Read Online Fighting Back by Cathy MacPhail - Free Book Online Page B

go, is that it? I have to go out and risk seeing the Laffertys, is that it?’
    She waved her hands about to shut me up. She didn’t want to talk about it. But I did.
    ‘I don’t care what you do,’ she said.
    ‘I know that,’ I shouted at her. ‘As long as you can lie in here and lock yourself away, you don’t care what happens to me!’
    She suddenly sprang into life. ‘I tell you what! Why don’t you run back to your daddy? I’m sure he’ll cook up a nice meal for you.’
    ‘He always did!’ I yelled. And it was true. How often could I remember Dad coming in and him and me in the kitchen making a meal? He was a good cook. Had he only learned because Mum wouldn’t?
    ‘Well, just pop over to America and live with him – I hope the swim across doesn’t tire you out,’ she snapped at me viciously.
    ‘I wish I could,’ I screamed at her. I was crying now. Couldn’t stop myself. ‘He wanted me to.’
    ‘I wish you had.’ She was crying too. ‘And you seem to forget something, Kerry – I’m the one that stayed with you! I might not be your wonderful father, but I didn’t leave you.’
    ‘I didn’t leave you either, Mum. I stayed with you!’
    At that moment the doorbell rang.
    Through her tears Mum shouted, ‘If that’s anyone complaining about our shouting at each other, I’ll kill them!’
    I opened the door to find Mrs Ramsay standing there, looking very uneasy. Lucky it was me opening the door. If it had been Mum, Sandra would have gone bouncing headlong down the stairs. I stared at her in surprise.
    ‘Mrs Ramsay.’ I swallowed, then whispered, ‘What are you doing here?’
    ‘I want to speak to your mother.’ And she was pushing past me and thundering into our living-room. The room was a mess, I was never so aware of it until now. Cushions scattered everywhere, dishes lying on the floor, clothes draped over furniture. Mum had never been quite as bad as this. I began lifting things and stuffing them under cushions as soon as I followed Sandra in.
    ‘Who was it, Kerry?’ Mum asked. She had her back to us, wiping her eyes with a tea-towel.
    ‘It’s me, and I’ve come here with the best intentions, so hear me out!’
    Mum sprang round and almost made a leap at Sandra. I ran towards her and held her. ‘Please, Mum. Listen.’
    ‘Listen to her? She should be in jail for what she did!’
    ‘Look, hen. I know it wasn’t you who started the fire … everybody knows that.’
    Mum wouldn’t even give her the chance to finish. ‘Because you know it was you who did it!’
    Sandra shook with indignation. ‘It was not me! Will you listen, woman!’ She took a deep breath. ‘It was the Laffertys. They’ve been warning you to do what they tell you. And you’d better listen this time. It’s not worth getting on the wrong side of them. You must know that now.’
    It must have taken Sandra a lot of courage to come in and tell us that. I had a feeling no one was supposed to mention that the Laffertys were responsible for the fire.
    ‘If you know it was the Laffertys, why don’t you tell the police?’
    ‘I keep well back from the police, and on the rightside of Ma Lafferty – it’s the only way up here. Can you not see that?’
    ‘All this because of that day in Ali’s shop?’ Mum still couldn’t take that in. ‘I don’t believe it!’
    ‘She won’t let anybody hurt her family. And she likes people to know who’s boss, toe the line. And since this all started she’s been really vicious. For everybody’s sake you have to just drop it!’
    Something about the way Sandra said this, and the little bead of sweat on her lip, made me wonder even more if something had happened.
    It was the wrong thing to say. Mum straightened. ‘Oh, I see, so all this has nothing to do with Kerry and me. You couldn’t care less what happened to us!’ She paused. ‘Been threatening you too, has she?’
    And I knew by the way Sandra’s eyes widened that that was just what had happened. Mum didn’t