TRAPPED (30 page)

She’d taken a swab of Frankie and Johnny’s saliva off to the clinic in Park Crescent; it’d been simple to get it, pretending she wanted to test out a new toothbrush she discovered on them. They hadn’t thought it strange, they were used to her making them her guinea pigs; bringing home new creams, new hair products, new scents she’d bought from the shops. Frankie was nearly as vain as she was, even though he pretended he wasn’t.

‘Alright Gypsy, I look like a right poof with this face cream on. Get it off me.’

‘The lady in Harrods says it works as well as Botox. Says it’s great for men too.’

‘They saw you coming, Gyps, and they saw me wallet next to you. One hundred and fifty big ones on a pot of cream no bigger than a packet of tartare sauce in Eddie’s.’

‘Stop moaning and keep still.’

Even discovering that Frankie wasn’t Johnny’s father, she
might’ve been able to live with once she’d got her head
around it all, but once Lorna, Maggie and Harley were dropped into the equation, it turned into a nuclear bomb.

She’d escalated the feud with Max and Frankie into a monster, not allowing Frankie to put his guard down at any time, to the point where Frankie couldn’t set eyes on Max without some sort of argument. Even after Frankie had been stabbed; a direct consequence of the drink throwing in the casino, she still hadn’t been able to let it lie. She’d always tried to stir the hatred and sow the same seed of distrust into Johnny, only it hadn’t worked. In fact, it had done the opposite, attracting her son to the forbidden beauty of Maggie Donaldson.

Maybe if Gypsy hadn’t pushed quite so hard, Johnny would’ve left the Donaldsons alone. But it was too late to worry about that now. She needed to find her son. Speak to him and make sure he was alright. Then she’d sit down and think what to do next, but until then, the only person that mattered was Johnny.

Grabbing her coat, Gypsy walked out of the hotel and into the night deciding the first place she’d try to find her son was back at home. It’d mean having to see Lorna and Frankie but however much she didn’t want to see either of them, Johnny was her main priority. They could give her all the grief they wanted to. Whether they liked it or not, she was going to walk inside her own house to see her son.

Saucers was trembling. She tried to wipe away her tears and calm herself but seeing both Nicky and Gary lying face down, Nicky in a pool of vomit and Gary in a pool of blood, only made her tears come faster. She was afraid to go over to see if Nicky was breathing, which was stupid, but she was terrified he’d be dead. She couldn’t face that; it felt like it was her fault that her Nicky had ended up like this. If she hadn’t made him move out perhaps things might be different.

Knowing that she needed to at least try, she put her hands over her eyes then slowly moved towards Nicky, peeping through her fingers as she walked.

‘I’ll sort it.’

Saucers jumped round to see Frankie standing behind her. He smiled and gently touched her shoulder, moving her slightly out of the way, then leaned down to Nicky and turned him over. There was vomit coming out of his mouth, but when he put his face close to his, he felt the faintest breath.

‘Is he breathing, Frank?’

‘Just.’

Saucers got out her phone and Frankie looked at her incredulously. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Calling an ambulance.’

‘Have you lost it girl? Firstly, he probably won’t last that long if we wait, and secondly, in case you haven’t noticed we’ve got a bullet in the head over there. The Old Bill will be crawling all over the place if we call the ambulance. I don’t want that, and I’m sure you don’t either.’

Saucers nodded. She knew the score.

‘Here, hold this.’

Frankie passed Saucers his car keys, then effortlessly scooped Nicky up into his arms, carrying him quickly down to his waiting Range Rover. Saucers followed and couldn’t stop herself from starting to weep again.

Frankie didn’t say anything as he sped through the traffic towards Euston Road and the University College Hospital. He never thought he’d give the time of day to a Donaldson, but Saucer’s desperation and love for Nicky had touched him.

He hadn’t been able to do it; hadn’t been able to ignore the pain and hurt in her voice. He was going soft, but what she’d said had struck a chord in him. When he’d got into his Range Rover and driven off, all he’d done was driven around the block and come straight back.

Maybe the way he was feeling was why he felt a connection with what Saucers had said. She was desperate and so was he. His heart was breaking for Gypsy and Saucers’ heart was breaking for Nicky.

