Page 37 of Friend of the Family

‘Look, I just wanted to go to the ball and that guy had a ticket, that’s all it was. And it’s not like you’re in any position to be lecturing me on how to behave, is it?’

‘So you were using him? Like you use everyone.’

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

‘You don’t even like Amy any more and yet you’re here living her life, borrowing her friends. You hate that bitch.’

‘Don’t speak about her like that.’

‘Why not? You do. You’re always going on about how she’s run off with her fancy new friends and left us behind, how she’s got above her station.’

‘That’s not what I meant.’

Or was it? Karen didn’t know any more. It was true she would slag off Amy after a few drinks, but that didn’t mean she hated her.

‘Amy’s my friend.’

Lee gave a cruel laugh. ‘She wasn’t all that good a friend when she was rubbing my cock under the table at Christmas.’

‘Bullshit.’

‘Is it? Every time you went to the loo, she was trying to get me to go back to hers. I said no because . . . well, because of you.’

She glared at him, unsure whether to believe him.

‘Look, Lee, it’s nice you came to check on me, but what’s this all about really?’

‘What? You think I’m playing some sort of game?’

‘Yes, I fucking do!’ She stepped back and pulled up her skirt to show him her thigh. Flowering across the left-hand side was a purple and yellow bruise the size of an orange. ‘Look at that. You think that’s in my bloody head?’ She drew back her hair. ‘And there? Can you see the scratches? The ones where your fingernails sank into my neck? Is that all just a fantasy?’

Lee pressed his lips together and looked away.

‘Oh, right, so you didn’t throw me down the stairs? You didn’t try to strangle me?’

‘I was pissed, I got angry. If you hadn’t been looking at Tony Dean like that, I’d never have done anything.’

She nodded, snatching at the tears now running down her face. ‘Yes, it’s all my fault. Of course, that must be it.’

‘No, I mean, it was all just a . . . It didn’t mean anything. I still love you. Look, I’m here, aren’t I? I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t care about you.’

‘Lee. It’s over.’

His eyes locked with hers and Karen immediately knew she had made a mistake.

‘Over?’ he said, stepping towards her. ‘I’ll tell you when it’s over. I’ll decide.’

She backed away, immediately bumping into the railings.

‘You think I’m going to let you go back to the Dragon and spread shit about me?’ he said, his voice low, menacing. Lee was four paces away now, his hands opening and closing, that familiar look on his face: frowning, slightly bemused, as if he couldn’t believe she’d forced him to hurt her again. ‘You think I’m going to allow that?’

Karen’s hands found cold stone: the gate. She threw herself sideways, half stumbling down the steps onto the pavement.

‘Hey, hey!’ cried a voice, and she felt hands on her, holding her up. She whirled around to see the alarmed face of a middle-aged woman with greying hair and the all-weather anorak of a tourist. ‘Are you okay, love? Do you need help?’

Karen turned to look up at the gate, but the courtyard beyond the railings was dark and empty. Lee was gone.

‘No, no, I’m fine,’ she said. ‘Thank you, though.’