Fighting for Survival (The Estate, Book 3) (32 page)

 Finally, Louise appeared in the distance a few minutes later. But instead of joining them, she shouted to catch their attention. She beckoned to them with a wave and sat down on a wall to wait for them.

Rachel sighed. ‘She keeps us waiting for near on twenty minutes and then she wants us to go over to her?’

Claire put her arm through Rachel’s as they walked towards her. ‘Chill out, Rach. At least she wants to know us.’

‘What took you so long?’ Rachel couldn’t help but say when they reached her.

Stacey stepped out from behind the wall, the rest of the girls too.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Claire. Pulling out her arm from Rachel’s, she balled both hands into fists in readiness.

‘She’s done what I asked her to.’ Stacey narrowed her eyes. ‘What the fuck have you done to yourselves?’

‘We thought we’d make an effort for once,’ said Rachel. ‘I see you couldn’t be bothered.’

Stacey laughed. ‘You look like a pair of hookers.’ She pointed at Rachel’s hands. ‘You’re wearing nail varnish!’

‘What’s wrong with making the best of what you’ve got?’ Claire spoke out.

Stacey laughed again. ‘No one could make anything out of you two – you’re Bradley scum, remember?’

‘It’s better than being Hunter scum,’ taunted Rachel.

Stacey took a step nearer to her. ‘Say that again and you’re dead.’

‘What, the part about you being scum? Or the part about you being Hunter scum? It’s the same thing either way.’

‘Rachel!’ Claire warned.

As Rachel turned to address her sister, Stacey punched her in the face. Rachel did her best to fight her off when she came at her again but she was too strong. Claire lunged at them, grabbing Stacey by the hair. While the rest of the girls watched, she managed to pull them apart.

‘Stop it!’ she cried. ‘We don’t want to fight anymore.’

‘Who cares what you want.’ Stacey pulled out a knife. 

Three of the girls behind her stepped back, worried looks flitting between them.

‘You didn’t say anything about a knife!’ said Laila, standing her ground.

‘Shut the fuck up,’ said Stacey.

‘Put it away!’ said Rachel. ‘It’s not part of what we are.’

Stacey waved the knife about in front of her. ‘You have a new look. Well, this is the new me. It’s fair now, don’t you think? Two against two. You and Claire.’ She stabbed at the air in front of her again. ‘Me and my knife.’

‘Back off, Stacey,’ Ashleigh spoke out.

Before anyone could dissuade her, Stacey lunged forward. She slashed the arm of Rachel’s jacket.

‘Watch it!’ Rachel looked down at the damage. But not before she’d seen the glint in Stacey’s eyes. It was the look of someone who wasn’t in control.

Claire nudged Rachel’s arm. They turned and ran.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Caren was in the kitchen wading through a pile of ironing. When the house had been trashed, some of their clothes had been taken from the wardrobe and thrown out of the back window, landing in the garden. Washing them again had meant a bigger pile than normal.

She heard a knock at the door and opened it to find Gina. ‘You’re the last person I expected to see,’ she spoke first.

Gina looked embarrassed but stood her ground. ‘I wanted to come across, see how you were doing after the break-in and –’

‘You’ve come to gloat!’ Caren folded her arms.

‘No! I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. I heard it was a right mess.’

Caren baulked. ‘
You
want to help
me
?’

Gina nodded. Since Thursday, she hadn’t been able to get Sam Harvey’s conversation out of her mind. She needed to know why Pete had given him fifty pounds to say he was John’s son. By coming across and chatting to Caren, she might glean a little more information. Then she’d decide whether to tell her or not. This might be something she wanted to keep from her.

Caren smiled faintly. ‘You could come in rather than stand on my doorstep, I suppose.’

Gina nodded. ‘Yeah, ta.’

Claire ran across Davy Avenue and into Winston Green. Behind her, she could hear Rachel close on her heel. She glanced behind them, only to see Stacey and the others on their tail.

‘Come on, Rach,’ she urged. ‘They’re catching us.’

‘Wait for me, Claire! I’m going as fast as I can!’

