No Going Back by Casey Kelleher (black male authors TXT) 📗

that the woman hopped awkwardly from one foot to the other as she spoke, as if full of anxiety. Her hand protectively cupping her own bump as she spoke.

Shelby might not class Imelda as a good friend, but it was clear that Imelda did her.

‘It was her, wasn’t it? Someone attacked her. Oh my god, how awful. Part of me didn’t want to believe it,’ Imelda said now, practically pleading with the man to be straight with her.

‘It’s Imelda, isn’t it?’ Ashley asked, waiting for the woman to nod before he continued. ‘Can you keep this to yourself?’ he said, looking along the balcony before breaking the news to his neighbour. ‘Yeah. It was Shelby. The press are down in the car park grilling everyone for information, and well, I’d like to get her back home without the awaiting circus if I can. So please, I need your word that this won’t go any further, yeah?’ Ashley said, feeling guilty then at judging the woman so harshly.

The Griffin Estate was rife with crime. The place was known for the endless stabbings, muggings and vicious domestic attacks. But the attack on Shelby had sent shockwaves through the entire estate. And Imelda being pregnant and a friend of Shelby’s would no doubt only heighten the woman’s own safety concerns. The very least Ashley could do was try and put the woman’s mind at ease.

‘The police have got a good description of the attacker though. They think they’ll get an arrest quite quickly,’ he said, repeating what DC Murphy had said to them when she’d come to take Shelby’s statement.

‘So, Shelby saw the attacker? Is she okay? And the police seem confident that they’ll catch them?’

Noting the strain in Imelda’s voice, Ashley softened some more, recalling how Shelby had told him that she and Imelda were close in due dates. Imelda was probably thinking that the attack could have easily been on her. It was no wonder the woman seemed so visibly shaken.

‘They seem very confident,’ Ashley said.

As police officers went, Ashley quite liked Lucy Murphy. Because despite the way that the rest of Shelby’s family treated him as if he was a spare part in all of this, despite how Pete and Janey had almost taken over, Lucy had been sensitive to the fact that he was Shelby’s husband and the father of their baby. And she’d made a point to include him in every part of the process when discussing his wife’s ordeal and how they were going to carry out the investigation. In fact, she’d been the only person so far to actually ask him how he was, and genuinely seemed to want to know the answer.

‘Yeah. She’s doing great, considering. I mean, the shock of it all set off her labour. I expect you heard on the news, she’s had the baby. We’ve called him Riley. You should see him, a real little smasher he is. He’s a little on the small side, so they’re keeping them in, just to keep an eye on his feeding. But other than that, he’s doing amazing.’ Ashley beamed proudly, glad to give the woman the positive news and hoping it helped her to not dwell on the bad so much.

‘Riley? That’s perfect,’ Imelda said, so overcome with emotion then that she started to cry.

‘Here, it’s okay!’ Ashley said, wrapping his arms around the woman awkwardly as she sobbed briefly, before pulling away from him, embarrassed.

‘I’m sorry. It’s my hormones,’ Imelda said, blushing now at Ashley’s show of affection towards her. ‘Thank God he’s all right. That they’re both all right.’

‘Oh, you know Shelby. She’s not one to mope about. Told me when I go back up to the hospital first thing in the morning that I need to bring some of her things. She gave me a list longer than her legs.’ Ashley rolled his eyes then playfully. ‘Said the hospital dressing gown looks like a rag on her; she wants her own one. And of course, all her make-up too. Won’t let me put any photos of her and the little one on Facebook until she’s sorted her face out. Apparently, the whole world’s going to be wanting to have a look at them, according to Shelby. And going by that lot downstairs, she could be right. Though, I think Shelby thinks she’s going to end up on the front of OK magazine or something, going by the amount of outfit changes she wants me to pack.’

Realising that he was rambling, Ashley nodded down at Imelda’s swollen stomach, before adding: ‘Guess you won’t be long now either? I’m sure Shelby told me that you were due around the same time. A little playmate for Riley, eh?!’

‘Any day now,’ Imelda said, her hand cupping her stomach.

‘It doesn’t seem real,’ Ashley said with a laugh. Only going by the confused look on Imelda’s face, he’d clearly said the wrong thing. ‘I mean, of course you know… it’s real. You’re the ones going through it all,’ Ashley explained, seeing Imelda’s expression change to one of wariness now. ‘You women just make it look so easy, I suppose. It’s probably just me, being a man and all that. Experiencing pregnancy from the outside looking in. But the entire time Shelby was carrying Riley, it just didn’t feel real to me. I mean, sure, I’d feel the odd little movement or kick, but sometimes I’d sit and think, Christ, there’s a real live human in there. But now he’s here and I can actually see him, I just can’t get my head around the fact that he lived inside her. That there’s a real live baby in there too.’

Reaching out without thinking, Ashley touched Imelda’s bump, then instantly regretted his movement as the woman jumped back. As was expected. Clearly shaken from the news of the attack and the fact she barely knew Ashley. Yet here he was, reaching out to touch her baby.

‘Shit, sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to startle you. I wasn’t thinking.’ He