Chapter Eleven
Stalking session number one came directly after school on Monday. Base had somehow managed to persuade his mother that he could drive her car without crashing, and it had slightly tinted windows, so it seemed like the perfect solution. I wasn’t convinced it was a good idea, but I was unusually willing to take the chance. I wasn’t prepared to analyse why.
We were in the car park before anyone else, watching Sully’s car, and it was such a lovely day that it seemed a shame to be stuck inside.
“Let’s hope he goes to a park or something today,” Base said, opening the sunroof. “It’s too hot for this shit.”
I unzipped my tracksuit top and took it off. The car was sweltering, and the air conditioning didn’t work. “Am I even safe in this car with you?” I asked.
“Afraid you won’t be able to resist me?” he teased. “Of course you’re safe. I’m an excellent driver.”
“When did you even get a licence? You’re like twelve. Oh, wait, that’s just your mental age.”
“Funny, aren’t you? Mam made me learn when she was pregnant, just in case I had to drive her to the hospital or something crazy like that, and I figured I might as well go for the driving test when I was old enough. Might as well try do what I can now to lower the insurance when I save up for a car.” He shrugged. “Didn’t think I’d pass, but I lucked out.”
“When was she pregnant?”
“She told me on my 14th birthday. I nearly passed out. He’s almost four now. She named him Francis, so we call him Frankie to annoy her, and now he refuses to answer to Francis. He’s a little cool dude though. Running around like a lunatic, climbing everything, calling me Base, and driving Mam demented. Great craic. And Damon’s ten now. He’s the quiet one, knows more than me about everything.”
“I always wanted a little sister,” I said wistfully.
“Nah. You’d have to share everything. I can’t even have a sandwich without the little dude robbing half.”
“I can’t believe your mam had another baby. I can’t imagine mine having one.”
“It was a bit of a surprise. After Dad died, nobody really expected her to move on. Frankie’s dad is okay, I suppose, but he doesn’t live with us or anything. He’s a bit of an idiot really. I’m more of a dad to the kid than he is.” His cheeks flushed red. “Sorry for boring you.”
“You’re not. I think it’s sweet that you help out.”
“Don’t have a choice,” he said, grinning. “Not if I want any peace. How’s your mam?” he added hesitantly.
I looked away. “Listen, Base, I’m not going to pretend that we don’t know she’s fucked up, but I’m not going to get into it either. Not any of it, okay?” I glanced at him, anxious in case he pushed me further.
“No worries,” he said. “But if you ever want to, I’m here, okay?”
I could see he even meant it. But that wasn’t going to happen. A movement in my eye line distracted me. “There he is,” I said excitedly. “He’s getting into his car with Aoife.”
“We need to do this carefully,” he said. “Have your phone ready, but I’m keeping as far back from his car as possible, or he’ll just be on his best behaviour.” He cocked his head to the side. “Not a bad result, actually.”
“Yeah, but the quicker we catch him doing something dodgy, the quicker we can let somebody else deal with him.”
He glanced at me. “He really scares you, doesn’t he?”
Ignoring that, I pulled out my phone and kept my other hand on the video camera Base had brought with him, as I attempted to calm the beating of my heart.
“This is kind of exciting,” I admitted as Base finally pulled out of the car park. Sully’s car was at least four vehicles ahead, and I feared losing him, but we couldn’t let him see us either. At least, not yet.
“It is a bit,” Base agreed. “Let’s just hope we get something out of this.”
“I’d rather hope there’s nothing to get,” I said softly. “I’m scared of what we might see.”
He glanced at me. “You’re different lately.”
I shrugged. “So are you. I think this might be us actually getting along.”
He laughed out loud. “Wow, never thought I’d see the day we got along.” He made a face. “Maybe not never, but lately.”
I wrapped my arms around myself as he got way too close to the thing neither of us wanted to discuss.
We followed Sully to Aoife’s home. She got out of the car and went inside, but he didn’t follow her in. He drove off, and we followed him for an hour.
“Does he know we’re behind him or something?” I asked, getting the feeling we were being dragged on a wild goose chase.
“Maybe. but if he does, then he might behave.” He made a face. “Unless he’s a vampire. Then he’s just going to be pissed.”
“Great,” I whispered.
Sully eventually pulled into a wealthier area we had already passed, making it clear he had been circling, and slowed down. Base pulled in at the top of the road.
“It’s a cul-de-sac,” he explained. “He’s either stopping here or turning around.”
His car didn’t come back out, so Base drove on a little. Sully’s car was parked in the driveway of a mansion, pretty much.
“This is where he lives?” I blurted in amazement.
“If you tell me he’s suddenly a lot more attractive, I’m going to boot you out of the car,” Base warned.
I spluttered with laughter. “As if.”
“I’m going to park down the road a bit, and we can wait and see if he goes anywhere else.”
“How long do we give it?”
He shrugged. “At least until it gets dark. I mean, unless you have to be anywhere. Oh, wait. Are you hungry or anything?”
“Nah, but I’ll probably need another energy drink if you want me to stay awake.”
