Black Monster

It was 3 in the morning Rob was sniverling again the other two could hear him, Megan wasn’t quiet sure why she still had the boys around her place, she’d been spooked by the police womans words and Adele had phoned her and said she wouldn’t be around for a week or so. She knew what that ment but ignored it. Adele owned the place, Adele was married and she Megan was… well she wasn’t entirely sure what she was. The boys hadn’t pried and she wished that Christine would turn up.

It was horrible, sickening to think that she had disappeared between her and the station. None of them had gone to college, none of them to the various part time jobs they had to subsadise living in London. They’d sat quietly drinking tea and hadn’t even had the energy to move onto the stock of harder stuff Megan had stashed about the place. Andre wasn’t asleep either he was laying too still like he thought it was a life or death thing. His eyes had been red rimmed.

He and Robert should have hated each other, she was sure that Andre had hated the other guy but now all any of them could think of was Christine. She didn’t even know the girl that well. They’d both been part of the origarmi club and she seemed nice, a bit frail in some ways but weren’t they all?

Megan gave up and went for a midnight shower. She let the water hit her skin, hot and fast and hard, maybe it would blast away the guilt she felt. She began crying, it was raw and they burned her scualding hotter than the steaming water. She stepped out to a room smoothered in steam, her skin felt tingly. She wiped away the condensation from her mirror and stared into her almonds eyes, they looked back twany at her. She needed to find Christine, it was her fault!

Any way she looked at it it was her fault, if she had been busy the Christian would not have come to Ealing, if she had gone to meet her at the station or in one of the bars then she wouldn’t have gone through the ally way – if she had just thought to say don’t use the ally way or if she had alerted someone of Christines failed appearence instead of thinkng the girl had stood her up.

She bowed her self over the sink looked up and glared at her reflection then she screeched and hit the rim of her sink with the flat palms of her hands. She hastily wrapped the towel around herself as she hard the clatter of feet from the boys. ‘I’m sorry,’ she called ‘I’m ok,’

She heard muffeled replies and forced herself to get dressed once more, her parjarmers were damp. She shivered. Exited the room, Rob was waiting for her ‘Edwins making coffee for us’ he said jestering with his eyebrows at the other room. She nodded slightly embarrassed and followed him. The coffee did smell good and she knew she wasn’t going to sleep.

‘I feel so helpless!’ she hissed at Rob.

His jaw was clenched he nodded a mute response. His eyes were red it enhanced their green.

Edwine handed them the mugs and topped them up with the cheap fortified wine and cream mix he’d found in the fridge. They sipped in silence.

‘I want to go and look for her,’ Rob said, Megan nodded.

‘I’ll go with you’ Edwin said automatically.

‘You can’t you need to stay with Megan’ the other boy blushed at his supposed neglect.

‘No he doesn’t I’m coming too – I can’t take being here, helpless like this.’ the boys hesitated looked at each other an then nodded.

‘Ok but we are staying together in a three – non of that horror movie splitting up business’ the others nodded and then they all laughed, it was subdued and embarrassed but it eased the tension.

‘Bit silly the way they alwasy do that isn’t it?’ Robert said.

The others nodded. The boys were already dressed they had no other clothing with them Megan didn’t want to point out how long they had been in them. It was her fault after all. She hurried off to get changed re-remerging 10 minutes later in faded green skinny fit jeans and a fluffy brown jumper with impractically big sleeves.

The boys grabbed their coats, Megan grabbed her shiny red wallet and pushed maroon boots onto her feet, they were solid sole and not the softer boots that were fashionable – she found she wore those out just using them as slippers.

The night was drizzling again, it seemed to have not stopped for weeks, it had been sunny for a brief two hour spell earlier on in the day but the ground and everything was just so sodden it seemed so bleak.

‘Which way to the ally way?’ Rob asked.

‘This way’ Megan said pushing past both of them and leading them down a side street, her gold earrings glinted in the street lights, she’d put them back in automatically as part of her getting dressed routine, now she wondered what she could have been thinking.

The ally was cordened off with police tape, a young guy in uniform about their age stood guard. ‘Can’t go through here I’m afraid’ he said.

They paused unsure of what to do, of course the area was closed down for forensics, Megan looked at the rain washed pavement and thought secretly to herself that it would be a pointless hunt in the rain, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Rob, he seemed to be shaking.

It was Edwin who spoke. ‘We’re Christines friends, Robs her boyfriend, we were just wondering if there was any news?’

The guy pulled his lips back slightly in a sympathetic non-smile. ‘I’m afraid not, you’d be better off going to the station for information though.’ Another officer appeared with a cup of coffee in a styrofoam cup, Megan thought how old skool it was not to be a large branded capped thing.

‘What are you lot up to?’ asked the other officer.

‘They’re the missing girls friends thought we might know something’ The older man looked at them shrewdly, decided that this was the truth and shock his head in a consolitary kind of way. Then he paused. ‘Is one of you Robert?’ he asked.

Rob stepped forward, ‘I am!’ he really was shaking Megan noted.

‘Could you come and look at something for me?’ the boy paled and the officer seemed to realise his mistake, ‘it’s just an earing.’

‘Ok’ Rob said. They went to the car and a bag was produced, the sort you bought beads in. Megan squinted to see it in the half light it was a little flute. ‘Christine’ Rob whispered and then he was pitching over, Megan saw him start to go and tried to catch him but he was a tall guy.

‘Shit Alfie Catch him!’ cried the cop. There was a blast of static as an ambulance was called via radio.

‘It’s her’s’ Megan said into the strange strangled silence.

Posted: Thursday, November 22nd, 2012 @ 5:32 pm
Categories: Uncategorized.
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