Shannon stared indignantly at Vaughn. ‘I do know him! I was just bringing his jumper back.’
Alfie’s eyes flashed angrily. He ran at Shannon, grabbing hold of her. ‘It was you wasn’t it? You left it for me. Is this your idea of a joke? You think it’s funny?’
Upset, Shannon shook her head. ‘What are you talking about? Get off me, I ain’t done anything.’
Clearly unconvinced, Alfie pushed Shannon hard in the chest. ‘You think it’s funny to play with people, do you? Well I’ll show you what I do to funny.’
Shannon’s eyes filled with tears. She’d thought this Alfie bloke was all right, but it was turning out he was like every other man she knew. ‘I … I don’t know what your problem is, mate! I only came here to give you your jumper back.’
Alfie’s voice raised the roof. He bellowed at Shannon as he lunged at her. ‘Liar!’
‘Leave it out, Alf, she’s just a kid.’ Vaughn put his hand on Alfie’s shoulder, but he shook it off and continued to shout.
‘I’ll leave it out when she tells me about this!’ Alfie waved the letter in the air as he pushed Shannon again in the chest. She stumbled, falling backwards, landing sprawled on the floor.
‘You’re fucking mental, mate. How could it be me? I don’t know even know what’s in it.’
Her crying was like a hard slap to Alfie’s face, snapping him out of his rage. He scrabbled down to the floor, picking her up and cradling her in his arms. ‘Oh Jesus, what have I done? I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Of course, it’s not you. I don’t even know what I was thinking.’
Distressed, Shannon pushed him away, burying her face into her knees. She already felt terrible. Her dealer had ripped her off and charged her more than double the price for a rock, so she’d only been able to afford one, and the high had worn off quickly, leaving her feeling miserable and agitated, which was why she’d come to see Alfie. He’d been nice to her, and she didn’t really have anywhere else to go, but it was obvious that she’d made a big mistake thinking Alfie would be any different to anyone else. ‘Piss off! I hate you! I hate you!’
‘I don’t blame you, darlin’, and if it makes you feel any better, I hate me as well right now.’
‘You didn’t have to push me. I’ve hurt me knee now.’
Shame rushed over Alfie and it was only made worse by how young and vulnerable she sounded. ‘I know, and I was wrong. Well out of order. I’ll never do that again, I promise. You’re safe here … Can you forgive me?’
Warming to his tone, Shannon glanced at Alfie, wiping away her tears. His eyes were kind and maybe it’d turn out that she could trust him, maybe he wouldn’t hurt her again, but then, what did she know? For a long time she’d believed that her uncle Charlie and her auntie were kind and trustworthy until she realised that most other girls at eight didn’t have to sleep with men who were old enough to be their grandfather.
‘What’s your name, sweetheart?’
Against her better judgement, she muttered, ‘Shannon.’
Alfie smiled, seeming pleased that she was talking to him. ‘That’s a nice name. It suits you, and I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for bringing my jumper back. You didn’t have to. Can I get you a drink or …’
‘Hello? Alfie? Hello?’
Alfie looked at Vaughn. ‘Shit, it’s Franny. Look you stay here with Shannon, make sure she’s all right, and I’ll go and speak to Franny. The last thing I need is for Franny to see Shannon here … Look after her will you?’ And without waiting for an answer, Alfie quickly got up and left the room.
Seeing Franny standing in the middle of the empty club, Alfie feigned a smile. He wasn’t in the mood to start questioning her about where she’d been, and he certainly wasn’t in the mood for her to start questioning him about Shannon. That could all wait, because he had to admit it was good to see her. Really good. She was just what he needed. He walked towards her, then touched her cheek, before giving her a gentle kiss on the lips. ‘Hey, Fran.’
Franny pulled away and frowned as she looked at Alfie’s face: strained, his mouth bruised and bloody, completely dishevelled.
‘What’s been going on? What happened to your face, and what happened outside? The crate of empty bottles is all shot up. Has Charlie been again?’
‘No, nothing like that … Just leave it.’
‘Alf, clearly something’s happened. Just tell me.’
‘For a minute there, I was happy to see ya, but you just can’t help chewing me ear off, can you? I’ll see you later.’
Alfie grabbed his key from the side and stormed towards the exit and up the basement stairs with Franny close behind. He marched down Sutton Row but halfway along he stopped as he heard Franny calling him. ‘Alf! Alf, wait a minute, please. What’s happened?’
He shouted over his shoulder. ‘I don’t need this shit now.’
Continuing to run after him, Franny called out, ‘What is wrong with you?’
‘I asked you to leave it. Can’t you just do that one simple thing?’
Catching up, Franny touched Alfie’s back. ‘How can I, when I see you in this state?’
He turned to look at her, fighting the emotions that were overwhelming him. He felt the tightness in the back of his throat as he tried to hold back the tears. It was a joke – he was a bloke and yet here he was standing in the heart of Soho, blubbing like a girl. He couldn’t speak; he just squeezed his eyes tightly, listening to Franny talk, her voice quiet and warm.
‘Oh my God, Alf, please, you’ve got to tell me what’s going on. I want to help you.’
Instead of answering Franny, Alfie pulled out one of the letters from his pocket, handing it over to her. She read it then gazed at him.
‘Alfie, why didn’t you tell me about this before? Is this what it’s all been about?’
Still unable to speak and unable to make eye contact, Alfie nodded as Franny continued to talk.
‘I know that a while ago you said something about a guy being released from prison, but you never told me who it was. Even when you told me, you seemed on edge about it … worried. Do you think it’s from him?’
Alfie’s voice broke. He looked up to the sky feeling the rain beginning to fall. ‘It’s got to be. There’s only one person I’ve ever ratted on … Like I told you before, I ain’t a grass. It’s not usually my thing to go around snaking people out and landing them in prison, and besides, it was a long time ago.’
‘I know! But what I don’t understand is, who is he, Alf? Because this ain’t like you. Not the Alfie I know. Why don’t you just tell me who it is?’
Alfie shook his head. ‘Trust me, it’s best you don’t know.’
‘Well whoever it is, this guy must be a pretty big face to get you acting like this, though you know what I think, Alf? I think that all that gear you’re taking is making you more paranoid – jumpier. It’s making everything seem worse.’
Sniffing and wiping his face, Alfie looked down. ‘Maybe you’re right. My head’s a mess and I can’t seem to snap out of it, so what I think I’m going to do is take your advice: go away for a bit; perhaps I’ll end up investing in Spain again. Things seemed simpler out there, we were happy. And the Costa is hardly the other side of the world, is it? Oh, I dunno, but I’ll talk to you all about that later … Look, I’ve got to go.’
‘Where to?’
‘No more questions, Fran, I can’t deal with it.’
Franny nodded as she squeezed Alfie’s hand. ‘Okay, baby.’
Then finally managing to look at her, Alfie smiled, though his eyes were full of pain. ‘I love you, Franny. You hear me? You’re the best thing that ever happened to me … I’ll see you at home. I’ve just got to go and see someone.’
And with that Alfie turned and ran down the street.