Lisa pushed open the door to the café and stopped cold. Roy stood behind the counter, and Dylan was there, sitting with his back to her. He hadn’t seen her yet. She walked straight over.
“Has he told you? ” she asked Roy, her voice low and hard. Roy looked confused. “Has who told me what?
”
“Dylan,” she said. “Has he told you what he did? ”
Dylan turned around, his face pale. “Told him what?
”
“You assaulted Betsy during sex. ”
The words dropped like a stone. Roy stepped back. Dylan shot to his feet.
“You need to stop right there. That is one hell of an accusation. ”
“It’s not an accusation. It’s the truth, isn’t it?
”
“No. You liar. You should be ashamed of yourself. ”
Lisa stepped closer.
“Back off. ”
Roy raised his hands, trying to calm the room. “I’m going to ask everyone to calm down, please. I doubt Betsy would want this discussed so publicly.
I can offer you my flat as a private place to continue. ”
Lisa barely looked at him. “Sorry, Roy. It’s too late for a discussion.
”
Dylan’s voice broke. “Lisa. I love her. ”
“Don’t you dare,” she hissed.
“Don’t you dare say those words. Love isn’t having your hands wrapped so tightly around someone’s neck that it caused them to have a stroke. ”
Dylan shook his head. “I could not have caused that stroke.
There’s no way. ”
“You strangled her. ”
“Dylan! ” Roy’s voice cut through.
“Come on, then. Let’s hear it. What’s all this about? ”
Lisa walked out, leaving the accusation hanging in the air.
—
Betsy lay in the hospital bed, her eyes half closed. The nurse spoke gently to Lisa, who sat gripping her own knees. “The scans have shown the stroke caused aphasia and dysarthria,” the nurse explained. “Aphasia affects the part of the brain that controls speaking, writing, reading.
In Betsy’s case, there’s also right-side muscle weakness, which is why she’s slurring. ”
“Is it the repairable kind? ” Lisa asked. “With treatment?
”
“With speech and language therapy, most people make a good recovery. Especially young people like yourself. ”
Betsy tried to smile, but the wrong words kept coming out. Lisa reached for her hand.
“There you go,” Lisa said softly. “You see? ”
—
At home that evening, Gary sat across from Lisa, his voice low and urgent. “What exactly has Gary got on you?
” he asked. “What do you mean? ”
“Call logs. CCTV.
Messages. You’re going to need to get your house in order. I’ve got a guy who can get your phone professionally scrubbed. Same needs to happen with Gary’s.
”
Lisa shook her head. “What? ”
“Sarah. Your life, your freedom is literally in his hands.
Do you understand that? ”
“I’ll speak to him. ”
“Do it today. ”
—
The Barlows’ kitchen was tense.
Sarah stood by the counter, arms folded. “We’re not taking out an 8K loan,” she said flatly. “Can we talk about this later, maybe? ” Chesney asked.
“Can you just imagine what the interest payments will be? ” added Gemma. “No, no, no, Chez. You don’t want to be getting into any of that,” Sarah said.
“I agree with Mum. ”
Chesney held his ground. “Can I just say one thing, though? ”
“You can say whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t include the word ‘loan.
’”
“It just doesn’t seem fair ripping him away from everything he knows, especially when he’s already struggling. ”
“Yeah, but he’s a bright lad. And state school’s not Planet Stupid, you know. ”
“I know.
It’s not about me being snobby. It’s about Joseph being settled. ”
“Chez, 8K is going to solve things for one term. What are we going to do about the rest of it?
”
“Wing and a prayer. ”
—
Mary stood in the corner shop, holding up a box of cereal like a trophy. “These are my Chocky Crokies,” she declared. “I have never once purchased them from Debs, but she obviously has.
Using my card. ”
George sighed. “Oh, not this again. ”
“This isn’t ‘again,’ Shuttleworth.
Reparations are only just beginning. ”
“Mary, I thought we’d agreed the cereal was communal. ”
“Oh, it was. In the far-flung days of truth and honesty.
But not now. Not now that we walk upon the bedrock of illegality, theft, and fraud. ”
On the counter, a brass lamp caught the light. Bethany reached for it.
“Mary, I’m very sorry, love, but that’s not for sale,” Mary said. “Oh, I think I’ll go for this, please. ”
Mary’s eyes narrowed. “These aren’t yours to sell.
”
“Christina,” said Bethany’s mother, stepping in. “For a woman with exquisite skincare, you are incredibly stupid. These belong to the house. ”
Mary snatched the lamp back.
“As per my Chocky Crokies, this is mine to sell because it was paid for with my credit card. ”
Bethany grabbed the lamp. “Get your hands off my lamp! ”
“NO.
MARY, ENOUGH. ”
Bethany pulled back. “You know what? I think I’m actually just going to leave it.
”
“No, Bethany, no,” Mary called after her. “Your whimsical lamp-girl aesthetic depends on it. Sit down. ”
Bethany kept walking.
—
Later that night, in the quiet of the house, Dylan sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands. Gary slid into the chair opposite him. “Is that true what Lisa said in there? ” Gary asked.
“Dylan. You need to talk to me. You’ve got to be honest with me. ”
Dylan didn’t look up.
“Sometimes I… during sex, I…”
“You strangle her? ”
“Don’t say it like that. It makes it sound awful. Abusive.
”
“What is it, then? ”
“It’s consensual. Everybody does it. We’ve seen it.
”
“Where? ”
“Online. ”
Gary’s voice went quiet. “Wait.
It could have caused a stroke. ”
“There’s no way. She was fine until the next day. I had nothing to do with it.
”
“For the record, not everyone does this. ”
“How do you know? You haven’t got a clue. You’re never going to understand.
We’ve done this before, and that never happened to you. I didn’t hurt her. And we both wanted it. ”
“Well, she can hardly consent when you’ve got your hands wrapped around her neck.
”
“Before, I mean. We talk about it. ”
“She can’t talk about it in the moment,” Gary said. “She can’t speak up if it’s becoming a little bit too much.
”
“I don’t hurt her. ”
Gary sat back. “I didn’t want that, and I didn’t want this either. And listen.
Listen. I can sort this out. You’re a good kid, and I know that in my heart. And I know it in yours as well.
”
—
The hospital corridor was quiet. Lisa stood outside Betsy’s room, phone pressed to her ear. Her voice was steady. “I’d like to report a crime.
Please. ”
