Ahead of his Time by Adrian Cousins (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

don’t want you here,” shouted Jess, as she stepped back a couple of paces to maintain the gap between them.

“Shut up, bitch. Make me a coffee and get out of the fucking way.” He pushed past her, stepped into the bathroom, then closed the door and slid the bolt across. Scanning the room, the only hiding places were in the toilet cistern or behind the bath panel. He knelt, took out his pen-knife and attacked the rusted screws along the bottom edge of the stained wooden board. The thin blade bent in the screw head. “Fucking hell, come on.” Folding the blade away, he flipped out the longer blade, but that was too fat to fit into the screw head. “Bastard.”

“What are you doing in there?”

“Shut up bitch.” He slammed the knife into the lino, stood and repeatedly kicked the panel in fury until it splintered and cracked.

“What's going on!”

Ignoring her, he stood on the toilet seat, lifted the cistern top and gently placed the package on top of the ballcock. It would have to do until The Filthmoved on. Paul yanked open the door and faced Jess, who was still standing where she was a few moments ago.

“Where’s my coffee, bitch?” he spat at her.

“Get out, get out! What have you done in there?” Jess bellowed at him, her usual confidence now returning.

Paul grinned and stepped towards her. With his face inches from hers, he placed his hands on the sides of her head. “Look, girlie, there’s no Patrick now to hide behind, so you're going to have to be a good girl for me now.” He roughly grabbed her chin, “You keep that pretty mouth shut, and you talk to no one about me. I ain't been ’ere today. You’re going to keep something for me for a few hours, okay? Now get your bony arse in that kitchen and make my coffee.”

Jess would normally stand her ground with Paul. Although he was a psycho, he never overstepped the mark as Patrick would have killed him – but he was right, now she had no protection. Her only option now was to make his coffee, then get him out of her flat as soon as possible.

Paul loomed over her shoulder, her hands trembling as she spooned the coffee in a chipped mug. His breath stank of stale cigarettes as it wafted past her neck, and he rubbed his hand across her bottom. Immediately, with the mug in her hand, she swung around and whacked it into his face. Paul jolted back as he swatted the mug away, which flew across the kitchen and landed on the cooker, cracking as it bounced to the floor.

“Piss off!” she screamed.

Paul stepped closer to her and grabbed her forearms, grinning with his mouth inches from her face.

Jess shuddered – the scene from the alley resurfaced – although it had never really sunk in her mind.

“Watch it, girlie.” He pinned her arms to her side, stuck out his tongue and licked her lips – she wanted to throw up.

“Nothing you can do about it, and don’t think you can go running to Patrick. He can’t help you even if he believed you.”

Jess shoved him away, “Piss off!”

Paul stepped back and laughed at her. “Now get another cup and make that coffee.” He rubbed the front of his jeans. “Then, as a thank you, you can have some of this.”

“Piss off, I wouldn’t touch you! You should be in jail, not Patrick. Even better … dead like your pervert brother!”

Paul leapt at her, spinning her around and pinning her arms behind her back as he leant into her ear. “Don’t you fucking talk about David, bitch.”

“You should have been thrown off the flats with him!” She leant forward to get away from the stench of his breath. “Those blokes deserve a medal for ridding the world of that scum brother of yours, and you should be dead with him!”

Paul spun her around again so that she faced him. “What fucking blokes? What d’you know?”

“Nothing!” Jess stared at his wild eyes, realising she’d blurted out in anger and to the worst person possible.

“Yeah, you do, you bitch. Who told you? What they know?”

“I said nothing! I don’t know anything! Let go. You’re hurting me!”

Paul let go of her arms but grabbed her chin and squeezed, causing her lips to pucker. “I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t start talking.”

Jess shook as a wave of fear struck. She thought of the baby inside her and what would happen if Paul became really violent. Jess knew this bastard was feeding off her fear, but her uncontrollable shaking wouldn’t stop. “Get off me ... I’m pregnant. Get off me,” she managed to squeeze out of her squashed-up lips.

Paul showed no reaction to what she’d said and didn’t seem surprised as if he already knew – but he couldn’t know – she’d only told her mother and Jason.

“You won't be pregnant for long if you don’t start talking.” He tightened his grip on her chin and placed his left hand around her throat. Jess knew this psycho would kill her without batting an eyelid. She had to get rid of him for the baby’s sake.

“I saw it happen … I saw it! Please let go of me … please.” Jess could feel her airways closing as he squeezed her neck. His eyes black and cold – devil eyes – he was going to crush the life out of her. She didn’t have the strength to fight as tears rolled and now accepted the inevitable would happen.

“What—did—you—see?”

Jess felt her head go light as the lack of air scrambled her brain. He let go of her neck as she gasped for air. Before she could compose herself, he grabbed a handful of hair and yanked it hard.

“I killed the last slag that lived in this shit hole. Start talking. Otherwise, you’re joining that bitch.”

Jess knew he would, and it didn’t surprise her to know he’d killed before. She had to talk