“What are you, a toddler? Fine, until you fall asleep then. There will be other days. I mean, we could do this every day if you wanted.”
“I’ll have to work on Friday,” I reminded him. “Kinda need the money.”
I watched his neck turn red. “Sorry,” he said. “I should have done this by myself.”
His phone rang, and as he answered, the redness on his neck spread up to his face and ears. “Yeah, okay,” he said. “I will. I just said yes, didn’t I?”
When he hung up, he glanced at me apologetically. “I’ve to get some baby wipes and kid’s paracetamol on my way home. Baby wipes for the stickiness that follows Frankie around everywhere because he hates washing his hands. Medicine because he gets these earaches sometimes, and it’s so bad, we can’t run out of the pink stuff.”
I laughed. “Maybe we should give up for the day?”
“What if we go get the wipes and medicine and drop them at my place, get some food for me, some energy drinks for you, and then come back and see if he’s still here.”
I pretended to think about it. “Fine.” And after a minute. “I kinda had fun.”
“You need to get out more,” he teased.
“Can’t argue with that.”
“Hell, so do I. I can’t even stalk a vampire without having to go to the supermarket for babywipes.”
We glanced at each other and burst into laughter, a release from our earlier nerves. If I was honest, I was glad we weren’t following Sully anymore. The idea of him confronting us unnerved me.
We drove to a supermarket where we wasted at least ten minutes trying to find the baby section.
“Shouldn’t you be used to this already?” I asked.
“I am. I just get confused by all of the aisles.”
“You’re actually sweating.”
“People keep looking at us all judgementally.”
“Wow,” I said wryly. “You’d think you’d be used to that, too.”
“Get lost. I just hate the way everyone thinks they have a right to push their opinions on me.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
He paus
ed then shrugged. “Never mind. I’ll take these wipes, but I might have to go to a chemist for the medicine. I can’t see it anywhere. I should probably pick up the boys some sweets while I’m at it.”
“I’m sure your mother will thank you for the sugar rush.”
“Please. The medicine is 99% sugar anyway. I’m starting to think Frankie fakes the earaches because he’s addicted to the stuff. Besides, I’ll be the one throwing them back to bed in the middle of the night, so don’t worry.”
It didn’t sound like a joke.
“You really do help out then?”
He frowned. “Well, nobody else is going to help her. I help with the kids during the week, work at the weekends in my uncle’s garage whenever I can, and I babysit on a Sunday night so she can have a life.”
“Sorry, but when do you have a life?”
He exhaled loudly. “God, you’re annoying sometimes, you know that, O’Mara?”
“That’s been well established. Probably why we don’t hang out so much,” I tried to say it laughingly, but it came out deadly serious.
He stopped walking to look at me. “I’m glad we are now.”
I gazed up at him, wavering on the edge of something. His soft brown eyes captured me, but in a safe way. And that was the danger. “We should just ask someone about the medicine,” I blurted. He agreed, and we eventually discovered we had to get it over the counter.
We paid and headed back to the car in silence.
“You can wait in the car if you don’t want to come in,” he said, opening the door for me.
That flustered me. “Oh. If you want.”
“I literally just put it on you, Dev.” He laughed, shaking his head as he got into the car. He waited until I got in before speaking. “Fine. Come in with me, but don’t say I didn’t give you the chance to opt out when Frankie Sticky Fingers pulls your hair.”
“Not my hair,” I said, mock horrified.
“That’s if you’re lucky,” he said. “You don’t seem very lucky to me.”
“Why do I get the feeling you want me to stay in the car? That makes me curious. Very curious, Brian.”
He groaned. “Remind me why I don’t kick you out of the car right now?” he asked as he pulled out of the shopping centre. He drove carefully, kind of slow, and I hoped we didn’t get into any high-speed car chases. That amused me.
“What are you looking so happy about?”
I shrugged. “I forgot you were beside me for a second.”
He guffawed, making me jump about a foot in the air. “That would do it,” he said.
We exchanged some more banter as we drove to his house, and I forgot about how much I was supposed to hate him. I could put that aside for a while. For the sole purpose of taking down Sully, obviously.
Brian’s mother appeared harried and stressed as she opened the door to greet us. She barely looked my way, but I could see bags under her eyes, and lines of tension wrinkling her skin. “I need you to babysit. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“What now?” Base asked, unable to contain his frustration, apparently also forgetting about me.
She glanced over her shoulder then lowered her voice into a whisper. “Frankie’s dad. He needs me. I’ll be a couple of hours tops.”
“Mam, I had plans tonight.”
“I’m sure your date won’t mind if you rearrange it. Or she could help you, right?” She looked at me for the first time, a strange kind of desperation in her eyes, and I found myself nodding my agreement.
“Great,” Base mumbled. “Fine. Go. But this is the last time. I mean it.”
“Of course, hon,” she said, brightening. “I won’t be long. Don’t forget now, just a spoonful of medicine if his ears bother him tonight.” She pulled on her jacket and literally ran out the door, grabbing the car keys out of Base’s hands without even saying goodbye.
