Sugar Secrets…& Rivals Read online

  He’s like a little kid sometimes, she thought. Totally engrossed in his game and not taking a blind bit of notice where he’s walking. He’ll stand in some dog poo soon, she giggled to herself.

  Kerry’s attention was suddenly caught by a figure making its way down the steps from the lane to the river. From behind Kerry thought it looked like a boy.

  What made him stand out was the way he was walking. Having reached the towpath, he meandered about ahead of them as if he was drunk, stumbling a couple of times as he walked. When the boy turned to look across the river Kerry could see his face in profile.

  It was Joe.

  CHAPTER 11

  SURELY NOT JOE?

  “Ollie? Ollie! Look!”

  Kerry ran towards Ollie, who was poking around on the ground for more stones to skim, and tugged at the sleeve of his T-shirt. He looked to where she was pointing and, although he could only see the rear view, immediately recognised his best friend.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s Joe,” he said, his face breaking into a grin.

  Moments later, his expression changed to a deep frown as he took in the way Joe was lurching from side to side.

  “Joe? Hey, Joe!”

  Kerry could hear the concern in Ollie’s voice as he began to sprint towards the sorry-looking figure ahead of him.

  Joe stopped, turned round deliberately and looked behind him. Seeing Ollie chasing up the path, closely followed by Kerry, he made his way slowly to the grassy bank and sat down.

  Ollie stopped short at the sight of his friend. Joe looked ill. His messy brown hair was lank and greasy, his skin was grey and his eyes had black circles under them.

  “Hey, mate, are you OK?” Ollie asked tentatively, sitting on the bank next to Joe. Anyone could see that Joe was far from OK, but Ollie knew him well enough not to push him into a corner with confrontational questions.

  “Sure,” Joe replied. “I’m great. Feel good. Life’s a blast…”

  His voice trailed off as he looked past Ollie to some point in the distance. He stared vacantly ahead, lost in thought.

  Kerry and Ollie glanced at each other, worry lines etched deep on both their faces.

  “Hey, would either of you guys like a drink?” Joe dug deep into the pocket of his combats and pulled out a small Evian bottle half full of what looked like water.

  Immediately suspicious, Ollie took a sip from the bottle and pulled a face. There was water in the bottle, but the overriding taste was of vodka.

  “It’s a little early for me, mate,” said Ollie, passing the bottle back to his friend. “I didn’t realise you were a vodka drinker.”

  “Neither did I,” Joe replied and giggled. He was obviously finding something amusing, though both Ollie and Kerry were at a loss to see what was so funny.

  “I haven’t seen you around for a while,” Ollie continued, his friendly tone concealing his anxiety. “What have you been up to?”

  “Uh, this and that. Nothing special. Out clubbing, having a few drinks, meeting up with some people…” Joe stopped, as if to collect his thoughts before continuing.

  “Me and Jim went to this place last night… you could buy triple hamburgers for a pound, I think. I had seventeen. It was cold yesterday, wasn’t it? For the time of year. I, uh…”

  He stopped again, and began fiddling with the lace of one of his boots, studying it intently.

  Ollie started to feel scared, really scared. Who was Jim? What was Joe talking about? He had never seen his friend in such a state. He was totally out of it, talking complete, rambling gibberish. Ollie knew Joe had been feeling down recently, but he had no idea of the depth of his friend’s depression.

  He must have it pretty bad to be using drink as an escape, Ollie thought.

  Ollie knew he had to do something, but he didn’t know what. He was also experiencing overwhelming feelings of guilt for allowing his friend get into such a state. For not even noticing that something was obviously so badly wrong in Joe’s life that he could end up like this. Ollie had to act before it was too late.

  Joe was lying flat out on the river bank now, his eyes closed, humming away to himself, his feet tapping in time to some tune in his head. It wasn’t too long before he was asleep, snoring softly.

  “I can’t believe he’s so drunk,” Kerry whispered to Ollie. “He could’ve fallen in the river and drowned if we hadn’t come along. Shall I go and ask Matt to bring his car along so we can get him home?”