‘No way!’ Claire jumped down two steps, levelled out and then three steps onto the green in between the houses. She could hear Stacey screaming out obscenities as she tried to catch ground. They legged it over the grass, across Graham Street and back into Stanley Avenue.

Rachel yelped: She’d caught her shin on the bumper of a parked car as she ran past it. Claire turned back to help, saw she was on her feet and continued to run. When she reached Stanley Avenue, she had never been so pleased to see her house up above.

As Rachel caught up with her, they slowed their pace. Stacey stopped at the top of the avenue. There were only three girls with her now.

‘I’m going to kill you, Rachel Bradley,’ Stacey yelled. ‘I’m going to rip your fucking heart out.’

‘Yeah right! When you’re strong enough!’ Rachel bent over and leaned on a wall as she caught her breath for a moment. When she looked again, Stacey was running at them. She turned quickly and ran, bumping into Ruth up ahead in her haste.

 ‘Sorry!’ she said, but didn’t stop.

 Further in front, Claire had made it and was halfway up the path to the house. But Stacey had caught up quicker than they’d anticipated. As Rachel got to the gate, she felt herself being yanked back by the hood of her jacket.

‘Claire!’ She held out her hand to her sister in front.

Claire saw the knife still in Stacey’s hand and screamed. ‘No! Leave her alone!’

Stacey plunged the knife into Rachel’s back.

Although Claire could hear herself screaming, time seemed to stand still. She watched helplessly as Stacey thrust the blade into Rachel’s back again and again.

Rachel dropped to her knees on the path.

‘Leave her alone!’ Claire jumped on Stacey but she lashed out with a fist. Losing her footing, she fell down the path, landing with a thump against the gate.

Stacey glowered at her. ‘You’ll be nothing without her,’ she said. Then she plunged the knife into Rachel’s chest.

‘Rachel!’ screamed Claire.

Ruth saw the girl grab hold of Rachel and pull her back by her hood. Bloody typical, she thought: the Bradley twins were up to no good again. She continued on her way until she heard Claire scream. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she saw the girl had a knife. Without a thought for her own safety, she ran over.

‘Stop her!’ Claire screamed to Ruth.

Stacey stepped away, for a moment standing with a bewildered look on her face. Then she threw down the knife, pushed past Ruth and ran onto the street.

Ruth watched her go, for a moment wondering if she was dreaming. But Claire’s screams were real; there was blood all over her hands.

Hearing Rachel gasping for breath, she knelt beside her on the damp path. 

Rachel’s head lolled to one side.

‘Rachel!’ sobbed Claire. ‘Oh, God, she’s going to die, isn’t she?’

Ruth didn’t want to think about that. ‘Go and get your mum.’ As Claire ran into the house, she took off her coat and, ignoring the cold weather, removed her jumper. She pressed it to Rachel’s chest. Rachel groaned, causing Ruth to burst into tears. She could see whatever she did would be hopeless. Blood was covering Rachel at an alarming rate: the knife must have cut through a major artery.

Claire came running out of the house moments later. ‘There’s no one in!’ She got out her mobile. ‘Do something. DO SOMETHING.’

Ruth knew there wasn’t time for an ambulance. 

‘Go and get Caren,’ she said. When Claire didn’t move, she shouted. ‘Claire! Fetch Caren. NOW!’

Gina sat down at the table. Apart from the faint smell of paint in the air, the room was fairly void of any reference to the burglary. The conversation she’d overheard with Sam Harvey spoke of all the rooms being trashed. They must have been busy to get it painted so quickly.

‘Did they make a lot of mess?’ Gina wanted to know.

‘Did they ever! They went into every room. Paint tipped over the rug, aerosol paint sprayed everywhere, food chucked out of the fridge. They even emptied our wardrobes and threw the clothes out of the bloody window! It was pure vandalism; it’s going to take forever to put right. I cried for –’

‘Caren!’ Claire burst into the kitchen through the back door. ‘You have to come – Mum!’

‘Claire! What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’

Claire pointed to the door. ‘Rachel – she’s been stabbed. Outside.’

