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Mack grinned again. “Who’d turn me down? I’m a fucking catch.”
Caiden snorted. “If you say so.”
“Z, I don’t know why you hang around with rich boy so much. He’s a dickhead.”
“Takes one to know one,” Cade shot back, his own grin appearing, and for a minute, I felt lighter. Almost normal, or what passed as normal for me. Until my gaze caught on the familiar tower block where I’d spent the first twelve years of my life.
What would my life have looked like if Michael Lowry hadn’t discovered that he was my dad? I’d like to think I’d be successful in the way Mack was, but so many of our former friends were no longer around. Gangs, drug overdoses, stabbings, alcoholism…those things had been my reality growing up. Only the strongest survived, and sometimes being the strongest wasn’t even enough. Death could come for any of us at any time.
I still remembered the day I’d found out about Michael Lowry, how completely fucking blindsided I’d been and how I’d had no idea just how much my life would change. The grey concrete structures loomed over me as I lost myself in memories, and I gritted my teeth, reminding myself that I was one of the lucky ones.
The electric meter beeped, a reminder that we were now running on emergency credit, and the key needed to be topped up ASAP. Last time it had run out, it had been late at night, and my mum hadn’t been home. I flipped open my wallet to count out my change. I didn’t have access to the online top-up facility, but the corner shop could top it up for me if I had cash.
Once I’d counted up my change, I had a total of £2.85. The minimum top-up was £1, so at least I had enough. Pocketing my wallet, I headed over to the meter. Before I even had a chance to get to the key, the door to our flat burst open, and my mum came running in.
“Mum? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Her eyes were kind of wild and crazy-looking, and she was breathing hard. Her gaze focused on me, and she pointed at the sofa. “Sit. Quick.”
Staring at her, I took a seat, shifting to avoid the spring that was poking out of the corner. I was starting to get worried; she was acting weird. “Mum—”
“Shut up for a minute! Listen to me carefully, Zayde.”
Taking a deep breath, she sat down next to me and put her hand on my arm, patting it lightly. I flinched, an involuntary reaction. My mumnevertouched me, other than to strike me when she thought I was misbehaving. “You’re moving out.”
I stared at her in shock, trying to make sense of her words. “What do you mean, I’m moving out?”
“Your dad.”
What? “Mydad? I don’t have a dad. I thought you said hedied.”
“He might as well have been dead to me,” she muttered. “He was a…” She coughed. “Client of mine.”
“I-I don’t understand…” My hands were fucking shaking.
“Turns out, he’s rich. Very rich. Something he kept from me,” she spat viciously. “Gave me a fake name and occupation, the lying bastard. Well, as it happens, he’s the answer to all our problems, and he wants you to live with him now, you see?”
“But I…I don’t understand. Why do I have to live with him? I don’t want to go! I don’t even know him. And w-why did he wait until now?” I dug my fingers into my thighs, pressing down as hard as I could while I tried to get air into my lungs.
“Ah.” Her hand fell away from my arm. “He didn’t know about you. I might have seen him in the papers when I was at Jean’s house. So I contacted him once I saw he was minted. Can’t look a gift horse in the mouth, can we?”
“But—”
“You don’t get a choice. Didn’t you hear me? He’srich.”
“But—but I don’t want to move away.” I was panicking. Did she want me to leave? What about my friends? Fallon?
Her mouth set in a flat line, and she shook her head at me. “Don’t be so stupid. You’ll go to the best school; you’ll want for nothing.”
“But I like my school here.”
“Too bad. He’ll be here at ten o’clock on Saturday to pick you up.”
I stared at her, my mouth falling open.Saturday? That was the day after tomorrow. “I was going to help you with your cleaning job.”
She laughed. “You don’t need to worry about that. Your dad’s set me up with enough money that I don’t need to work anymore. I quit this morning.”
There was a lump in my throat that I couldn’t seem to swallow. “Won’t—won’t you miss me?”