  Ollie shook his head. He didn’t want anyone else to know about this.

  “No, no way. Look, Kez, you go back to the others while I try and get Joe home.”

  “Oh, OK. But what should I tell them?”

  “Anything so long as it’s not the truth.” He immediately saw that Kerry looked uncomfortable with the idea of telling lies.

  “We mustn’t let anyone know about this, Kerry.” There was an urgency in Ollie’s voice that Kerry hadn’t heard before. “Joe needs our help and the less people know, the easier it will be to get him back on track. I reckon the last thing he needs right now is to be the focus of attention. Joe would hate that.”

  Kerry nodded - she knew he was right.

  “Tell them I’ve gone off to get more food and drink. I’ll get back as quick as I can.”

  Ollie began shaking Joe to wake him up. “Hey, Joe, come on, wakey wakey!”

  “Oh, man, I’m whacked,” Joe mumbled to no one in particular, eyes still firmly shut.

  “Yeah, I know the feeling,” Ollie said. “I’ve done too many shifts at the café and record shop over the last few days. I think I’ll head for home. How about you, Kez?”

  “Urn, I think I’ll go back to the others,” she said, standing up and brushing grass off her jeans.

  “What about you, Joe?” Ollie carried on. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of gigs we’ve got coming up. And I’ve penned in a date for rehearsals next Friday. Why don’t you come back with me so we can talk about it?”

  Joe opened his eyes and squinted into the sunlight. “Yeah, sure, Ol. Whatever you say.” He struggled to get to his feet.

  Not wanting to make a big thing of the state Joe was in, Ollie pretended not to notice.

  When they got back to the steps where Kerry had first spotted Joe, she carried on walking while Ollie split off in the direction of his home. A mumbling, stumbling Joe followed him, blissfully unaware of the concern his friends felt for him.

  CHAPTER 12

  CAT GETS STUCK IN

  Catrina was bored with the picnic. Matt was sitting by the river talking to Sonja and Natasha about his favourite subject - himself. Maya and Elaine were having a serious discussion about eco warriors, and heaven only knew where Ollie and Kerry had got to. Cat was beginning to doze off in the sun.

  “Right, you guys,” she announced briskly as she stood up. “I’m off. I’ve got a hot date with a fireman tonight, so I must go and tart myself up.”

  Cat was lying, of course - she often did - but there was no way she was admitting that she had a pile of ironing to do for her mother before tomorrow. The lie just tripped off her tongue without her having to think about it too much.

  The others said their goodbyes as she left to make her way back to the flat she shared with her mum on the east side of town. As she walked down the main road back into Winstead, she spotted Ollie and Joe on the pavement opposite.

  Great! she thought. Someone to chat to on the way back.

  “Hey, Ollie! Joe!” Teetering along in her clumpy shoes, Catrina wobbled across the road.

  Ollie’s heart began to pound at the sound of that distinctive voice. An audience with Catrina Osgood was the last thing he and Joe needed right now. If she sussed something was up with Joe - and it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to work things out - it would be all round town before Joe had a chance to take his next breath.

  But there was no escape. Seconds later, Cat was upon them.

  “Hey, didn’t you hear me calling?” she said, grabbing Ollie by
the arm and linking it with hers so that they were walking three abreast.

  “Uh, sorry, Cat, we were talking,” Ollie lied, praying that with him in the middle, Catrina wouldn’t notice Joe’s dishevelled appearance.

  No such luck. Cat leaned forward to speak to Joe then stopped dead in her tracks.

  “My God, Joe!” she shrieked. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

  Cat hadn’t seen Joe since that day in the park when she’d tried to pinch his notepad; he was hardly recognisable now.

  Since leaving the river with Ollie, Joe had gone from talking complete rubbish to not talking at all. He’d stared blankly ahead, allowing Ollie to guide him down the road like a frail old man.

  Now Catrina’s screeching shook him out of his catatonic state.

  “Wh-what?!” Joe focused on the girl and was surprised to see the look of horror on her face.

