The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window (45 page)

He
nodded
; a sly smile crept on to his
face.
“
Yeah, I was hoping to get your
fucking brother in trouble, but that little punk from next door
stopped him. Jake always was trouble, even when you were kids he
used to get in my way,
”
he barked,
shaking his head annoyed.

“
Jake used to
stop you beating me. He stopped you trying to rape me. Is that what
you’re talking about?
”
I asked. Oh God,
please answer the question!

He looked at
me angrily.
“
Rape? Screw that,
it
’
s not rape. You
’
re my daughter; you owed me for all the shit I had to put
up with. You were fucking ripe for the picking,
”
he stated, looking me over slowly, making my skin
crawl.

My hand
tightened around my
cellphone in my
pocket.
“
You think you can beat the crap
out of your wife and two children for years, sexually abuse your
own daughter and try to rape me, and that
’
s OK?
”
I asked, my voice
breaking.

“
You lot made
my fucking life a misery! You needed a good slap to keep you in
line. I was disciplining you, that
’
s
all,
”
he spat, getting up from the sofa
gripping his hands into his hair.

“
Discipline?
One time you punched Jake so hard in the stomach that he
couldn
’
t eat for a days. You broke his
arm, and ribs. You made us all scared to do anything in case we
made you angry!
”
I shouted, trying to
provoke him.

He rounded on
me and I stood up
quickly, needing to be
on my feet in case I needed to run.
“
Jake
deserved all of that! I should have fucking drowned that kid at
birth!
”
he shouted, slamming his hand
down on the coffee table, making me yelp.

“
What about
Johnny, Matt and Ruby? Do they need discipline too?
”
I asked.

He
nodded
.
“
Yeah,
they all need to learn some respect. Where is Ruby anyway?
”
he asked, his eyes trying to bore holes into
mine.

“
She
’
s gone back to
Mersey,
”
I lied.

He made an
angry growling noise and gripped hold of the coffee
table
, tipping it over roughly. I jerked
back as it almost crashed into my feet.

Come
on
, Amber, you can do this!

“
I want you
to drop the charges against Liam, and leave town,
”
I stated matter-of-factly.

He
laughed
and rolled his eyes.
“
Right, that’s not going to happen. I tell you
what, I
’
ll drop the charges against that
little punk, if you come and live with me,
”
he bargained, looking me over again slowly. I cringed back,
feeling sick and slightly dizzy, then I realised it was because I
wasn
’
t breathing so I drew in a ragged
breath.

“
No.
You
’
re going to drop the charges and
leave town and never bother me or my family again. And when I say
my family, I mean Ruby, Johnny and Matt too,
”
I said sternly.

Oh God, this
was going to work! I couldn
’
t help but
smile; I brought my phone from my pocket and pressed send. I
laughed quietly before putting my poker face back on.

He was
looking at me like I had lost my mind
,
making it seem even funnier to me.
“
And
why would I do that?
”
he asked, his voice
coloured with amusement.

“
Because if
you don
’
t, I
’
m
going to go to the police and tell them everything about what
happened when we were kids. Trust me; the time
you
’
ll spend in jail will be a lot longer
than the time Liam will get. And, you
’
ll
be in a much worse part of the jail too, where they put the rapists
and paedophiles,
”
I shrugged.

He burst out
laughing.
“
And who
’
s going to believe a dirty little tramp like you? Knocked
up at sixteen. I
’
m a respected
professional. I can afford the top lawyers to rip your case to
shreds, and besides, you have no proof. This happened so long ago,
it
’
s your word against mine,
”
he growled, stepping closer to me.

I felt the
bile rise in my throat a
nd I prayed that
Jake was close. How long had it been since I sent that
text?

“
Actually,
that
’
s where you
’
re wrong. I have your word too,
”
I corrected, smirking at him as I pulled out my cellphone.
He looked at me like I was stupid again.
“
Clever things phones nowadays, they have all sorts of
gadgets in them; cameras, music players, calculators…….. voice
recorders,
”
I chirped, raising my
eyebrows at the last one.

I flicked
through the menu and played back our conversation that I had just
recorded on my phone. I watched his face
with a satisfied smile.

“
So, who
’
s baby
is it? Or don
’
t you
know?
”

“
I
lost it thanks to you. Why did you hit me?
”

“
You fucking deserved it!
”

“
You hit me and made me fall and lose my baby.
That
’
s why Liam hit
you.
”

“
That little fucker, he always was
trouble.
”

I
stopp
ed the recording.
“
Heard enough, or do you want to hear what else
is on here? Can you remember what you said? What you admitted to?
Abuse, attempted rape,
”
I said, grinning
like an idiot. He grabbed my phone and dropped it on the floor,
smashing his foot down on it, hard. I fought hard against the urge
to laugh.
“
Oh, Daddy, that phone cost me
a lot of money. Do you know how much a brand new iPhone costs
nowadays?
”
I asked
sarcastically.

