Page 61 of The Lucky Winners

Fifteen Years Earlier

The house felt warmer, a far safer place to be, these days. When David wasn’t there, I yearned for his touch. When he was at home, I’d tiptoe around him, nervous of setting off one of his mood swings.

The walls seemed to press in on me whenever I was alone, which was often, now that Beth had drifted further under Mrs Webb’s shadow. I missed our cuddles, our quiet companionship in the bedroom where Beth would read and I’d listen to music, or leaf through a magazine.

Beth sat in the lounge, her head bowed, fingers tapping against her knee.

I caught her eye, hoping for a smile, for some trace of the sister I once knew, but she looked away.

We sat in silence for a while and then she finally spoke.

‘Mummy says David’s too old to be around you all the time.

She says she’s not going to put up with it much longer. ’

My mouth went dry. Mummy . The word left her lips with a sickening affection. I pictured Mrs Webb’s cold stare, her lips curling into the cruel smile she wore when she’d tricked me into moving out of our bedroom.

‘Don’t worry, though, Janey. I’ve begged her not to make you leave.’ Beth straightened, her eyes narrowing. ‘Mummy says I’m to keep an eye on you and tell her if I see him near your room.’

My heart rate ramped up a notch. David and I sleeping together is our secret, but if Beth is his mother’s spy, we’d have to be extra careful. ‘We’re just friends,’ I said lightly. ‘Like you and the old witch are.’

Beth stood up and walked away. Her back was ramrod straight, and it struck me she was starting to look like a little wooden puppet, carved in Mrs Webb’s image.

‘Beth, wait. Please … don’t go.’

She turned, a strange look on her face. ‘He hurt me in the kitchen, you know. Sent me to the hospital.’

A shiver ran through me. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? You never said a word!’

Beth frowned. ‘He told me he’d hurt you too if I told you the truth. He pretended to be kind and help when you came in … He fooled you really easily. Like Mummy says, you’re a pushover, Janey.’

‘I know you hate David. It would be easy for you to blame him. How do I know the old witch hasn’t got you lying to me?’

A glimmer of hurt passed over her face. ‘You would never have believed anyone over me when we first came here. But now you only trust what David tells you to believe.’

‘That’s not true. Mrs Webb is poisoning you against me, trying to force us apart. Can’t you see that?’ I took a few steps towards her, held out my hand. ‘It’s not too late for us to remember how much we love each other.’

But Beth’s expression was steely and I knew then that I’d already lost her.

‘You’re doing dirty things with him in bed at night.’ She stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose in disgust. ‘I’ve heard you outside the door.’

I felt like throwing up. ‘If you tell her, she’ll make me leave, Beth. Do you want that?’

‘No. But –’

‘When I’m eighteen I’m going to find a job and get us our own place. I swear.’

She looked at me sadly, as if she didn’t believe a word I said. When she walked out of the room this time, I didn’t stop her.

I’d turned to David, and Beth had grown close to Mrs Webb.

David seemed to encourage the growing rift between us.

I saw it in the way he glanced over and winked at me whenever I tried to talk to Beth and she ignored me.

There was always this edge to him, something that felt like jealousy whenever I laughed with my sister, those rare times when she let me in.

I told myself it had got to David: it showed he cared.

‘Why do you bother with her and ignore me?’ he asked, one afternoon, as I headed downstairs.

I paused, gazing up at his petulant face as he stood on the landing looking over the wooden banister. ‘She’s my sister, David.’

‘She’s a spoilt, ungrateful brat who enjoys being indulged by my mother,’ he snapped, folding his arms. ‘You’ve looked after her, protected her for all these years and look at the thanks you get. All she cares about now is what my mother thinks.’

His words stung because there was truth in them. Beth wasn’t a small child any more: she was twelve and well on her way to learning that everyone in this house played a role – Mr and Mrs Webb with their pretend-parenting, David with his strange attention to me.

I felt like a temporary fixture that might vanish at any time, like a dream. Or a threat.

When David knocked on my door that evening, I almost didn’t answer. I’d tucked myself away for most of the day, reading. Trying to escape them all. But David kept tapping, and I knew he wouldn’t give up.

I turned the key and he stepped inside my room, his face softening as he closed the door behind him. I pressed the book into my lap, holding my breath as he took a seat on the end of my bed.

‘Something’s wrong,’ he said, tilting his head as he watched me. ‘And I want to know what it is.’

I almost laughed. He knew what was wrong – of course he did.

‘I’m worried about Beth,’ I said softly. ‘We’re not close any more. I’m certain your mother is poisoning her against me.’

He leaned forward as if he’d been waiting for me to say this. ‘It makes sense. My mother has … tendencies. Controlling ones. And she doesn’t like you. She’d probably be glad if you left the house.’

My skin crawled at the thought of it. I didn’t like it here, but it was better than going back to an institution … and leaving Beth. David leaned closer still, his eyes dark and earnest, his hand sliding under the covers.

‘I know you must feel hopeless at the moment,’ he said, his voice low. ‘But you don’t have to be at their mercy. You’re not as alone as you think.’ He pauses, shifting his hand. ‘You’re under my protection now.’

I blinked. It was a strange thing to say and I was unsure what he meant. But I also knew I’d probably never get a better moment to ask.

‘You have a lot of power over your parents,’ I say carefully. ‘They seem scared of you. Why is that?’

David studied me, as if he was deciding whether he should tell me the truth. ‘Let’s just say they owe me,’ he said, voice low. ‘It’s a debt they can’t repay.’

I narrowed my eyes. ‘Owe you for what?’

‘They lied to the police. For me. Covered things up.’

I swallowed. ‘What things? Was this before you went to uni?’

He smiled. ‘Things that don’t just go away. And now they’re stuck with it – because if the truth comes out, they go down with it.’ He pauses, lets the weight of it settle. ‘So no, Janey, they’re not scared of me exactly. They’re scared of what I might stop protecting them from.’