  Catrina stood in front of Joe, blocking his path, and looked him up and down, weighing up the situation. Joe swayed gently in front of her. Then she noticed Ollie’s air of unease, as though he was wishing for all the world that she wasn’t there.

  “You’re out of it, aren’t you, Joe?” she snapped. “Whatever happened to Mr Boring, Mr Whiter-than-white Joey Gladwin? You lied to me at the barbie, Joe. You said you didn’t drink. Now you look like you belong with the tramps and meths heads down by the Sidings.”

  She was referring to the small band of homeless people, mostly alcoholics and drug users, who lived rough at the seedy end of town. The reference made Ollie seethe.

  “Shut up, Cat. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snapped.

  “Don’t you believe it, Ollie. You have no idea. I know damn well what I’m talking about, actually, I’ve seen it all before.” Catrina was red in the face now and Ollie could see the anger in her eyes. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her this livid - she was practically breathing fire.

  “What exactly do you mean, Cat?” he demanded.

  “That’s none of your business. But I bet I know a whole lot more than the pair of you put together. And take it from me, Joe, by my reckoning you’ve got very little time left to sort yourself out.”

  Cat reached out and prodded Joe in the chest. “Look at you! You’re pathetic, standing there out of your head. Was it worth it, Joe? Is it worth the mess you must be making of your life?”

  Joe concentrated his gaze on Catrina, now with her hands on her hips, mouthing off like a high court judge. He suddenly felt totally lucid and, for the first time ever, he wasn’t frightened of her.

  Joe took a step nearer to Cat. He was shaking with anger as he spoke.

  “While you’re standing there playing God, perhaps you would just remember this. You and your big gob have helped make me like this, you fat tart.”

  He came a little closer so that his face almost touched Cat’s. “Think about that the next time you decide to bad-mouth someone to their face. And in the meantime, WILL YOU GET OFF MY CASE?!!”

  Then Joe turned on his heel and lurched off up a side street.

  Moments later, Catrina burst into tears and ran in the opposite direction.

  As Joe gradually sobered up at home, he began to feel bad about the way he had shouted at Catrina. Studying the reflection of the stranger staring back at him from his bedroom mirror, he realised that she might have a point.

  He had avoided looking at himself recently; he knew he looked rough and didn’t need reminding of it. Now, the sight was enough to shock him into some hard thinking.

  Although the drinking had begun as a bit of an escape to start with - just the odd binge to help him forget his wretched life for a few hours - before he realised, he was drinking heavily every night, then at lunchtime, then both.

  He was intelligent enough to know it wasn’t doing him any good and he hated himself more with each greedy gulp he took. Yet it did help to dull the overwhelming feelings of self-doubt and depression that he suffered at most times, so it was difficult to find a sound enough reason to stop.

  The memory of him shaking with anger as he’d turned on Catrina brought home the depth of his emotions. He peered even closer at his face in the mirror.

  “What is your problem, Joe?” he asked. And sighed.

  If I knew that, I’d have all the answers, he thought. I’m an emotional screw-up, a complete waste of space. No one understands me - even Ollie doesn’t know half the stuff that goes on in my head. And what chance does Kerry have of getting to know and like me when I don’t know or like myself?

  “You know what you need?” he told the guy in the mirror. “You need to get a life!”

  Except that I’ve got a life… of sorts, he thought. It’s just that it’s fairly crap. I’ve got a mum who smothers me so much I might as well be back in the womb, a dad who’s not around and not interested, so-called friends I can’t even hold a conversation with. If it wasn’t for Ollie and Kerry, I might have topped myself by now. No wonder I get out of my head… who else would want a life like mine?

  “Not me, mate,” he sneered into the mirror, tears welling up in his eyes. He pointed an accusatory finger at himself. “You need to get back to reality and sort yourself out, Joe Gladwin. Before it’s too late.”

