Page 1 of Strictly Friends
PROLOGUE
The clouds hovering over Brighton beach were even greyer than the overcast skies they had left in London. Watching the lone figure standing by the shore spinning stones into the foaming waves, Ruby scarcely registered the sound of the screaming seagulls overhead or the crash of high waves on to the weathered stone barrier of the secluded stretch of shore.
Waiting alone on the cold, damp pebbles with the wind whipping her long black braids into a frenzy, Ruby finally allowed her tears to flow unchecked, feeling their warmth slide down her frozen cheeks. The short dress she had thrown on in her rush to get to Griffin wasn’t designed for sitting on a stony beach, and she shivered as the icy wind sliced through her puffa jacket and thick tights. As she watched Griffin toss the last stone in his hand and then bend over, clasping his knees as though struggling to control his emotions, Ruby’s tears fell faster, and she gulped back the loud sobs fighting to escape her chest.
You need to let it out, Rubes. After all, this was why Griffin had brought her here today. This was their special place, and she knew he was hoping that maybe, just maybe, out here on this deserted stretch of beach, she would allow herself to scream out the emotions she had been too shocked and too numb to release since turning up at his front door that morning.
He turned and walked back towards her, and Ruby quickly wiped her face with her sleeve. Whatever pain Ruby felt, Griffin always felt it too and she couldn’t bear to add to the torment he still carried from his mother’s death.
He dropped down to sit next to her, the pebbles shifting under his weight, and reached for her hand, rubbing its icy coldness between his own. She felt the tears well up once again, and this time she let them run freely, her chest heaving with silent sobs.
‘It’s okay, Rubes. You can let it out. I’m here,’ Griffin said softly, and she stared down at their intertwined hands, noting the contrast between his light brown complexion and her deeper brown skin.
After a moment, Ruby exhaled with a long, shuddering sigh. ‘Why did he leave me?’ she asked baldly, unable to hide the anguish in her voice. Just saying the words was destroying her but she had to face the truth and try to make sense of what had just happened. Deep down, she’d always known she wasn’t enough, but after almost four years with Kenny she had finally started to believe she could be.
‘He didn’t love me, did he?’ she persisted, turning to meet his gaze squarely.
A shadow crossed Griffin’s face and he looked away, releasing her hand and raking his fingers through his cropped black curls.
‘I-I don’t think that’s why,’ he stammered helplessly, and she could feel his body trembling. He was clearly still in shock from her news and when his eyes finally met hers, she felt a pang of guilt at the pain she saw reflected in their depths. Griffin was her best friend and the person she trusted more than anyone in the world and, after reading the note Kenny had left on the kitchen table, her first reaction had been to jump into a cab and rush to Griff. But although he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, Ruby also knew better than anyone how badly Griffin was struggling with his own changed circumstances.
‘I’m sorry, Griff. You’ve got enough to deal with already and it’s not like any of this is your fault. You were right all along. Mum, Dad, Auntie Pearl...everyonewas right! I was an idiot to think it would last.’ She heard the huskiness in her voice, and she exhaled deeply, watching the cloud of warm breath quickly disperse into the freezing air. ‘Mum and Dad will be furious with me. They always said I’d rushed into things with Kenny, and now he’s proved them right.’
‘Rubes, you’ll get through this. You’ve got me, and I’ll always be here for you.’
‘Kenny said he’d always be here for me, but he’s not any more, is he?’ she countered bleakly, her heart cracking inside her. ‘Whydidn’t he talk to me instead of just disappearing? We have achild! How do I tell Jake that his father’s left me – leftus? What am I supposed to do now?’
Griffin threw his arm around her and cradled her head against his shoulder as the tears streamed down her face and her body convulsed with agonised sobs.
‘I don’t know, Rubes,’ he whispered. ‘He’s gone, but you’ll always have me. Ipromise.’
SIX YEARS LATER...
PART ONE
LIMBO
1
If she tried hard enough, Ruby realised, she reallycouldtune out the sound of the red-faced man talking at her from behind his desk. Like pressing the mute button on a TV remote, she had the power to cut off the irritatingly nasal drone of Jake’s headteacher. Just by focusing on the glasses perched on a nose with enlarged pores like seeds on a colourless strawberry, she could block his words from reaching her ears—
‘MrsLamont?’ MrHinton glared at her over the top of his frames.
Oops, how did that slip through?
‘MissLamont,’ Ruby corrected him automatically.How many times must we go through this charade?Sending her son to a Catholic school with quaint, old-fashioned ideas had always been a risk, but no-one had warned her that quaint included refusing to recognise the concept of an unmarried parent.
‘MrsLamont...’
Apparently, MrHinton knew how to tune out people too, Ruby acknowledged with a silenttouché.
‘I hope you have taken on board what I’ve just said,’ MrHinton continued, his pale blue eyes searching hers for confirmation that his words had registered. ‘Jacob’s behaviour is becoming a matter of great concern to us at StMartin’s.’
Hearing Jake’s name galvanised Ruby into defensive mode. No-one threatened – or evenhintedat threatening – her son while she had breath in her body.
‘MrHinton,’ she said, leaning forward in her chair and deliberately stressing his title to show that at least one of them could get people’s names right. ‘Jake is eight years old. Ofcoursehe’s going to get upset if some nasty boy tries to take the piss – excuse me, teases him about his dad. What I don’t understand is why Jake is the villain of the piece here instead of that little – erm, the other student?’
MrHinton was clearly not used to having his authority challenged. He took a deep breath, his face growing redder, and Ruby sat back, satisfied.Hah! Bet you wish now that Ihadn’tbeen paying attention.
