Tammy laughed, but Stephanie didn’t.
‘I’ll get us another beer. What is it, same again?’ Wayne asked, standing up.
Tammy nodded, and as Wayne walked towards the bar, she lit up two cigarettes and handed one to Stephanie. ‘Ain’t he cool, Wayne? I mean, when we first got talking to him up the Heathway that time, who would have thought we would all be good pals like we are now?’
‘Yeah, he’s really nice,’ Steph said, sadly.
‘What’s a matter with you? You’ve been on cloud nine all day and all of a sudden you look like someone’s just died.’
Stephanie turned to Tammy and clutched at her arm. ‘It’s that story that Jacko just told us. I mean, if Barry has a history of buying presents and sweet-talking girls, how can I know that he can be trusted? My sister said that in Spain all the girls walk around half naked, and she reckons that Barry’ll be off like a shot in the summer when all the holidaymakers arrive.’
‘Don’t take no notice of your bloody sister. Not only is she a bitch, but she’s also jealous of you, Steph. She is envious of what you and Barry have, that’s why she’s saying stuff like that. I saw her face that day when Barry brought you that bunch of flowers when he came round your mum’s for dinner. She was furious, mate, proper jealous, so don’t you dare let her spoil things for you.’
‘What’s up?’ Wayne asked, as he returned from the bar with the three drinks in his hands.
‘Steph’s worried about what you just said about Barry giving that girl the presents and stuff. Tell her she’s got nothing to worry about, will you, Jacko? That cow of a sister of hers, your ex, has been sticking her oar in an’ all trying to twist Steph’s mind.’
Cringing at the mention of his underage ex, Wayne leaned across the table and held Stephanie’s hands in his. ‘Obviously, now Bazza’s in Spain, things can change, but even if he does date other birds, I’m sure he will still come back on his sixteenth birthday. Anyway, whatever happens you’ve got nothing to worry about – I’ll always be here to look after you. I’ll never leave you like Bazza did, and that’s a promise.’
When Steph began to cry, Tammy stared at Wayne with her mouth wide open. Thank God she hadn’t told anyone how she felt about him. The look in his eyes, what he had just said, the way he was holding Stephanie’s hands so tenderly. It all added up now. Barry Franklin wasn’t the only person in love with her best friend, Wayne Jackman was as well.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As Christmas approached, Stephanie became more and more concerned about whether her and Barry’s relationship could survive the distance between them. He still rang every Saturday morning, but was only ever on the phone for a couple of minutes, and his letter writing had dwindled to just one or two per week. Steph knew she still loved Barry, and whenever he rang her he told her the same, but Steph couldn’t help but wonder if her sister and Wayne, who had warned her not to build her hopes up too high, were actually right.
In his last few letters, Barry had mentioned a girl called Sally who he had become good pals with. Apparently, they were both in the same boat, which is why they had clicked. Sally’s father was a villain from Manchester and had fled to Spain because of an armed robbery that went wrong. Sally was very much in love with her boyfriend, Johnny, and had had to leave him behind in England. That’s why they got on so well, Barry had explained in his latest letter. Barry had also told Steph that Sally was plain, dumpy, and not his type at all, but Stephanie only had his word for that. Reading Barry’s letter again, Stephanie debated whether to wake Angela up and ask her opinion. Angela had really changed over the past couple of weeks. Not only had she started being incredibly nice to Steph, but she also seemed very quiet and tearful. Stephanie guessed that things weren’t going so well with Jason, but knowing how volatile her sister could be at times, she decided not to pry too much.
‘Oh, you are awake,’ she said, as Angela turned around to face her.
‘I’ve been awake for ages. I was just lying here thinking about stuff,’ Angela replied.
‘Look, tell me to mind my own business if you want, but I know something’s wrong, Ange. Is it Jason? Has he finished with you?’
Angela’s lip began to tremble. She shook her head, then burst into uncontrollable tears.
‘Whatever is the matter?’ Stephanie asked, as she leapt off her own bed to comfort her little sister.
‘I’ve done something really stupid,’ Angela said between sobs.
‘Just tell me what you’ve done and I’ll try to help you.’
‘You can’t help me, no one can. If I tell you, you must swear you won’t tell Mum.’
‘I promise I won’t say anything to Mum,’ Steph replied. Surely Angela hadn’t accused somebody else of raping her again? Or worse still, somebody had raped her?
Feeling terribly sorry for herself, Angela clung to her elder sister. ‘I think I’m pregnant, Steph. In fact, I know I am!’
Later that afternoon, Stephanie was sitting in Old Dagenham Park repeating the conversation she had had with her sister to Tammy.
‘Shit! What’s she gonna do? Did she say if she’d already done a test?’
‘Yeah. She said she sold some of her records to Downtown in Romford to pay for it. She reckons her period is over three weeks late and the test came up positive,’ Steph explained.
‘You’re gonna have to tell your old lady, Steph. I mean, Angie’s gonna need to be checked out by her doctor and stuff, and if you don’t tell your mum, he will. Surely, it’ll be less of a shock if it comes from you?’
Stephanie flicked her cigarette butt away and put her black woolly gloves back on. The cold December air was bitter and there was a frost on the grass which made it look white rather than green. ‘I can’t tell me mum. She will go mental. She thinks the sun shines out of Jason O’Brien’s arse because his parents go to church, and finding out he’s got Angie up the spout is enough to give her a heart attack. I didn’t know whether to tell Lin; she would probably know what to do for the best, but her and Angie don’t really get on and I can’t chance her telling me mum. I swore to Ange that I wouldn’t say anything and I can’t break my promise to her.’
About to remind Stephanie of all the times her younger sister had broken promises to her, Tammy opened her mouth then quickly shut it again. Slagging Angela off wasn’t going to help in this particular situation, so what was the point of doing so? Deep down, Tammy was quite pleased that Angela had bitten off more than she could chew for once. If anyone deserved to be up the duff and in shit street it was that horrible little slag. ‘So, has she told Jason yet?’ Tammy asked.
‘No, she ain’t told anyone apart from me. Is that Jacko walking across the field over there? It is, ain’t it?’
Tammy stood up to get a clearer view. The figure was a fair distance away, but Jacko had a distinctive swagger when he walked and there was no mistaking it was him. ‘Jacko,’ she yelled.
Stephanie also stood up. ‘We’re over here, Jacko,’ she screamed, waving her arms frantically.
Tammy watched Jacko run towards them. She still thought he was gorgeous, but had convinced herself he was only interested in Steph, which helped her immensely in suppressing her feelings towards him.
Wayne was panting as he reached the girls. ‘Jesus, I need to start playing football again, rather than just watching it. I’m so unfit. What yous two doing sitting ’ere? You been on the lash?’
‘Nah, Steph’s got a family crisis, so we’ve just been talking about that,’ Tammy replied.
Stephanie glared at her friend to warn her not to say any more.
‘What’s up? Tell me and I’ll