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Slipping off her shoes, Alice went ahead of him and vanished through the wide archway on their right into the kitchen to make a cup of tea whilst he moved down the darkened foyer towards the living room’s closed door. “Hey Rebecca, we’re home.”
A startled gasp and hurried footfalls sounded in answer, and the door was suddenly swung open to reveal a slender feminine figure, shadowed against the bright glare of the living room.
“Hi Mr Martin, sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“That’s okay Rebecca. I know we’re back a bit earlier than we said,” he assured her, blinking against the sudden flood of light. Fortunately, his eyes adjusted quickly to the blaze, discerning the girl’s soft doe-like eyes staring up at him from beneath the smooth wash of dark brown hair that she’d tied into a side braid over her left shoulder. Just nineteen, she had a long, sweet face and a petite yet shapely form that was clad in tight blue jeans and a pink floral T-shirt that ended just above her flat navel. “Has Alex been behaving himself?”
“Oh, he’s been just wonderful. Little tyke hasn’t made a peep since I put him down.” Smiling up at him, she stepped back to let him pass into the flat’s living room.
Neither spartan nor lavish, the furnishings were mainly teak and pine, equally as decorative as they were functional, as well as a wide three-person sofa of supple black leather that had been pressed against the wall and a Sony DVD player and 32’ television that were mounted on the opposite wall. As he’d feared, the film Twilight was playing on the flat screen.
“So, how was the party? Did you have a good time?”
“Boring really. In fact, we were kicked out,” he said, barely able to keep the wide grin at bay as he recalled Scarlet’s venomous, jilted glare. He would probably pay merry hell for it on Monday, however. Scarlet always loved to play games and Alice had thrown a fine challenge her way tonight.
She may have won the battle, but he was sure the war had only just begun.
Plainly befuddled, Rebecca’s eyebrow arched at his comment and for a moment he thought she would press him for further details, but the kettle began to whistle, and he heard Alice shout out a greeting to the girl. As she turned to reply, he took the opportunity to slip past and crossed the room in six quick strides before going through the open doorway leading to the bath and bedrooms. Taking care not to make a sound as he moved down the shadowy antechamber, he crept past the connecting bathroom and master bedroom before coming to the infant’s room. Pushing the door ajar, just far enough for him to squeeze through, he stepped cautiously into the gloom beyond. A blue nightlight bathed the interior in a low gloom, illuminating the Star Wars cartoon wallpaper and providing just enough light for him to trek a route around the dozens of toys that lay scattered across the floor.
Sleeping peacefully in his cot, the infant Alexander never stirred as his father approached. If it had not been for his stormy grey-blue eyes and thick dark brown hair, the boy would have been the spitting image of his father and the sight of him curled around his favourite stuffed puppy brought a smile to Richard’s face. Given their tenuous financial state, many of their friends and relatives had been surprised by his and Alice’s decision to go through with the unexpected pregnancy. But Alice had always wanted to be a mother, and as there was simply no way of telling when the economy would heal, be it ten years or even a hundred. Life was just too short to turn down the blessing life handed them, and they had never been happier since little Alex came into their lives.
Bending forward, he placed a gentle kiss on the child’s brow before drawing back and retreating from the room, gently pulling the door shut as he went.
Knowing he should go and pay Rebecca for her help but too eager to get out of his suit, he entered the master bedroom and flicked the light switch before casually shrugging off his jacket. Hurling it across the bed, he’d just begun fingering his tie when there was a sudden knock at the door and he turned around to see Rebecca standing in the doorway, with a sheepish look on her face and her Twilight DVD case in hand. Concern stabbed his heart with an icy dagger.
“Hey…Mr Martin, I’m sorry to interrupt you but I’m setting off now and well…my dad’s gone away for a couple of days and before he left, he managed to screw up our laptop. I hate to ask, but he’ll be home tomorrow and if he comes back to find it broken, he’ll just blame me and force me to buy a new one, so…if it’s not too much trouble, could you… well um-” The words were spilling from her in a tide of emotion and she looked on the verge of tears.
Richard gave her a reassuring smile. “Of course I can. You go on home and I’ll be up to take a look in a minute.”
“You will! Oh, thank you Mr Martin; I really appreciate this.” Visibly relaxing, she turned on her heel and headed back through to the living room, leaving Richard alone with his thoughts and a quickly mounting temper.
