‘I have a family, Amelia. I can’t just walk out on them.’ She sat thinking for a few minutes before she carried on talking. ‘I don’t know. Maybe I could move in. If I’m being honest, things at home aren’t great. Some time out might be good. And at least if I was there with you, I would know you are looking after yourself and the baby.’ Tina felt a spark of excitement. Would leaving her husband be such a bad thing anyway? She was just a slave for them all and it’d show Chris this time, show him that she was sick of his shit and his unruly children. ‘Leave it with me for now. Let me think things through.’

Frankie trudged into school. It looked like he had a black eye.

Donny was stood outside and watched him walk past without saying a word. He headed straight to his car. Ged had been involved in knife crime and Donny was heading round to his house to find out more. He’d catch up with Frankie later. When it rained it poured in this place.

Donny was so wrapped up in it all that he didn’t notice the black car with tinted windows parked up near the school again.

Chapter Twenty

Clare was cleaning up; her anxiety was through the roof. Mr Knight would be here soon, and her husband was getting out of jail today. Her nerves couldn’t take much more. It was one thing after another. Everyone could get to fuck, they were doing her head in. She just wanted to be alone, to curl up in a tight ball and be invisible.

Ged limped into the living room, using his hand on the door frame to steady himself. That was all Clare needed.

‘What the bleeding hell are you doing out of bed? You know you need to rest. Get your arse back up to bed and don’t be stupid.’

Ged ignored her as he stumbled towards the sofa. ‘Nah, sack staying in bed all day. If the headteacher is coming to see me then he’s not coming upstairs to my bedroom, he can see me down here. It’s a shit-tip up there anyway, nobody is seeing my bedroom.’

Clare took his arm and helped him across the room. She couldn’t face a fight. You had to pick your battles.

‘Just sit down then. In fact, lie down I’ll put a pillow under your head.’

Ged batted her away. ‘Mam, stop faffing about will you? Just leave me alone, you’re pecking my head and I’ve only been down here with you five minutes. And you wonder why I go out all the time.’

Clare sighed. ‘The landline’s been ringing all morning too. Nancy’s been on about twenty times and Frankie rang too. Said he’d texted you.’