Mirror Man by Jacques Kat (ebook reader with internet browser txt) ๐
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- Author: Jacques Kat
Read book online ยซMirror Man by Jacques Kat (ebook reader with internet browser txt) ๐ยป. Author - Jacques Kat
โOi, you four, stop where you are,โ she yelled.
I looked at the group expecting them all to run off when they spotted her, instead, they started scuffling amongst themselves trying to pass a small bag onto the other. The skinny one of the group ended up with the bag and he was pushed to the floor in the commotion as the other three scattered in different directions. He also happened to be the kid who had kicked me earlier. She grabbed him by his collar and twisted it round in her hand it looked as though she was choking him.
โWhatโs this?โ she yelled and grabbed whatever he had in his hand. She reached for her handcuffs and pulled his arms behind his back, cuffed him then dragged him to his feet. He staggered as he got up and they almost went down together in a heap.
โItโs not mine, โe dropped it,โ he said as she inspected the package and pulled out a tobacco tin.
โYouโre coming to the police station with me,โ she said after examining its contents.
โI told you itโs not mine. It were Rob, Frankie and Mickโs,โ he whined.
โWell, theyโre not here now are they, you little squealer,โ she shouted for the gathering crowd to hear.
She pushed him towards the direction of the police station, then paused, she turned slightly to the side and gave a sort of wave even though she had her hands full. I made the rest of the way home on my own.
Chapter Nine
At home, I disappeared to my bedroom. I removed my jacket and hid it in my laundry pile, wondering if Iโd be able to get blood out of the denim. Then I went to the mirror to check my head, gently peeling back the plaster. The cut had stopped bleeding, and with the way my hair fell, you would barely notice it.
I lifted up my T-shirt and checked my chest and stomach. I had a red mark on my side, but no serious damage, and it only hurt if I pressed down on it. I had come away fairly unscathed for my first fight. Though I guess I couldnโt really call it a fight, since I didnโt take part.
I slumped onto my bed, and a mixture of relief and anxiety washed over me. Everybody had warned me this would happen, but Iโd refused to believe them. What would I do now? How would I know who was safe to follow and who wasnโt? The beating had shaken my confidence. Could I potentially fall victim to those I followed? Would I have to stop now? So many questions whirled through my head, making my temples thud and ache at the same time.
For now, I would have to stop all my efforts until I could figure out what to do next. Though the thought only filled me with dread and made my stomach knot. The happiness Iโd felt this morning had evaporated with a quick blow to the ribs. Iโd followed people for as long as I could remember. When I was little, I would be at my motherโs side one minute and gone the next, padding off after some stranger down the street. And now it felt as though I had to stop all I knew. I had wanted to stop, yes, but in my own time. Not because of my own stupid mistake.
I didnโt move from my bed, not even when Grandad knocked on my door asking if I wanted supper, as I hadnโt been down for tea. He told me heโd booked in a couple of services for Friday. Iโd told him that was great as enthusiastically I could, and I heard him harrumph and shuffle back down the hall.
I didnโt sleep well, only nodding off here and there, getting less sleep than I was used to. I tried reading the baby books Iโd borrowed from the library to drift off again, but they didnโt help much, either, and there were parts I didnโt understand.
To take my mind off the thudding in my head and the twisting in my stomach, I dusted the mirrors in my room, then decided to reorganise my music records. I currently had them in alphabetical order by genre, and by my favourite ones in that genre. I took them all off the shelf, wiped them down, then proceeded to sort them into alphabetical order by the artistโs name.
By the time I was done, the sun was rising, and I could only wonder if what I was looking for in the people I followed wasnโt real. What if it was just something Iโd thought up as a way to distract myself from the words Mum said to me all those years ago, for everything I was missing out on? What if Tina was right? What if I was perfect the way I was?
*
After my usual breakfast, I hurried to work, taking the shortcut through the orchard. I kept my head down, not looking at any reflections in shop windows. If I didnโt have a job, I would have quite happily stayed in my room after breakfast with my head under the covers until my world was back to how I liked it. But deep down, I didnโt think things would ever be the same again.
I froze in the middle of the pavement as I turned the corner. The Suit was coming out of Claudeโs Antiques, and the same horrible shiver ran from my toes to my scalp.
Crap! I thought. Iโd forgotten all about him. Iโd have to remember to include this sighting in my journal when I got home too. I hadnโt included The Skinhead. I didnโt want any lasting reminders of that disaster.
I watched The Suit as he tugged on the hem of his jacket before brushing the front of it with the back of his hands and repeating the same motion with his sleeves. He walked away with his shoulders
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