“That rat bastard.”
Though they lived on the floor above, he had only met Rebecca’s father on one or two occasions, but each had left a lasting impression. Unlike his daughter, Derik Blaire was squat, heavy-shouldered, and prone to violent outbursts. Once happily married and a carrier squaddie, he’d been cashiered after getting drunk and striking an NCO whilst off duty, but still in uniform. A court-martial found him guilty of insubordination, behaviour unbecoming, and wilfully striking a non-commissioned officer. He’d lost his pension and been sentenced to confinement for three years before receiving a dishonourable discharge. In the months after his release, he was dismissed from six occupations before apparently abandoning the search for work. His wife, tired of his bullshit, left him for a younger man and moved up to Yorkshire to escape his continued harassment, leaving their daughter with her growingly aggressive and substance dependent father.
Richard was reluctant to ask about the pair’s main source of income. He knew Rebecca worked part-time in a shop over in the Quays, as well as babysitting for them and a few other families in the building. However, that could hardly cover the costs of living, so he was sure there had to be more there than just met the eye.
Loosening his necktie enough to pull it over his head, he hurled the cloth across the bed to join his jacket before starting upon his black shirt but then thought better of it. He and Alice would be going to bed soon enough. There was no point dirtying fresh clothes. Even so, a stab of old vanities caused him to pause before his wife’s standing mirror. Tall, clean-shaven, and relatively comely, he had deep blue eyes and medium length raven hair that framed a sharp jaw. Though only thirty-seven, his hair had been salted with a streak of silver, but Alice assured him it made him appear distinguished; he just prayed it didn’t foretell his going bald.
Deciding he needed a drink, Richard moved on to the kitchen to find Alice already leaning against the fridge and sipping a steaming cup of tea, waiting for him. A half glass of wine sat on the counter beside her.
“How’s Alex?” she asked, setting the cup down on the side and crossing her arms over her waist as he reached for the wine.
“Sleeping peacefully, thank God, and if we’re lucky, he’ll stay that way till morning. I swear that kid has a set of lungs on him that could wake the dead.” Watching her carefully, he brought the glass to his lips and drained it in one swig. It tasted bitter, and he openly shuddered in disgust.
Alice, however, paid no mind to his displeasure. A few stray strands came loose from her thick mane to hang over her eyes, but she brushed them back into place without taking her gaze off him. “So, are you going to help her?”
“Of course I am.”
She gave an approving nod. “It’s shameful the way he treats her. The sooner she moves out of there, the better.” They’d often heard Rebecca talk about moving out, going to live with friends or whatever boy teased her heart. Sometimes she even mentioned renting a little place of her own. However, she never seemed to be able to find enough money and after a few weeks, she’d lose her enthusiasm for the idea until the next time her father lost his temper and threw something at her. “Though I think she will miss you, Richard.”
The remark caught him by surprise, and he coughed so hard the wine in his belly almost repeated on him. “Me? I have no idea what you mean, Love.”
A sly smile lit up Alice’s features and her throaty voice developed a noticeably playful tone. “How could you miss it? She’s got a crush on you, Richard,” she chuckled. “You’re clueless. She watches your every move and smiles whenever she sees you. If she knows you’re home, the poor girl gets dolled up just so you’ll say she’s pretty. And you know, I can’t say that I’m not a little jealous.” Stepping forward, she took the glass from his hand and placed it on the counter before closing the gap between them, her finger tracing invisible symbols over his chest. “She really is quite beautiful, isn’t she?”
Richard’s throat ran dry. Was she serious? Was she baiting him, or just stating a fact? Alice had always been blunt, and nobody could deny that Rebecca was certainly very pretty, but how could he agree with her without inadvertently risking her wrath? “Alice, I-”
Her lips silenced him as she suddenly went up onto the tips of her toes, their mouths crashing together in a devouring embrace as her hands moved to encircle his neck. Fierce and demanding, she held nothing back and quickly took the kiss deeper, the passion of it setting a fire in his flesh as her slick tongue invaded the moist warmth of his mouth to meet his own in a feverish dance. He felt his trousers growing tight as his cock sprang to life, powerless to resist his wife’s errant ministrations as she drew him against her, one long shapely leg rising, curling around him.
