Goodbye Ruby Tuesday (32 page)

‘Okay,’ she shrugged, ‘but what about an apprenticeship or something?’

He was weakening a little, she could tell, that same way of shifting his weight from side to side when he wanted a hug or a word of encouragement, but didn’t want to explain himself or seem weak. Some things didn’t change. She nudged his shoulder gently.

‘There’s a ‘pprenticeship goin’ at the garage. My teacher says I’d be good. He’ll write me a recommendation if I get the grades.’

‘Will you get the grades?’

Tyler huffed, shrugging half heartedly.

‘Is it that it’s too difficult, or you’re letting your dickhead mates fuck with your future?’

Tyler scowled at her, ‘they’re my mates! We spend all day in school. It’s crap and pointless.’

Chelsea took a deep breath to give herself the patience to proceed. She knew she’d have to go carefully.

‘Babe, it’s the only way. What else you gonna do? Sell a bit of weed on the side and get nicked, like everyone else?’ She tried to stop herself rambling, ‘an apprenticeship could set you up! You’d be qualified, you could always learn more and specialise - work on Ferraris one day or something! Can you imagine?’

Tyler looked at her with a strange mixture of exasperation and affection, ‘you’re such a bloody dreamer. I think it’d be nice to work down at the garage and you start going on about Ferraris. Have you ever seen a fucking Ferrari drive into Mike’s garage?’

‘If it did, it’d come out in parts,’ she laughed, and watched as his lips tilted up briefly.

‘So get the grades, what’s the problem?’

‘Mum says it doesn’t pay enough. She’s waited for me to get out and work and it’s less than a job at the chippy.’

Chelsea growled a little, stubbing out the fag on the windowsill and turning to her little brother. ‘Tell her you spoke to your careers person and he’s found a way to get you more money for working there, a subsidy or a grant or something,’ she exhaled. ‘I’ll pay the difference into your account.’

Tyler looked at her, surprised and wary.

‘That’s not money for you to go boozing. It’s so you can get ahead and Mum can’t stop you. And don’t you fucking breathe a word to her.’

‘But Chels-’

‘You get the grades, you get on the program, and I’ll even out the money. But you drop out and you don’t bother, I’m not helping you with shit. Got it?’

He nodded sombrely and she caught his eye, holding out her hand.

‘Deal?’

Tyler nodded and shook her hand. She took the chance to pull him in for a hug.

‘Good choice dickhead. Now come downstairs for some birthday cake before I kill Mum.’

Tyler went to follow her, then paused, ‘Chels, you know Dad’s been asking about you. They think he’ll be out soon.’

‘And then he’ll do something stupid and be back in again,’ Chelsea shrugged, ‘what’s the point?’

‘I dunno, he’s family?’

She looked at her younger brother, ‘is it important to you that I see him?’

Ty shrugged, looking outraged at the question, ‘I don’t care, do what you want.’

‘I’ll think about it.’

The rest of the afternoon passed easily enough into the evening with Jermaine chattering away about his birthday wishes, and Kai playing with Chelsea on the floor. When the time came to go, Tyler offered to walk her to the train station.

They didn’t talk - it seemed pointless trying to catch up on lives that barely made sense to the other. He looked at her like she was from a different world, one that didn’t know anything about how he lived. But the truth was, Chelsea had always existed in a different world, even when she was stuck on that estate in Badgeley.

CARINA™

ISBN: 978 1 474 05444 7

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

© 2016 A.L. Michael

by Carina, an imprint of HarperCollins
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