When he’d seen Nicky lying in the flat the second time, he’d seen just what a kid he really was. He didn’t have to stretch his imagination very far to know what sort of life he would’ve had living in the Donaldson household. Jesus, he was getting soppy. Lorna was right; he was losing it.

As Frankie pulled into Accident and Emergency, Saucers touched his arm.

‘Thank you. I owe you, Frankie; I owe you big time.’

Frankie looked at Saucers as he scrambled to undo his seatbelt. He didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. Of all the things he thought he’d be doing tonight, having a Donaldson at death’s door in the back and an overly grateful hooker in the front wasn’t one of them. A second later Frankie jumped out of the car, shouting for help.

‘I think he’s still breathing. He was when I put him in the car.’

Nicky was quickly put onto a stretcher and rushed to a cubicle, his face covered in a green breathing mask as monitors were placed on him. The junior doctor called out.

‘There’s no heartbeat. He’s stopped breathing.’

A rush of doctors and nurses started to administer CPR, shouting orders to each other as Saucers and Frankie stood back and watched. A breathing tube was pushed down Nicky’s throat whilst emergency drugs were pumped through his veins, and Frankie and Saucers held hands tightly as they watched the monitor continue to flatline whilst the doctor tried to shock Nicky’s heart into beating. His body writhed up from the shock of the CPR but the monitor’s output stayed the same. Then the registrar in charge made a judgement call.

‘I think there’s no point in continuing. I’m sorry.’

Saucers just stood there unable to say anything but found herself shaking Frankie’s arm violently, wanting him to do something, and for all his hatred of the Donaldsons, Frankie Taylor stepped up to the mark.

‘I ain’t hearing you right, pal. You stop when I say you stop.’

‘Sir, I don’t think you understand.’

‘Don’t I? I think I do, it’s written all over your face mate.’

‘I’m sorry, but it’s pointless continuing on someone like that.’

Frankie stepped forward, towering over the small Asian doctor, and spoke quickly. ‘Try telling his friend it’s pointless. When did saving someone’s life become pointless? Or are you making judgements on people’s lives, Doc? You might not like what you see lying there but to the people that love him, he’s a person. Their friend, their brother, their son, their child. So you need to keep on going.’

‘We’ve been doing that, we’ve tried, but …’

Interrupting, Frankie raised his voice and took hold of the doctor’s starched white lapels. ‘Then fucking try harder. I ain’t leaving here until you show me you’ve done everything you can. You’re going to treat him as if you were trying to save the fucking Queen, otherwise your colleagues here will be performing CPR on you. Do I make myself clear?’

The doctor looked around nervously, then nodded his head to the other casualty staff to continue to work on Nicky.

‘200 joules. Charging … Stand clear. Oxygen away.’

The doctor put the defibulator pads on Nicky again. Frankie wasn’t hopeful. He looked at Nicky and saw what a state he was in. His skin was almost blue. Track marks covered his arms. He was painfully thin and his face was badly swollen from the beating he’d had.

Frankie was about to turn to Saucers to say something but the sound of the monitor beginning to beep stopped him. A look of relief spread over the doctor’s face as he spoke.

‘He’s back in sinus rhythm.’

For the first time Saucers was able to find her voice.

‘He’s going to be okay, Doc?’

‘We’ll take him straight up to the ICU. He’s very weak and there’s no guarantee his heart won’t stop again, but he’ll be in good hands up there.’

Saucers and Frankie sat in the Range Rover in the car park of the hospital. Neither of them spoke. Both of them were drained. It’d been an emotionally exhausting couple of hours. Eventually Saucers turned to Frankie and smiled. ‘What changed your mind, Frankie?’

Frankie looked at Saucers and shrugged his shoulders.

‘Who knows? Maybe I’m just getting soft in me old age babe. Maybe all that romance stuff you read is rubbing off on me.’

With that, Frankie drove them out of the car park into Gower Street looking for somewhere to eat, wondering why all the fire engines were suddenly crowding the streets.

