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

suggesting that she should have a relationship with him, or did he mean she’d be one of the girls he was protecting? Unsure, she decided to play safe. ‘No, it’s OK. I’m fine.’

He grinned disarmingly. ‘Suit yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

Amber stared at his retreating back, dazed for some moments. She didn’t quite know what to make of it all. Was she putting herself at risk by refusing his protection? She wasn’t sure. But then, on the other hand, by turning him down, she might be leaving herself more open to danger.

14

October 1997

Amy was perched on her mother’s bed watching her applying makeup in preparation for a night out. Loretta was wearing a satin wrap and, as she got ready, she took regular sips from a glass of wine that was on the dressing table.

It was a rare privilege for Amy to be allowed inside her mother’s bedroom and something that she could only do with her permission. She was fascinated at the way makeup transformed her mother’s moderately attractive features into something that was captivating.

As Loretta swept the mascara along her lashes she chatted to Amy: ‘I just hope this one’s worth the effort. You can never tell with men.’ Then she put the mascara brush back in its tube, turned around and smiled sardonically at Amy. ‘You’re too young to understand yet but you will in time.’

She turned back, took up a tube of bright red, glossy lipstick and applied it, pouting into the mirror to make sure she was happy with the results. For a few seconds Loretta admired her own reflection before standing up and flinging off her satin wrap.

Amy always felt a bit uncomfortable when her mother was in her underwear, but it didn’t seem to bother Loretta at all. Despite her discomfort Amy couldn’t help but look. Loretta was wearing a black lingerie set with accents of fiery red. The bra was plunging, the briefs satin with lace edging and the suspenders to match. She pulled a body con dress out of the wardrobe and slipped it over her head before smoothing it over her curves.

The dress sat just above the knee and was strappy and low-cut at the front. Loretta stood in front of the mirror and twisted and turned, admiring her slim but curvaceous figure from every angle as she pulled in her tummy then adjusted her cleavage.

‘Well, what do you think?’ she asked.

‘You look lovely, Mummy.’

Her mother preened, grabbed a pair of high heels from the wardrobe then headed for the bedroom door. With the makeup and change of clothes came a total mood switch. Loretta had gone from moping around the house to a state of animation, full of anticipation for her forthcoming meeting with a new man.

Amy followed her mother downstairs where they found Nathan in the lounge watching a Dexter’s Laboratory video. Amy was fed up of seeing the same programme, but she knew there was no point in arguing as Nathan nearly always got his own way.

‘Aw, you watching Dexter again, love?’ asked Loretta but Nathan ignored her, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.

Loretta stepped closer to him. ‘It’s your favourite programme, isn’t it, love? Do you like him because he’s clever like you?’

Then she patted his head affectionately. ‘Take after your dad, don’t you, love? You’re going to do well when you grow up, just like him. And you’ll earn lots of money so you can look after me in my old age.’ She laughed as though it was meant as a joke, but Amy knew it wasn’t.

Loretta was now near the door and putting on her coat, which she had grabbed from the hall. As she slipped her arms into the sleeves, she issued a set of instructions. ‘Right, now I want you both in bed for nine. Are you listening, Nathan? Look at me.’

She stepped over to the clock on the mantelpiece, grabbing the attention of both of her children as she pointed to the clock face. ‘When that little hand is on the nine and the big hand is on the twelve, I want you both in bed.’

‘I know, Mum. You’ve told us before,’ said Nathan, switching his attention back to the TV.

‘Right, well make sure you do. I want you both asleep when I get home, and no answering the door to anybody, do you hear?’

When the children had agreed to her instructions, Loretta planted a quick peck on each of their faces and then she was gone.

Once her mother had left the house, Amy’s first reaction was to walk over to the video player and flick out the Dexter video her brother had been watching.

‘Hey, what are you doing? I was watching that.’

Amy smiled sarcastically. ‘Not anymore, you’re not. I’m having a turn.’

‘But Mum said I could watch what I want. She didn’t give you permission.’

‘Well, she’s not here now so I don’t need permission, do I?’

Amy enjoyed seeing the petulant look on her brother’s face. She knew she was being mean, but she was so fed up of seeing him get preferential treatment that she took the opportunity to get one up on him whenever she could. She knew he wouldn’t fight back physically; he knew he’d come off worse as Amy was two years older and bigger than him.

Instead he jumped up off the sofa and stamped over to the door. ‘Bitch! I’ll tell Mum about this tomorrow and you’ll be in trouble.’

‘Do what you like,’ said Amy.

‘You’re just jealous ’cos Mum likes me more than you ’cos I’m cleverer and I’m a boy.’

Amy took no notice. She’d heard it all before. She knew it was her mother’s fault for letting him think he was something special and she wished there were a way she could stop it. But there wasn’t. She was just a child and she had to take whatever was handed to her.

Amy switched from video mode to TV and watched a bit of Brookside, but she