Chapter Nine

Revenge And Its Thrills

Saturday morning dawned; its frigid, icy light swept across the Glasco-Mason’s front garden. A thin film of fog obscured the sleeping town in the valley below.

Lauren and Savannah were wide awake. Neither had been able to sleep; Savannah had slept too much during the previous day, and Lauren had refused to sleep out of concern for Savannah.

Their dressing gowns held close to their bodies in combat against the chill of dawn, they sat on a blanket covering the well-kept, dew-laden lawn. They peered out across the fields, savouring a tranquil silence broken only by the melodic chirping of birds.

Lauren looked over at Savannah. She was zoned out; Lauren didn’t want her to linger in the dark mental place she’d journeyed to.

‘Would you like to go away somewhere?’ she asked, dragging Savannah back to the present moment. ‘I could drive us to, I don’t know… the coast? Edinburgh, maybe, you love it there. Anywhere you like, really, if you’d just like to get away from here for the weekend.’

Savannah considered this. ‘No… well, I would like to, but I also don’t want to. Part of me wants to stay and the other… I dunno, the other part wants to go away - but permanently. Not like that, before you ask.’ She shuddered. ‘I’m not that low. I just mean… I want to leave this town… never come back… go somewhere out of the way where no one knows me and I can just start over. But then there’s Theo… I dunno if I could bring myself to leave him. Or mum, for that matter. I dread to think how she’d cope… Aaron would be okay and I doubt Alexis would even notice. But this… this is something that can’t be helped or solved with just a weekend away.’ She pulled her dressing gown tighter around herself, her expression sullen and lifeless.

‘I get what you mean,’ Lauren said, wearing the ghost of a frown. ‘Sometimes breaks from all the shit are good, other times… they’re just an avoidance of the problem. Headspace is all well and good but not when you’ve got such a dreadful thing to come back to. Kind of puts a damper on the trip, doesn’t it?’

‘Exactly. I need to be here and see this through. Besides, I’d be consumed with thoughts of it no matter where we went. I’d just be miserable and I’d make you miserable. There’s no reason I should drag you down with me. To be honest,’ she let out a small, sardonic chuckle. ‘I… I don’t know why you stick around. You don’t have to be here, you don’t have to put up with my shit… I wouldn’t hold it against you…’ She tailed off and the sadness returned.

‘Hey, I’m not going anywhere, so stop talking like that. I chose to be involved. What you’re dealing with is something you shouldn’t have to be dealing with, and therefore I am more than happy to stick around and provide you with all the comfort and support you need. One day… we’ll leave together. Never come back - except for Christmas. Fuck the lot of them,’ she laughed and Savannah smiled a little.

‘Sounds ideal.’

The two sat in silence for a while longer, watching the sun elevate higher. Lauren picked up a trampled, red flower off the ground and plucked its petals.

The sound of distant cars from the town below reached their ears bringing with it the disappointing realisation that the world did not just contain the two of them. But, for the moment, it was perfect. Savannah lay back on the blanket and, for the first time in days, appeared content.

A short time later, they heard the front door click open. Savannah and Lauren turned and were greeted by Aaron. His brown hair was ruffled at the back, his face was that of a teenager awoken against his will and desired nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in bed. He sank onto the edge of the blanket, grunting and groaning like a man three times his age. Rubbing his exhausted, tight eyes, he arranged himself into a cross-legged sitting position facing Savannah and Lauren.

‘Hey, my favourite twin,’ Savannah said. ‘You’re up early. You’re aware it’s Saturday, right? Shocked to see you up before the afternoon, to be honest.’

He groaned once more. ‘Yes, I’m aware, do you really think I’d be awake if I had a choice?’