He
grinned
, obviously thinking he had
won.
“
You
’
ve
got nothing now.
”
He grabbed my wrist and
pulled me closer to him.

I
laughed
and nodded in
confirmation.
“
You
’
re right.
I
don
’
t, but my family
do. I sent it to them just now. Five other people have that
recording, and if you don
’
t take your
dirty pervert hands off of me right now, that will be going to the
police,
”
I stated smugly.

He slapped me
hard across the face
, making me yelp as
his hand crashed into my already sore skin. I held my face and
looked at him; I hated him more than I had ever hated anything in
my life.

“
You drop the
charges right now and leave town and never contact us again!
Otherwise, I
’
ll make sure that all five
of those recordings make it to the police. I
’
m serious, you drop the charges and leave and
I
’
ll let it go. I just want Liam
free,
”
I instructed.

I
didn
’
t care about anything else. We would
always have the recordings; if he ever came near us again I had no
problem with pressing charges and get him sent away for good. But I
couldn
’
t do that now, Liam would still be
facing jail and I couldn
’
t take the risk
of him being found guilty and sent to jail for defending
me.

My father was
looking at me h
atefully as he thought
about it. I could tell by his angry expression that he knew there
was no other option. If he didn
’
t want to
be charged with attempted rape, child abuse and a couple of
accounts of assault then he needed to go along with what I was
saying.

“
You
’
re just like your fucking
brother,
”
he shouted venomously, as he
shook me by the arm.

I
smiled.
“
I
’
ll
take that as a compliment. Jake
’
s the
best brother in the world.
”

“
You little
bitch,
”
he hissed.

I
yanked my arm out of his grasp.
“
Call them now, drop the charges and I want to
speak to them after to make sure it
’
s
done,
”
I ordered. Oh my God,
it
’
s working! It was really going to
work.

I heard a car
screech up outside and seconds la
ter Jake
burst through the door. He looked murderously angry as he bounded
towards us with his fists clenched.

“
Jake,
everything
’
s fine. We were just talking.
He
’
s decided to drop the charges and
leave town. Right, Stephen?
”
I explained,
sneering on his name. Jake looked at me, shock clear across his
face. He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him, as he glared at
my father. Wow, if looks could kill! I gripped his arm, squeezing
gently to get his attention.
“
Everything
’
s fine, Jake, just
calm down. I
’
ve sorted
everything,
”
I stated, fighting the urge
to just let him kill him, but I couldn
’
t
let Jake get into trouble too.

“
Sorted
everything?
”
he asked, his eyes not
leaving my father’s face who actually looked scared of Jake right
now. To be honest, I wasn
’
t surprised he
was scared. Jake could be damn scary when he wanted to
be.

“
Call them
and drop the charges,
”
I ordered. My
father sneered at us both and turned to grab his phone.

While his
ba
ck was turned, Jake looked at
me.
“
What
’
s
happened? What the hell are you doing here?
”
he asked quickly.

I
smiled
.
“
Check
your phone
.”

He frowned at
me
, and pulled out his cellphone.
“
One voice message,
”
he read, opening it and playing it. I watched his face as
he listened to it; it went from anger, to shock, to happiness. He
looked at me proudly and slipped his phone back in his pocket,
wrapping his arm around my shoulders, holding me tightly to his
side.

I started to
feel a little weak on my feet
, I needed
to sit down and rest. All I wanted to do was go back to
sleep.
“
Jake, stay calm and finish this,
OK? He
’
s going to leave town. I sent that
message to Mom, Liam, Johnny and Ruby too, so you just need to make
sure he does what he says. I just need Liam free,
”
I said, as I sat down in the armchair behind
him.

“
You
alright?
”
he asked, concern colouring his
voice.

I
nodded
, smiling.
“
I
’
m totally fine. I just need to
sit down. You can take it from here, just stay calm,
”
I replied, feeling my body relax knowing that I
didn
’
t have to talk to him again. Jake
would sort everything out, he always did.

I watched as
my father called the police and dropped the charges. Jake called
them from his phone and they confirmed that the charges had been
dropped and that no further action would be taken against Liam. He
was hovering protectively in front of me the whole time, staying
in-between my father and me. He really was the best brother anyone
ever had.

After about
ten minutes
, Jake turned to me.
“
We
’
re ready to go,
Ambs.
”
He took my hand and pulled me up
from the sofa. He pushed me towards the door in front of him, his
eyes not leaving my father the whole time.
“
You better not come back, old man. Next time I see you,
either I
’
ll kill you or
we
’
ll be headed to the police station to
press charges, all of us. I
’
m not sure
which option I prefer, personally, I
’
d
love to stand there and watch you burn,
”
he stated, with a small smile, as if he was imagining it.
He wasn
’
t joking, I had no doubt in my
mind that Jake would kill him, and if Jake didn
’
t, I was pretty sure that Liam would.
“
Leave town today!
”
Jake growled
as he slammed the door, pushing me towards his car. He made sure I
was in before heading around to his side and speeding off down the
road without saying a word.