Amber by Heather Burnside (great novels of all time .TXT) 📗

grown-up. Her mother would probably tell her it was her job to look after her children and not the other way round, and Amy would feel silly.

Then her mother spoke, her voice sounding matter-of-fact but her face bearing an uncomfortable expression. ‘Sean won’t be coming here anymore.’

She smiled again and Amy, not quite knowing how she was expected to react, just muttered, ‘Oh.’

‘I’m afraid that means there’ll be no treats for a while,’ her mother continued.

Amy shrugged, knowing she’d miss them but glad there’d be an end to the arguments.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you once I can get some money together,’ her mother added, ruffling her hair.

‘It’s OK,’ said Amy, looking back down at her breakfast dish and loading up her spoon.

‘Good girl,’ said her mother, mussing her hair once more before getting up and walking away.

Amy had mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was glad to have Sean out of their lives; lately, he’d stopped treating them quite so much anyway, but the rows had become more frequent. On the other hand, though, she was afraid of what lay in store for them in the future. She knew it wouldn’t be long before her mother brought another boyfriend home; she only hoped that the next one would be better.

13

September 2015

It was approaching the end of the night and Amber was in the shadows of the railway arches behind Piccadilly waiting for more business. Just one last punter should do it, she decided, then she would finish work and go back home. She was craving some coke and was deliberating whether to sneak into a nearby back alley and have a quick snort when a car pulled up.

Amber stepped forward but was too late. Another street girl had beaten her to it, and she watched, dismayed, as the girl stepped inside the car and the driver pulled away from the kerb. Knowing she couldn’t wait until she was home, Amber made her way into the back alley.

She had only walked a few paces and was pulling the coke from her pocket when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see a stranger heading her way. He was a youth – big, scruffy and wearing a hoody – but she didn’t have chance to take in any other details before he made a grab for the small container of coke she was carrying.

Amber instinctively clung on tightly, her street girl resilience kicking in and her need of a fix overriding any common sense. But he was stronger than her and she felt the grasp of his huge hand, her fingers beginning to lose their grip as his nails dug into her flesh.

He yanked at the container, but she held on, sliding towards him with the force of his strength. She pulled back and for a fleeting moment their hands remained locked in the same position. She stared into the hard lines of his face, which displayed his steely determination.

He gave a huge tug on the container and her fingers slipped away. With nothing to drag against, her momentum sent her reeling backwards and she tumbled to the ground, her buttocks slamming hard against the flagstones. She was dazed and desperately trying to regain her senses. Anxious to get up. Wanting to run. But then he flicked out a knife and she drew back in shock.

‘Give me your fuckin’ cash!’ he demanded.

‘I haven’t got any.’

‘You fuckin’ liar. I know you have. You’ve done at least four punters tonight.’

So, the bastard had been watching her! Waiting till she had earned enough money to make it worth his while. The shock realisation sent the adrenalin pumping around her body, priming her responses. She knew she’d lost. This was no chance mugging. The fuckin’ scrote had planned it and there was no way she was getting away until she’d given him what he wanted.

‘OK. OK!’

She held up a hand palm outwards, hoping he’d hold off till she got up off the ground. Once she was on her feet she reached into her pocket and pulled out the wad of cash she had earnt that night. She’d hardly brought it out into the open before he snatched it from her and sprinted back down the alleyway.

‘Bastard!’ she yelled, as she hobbled towards the street, bruised and utterly pissed off.

But the night wasn’t over yet. As soon as she reached the mouth of the alleyway, she was greeted by the appearance of Kev Pike. ‘Shit!’ she cursed under her breath, dreading what he was about to do.

The incident had left her shaken and as she looked into Kev Pike’s eyes, she anxiously worked the tender flesh of her bottom lip between her teeth. There was now a permanent cut there, in addition to her facial sores, which bore testimony to her life of drug abuse.

Kev, on the other hand, didn’t have any facial sores although he did have the pale complexion common to drug users. Despite his good looks, he always wore a grave expression with his eyebrows scrunched and he seemed to stare down his nose at people as though he was analysing them.

‘I saw him running off. Are you alright?’ he asked.

His words took Amber completely by surprise. The last thing she had expected from Kev Pike was sympathy, and she relaxed slightly. Perhaps his grave expression was out of concern this time.

‘Yeah, just a bit shaken up,’ she said. ‘But the bastard took all my cash.’

‘I know. I saw it in his hands, but he was too far away for me to catch him.’ There was a moment’s hesitation before he spoke again. ‘That’s always a problem for you girls. You’re vulnerable. These little twats know you’ve got cash on you, and you’re an easy target for them.’

Amber shrugged.

‘You don’t need to put up with it, y’know,’ he said. ‘If you were my girl, I’d be able to protect you.’

His words drilled into her with the force of an impact driver. She was confused. Was he