He seemed to realise his tone was accosting, holding up a hand and consciously softening his features. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. One of my… well, not friends… someone from school was at a house party last night and insisted on drunkenly calling me repeatedly until about 3 am. Once she finally got pissed enough that she fell asleep on the sofa, I was able to sleep. But, annoyingly, she decided that obviously, because I answered last night and spoke to her, it must mean that I wanted to speak to her first thing this morning,’ he snarled. ‘I said hello and all that, I was as nice as I could possibly be, given the rudeness, but hung up as soon as I could. By that point, I was too awake to go back to sleep.’

‘Awww, Aaron’s having girl trouble,’ Lauren teased.

Aaron shot her a dark glare. ‘Shut up, you. And…’ He stole a glance at the front door to ensure she wasn’t going to walk through it. ‘Don’t tell Alexis, please. I can deal with you two teasing, but you know what she’s like… she’d never let me live it down. Every time I’d get a text it’d be all, ooh, there’s Aaron’s girlfriend again. I can’t be arsed with that.’

‘Don’t worry, little bro, your secret is safe with us,’ Savannah assured him. ‘Besides, it’s not like you’re at any risk of being overheard. Alexis wouldn’t leave the house unless she was made up like a Kardashian, so you’re safe as long as we’re out here at this time.’

The three of them shared a laugh.

‘So,’ Aaron asked, a sympathetic smile replacing his laughter. ‘How’re you doing this morning, Sav?’

She flicked a blade of grass from her leg. ‘Yeah, I’m grand. Today’s a new day.’

His eyes narrowed momentarily, but he accepted her statement as honest nonetheless. ‘Good. What are you up to today?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Savannah said. ‘We might just stay here and have a chill weekend - watch loads of films, eat our feelings away, ignore the outside world, hope fuckface - sorry, Dad - never comes home, and that his liver’s exploded… that kind of thing.’

‘Ah, you know Theo won’t let you do nothing all weekend,’ he responded, smiling in sympathy at her comment about Jeremy.

Savannah let loose a long breath. ‘That’s true enough. What’s mum up to this weekend? Isn’t she able to keep him company? I just want to lie in bed for a couple days; not run around after Theo. I adore him, but I’m not feeling it this weekend.’

‘Nah, she’s not home. She said yesterday she’s got some work thing. I think she’s already left, actually,’ he jutted his head in the direction of the empty parking spot adjacent to the garden.

Savannah’s brow furrowed. ‘We’ve been out here since just after 6 - we didn’t see her leave.’

‘Oh,’ Aaron said, confused. ‘Then she must have gone really early. It’s probably a convention halfway down the country again.’

‘Or, she went out last night and still hasn’t come home,’ Savannah said, considering the possible locations Lyra could be.

‘If that was the case she’d have told us. I’m sure she’s fine, before you start getting yourself upset.’

‘Oi, I wasn’t about to start getting upset, I was simply wondering what she’s been up to, that’s all. Come to think of it… I didn’t see her after dinner, I assumed she’d gone to bed early or something.’

‘She might have gone out with her work friends last night too and just not said anything beyond ‘it’s a work thing’,’ Lauren suggested.

‘Hmm, no. She wouldn’t slip out. She’d say what the ‘work thing’ was. It’s a bit suss, don’t you think? She’s decided to disappear on us the night after she kicked Jeremy out.’

Aaron began screwing up his face, but caught himself, remembering his policy of not upsetting Savannah. ‘Text her and ask her if you’re that bothered,’ he suggested, just about succeeding in minimising the disdain in his words.

Savannah did just that, asking Lyra if she was okay and where she was. Every second she waited for a reply felt like an eternity, but she tried to distract herself.

‘So, if mum isn’t here, how are we going to entertain Theo?’ Savannah asked Aaron and Lauren.

‘We could take him to the park again, I suppose,’ Lauren said.

‘Will he not be bored of that by now? We go there all the time, surely the novelty’s worn off.’

‘Naw, as long as kids have somewhere to run about like idiots they’re generally happy regardless.’