  CHAPTER 13

  OLLIE GETS A PROPOSAL

  Ollie would have chased after Joe if it hadn’t been for the fact that Catrina had only managed to wobble a little way down the road before she’d tripped over in her heels and gone flying. Much as he would have liked to leave the mouthy cow sprawled on her face, the sight of her blubbing like a baby brought out Ollie’s soft-hearted streak and he went over and gently heaved her up.

  Catrina grabbed Ollie’s arm for support, rubbed a bloody knee and continued snivelling.

  “So what was all that about back there?” Ollie asked, clearly bewildered by her vicious outburst. Cat didn’t answer.

  “Come on,” Ollie continued, a little more agitated. “Joe’s obviously having a hard enough time as it is without you coming along and sticking your nose in. There must have been a reason for it.”

  Catrina unhooked herself from Ollie’s arm, gave herself a quick brush down and headed off down the road.

  “Don’t push it, Ollie,” she snapped over her shoulder. “You don’t know a thing about me and you never will.”

  Ollie sighed deeply and began rubbing his temples as he watched her flounce off in a huff. He realised he had a cracking headache and enough stress to last a lifetime, let alone an afternoon. He wondered what Cat meant… then started worrying about where Joe was - a much more pressing issue.

  Then, realising Joe could be anywhere, and that it was unlikely that he’d find him, Ollie slowly made his way back to the remains of the picnic. Knowing his luck so far, he wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d all gone home.

  In fact, when Ollie did get back they were still there.

  “So where are all these goodies you were supposed to be bringing?” Matt called.

  Ollie had completely forgotten his story about going to fetch food and drink. He had to make his pounding head think fast.

  “I… er, that’s why I was so long, you see. I’ve been to three places looking for stuff, but they were all closed ‘cause it’s after four o’clock. I got back as quick as I could.”

  “Another five minutes and you would have missed us, mate,” said Matt. “We’re all just about to go. Cat’s already abandoned us and gone home.”

  Yeah and don’t I know it… Ollie thought ruefully as he went up to Elaine and planted a kiss on her lips.

  “Sorry, E,” he said. “I really didn’t mean to be gone for such an age.”

  “No worries, Ol,” she smiled. “Maybe we could stop for a pizza or something on our way home.”

  “Sure, whatever you want.”

  Ollie glanced over at Kerry, who was sitting with Maya, her back to Sonja and Natasha. She gave him a look that asked is everything all right? to which he smiled and nodded, even though it wasn’t.

&nb
sp; Ollie must have apologised another three times for his prolonged absence as he and Elaine walked towards Pizza Hut together.

  “I feel awful,” he said. “We’ve spent hardly any time together this afternoon. You came all this way just to end up talking to my mates.”

  “It really doesn’t matter,” Elaine repeated, also for at least the third time. “It’s not like we’re joined at the hip. Anyway, I’ve got a proposition to make that would mean us spending a lot more time together.”

  “Oh yeah, what?” Ollie was intrigued.

  “We-ell…” Elaine looked him straight in the eye. “I’ve decided that I’m going to take some time out to go travelling for a year, maybe longer. Why don’t you come too?”

  Ollie was taken aback - this was absolutely not what he’d expected to hear. He knew Elaine had been hankering to see more of the world for some time, but he had no idea it was so serious or that it would happen this soon. Or that she would want to involve him.

  “Oh, Ollie, it would be brilliant,” she continued. “We’d have such a fabulous time. Just imagine actually being in all those countries you’ve only ever seen on the telly - Australia, America, Russia! It would just be the most fantastic experience, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

  Ollie wasn’t sure how to react and he didn’t want to commit himself until he’d given the idea a lot more thought. Anyway, he suddenly realised, what the heck was he doing even considering such an outlandish offer when he didn’t have a bean to pay for it?

  He put his arm around Elaine’s shoulder and drew her towards him.

  “It sounds great, E,” he said softly, “but it also sounds expensive. And I’m skint. I couldn’t even afford a bus ticket to Brighton at the moment, let alone fly to the other side of the world.”

  “Ah, well, that’s where I come in,” she beamed. “Because you know my great aunt who died a couple of months back?”

  Ollie nodded.