He dumped the bag on the floor with a sigh. “I can call you a taxi home,” he said without looking at me. “Sorry about the other stuff.”
“It’s fine. Family’s kind of important.”
“Yeah, but—” He let out a whoosh of sound as a tiny figure barrelled into him, almost knocking him over.
“Basey,” it squealed, pulling away, and I saw a little boy, small for his age, with eyes like Base, but a paler complexion and light brown hair like their mother.
“This giant is Frankie,” Base said, and he looked extremely proud. “Damon?” he called out. “Come meet someone.”
Damon looked like a smaller, calmer version of Base. His gaze was inscrutable, and I shifted from one foot to the other, embarrassed by the attention.
“This is Devlin. I’m going to call her a taxi, so be nice while she’s here, okay?”
“Dinner first, Base. I mean, please. Dinner first, pretty, pretty please,” Frankie said, and Base groaned, picking him up easily and sitting him on his shoulder.
“You mind if I throw on a pizza before I call?” he asked me. “It might distract him long enough to get you out of here without, I don’t know, a lollipop stuck to your hair?”
“It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry.”
“Come on,” he said. “Damon, pick some pizza out of the freezer. Frankie, you come with me to put the oven on. Devlin… try not to fall over any lego.”
I followed the three of them into the kitchen, sidestepping a trail of toys along the way. Their house was only slightly larger than my own, and while it looked a lot more hectic, it seemed a lot cleaner, too, despite the toys.
Damon sat next to me at the kitchen table after he picked out a pizza without much thought.
“You go to school with Brian?” he asked, still staring at me.
“Yep.” I tried to smile at him, but I was pretty useless with kids. I didn’t have a clue what to do with them. Especially ones of Damon’s age.
“Do you know Aoife?” he asked, and I glanced at Base, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was busy wrestling a three-year-old.
“Yeah. She’s at our school, too,” I said hesitantly.
“Where is she? We like her, but she doesn’t come by anymore. Did something happen to her?”
“Happen… No, she’s fine. Just busy with school and stuff.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Busy with school and stuff,” he said solemnly.
I smiled with relief. “I already have a job. School stuff isn’t as important to me.”
“Why don’t you go to college? I’m going to college. But Brian won’t because he has to—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Base said, his cheeks red. “Enough questions.”
“I was only asking,” Damon said, pouting.
Base ruffled his hair. “I know. I’m gonna ring for a taxi now. Okay, Dev?”
I nodded, but I didn’t really want to go. I wasn’t even sure why.
We hung out in the kitchen after Base called for a taxi, all four of us, with Damon still keeping an eye on me.
“I don’t think your brother likes me much,” I whispered to Base when Frankie grew bored of trying to climb up his back.
He glanced at Damon and shook his head. “He hasn’t decided yet.”
“I’m not really good with boys. How do I make him like me?”
Base tried to hide his smile, but I knew he was laughing at me.
“Oh, shut up,” I said. “I was only—”
“I know,” he said. “I’m just surprised you would even make an effort.”
I frowned at him before realising that was exactly what I usually wanted people to think of me. So what had changed?
“Eevee’s more pretty than you,” Frankie announced while Base checked on the pizza. He widened his arms into an outward stretch. “This many more.”
“That’s rude, Frankie,” Damon said. “They’re just different.” He turned to me, making a disgusted face. “He thinks Aoife’s his girlfriend.”
“Ew,” I whispered. “Girl germs.”
Damon ga
ve me his first smile, and I felt as though I had won at something.
Base made his brothers sit at the table with a slice of pizza each, and a beep outside alerted us to the taxi. The boys didn’t seem to notice my goodbye, and Base walked me out to the car.
He dug into his pocket and tried to hand me some money for the taxi, but I held up my hand.
“Don’t be stupid. I have it.”
“Sorry again,” he said. “About having to cancel the plan.”
“Doesn’t matter. I, um, I liked your brothers.”
He grinned. “Not bad, are they?” He rubbed the back of his head, and I didn’t quite know what to say. Luckily, the taxi driver beeped again.
“Well, see you,” I said and got into the taxi. As the car drove away from Base, I felt a little pang.
At home, Mam had makeup on and her hair blow-dried straight, perfume pervading the entire house. “I’m off out,” she said. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, love. I’m just going out to meet some friends.”
Translation: A date.
Base rang me not long after she left.
“Just making sure you got home okay,” he said sheepishly.
I aimed for a scathing laugh, but it came out too shaky. “I’m actually capable of taking a taxi home without getting myself into trouble.”
“You okay? You sound odd.”
“It’s nothing. My mother just went out on a date, and it’s—”
“Gross? Squickworthy? Tell me about it. I have a three-year-old brother.”
We spoke for a while, about nothing in particular, and when he hung up, I felt that strange pang again.
Mam didn’t come home that night, but I sat up waiting anyway, my duvet wrapped around me, and all of the lights switched on. I didn’t know what I was so scared of, not exactly, but the sense that I wasn’t entirely alone kept me awake even when darkness receded and dawn began to break across the sky.