‘How about,’ Aaron cut in. ‘We do go to the park, but we take my football and have a game or two on the field instead? If we go this morning, there’ll be no one using it, and Theo’s always whining at me about playing. Literally, whenever he hears I’m going out with my mates he asks if he can come too so he can play football.’

‘The last place we’d let Theo go is out with your mates, we know exactly what you lot get up to,’ Savannah said, laughing. Aaron stuck his middle finger up at her but couldn’t disguise his spreading grin.

*

Upon re-entering the house, the three of them discovered that Theo had awoken. When they’d informed him of their day’s plan, he jumped up and down and pelted Aaron with questions about football, seeing this opportunity as a chance to bond with him. Aaron, despite being frustrated by the endless tirade of speech, answered Theo’s every question. Alexis, on the other hand, was less impressed with the news.

‘Aw, man, what?’ she’d said, outraged. ‘I don’t want to do that, what if I get mud on me? I can’t be seen rolling around the floor like a fuckin’ dog, so none of you can tackle me, right? Just know that I hate all of you and I will be a liability out of spite.’

‘Don’t come, then.’

‘No, I’ll come, but…’ She’d admired herself in the hallway mirror. ‘Fucksake…’

Savannah had just laughed at her. Alexis had then meandered up the stairs to get dressed, muttering something that sounded like, ‘at least I look good in joggers.’

A couple of hours later, the Glasco-Mason siblings and Lauren made their way down to the park. Lyra still hadn’t replied, causing Savannah’s anxiety to sky-rocket, but she decided, once again, that her best option was to distract herself.

‘Right,’ Aaron said when they reached the field. Alexis wore her most fashionable and expensive tracksuit with immaculate, flashy white trainers, arguing that if she was going to be embarrassed in public, she may as well flex on everyone with designer clothing. In contrast, Savannah and Lauren had gone for comfort over style: they wore hoodies and loose, cosy jogger bottoms, with inexpensive trainers. Theo and Aaron donned Manchester United football kits which they’d received as presents last Christmas. Aaron’s stretched across his chest which had broadened significantly since then; Theo’s hung off his frame. His face was already rosy and wore a large, beaming smile.

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‘I’ll decide the teams so there can be no arguing over how no one wants Alexis on theirs,’ he threw her a cocky smirk, which Alexis returned with a scowl.

‘Theo, do you want to be on my team?’

Theo jumped up and down in his joy. ‘Yes, yes!’

‘Okay, come stand next to me,’ Aaron told him, and Theo hurried over to his side. It was staggering to Savannah then just how different in size the two were: Aaron, fit and healthy, and Theo, skin and bone.

‘Right, I think we’ll do boys against girls. What do you think, Theo?’

‘Yeah!’

‘Good. Means we won’t have to deal with Alexis's endless complaining.’

Savannah groaned.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?!’ Alexis rounded on Savannah.

‘Nothing, nothing,’ Savannah shared a rapid smile with Lauren. ‘I just… wanted to be on Aaron’s team. Yeah. That’s what I meant. Because, y’know, he’s the best player out of all of us.’

Alexis glowered at her.

‘Right, come on, Alex, stop being a bi-’ Aaron glanced sideways, remembering there was a child in their presence. ‘Er- stop being aggressive, Lex, and let’s get started. Girls, you have that side,’ he pointed at the goal behind Savannah, Lauren, and Alexis, ‘and Theo and I will take this side,’ he gestured at the other goal in front of the treeline at the edge of the field. ‘We’ll also take the kick-off because there’s three of you and two of us, so we’re technically at a disadvantage. Oh, and,’ he sneered at Alexis. ‘You’re going down, twinny.’

They moved off to their respective sides of the pitch. Lauren and Savannah did so in good spirits, Alexis sulked with her arms crossed, and Theo leapt with every third stride.

Aaron kicked off the game and passed to Theo. Savannah ran over to him and shadowed his every move. Theo guffawed as he dribbled the ball, desperate to prevent ceding possession of it.

‘Stop - no, you’re not getting it!’ he yelled. ‘No!’