Maggie ran towards the flats, her scream carrying with her. The fire raged from the top flat and the billows of black smoke flew out of the shattered windows, blackening the already darkened skies.

She cried out to anyone who’d listen.

‘Help me … please! Harley’s in there, my daughter’s in there!’

She lurched forward to where the police and the fire marshals were standing, wanting to get nearer to the building, but finding herself held back. As she struggled to push through the human barrier they’d formed she shouted to no one in particular. ‘Let me through, I’ve got to get through, you don’t understand – my daughter’s in there.’

‘I’m sorry, madam; we can’t let you go in. It’s not safe.’

‘She needs me, please, I’ve got to get to her,’ she shrieked.

‘I know and I’m hearing what you’re saying, but we’ve got the best people in there working to stop the fire so we can get her out.’

Panic-stricken, Maggie turned to the stranger standing next to her who looked at Maggie with sympathy.

‘What am I going to do? I can’t lose her. I can’t. I should’ve been there. I should never have left her. What was I thinking?’

‘The fire brigade seem to know what they’re doing. I’m sure—’

Maggie, not really listening, cut the woman off. ‘Oh my God, Johnny’s in there too. ‘Oh my God!’

Maggie bolted forward again, this time managing to break through the small throng of people as she took them by surprise.

‘Madam, no!’

Ignoring the shouts she raced into the flats, and into the deserted corridor. Even though the fire only seemed to be on the top floor the whole building was filled with toxic smoke.

Coughing, she covered her face with her jumper and attempted to climb the stairs, but the higher she went the thicker the smoke became. Her chest was tight and she wheezed with each breath she took, struggling to pull clean air into her lungs. She felt a searing pain in her eyes from the intensity of the smoke but the thought of her daughter trapped inside the flat pushed Maggie forward.

Through her clothes Maggie could feel the heat. It felt like the material was melting against her skin but she continued to climb the stairs, hearing the firemen above her on the next landing.

Each step was becoming more of an effort as the air became denser. She tried to shout but her throat tightened, making it impossible for her to speak. As she reached the top landing her arm was pulled back and through the black smoke it took a moment for her to see that it was a fire officer gesturing at her to go back down.

When she looked at him her jumper slipped from her mouth and Maggie inhaled the fumes, sending her into a painful coughing fit. She held onto the banister feeling herself being led back down the stairs. Dizzy, barely able to stay standing, Maggie was unable to put up a fight and was grateful for the supporting arm around her waist.

The fresh air hit her lungs and she fell to the ground as the fire officer let her go before turning to go back into the building. Maggie lay on the floor, pain cutting into her lungs and throat. She couldn’t open her eyes; they were too painful, feeling as if glass was in them. She was hauled up by strong arms either side of her.

‘I think we need to take you to hospital, get you checked out.’

Maggie strained to speak to the police officer but the words wouldn’t come out. She just shook her head and attempted to open her eyes once more. The pain began to lessen as she blinked several times, managing to open them to face the policeman.

Maggie was led to the other side of the barrier and it was there that she noticed the film of black soot covering her clothing, triggering off the enormity of the situation inside her. She burst into tears, hoarse cries of pain between coughing fits. Shaking, she watched as the fire continued to rage, knowing every minute that passed was a minute less likely that anyone would get out alive.

Gypsy walked along the well-lit street and attempted to get through to Johnny on his mobile. She’d tried several times already but it was still going to voicemail. This time she left a message asking him to call but she didn’t hold out much hope; she’d just have to wait until she saw him and then
hopefully
he’d listen to her. Saying sorry wouldn’t be enough, but at least it was a start.

Walking through to Gower Street, Gypsy saw the fire engines rush past and in the distance she could see the smoke billowing high into the sky, coming from one of the buildings on Scala Street. Not wanting to get caught up in the commotion,
she decided to walk home a different way
.

The route around Great Portland Street was much longer, but it gave her time to think. She didn’t quite know what she was going to say to Johnny when she saw him. He’d be in shock. She’d had the last twenty-five years to think about it and
she
was still in shock. There was no doubt in Gypsy’s mind the way she’d blurted it out had done a lot of damage. It’d destroyed everything Johnny had known, and everything he thought he had.