Amber by Heather Burnside (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

to her left buttock where it was smarting. She heard the slamming of brakes and looked towards the road, half-hoping that her mother had had a change of heart and decided to take her back home.

But it wasn’t her mother; it was a stranger, and he was winding down his car window. ‘You doing business, love?’ he shouted, and Amy stepped forward, ready to take on her first client.

52

February 2016

It was the first time Amber had been in the Rose and Crown since her decision not to work the beat. For the past few days, she had been inundated with calls and texts from Kev, but she had ignored them, desperately hoping he’d lose interest and leave her alone, but sensing that that was unlikely.

She wouldn’t have been there tonight if she wasn’t due to meet a client later in a Manchester hotel and she figured that, as she was in the city centre anyway, she might as well have a few drinks beforehand. Amber couldn’t remember if she had mentioned to Kev the name of the pub where she and the other girls hung out or whether she had merely referred to it as ‘the pub’. But she consoled herself with the fact that she had never known Kev to go into the Rose and Crown. He seemed to prefer more upmarket venues.

Tonight was also the first time Amber had seen Sapphire since her warning about Kev, and the atmosphere was strained between them. She knew she owed Sapphire an apology for being so sharp with her; she had only been looking out for her after all. But she didn’t want to mention it in front of Angie or anybody else. What Kev had done was best kept to as few people as possible. She didn’t want it getting back to him that she had spread the word about his crime.

Apart from the strained atmosphere between her and Sapphire, Amber was also on edge in case Kev did turn up in the pub. You never knew what to expect with him and she only hoped that, if he did show up, he wouldn’t do her any harm when there were witnesses around. The door swung viciously open and Amber jumped then swivelled around to see who it was. She gave an audible sigh when it wasn’t Kev.

‘What the bloody hell’s wrong with you?’ asked Angie. ‘You’re like a cat on hot bricks. And your phone’s not stopped pinging. Is someone after you or summat?’

‘No!’ said Amber, glancing across at Sapphire who flashed her a warning look.

She remembered Sapphire telling her not to let anyone know about what Kev had done. But Amber wouldn’t have, and she was a bit niggled that Sapphire’s warning look seemed to suggest she would. She wanted to reassure her, but she couldn’t while Angie was there.

‘Why don’t you switch it off if it’s bothering you?’ asked Angie.

As she spoke Angie started coughing. Amber was busy thinking about what she had said. She couldn’t switch her phone off in case any clients rang. She needed all the business she could get now that she couldn’t work the beat. Amber was missing the money; she’d had to reduce her drug intake and that was making her even more on edge.

She was so lost in her own concerns that she hadn’t noticed how bad Angie’s cough had become. She snapped to when she saw Sapphire get up out of her chair and slap Angie roughly on the back. Angie was wheezing and seemed to be struggling to get her breath. But, after Sapphire had given her a few slaps she coughed up the phlegm that had been blocking her windpipe and started breathing easier again.

‘Shit, Angie! You had me worried there,’ said Sapphire. ‘That chest infection isn’t getting any better, is it?’

Angie wheezed again. ‘That’s the trouble when you’ve got COPD, and it doesn’t help when you’re working in all weathers.’

‘I’ve told you not to work when it’s cold!’ snapped Amber, still preoccupied with her own troubles.

‘It’s fuckin’ freezin’ out tonight,’ said Sapphire. ‘I’d sack it if I were you.’

‘We’ll see how I go,’ Angie replied, sizing up the amount of whisky left in her glass.

Sapphire checked the time. ‘I’m off anyway. You take care, Angie.’ She looked at Amber and her voice had more of an edge to it when she added, ‘You too.’

Once Sapphire had gone, Amber noticed the time. It wasn’t far off her client meeting and she didn’t fancy waiting around for Angie to become drunk and incoherent.

‘I’m off too, I’ve got a client meeting,’ she said. ‘Don’t forget what Sapphire said: you’d be best leaving it tonight.’

She dashed out of the pub, eager to be away, not only from Angie but also from the persistent worry that Kev might walk into the pub at any minute.

*

February 2016

Old Angie stayed for a little while longer once the other girls had gone. Tired of going to the bar, she went just the once, buying three double whiskies. One of them she divided between the other two then left the empty glass on the bar. It was easier to carry them that way and made her drink problem less obvious to anybody watching. The barmaid, Moira, looked at her knowingly but didn’t say anything. Nevertheless, Angie was quick to defend herself.

‘It’s for my bad chest.’

She returned to her table as quickly as her persistent tiredness and breathlessness would allow. Once she had put the drinks down and plonked herself in her seat the coughing returned. Angie felt a sharp pain in her chest and her lungs crackled. She shoved her change quickly inside her purse and grabbed a tissue from her handbag, which she held to her mouth. A large globule of phlegm worked its way up from her chest and she spat it out into the tissue.

Then she sat back and tried to regain her breath before she took a sip of the whisky. Her lungs were rattling as she breathed