Theo kicked the ball past Savannah (having tripped in a panic) and she feigned a dramatic fall, causing him to erupt into increased hysterics. He stopped, remembering they were playing a game. His expression became one of someone going off to war, and he ran through on goal and Lauren pretended to dive the wrong way so Theo could score, drawing an eye roll from the scowling Alexis who stood behind the goalposts contributing nothing.

‘Yeah!’ Aaron cheered, and he ran up to Theo and lifted him in celebration. ‘You’re the best footballer in the world!’

As the match progressed, Theo managed to score another goal, Aaron and Savannah bagged three, while Lauren got two. With the score at an enticing 5-5, Alexis, bored of fuming in the corner and being ignored, joined the match.

She refused to pander to Theo. He ran with the ball and she sprinted after him, slide-tackled him, then ran through on Aaron’s goal. Aaron maintained steady eye contact with her, grinning. Rather than remain in goal and attempt to save Alexis's shot, he chose to rush her. He sprinted towards her and slid into a rough tackle, taking her to the ground.

She screamed at him. ‘Look what you’ve done! You fucking backwards bastard!’

She pointed at her clothes, now covered in grass stains and mud. Aaron, overpowered by laughter, rolled on the floor clutching his gut.

Alexis stood up, snarled at Aaron, and stormed off the pitch. She skulked off home without another word to the others. Aaron gave Savannah a sheepish glance and she shrugged, before passing the ball to Theo, allowing him to score and win the match.

The four of them made to leave, but something in the trees behind the goalposts at the far end of the field caught Savannah’s eye. Choosing not to mention it, she turned to Aaron.

‘You okay taking Theo home? We’ll catch up with you,’ she said.

Aaron wrapped his arm around Theo, who was panting but had never lost his beam. ‘Yeah, no problem. C’mon, buddy.’ The boys walked off the field and in the same direction as Alexis.

When the boys were out of eyesight and earshot, Savannah swivelled to Lauren, serious and urgent.

‘What?’ Lauren asked her. ‘Sav, what is it?’

Savannah stalked across the field, fixated on the treeline. ‘Jeremy’s in those trees.’

Lauren grabbed her arm and spun her around. ‘Sav, stop! Are you sure it’s a good idea to just wander up to him like it’s nothing?! He’ll still be drunk from last night, so he’ll probably start swinging!’

Savannah shrugged her off and continued walking. ‘He’s always drunk, it doesn’t make a difference when I see him. He must’ve been standing over there watching us the entire time, the creepy prick. He won’t do shit - we’re in a public place.’

At that point, the realisation dawned on her that the area was vacant aside from herself, Lauren, and Jeremy; an old lady walking her poodle Savannah saw a mere minute ago had disappeared from the area, leaving it deserted.

‘Savannah,’ Lauren broke into a jog to keep up with Savannah’s purposeful, rapid stride. ‘I don’t think this is a good idea.’

‘Neither do I.’ Even from halfway across the field, she could see her father’s form swaying as usual. His eyes were laser-focused on her.

They reached the treeline and Savannah stood a safe distance away from Jeremy. She didn’t expect another attack, but it couldn’t hurt to be more vigilant than usual.

‘What are you doing here?’ Her tone was ice.

He stared at a spot over her shoulder. ‘Nothin’. Jus’ wan’ed to see my kids, is all.’ He guffawed and doubled over. ‘Eeee, my god, I can’ do it - tha’s a complete lie. I fell ‘sleep ‘ere an’ you lot were ‘ere when I woke up.’

Lauren stood between them, braced to mediate any potential physical confrontation. As impartial and detached as she was attempting to remain, even she could not prevent her upper lip from rising, repulsed by Jeremy’s trampy appearance and rancid aroma.

Savannah made no effort to hide her disgust. ‘Well, next time, don’t bother sticking around, and just fuck off. We don’t want to see you again, you understand?’

