Page 46 of Everything That Kills Me
“I’ll get help,” Jack said.
Out of Kubat’s line of sight, he secured the empty syringe in the shampoo bottle before he went to the door. Kubat would be aware of where he was and of what was happening to him—in somuch as he would realise he couldn’t move, though he wouldn’t know why—unless he’d guessed. He was being suffocated by a drug that would slow his respiration until he had no muscle strength to breathe.
Once Jack was sure recovery was impossible, he ran out of the room screaming. An attendant appeared almost immediately.
“Help,” Jack shouted.
Rafa came hurrying towards him.
“Kalp krizi,” Jack blurted.Heart attack.
Thomas appeared and Jack flung himself into his arms. Rafa ran into the room where Kubat was lying. A few moments later, he came out shaking his head. Jack managed to burst into tears.A useful skill.Though part of it was relief he’d managed to go through with it.
It had all worked. Now they had to get away without finding themselves under suspicion.
Jack retrieved his towel and the shampoo bottle and they showered. As they finished dressing, the manager of the hamam came to speak to them. Jack was still breathing shakily and leaning into Thomas, doing all he could to look traumatised. As soon as Jack even hinted that Kubat had made advances towards him, the manager visibly paled. It wasn’t long before they were ushered off the premises.
“Well done,” Thomas said. “Now you need to dispose of the evidence and make sure we’re not being followed before we head for the airport.”
Jack kept wiping his eyes as if he were crying as they walked away. Only several streets away, out of sight of any cameras, did he bend to tie the laces of his trainers and drop the syringe into a drain. A couple of streets further on, the shampoo bottle went into a bag that had been momentarily left unattended by a rubbish collector.
Finally, Jack led Thomas into a café from where they could watch people passing, and hopefully confirm they weren’t under observation. Thomas ordered coffee and baklava.
“Are you okay?” he asked Jack.
Jack nodded. The taste of adrenaline still lingered in his throat.
“How do you feel?”
Jack thought about it. “Satisfied.”
“Good.”
Eleven
When Zeph didn’t see Jack waiting outside school on Friday morning, he was surprised, then worried. Jack was always there before him. He’d started to rely on him being there to shield him from Rufus and Scott. As Zeph looked around, wondering where he was, Rufus and Scott moved in on him like raptors. Zeph did what he’d always told himself not to do and headed for Georgia who stood with Toby and a few of his pals. Except now he had to come up with a reason to speak to her. He slowed as he approached, hoping she wouldn’t even notice him, hoping he could think of something acceptable to say before shedidnotice him, because…
“What do you want, fuckwit?” she snapped.
For one brief moment, he thought about asking her for help. A very brief moment.
“Can we talk about Alice?”
“No. Fuck the hell off.”
Toby sniggered and put his arm around her. Why was it okay that they could do that without anyone reacting? Two girls hugging each other was equally fine, they were always doing stuff like that. But if two boys did anything more than give each other playful thumps, or cuffs around the head, the gates of hell would open and every homophobic insult those watching could think of would be hurled in their direction.
He slipped around the group to get closer to the doors. To his relief, he managed to get to the classroom without any trouble but when Jack didn’t appear before registration had been completed, he was puzzled. Was he sick? He’d seemed fine the day before.
Zeph wasn’t able to use his phone until lunchtime and only risked it when there was no chance of either of his stepsisters or any teachers seeing him, but Jack didn’t answer. He debatedwhether or not to leave a message and decided it would be okay as long as he didn’t say anything inappropriate, such asI want to kiss you. As if. He took a deep breath.
“Hi, it’s me. Are you sick? I’ve taken extra sheets in maths and physics for you. If you let me know where you live, I’ll bring them over this weekend…if you like. Hope it’s not Ebola or Yellow Fever. Obviously, I won’t be bringing them if it is.”
He groaned as he ended the call. What if itwassomething serious? It wouldn’t be either of the diseases he’d mentioned, but Zeph knew horrible things could come out of nowhere and turn your life upside down. He sometimes wondered if all the stress of him having cancer as a kid had made his mum sick, that in some twisted way, her dying was his fault. Not a good path to let his mind wander along.
At the end of the lunch break, he put his phone back in his locker. Jack hadn’t been in touch, but there was nothing Zeph could do. He doubted the office would give him Jack’s address, so he considered more unorthodox methods. Thomas should be on the electoral register. He’d definitely be paying council tax, so Zeph could try to hack into the council’s system and see what he could find. Though he was reluctant to dabble in stuff he wasn’t supposed to in case he was tagged and it counted against him when he came to look for a job.
Don’t get caught, then.
