tucked in. But when Ellie switched on the lamp, she knew something was wrong. It was more than the spilled water darkening the carpet, more than Karyn’s shoes skewed across the room, more than the sleeping bag on top of the wardrobe where it always was, so why had Tom lied about getting it? It was something to do with angles and shadows.