Jeremy’s lip curled and he bared his teeth, a display undermined by an abrupt lurch. His left hand shot out and balanced him against a nearby tree. ‘Don’ fuckin’ star’ wi’ me again. I’m no’ takin’ anymore o’ your shit,’ he spat on the ground in front of Savannah’s feet.

Savannah smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to. We’re done here. Don’t come anywhere we might be ever again. You’ve burned your last bridge with all of us. I hope that brings you peace and makes you happy. Have a good life, father.’ She hissed the final word with a snakelike venemosity. She turned on her heel and stomped off in the other direction, Lauren in tow.

‘Your mother’s divorcin’ me, y’know!’ he yelled after her.

Savannah stopped dead.

‘She didn’ tell yi’, I take i’? No’ surprisin’, it’s your faul’ after all. Bein’ the carin’ mother tha’ she is, I’m sure she wan’ed to spare yi’ tha’ pain. Well, I’m no’ as accommodatin’, yi’ li’l bitch. Yi’ ‘ave ruined my marriage and I wan’ yi’ to know tha’ and I wan’ it to hur’ yi’, knowin’ yi’’ve ruined your mother’s only ‘ope of ‘appiness.’

Lauren put a hand on the small of Savannah’s back. ‘Don’t rise to him, Sav, he’s not worth it.’

Disregarding Lauren, she faced Jeremy. She wanted to scream bloody murder at him. But that was also what he wanted her to do - was she hell giving him the satisfaction of raising her ire.

She smiled at him again. ‘Good, I’m glad. At least that way she’ll have a high quality of life again, rather than spending the rest of her life with a vile, lecherous, waste of space. It’s over for you, Jeremy; you’ve ruined your life, not me.’

Jeremy began speaking in a jumbled, angry manner. Neither Savannah nor Lauren could make out any of the words.

Before Savannah could register it, Jeremy was charging at her. There was a glint of silver at his side as a lethal, disguised glass shard caught the sunlight.

Savannah couldn’t move. Lauren shouted something unintelligible and lunged into the space between them, trying to block the maniacal Jeremy from reaching Savannah.

Time slowed.

A strange sensation flowed through Savannah. Unidentifiable, she felt a rush in her blood. It wasn’t adrenaline; another substance had entered her being and coursed through her veins.

Her father reached her, teeth bared. The glass came towards Savannah’s chest, millimetre by millimetre.

Jeremy was blown backwards off his feet as a wave of darkness erupted from Savannah, catching Jeremy in his charge and launching him backwards.

Savannah felt stronger, reinforced, as though she’d become invulnerable through some unidentifiable power.

The wave retracted, fractured into several pieces, and the shards of shadow gathered at either side of her. They were spiked now and aimed at Jeremy. They jittered in the air, furious, desperate to attack, but Savannah had enough control over them to prevent them from impaling him.

Sprawled on the floor, Jeremy gawped at her in utter horror, but she saw a glimmer of something else - pride? Achievement?

‘Don’t. Come. Near. Me. Again,’ Savannah snarled, her voice reinforced with the same power she felt in her blood.

Jeremy scarpered and Savannah turned to Lauren.

Lauren’s jaw hung low. Savannah noted the same glimmer in Lauren’s eyes that had surfaced in Jeremy’s.

The shadows faded to nothing in the absence of the threat.

‘Oh… fuck my life,’ Lauren breathed.

*

The moment Savannah and Lauren returned to the Glasco-Mason household, they locked themselves in Savannah’s room.

Savannah sat shaking on the edge of her bed. She felt nauseated again. Her thoughts chased themselves around her mind like racing cars. Why is Jeremy so determined to attack me? What on earth did I do to him? How did I do it? Will this ever end? Will we ever be rid of him? Will the divorce actually remove him, or would his presence persist, as resistant and unwanted as a disease? Were just a few of the thousand.

Lauren stood by the window, facing Savannah with a dark, confused expression.

