Chapters (88)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dear Reader …
- Also by Robert Muchamore
- PART ONE
- Walter J Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- PART TWO
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART THREE
- Walter J. Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- PART FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- EPILOGUE
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- Have you read KILLER T?
- 1 SLASHED RUBBER
- 2 NOT HARRY POTTER
Julius felt hopeful. ‘You could cover for me,’ he began pleadingly. ‘You run this house. If you tell a driver that I need to be somewhere, they’ll do it. You could say I have a dentist appointment or an errand to run for you.’
Orisa tutted. ‘You’re being ridiculous.’
‘Please,’ Julius begged. ‘Duke’s my only friend. I have to see him.’
‘I had crushes when I was fourteen,’ Orisa said. ‘Your head is in the clouds. You don’t really know what you want.’
Now Julius was narked. ‘Were your crushes on boys or girls?’
Orisa reached across the bed and slapped Julius across the face.
‘Enough nonsense,’ Orisa snapped as she stood up. ‘I risked a lot to do you a favour and you try to turn it against me.’
The slap made Julius instinctively angry, but before he could growl back, he was shocked by tears streaking down Orisa’s face.
‘I’m sorry,’ Julius said, his eyes welling. ‘Truly.’
‘Make no mention of this again,’ Orisa said sharply. ‘Funny business will be taken to your mother, without mercy.’
‘I love Duke,’ Julius choked.
Doubt crossed Orisa’s face, but her tone stayed severe.
‘Your mother wants you four boys at church this morning,’ she said. ‘Wear your new suit and be ready at ten!’
EIGHTEEN
Maya and Rolf took Georgia all the way to her front door. She heard her dad snoring as she wobbled up the stairs, kicked off her All Stars and crashed face-first on the bed.
But the alcopops were stronger than they’d tasted, and the world refused to stay still when she closed her eyes. The swaying was better when she rolled on her back, but after a couple of minutes she had a brick in her stomach. It rose up her chest and she only properly realised what was going on a moment shy of disaster.
Georgia scrambled across the hall, mouth filling, then noisily spraying egg-yolk-coloured puke into the toilet. She gasped desperately, fearing she’d wake her dad, who was only a thin partition wall away.
‘Ahh, crap …’
She held aching stomach muscles as a second wave kicked off.
Georgia would have liked a shower, but her body felt leaden and she settled for a swoosh of Listerine and a glass of tap water. Back in her room, she tipped out her laundry basket and left it by the top of her bed as an emergency puke bowl, then lay staring at the ceiling and wanting time to fast-forward to the point where she didn’t feel like this any more.
It was light when she woke. Her throat was raw from all the smoke at the party. Her brain felt like it had swollen up inside her skull and she had dried sick on her chin and pillowcase. Her sweat smelled boozy and she dry-heaved as she sat up.