Page 75 of Fool Me Twice
“Yeah?”Zig braced himself for more hard truths.
“He deserves to make his own decisions about who he wants in his life.”Adam’s voice was quieter now.Almost gentle.“And the chance to protect the man he loves.Cos he does love you.Has done for years.He never stopped.”
“Fuck knows why,” Zig whispered.
Adam huffed.“I’m starting to get an idea.A very faint one, mind.Look, put your backpack down.You’re not leaving.We’re gonna sort this out.”
Si jogged down the street to Furious Ink, misgiving churning in his guts.“Come over to the studio as soon as you finish work,”Adam had said on the phone.“Don’t go to the flat first.Do not pass Go; do not collect £200.”And when Si had protested about Zig expecting him home:“No, he ain’t.He’s here.”
Then he’d refused to say any more and hung up, cos sometimes Adam was a bastard like that.
When he burst through the door, the first thing Si saw was Zig, sitting on the sofa with his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around them.He wasn’t wearing his Converse, and his feet looked weirdly vulnerable in a pair of Si’s Tardis socks.
The second thing he saw was Zig’s backpack, on the desk with a hard-faced Adam standing between Zig and it.Si’s heart sank.No wonder Adam hadn’t wanted him to go by the flat and find all Zig’s stuff gone.
“Gonna tell me about it?”he said with a sigh.
Zig glanced at Adam, then nodded jerkily, uncurling himself from the sofa and standing up.
Sasha appeared from the back room.“You can come in here.I’ve made tea for you.It’s in there.”She was holding two mugs, which she brought out for herself and Adam.
Zig took a step, then faltered.“Not sure I can do this.”He glanced at Adam again.
“Yeah, you can.Tell Si what you told me.About your dad, and what he wants you to do.”
What the hell was going on?How come Adam knew all about it and not Si?
Didn’t Zig trust him enough to tell him?But then why would he talk to Adam?They weren’t exactly besties.Si felt hurt, and bewildered, and really fucking worried.
He followed Zig into the back room.As Sash had promised, there were two steaming mugs of tea in there on the counter.Zig picked one up, wrapped his hands around it, then put it down again.
Si looked him in the eye.“What are you gonna tell me, then?”
Zig took a deep breath.“Adam said you know my dad’s here.That we talked.”He swallowed and picked up the mug again.
Was he waiting for an answer?Si nodded, not trusting himself to say anything without going off on one because whatever this was, it couldn’t be good.
Zig lifted the mug to his lips but didn’t drink.He put it down again.“Dad said...He said I gotta do one more job for him.You know.Nicking stuff.”
All the tension in Si boiled over.“I defended you!”
“What?”
“All this time, everyone’s been telling me you’re no good.Mum and Dad.Sasha.Adam.Even bloody Corin, who don’t know anything more about you than what Adam’s told him.And here was muggins, telling ’em all to lay off.Saying they shouldn’t go hanging dogs by giving ’em a bad name.”
“Huh?”
“Told ’em, it was six years ago you broke my— broke up with me, and you can’t judge a man by what he was like as a teenager.Told ’em to give you a chance, and you’d surprise ’em.Well, more fool me.Guess I’m the only one surprised, as it turns out.”There was a great hollow cavity in Si’s chest, and it hurt like nothing had ever hurt before.
Zig’s eyes were wide.“No, wait.I’m not gonna do it!”
“How come you’re leaving me, then?Cos don’t try to tell me you ain’t.You’d be halfway to gods know where by now if it hadn’t been for Adam and Sash.”Si’s eyes prickled, and he blinked furiously.
“I didn’t know what to do!”
“From the look of that rucksack, you had a pretty good idea.”Si folded his arms.
Adam poked his head round the door.“He’s buggering this up, isn’t he?For fuck’s sake.Si, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he was actually trying to be noble.His dad threatened you.”