‘What-what happened?’ Savannah asked Lauren, looking at her with unmitigated fear; if ever Lauren was going to leave her, it was now - Savannah had presented her with an iron-clad reason to do so.

Lauren made no movement towards the door. ‘I don’t know, Savannah. I don’t know what it was… where it came from… I can’t explain it.’

Savannah tilted her head and looked away, hiding her quivering lip. ‘I don’t understand… it was like it grew inside of me and the minute I saw the glass... it exploded out…’

Lauren moved over to her and sat beside her. ‘Let’s just… not pretend it didn’t happen, obviously, but… let’s chalk it off as a one-off and try as hard as we can to forget about it. If it never happens again, it’s not a big deal and no one else ever needs to know that it happened.’

‘And if it happens again?’

‘Well…’ Lauren hesitated. ‘Then we can worry about it, but we’ll jump that planet when we get to it.’

‘How on earth do you expect me to do that?!’ Savannah shouted as she got to her feet. ‘Something just came out of me and attacked my father and I don’t know what it was, whether it will happen again, and your genius solution is to forget about it?!’

Lauren shushed her, waving her hands up and down. She stole a rapid glance at the door. ‘Listen, you need to calm down or the others will hear you and this will get bigger than it needs to be.’

‘What aren’t you getting about this, Lauren?!’ Savannah spoke at a million miles an hour. ‘This is a huge deal and I don’t know what to do about it and you’re sitting there and telling me to act like it never happened! Of course I can’t do that! Not to mention my dad attacked me again! How the fuck do I forget this and go on as normal?!’

Lauren kept her voice level. ‘You can be as angry as you like at me, that’s fine. I’m not asking you to forget about this, that’d be shockingly unreasonable. But... there’s nothing either of us can do. I wish I had the answers, but I don’t, so all we can do is go on as normal, as though nothing has happened and keep it between ourselves, even if that means I have to sit and let you rage, cry, whatever, whenever. Making a big deal out of it - and yes,’ she raised her voice because Savannah had opened her mouth to shout again. ‘I know it’s a big deal, but we can’t make it a big deal with anyone other than ourselves, otherwise we’ll both be committed to a psych ward, understand?’

Savannah felt like yelling some more, but Lauren was right. She took several breaths to calm herself; all she wanted to do was run, scream, lash out… ‘You’re right. And… I’m not angry at you, I’m angry at this whole thing, you’re just an outlet and… I’m sorry. I just… I don’t understand. I don’t understand what I did - and I refuse to use the word ‘magic’ because we all know that’s not a thing.’

‘Well... the ‘not-magic’, we’ll figure that out if it happens again. Otherwise… it can be chalked off; it would probably be best for your long-term sanity.’

Savannah retook her seat. She was as white as a sheet; it was a wonder she hadn’t fainted. ‘What happens if he tells anyone?’

‘He won’t,’ Lauren smirked. ‘Because he knows as well as we do that no-one will believe him. He’s attacked you twice, drunk, with a weapon. He’ll be sent to rehab in cuffs for attacking you again, before spending a lovely long time in a cell; there isn’t any way he can argue against you in court. Should it come to that.’

‘Ha. We can hope. Actually... I’d like your advice on something.’

‘Hm? What’s that?’

‘What do I do about the whole ‘divorce’ thing? How do I ask mum about it?’

Lauren clasped her hands. ‘I… I hate to say this, but you don’t. You can’t ask her about the divorce without telling her you ran into Jeremy. That then means you run the risk of letting slip what really happened or her asking Jeremy for the true story. Either way, she finds out you attacked Jeremy in self-defence in a manner that can’t be rationally explained. So… I know it’s not easy, but you’re going to have to wait for Lyra to come out with it herself, and just act surprised when she tells you.’

Savannah groaned. ‘I thought you might say that.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Lauren placed a hand on Savannah’s shoulder. ‘You’ll get through this. And I’m going to be here, by your side, through it all.’