They all ran out of the kitchen and across the road. Gina saw three girls outside her gate. As she got nearer, she spotted Ruth, Rachel’s legs to her side. Nearer still, she saw her cradling Rachel in her arms.

‘Rachel!’ Gina pushed Ruth out of the way and took her place. Rachel’s arm flopped around as she pressed her body to her chest. ‘Stay with me, Rachel. Stay with me.’ She looked back to the street. ‘Where’s the ambulance?’ she screamed.’ Where’s the fucking ambulance!’

 ‘I rang for it as soon as I saw what happened,’ Ashley told her, openly crying. ‘I saw what happened. Oh, God, she isn’t going to die, is she?’

Gina ignored her, turning on Ruth who sat on her knees beside her. ‘You had no right to touch her!’

Ruth shivered. She stared down at her hands, her body, her jeans; they were covered in Rachel’s blood.

Caren tried to take control. ‘Claire, where’s your dad?’ She turned to John who had followed them across. ‘John, go and look!’

‘He’s not in the house,’ Claire sobbed. ‘Mum, do something!’

‘I don’t know what to do!’ Gina cried.

 ‘Mum,’ Rachel spluttered, her voice barely audible.

Gina stroked her hair. ‘I’m here for you, baby,’ she said. ‘I’m here for you. You’re safe now.’

Caren sat down beside Rachel. She took off her jumper and gave it to Gina. Gina removed Ruth’s top, soaked through to dripping, and pressed that one to Rachel’s chest.

Rachel groaned.

‘I’m sorry,’ Gina told her over and over. ‘I’m sorry.’

A scarlet bubble appeared at the corner of Rachel’s mouth.

‘The ambulance is on its way,’ Gina told her. ‘You hang on in there.’

Blood began to trickle from her mouth. Rachel coughed and more appeared. She coughed again.

 ‘Mum!’ screamed Claire. ‘Do something. She’s dying!’

 ‘No, she’s not,’ said Gina. She stroked her daughter’s forehead. ‘Now you listen to me, Rachel Bradley. We’re made of strong stuff. You’re not going to die, do you hear? Don’t you fucking dare!’

But Rachel didn’t hear anything. She didn’t see anything either. Life slipped away from her. Her arm flopped to the floor.

‘NO!’ cried Gina. ‘No!’ Tears poured down her face as she held Rachel to her.

‘Rachel!’ Claire dropped to her knees next to them.

Caren’s hand covered her mouth; her blood ran cold. She looked back to see John standing by the side of the three girls who had come into the garden.  Ruth sat in shock a few feet away. By now, a few neighbours had come out too.    

Gina looked at Ruth with so much hate. ‘You let her die, you bitch,’ she yelled. ‘Not content to steal my husband, you let my daughter die!’

‘But I –’ Ruth tried to explain.

‘I hate you. This is your fault. You let her die!’

Claire grabbed her sister’s hand. ‘Rachel, wake up. Rachel!’

Caren gently pulled Claire away and hugged her, hoping to comfort her, knowing that Gina needed to hold Rachel for the moment. And then, amidst the chaos and the sound of an ambulance in the distance, silence fell on Stanley Avenue. Gina rocked Rachel in her arms. Caren hugged Claire. Ruth sat on the garden, holding her hands in the air, staring at the blood. John stood in shock, three teenage girls crying by his side.

‘She’s not dead,’ Claire sobbed. ‘She can’t be. I was talking to her just… She can’t be dead.’

Caren let her ramble on. She wondered how Claire was going to fare without her twin. Gina was going to have a tough time as her mother, but Claire was the other half of Rachel.

‘Where will your dad be?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know.’ Claire stared at Rachel, fresh tears falling fast. ‘She’s dead, isn’t she?’

‘Let’s wait until the paramedics look at her,’ Caren replied. ‘Look, they’re here now.’

‘I’m going to try Dad’s phone again.’

‘He’s probably shagging his latest conquest somewhere,’ Gina said, never taking her eyes from Rachel, wiping the hair from her forehead.

The ambulance drew up, the sirens dropping off as it parked up. ‘Excuse me, love,’ said the paramedic as he sat down next to Rachel.