Page 61 of Indie
I could hear the loud rumble of the computer games before I even opened the door. The room was dull in the fading light, a neon glow catching on the white table in the middle and the smell of a dinner I’d not eaten. The only things I could see were the back of four heads, all sat on the sofa as a green light bounced off the walls and the furniture and guns fired around us. For a moment I winced, the sounds of weapons firing tooclose a memory, pulling me back to a time of danger, of running for my life, sandy and thirsty.
Yet, whatever I’d seen during my limited time in battle was nothing like I’d seen on the streets of Britain in the middle of a biker war. There were no such things as honour and every such thing as every man for themselves as bike club pitted against bike club to wipe each other out and claim territory. And for the large part, those acts went unnoticed, if you bought off the right people and everyone kept to the code of silence.
“Hey. You all eaten?” I shouted over the bangs of explosions, the entire room feeling like it was vibrating.
Someone turned the sound down, and everyone turned to face me. From somewhere tucked away on the sofa, a little girl bounded, diving over the back of the big leather settee flapping a pink unicorn at me.
“He’s fixed! He’s fixed!” She shouted, waving the once dishevelled teddy in my face.
“Hey Princess! Mr Morris looks great,” I took the stuffed toy from her, turning it over in my hands, unable to see any evidence of the sliced open belly of before. “Suzy did a great job.”
“And me, Indie. I did it too.”
“Lily was great. Make a good seamstress out of that one,” Suzy agreed.
I patted the dark hair, glancing around.
“Any tea left for me?”
“No. But I can make you something,” Emmie called, getting to her feet and making her way over to me. “We didn’t eat all the turkey dinosaurs.”
She smiled, not as wide as I had become used to seeing, a hint of nervousness in her face, but whatever emotion I was seeing, I loved it still. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to my chest. For a moment, she stiffened, as she often did when I touched her differently. As if every time I reached for her, I frightened her. But then she relaxed a little, the tiny slump of her body as she exhaled, the tension seeping out with her breath. And I rested my chin lightly on the top of her head, watching Magnet and Demon’s women on the sofa, in the middle of a war game with Luke. Beside me, a child’s arms wrapped round my leg, gentle but noticeable. For the first time in as long as I’d known, I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. Belonged to someone.
Chapter Twenty Nine
It was late. Long after dark. Lily lay sleeping on the voluminous sofa clutching the pink unicorn and Luke yawned loudly, his eyes mere slits as he tried to concentrate on the game and beat Indie once and for all. They’d played on for another few hours, the games console alight with psychedelic pinks and purples, neon greens and bright blues. It was enough to induce a migraine.
“Time for bed, mate,” Indie stood up after beating the frustrated nine-year-old for a countless time.
“No. I nearly did it this time. I nearly beat your score.”
Indie chuckled, low and velvety, pushing his hand through his thick hair.
“Then you can try again tomorrow.”
“Are we staying here tomorrow as well, mam?”
I looked at Indie, uncertain of the answer.
“Possibly. Depends how quickly me and the boys can get your house put back together.”
“Please, mam. Can we stay tomorrow too? I like it here. Indie’s stuff is cool, and he’s got all these games and things.”
Indie looked at me this time, shrugging his shoulders, a little grin on his face as if really, he was hiding his elation.
“Come on, bed,” I answered, sitting Lily up.
“Here, I’ll get her,” Indie said, nudging me to the side gently and then scooping the sleeping child off the sofa.
I lead the way to the bedroom in the front, opening the doors and watching as he stepped through them cautiously, taking care not to catch her head or her legs on the frame. And for a moment I watched him with her, with both of them. The way he spoke gently and calmly, the way he cradled my baby in his arms, the way he’d played with Luke earlier, doing all the things their own father had never done with them. And I remembered the conversation I’d had earlier with Suzy, and the feeling of dread that trickled through me that he wasn’t who I thought he was. That all of this I saw before me wasn’t what it really would be like.
The door closed behind us softly, and he reached towards me, his arm wrapping around me, pulling me into him.
“What’s wrong, Emmie?” he asked, dipping down a little, so he was more level with me.
I bit my lip, the spot I’d been worrying for the best part of the day breaking open again, a tiny hint of iron filling my mouth.
“Emmie? What is it?”