Shrugging, I play it off. “Don’t know. He’s been walking her to Adam’s flat every day. She said it has something to do with Adam being out of school. He takes her to visit.”
“Adam? Adam Reynolds?”
“Yeah.”
Tasha gives me an incredulous look as if she doesn’t believe their story. That it’s a cover for some sordid affair between Dax and my best mate.
“Ellie’s not with Dax, Tash.”
“Hmph. What does a god like Dax Davies see in a boring little mouse like Ellie?”
I startle, not realizing Willa had joined us on the edge of the pitch. Both Tasha’s mouth and mine fall open at Willa’s rudeness.
She takes note of our shocked expressions and sneers, curling her lip up in disgust. “Well, it’s true. Didn’t you see all the girls at the DK waiting to get a piece of him? They were all way better looking than her,” Willa sniffs, tossing her hair over one shoulder.
Annoyed, I defend my friend. “How can you say that? Ellie’s flat out gorgeous, Willa.” God, I could slap that condescending look off of her face.
Jealous cow.
“Is she? Then how come it was me sucking him off after the concert and not her?” She arches one of those perfectly groomed eyebrows of hers, shoving her superiority in my face.
My heart crumples in on itself and nosedives right into my hollow stomach. “You… you…” I can’t manage to finish my sentence. All at once I’m feeling humiliated, jealous, and seething with anger. Despite the cold, my face is burning up. My gaze flicks over to Tasha, catching the look of sympathy she’s giving me. It’s clear she already knew about Willa and Dax.
Willa smirks as I take off across the pitch towards the street. Screw practice. I can’t look at that bitch without wanting to kick her teeth in, and I certainly don’t want anyone to see me break down and cry, which is exactly what happens the minute I get out of sight.
My throat is tight and my tongue feels thick as I run in my footy boots. Past broken down cars, past abandoned buildings, past the shoddy cornershop where filthy dossers try to scam you out of your money—not that anyone round here has any.
I hate bloody Hackney! Living in London’s worst, most crime-ridden neighborhood can suck the life out of you if you let it. Mine’s not been sucked out. It’s been hoovered out by Dax Davies and his man-whore ways.
By the time I reach my dingy flat, my lungs are burning and tears cover my freezing cheeks. I might be hurt, but I’m also determined. I head straight for a pile of scholarship applications with a singular purpose.
To get the hell out of Hackney so I can forget all about Dax Davies.
* * *
“What?”
I literally can’t believe what I’m hearing. When I look into Ellie’s large blue eyes, I know she’s not lying
“Adam was stabbed, Kate.” She sniffs and tries to hold back tears. How did I not notice that my best friend was falling apart? Her eyes are swollen and red-rimmed. There are dark circles beneath them telling me she hasn’t been sleeping well. Her nails are chewed down to stubs, and frankly, she just looks exhausted.
“How? I mean why? Hell—I have no idea what to say, El.”
I feel like a total failure as a friend. After Willa enlightened me to Dax’s extracurricular activities, I had to know if Ellie was another notch on his headboard. Apparently, I love to torture myself. What she confesses instead literally renders me speechless.
“I still don’t understand. What does Adam being stabbed have to do with Dax walking you home every day?”
Ellie sighs, flopping back on my bed. Our families live in the same crappy council flats, so we tend to see each other a lot, usually to walk to school, but sometimes for a chat. When I invited her over to gently finagle some information out of her about her after school walks with Dax, I had no idea she was going to drop a bomb of this magnitude in my lap. Make that two bombs—Adam was stabbed and Ellie was attacked.
“It’s a long story, Kate.” Ellie’s eyes glisten with moisture and her lip begins to quiver. My best friend is falling to pieces and all I can think about is my selfish desire to get with Dax.
Some friend I am.
I lay back on the bed next to El, taking her trembling hand in mine. “I’m here to listen, El. Tell me everything.”
I am floored, literally gob smacked by Ellie’s story. Right when the school term started, Callum Murray attacked her in a vacant lot and the only reason she wasn’t defiled was because Adam and Dax intervened at the last second. They beat the crap out of Callum and his mate Ryan, which explains why Callum is holding a grudge against Ellie. And why Callum and Ryan looked so banged up a few weeks ago.
To keep Ellie safe from Callum, Adam made an arrangement with his drug-dealing brother Danny. Everyone at school knows about Danny and his criminal activities. Heck, half the kids buy from him. In exchange, Adam had to run Danny’s drugs for him. That’s when Adam was jumped, Danny’s drugs and money nicked, and Adam left for dead.