Chapters (48)
- Cover
- THEFEUD
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- 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
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
‘I’ll be back this afternoon. I’ll ring you when I’m through the tunnel. Tell your mum and dad you’re staying at your mate’s tonight and stay at mine.’
‘OK,’ Frankie said immediately. Even though things were getting awkward at home, with her mum asking all sorts of questions, she still couldn’t resist spending the night with him. Waking up with Jed in the morning was the best feeling in the whole wide world. Frankie said goodbye to him and struggled onto the landing.
‘Mum, I feel really ill. I’ve been sick twice, I think I’ve got food poisoning. Bring me up some medicine, will you?’ she shouted.
When the kids were younger, Jessica used to be frantic if they had any kind of illness. Since they had got older, she didn’t worry too much. She was sure that alcohol played a part in many of their little off days. They drank like fish indoors, so Christ knows what they were sinking when they were out gallivanting with friends.
Fishing through the cupboards, Jessica took a box of tablets upstairs. ‘I’ve got some Setlers. Take two of them,’ she said, handing Frankie the box.
Seeing how washed-out her daughter looked, Jessica sat down on the edge of her bed. ‘You’re having too many late nights and you’re drinking too much, that’s your trouble. You’re only sixteen, Frankie, your body can’t cope with being abused on a regular basis.’
Frankie took the tablets, and then lay flat on her back. She felt like death warmed up and a lecture from her mother was the last thing she needed. ‘I’m staying round Stacey’s tonight, but I promise I won’t drink,’ Frankie lied.
Jessica squeezed her daughter’s hand. ‘Don’t fib to me, Frankie. I know you’ve got a boyfriend and I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with him. If I’ve accepted Joey’s relationship, what makes you think that I wouldn’t accept yours? You’ve left school now, so you’re entitled to have a boyfriend. Why don’t you bring him round for tea one day, so me and your dad can meet him?’
Overcome by anxiety, Frankie burst into tears and put her head under the quilt. ‘Just leave me alone and go away,’ she yelled.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Jessica said no more. She stood up and left her daughter to her tantrum.