Page 90 of Crying in the Rain
“Kids, Adrian. Kids and houses and a fucking dog. All that time, I paid out so you could work for nothing, and still you wanted more. Yet you wonder why I’m angry? It must be fucking fantastic inside your little bubble, thinking the world revolves around you. But it’s never your fault, is it? It’s always fucking mine.”
This time, the fist made contact just below Ade’s shoulder blade, winding him. He doubled up and Fergus’s knee rose, but Ade’s reflexes kicked in and he grabbed Fergus’s leg, pulling it sideways and sending him crashing to the floor. Ade was out ofhis apartment before Fergus had a chance to move never mind retaliate. He banged on Mary’s door. It opened, and she pulled him inside.
“Call the police,” he gasped, still breathless from the punch.
“I already did, lovey. And Kris.”
On those words, Ade bolted.
“Ade! Come back. It’s safer here.”
“Need to warn him,” Ade said, hurtling down the stairs, out of the external door and straight into Kris.
“Whoa!” Kris grabbed him by both arms and kept hold.
“He’s…Kris…I…”
“All right,” Kris said calmly. “Slow down for me, Ade. That’s it. Take a breath.”
Ade was struggling to breathe at all, let alone deliver his warning, but it was too late. The door flew open, and Fergus stormed out of it, ramming into Ade and Kris hard enough for Kris to be thrown backwards, lose his footing on the kerb and fall into the road. Brakes screeched, and Ade screamed.
“No! Oh my god. No. Kris!”
He jumped in front of the stopped car, vaguely aware of movement around him, people running, blue lights. The car reversed and sped off, taking the blue lights with it.
“Mr. Simmons?”
Ade heard but wasn’t listening, his thoughts only on Kris. He crouched next to him, swiping away the tears blurring his vision. “Are you OK? Babe?”
“I’m OK. Are you?”
“Yes.” Laughing in relief, Ade held out his arm. Kris grasped his hand but then saw the burns around Ade’s wrist and let go, bearing his own weight. Once he was on his feet again, the two of them embraced and cried like babies. Mary and Benny had made it down the stairs and were standing in the doorway, watching.
“What a pair of pansies,” Benny said in a very loud voice.
“Benny!” Mary shouted.
Ade lifted his head from Kris’s shoulder, all set to give Benny a piece of his mind, soon discovering that Mary was already on the case and had clamped a hand over his mouth. Ade started laughing.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Simmons…”
Ade turned to look behind him. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t see you.”
The police officer smiled swiftly. “Can you tell me what’s happened here this evening?”
Ade nodded resolutely. “Yes, I can. Fergus Campbell forced his way into my apartment and physically assaulted me. I would like to make a formal statement, please.”
*
Once the policewere aware that Ade and Kris had been on their way to a night out, they took enough details to make the arrest and arranged for Ade to give a full statement the following morning. He and Kris made it to the pub before everyone moved on to a club. Not one person commented on Ade’s shirt being gaudy or out of fashion, though plenty took the time to tell him how great it was that he was able to come and how healthy and happy he looked. He was exhausted but determined to enjoy himself and drank and danced the whole night away.
At four in the morning, Ade and Kris staggered up the stairs to the apartment and flopped into bed, too drunk and too tired to consider anything more than sleeping.
A few hours later, they were up again, showered, dressed and talking to the police. Fergus had been held overnight and released on bail, on condition that he made no attempts to contact Ade, but it wasn’t enough. The phone calls started while the police were taking Ade’s statement, and they listened in, making a note of what was said before advising Ade to block Fergus’s number. This time, he did.
After the police left, Kris made tea and they sat in silence. Ade was trying not to think about how close he’d come to letting Fergus destroy everything again, but he was struggling.
“Do you want to talk about something else?” Kris asked.
