BEX
I’m not entirely joking when I tell Jen that she is one of the most fucked-up people I’ve ever met. It makes her laugh, which is good. But thank goodness I know how to handle her. She talks about that night, the night of her break-up from Laurence. I remember getting a panicked phone call from him, asking me to rush over. Jen had gone absolutely mental, he said.
I threw some clothes over my pyjamas – it was a hot night so I didn’t need a coat – and I ran up Lady Margaret Road towards his house. I’d been worried about Jen, about how she would tell Laurence the truth about her sacking. His voice sounded frightened, I hoped she wasn’t going to hurt herself – or him.
By the time I reached Laurence’s house I was out of breath. I rang the bell, kept my finger on it until the door opened. I couldn’t take in the figure standing before me – Laurence, his white shirt soaked through with blood, pressing a tea towel to his arm.
‘What’s happened?’ I asked.
‘It’s Jen – she’s having some kind of breakdown.’
‘What did she do to you?’ I said.
He didn’t answer, but led me into the kitchen. Smashed glasses and plates littered the floor. There was a huge red stain on the table. Jen was crouched in a corner of the room, a handkerchief clamped in her mouth, her hands pressed onto her head with such pressure it looked as though she was trying to squeeze out her brains.
‘Jen?’ I asked softly.
I gently removed the handkerchief from her mouth before stepping back. She took in a series of deep breaths as if she had just emerged from a long spell under water. It took her a while to know what was going on, but when her eyes focused on me she started to howl like a wild animal.
‘Oh my darling, it’s okay,’ I said. I crouched down beside her and tentatively held her.
‘I’d watch out if I were you,’ said Laurence, taking the tea towel away from his arm. ‘When I tried to calm her down she did this.’
‘What?’
Laurence took me through the rough sequence of events and how the argument had culminated in her biting him on the arm.
‘And did she tell you?’ I asked. ‘About the fact that she lost her column?’
Laurence looked dumbfounded.
‘She was sacked – yesterday,’ I added.
‘Shit,’ he said. ‘Those miserable bastards and their fucking cuts.’
I thought it was not up to me to tell Laurence the truth just yet. And so I left it there, for the time being, and helped Jen to her feet.