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

Apart from the clients, she found the other girls intimidating. On her first night she’d been approached by one of them.

‘You new?’ she had asked. When Amy nodded, she had added, ‘Poor cow. I don’t envy you. It takes some fuckin’ getting used to. I’d sack it now if I were you before you get too used to the money.’

‘I can’t afford to,’ said Amy. It was the only excuse she could think of.

Now, as she stood waiting, she saw a car approach and she stepped forward. But she was surprised when a girl got out of the car just a couple of metres away. She was a tall girl, with pointed features, and she stared venomously at Amy.

‘Eh you, what d’you think yer playing at?’ she demanded. ‘Yer on my fuckin’ patch!’

‘But I was here last Friday and Saturday,’ said Amy.

‘Yeah, only ’cos I was ill. But I’m back now so you can fuck right off and find somewhere else.’

Amy was tempted to argue but, as she was new here, she didn’t want to make enemies. So, instead of retaliating, she asked, ‘Where can I go?’

The girl looked Amy up and down and she felt uncomfortable under her appraisal. But her facial features seemed to soften as she asked, ‘How old are you anyway?’

‘Nineteen,’ said Amy, just as her mother had instructed.

The girl laughed. ‘Ha, a likely story. I bet your pimp told you to say that… Listen, you’ll be alright further up the road. Julie’s the next one down but there’s a big gap between her and the next girl. Why don’t you wait there?’

‘Thanks,’ said Amy, walking away, and she thought she could detect relief on the other girl’s face.

It was an hour and a half later. Business had been slow tonight and Amy had only had one client up to now. As she waited for a car to stop, she gazed around her, noticing the other girls who were also hanging around. In the distance she could see two girls chatting then one of them broke away and started heading in her direction.

Amy watched as she approached and, to her consternation, the other girl locked eyes with her. She felt a shudder of fear and dreaded having another confrontation. It seemed obvious to Amy that the other girl wanted to speak to her for some reason. She gazed away but was still conscious of the girl’s approach. The sound of her high heels clattering on the pavement warned Amy that she had now almost reached her.

Curiosity made Amy turn around and she was relieved when the girl smiled at her. If it hadn’t been for that smile, the girl’s appearance would have put Amy on her guard. Aged around twenty, she was taller than Amy and had dyed red hair in a messy style. Her makeup was heavy, and she had a hard expression that screamed ‘streetwise’. But what was most noticeable about her was her huge breasts, which seemed out of place on her slim frame.

‘Hi, I’m Crystal,’ she greeted. ‘You new?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Aw, never mind. You’ll soon get used to it. What’s your name?’

‘Amy.’

‘Ooh, no. That’s too prim and proper. You need to change it. How about Amber?’

‘Why?’ asked Amy, feeling a bit wary because of the girl’s forcefulness but nevertheless warming to her.

‘Well, for a kick-off, it’s a rule never to tell a client your real name. There’s some fuckin’ weirdos out on the street and the less they know about you, the better. And secondly, you want something that sounds more exotic.’

‘OK. I’ll think about it.’

‘How you finding it?’ asked Crystal.

Amy was so taken by the girl’s apparent concern that she felt tears pricking her eyes. Not trusting her voice to keep steady, she shrugged.

‘Scary?’ asked Crystal.

Amy nodded.

‘That lot been giving you a hard time?’

Amy didn’t want to say too much as she didn’t know where Crystal’s loyalties lay so she just said, ‘A bit.’

‘They can be like that sometimes. They feel threatened when they see a new girl, especially one as young and pretty as you. They’re frightened of you getting all the business but don’t worry, they’ll soon get used to having you around. You got anyone looking after you?’

Amy was taken aback. She wasn’t sure exactly what the girl was asking and was too ashamed to admit that her mother and Rick usually dropped her off. ‘What d’you mean?’ she said.

‘The street’s a dangerous place. Most of us have a pimp to protect us. It makes it less risky. You got one?’

‘No.’

To Amy’s surprise, Crystal put her arm round her. ‘You stick with me. I’ll make sure you’re looked after. I know someone who really takes care of his girls. He’ll make sure no one bothers you. He’s called Gilly and he’s alright. I’ll take you to meet him tomorrow before work if you like.’

Amy already knew that this was going to be her life for years to come. She could tell by the way her mother and Rick had been so excited about her earnings from the first two nights on the beat. But the thought of it also terrified her and, if Crystal’s friend was offering protection, she’d be a fool not to take it.

So, she shrugged and said to Crystal, ‘Yeah, OK.’

54

February 2016

Nathan looked around his living room. It was late at night, much later than he had intended to go to bed, but he and Chloe had been working on their new house all day and by the time they’d finished it was too late to cook. They’d grabbed a takeaway and a bottle of wine then snuggled up on the sofa.

Although he was tired, he was content. The sight of what he and Chloe had achieved made his insides feel alive with pure bliss. The furniture had now arrived, and he had been able to ditch the deckchairs they had been temporarily using. It was wonderful to be able to put it amongst all the other items they had been