Cyclist

Broken Wings 56

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CHAPTER 56
Cathy and Nell had left us with one mumbled apology, and that was for their failure to pack up and head home immediately after their term had finished. Nell in particular had done her unsuccessful best to hide a sly smile.

“Leo’s never been to Scotland, so, well… lot’s of places to explore”

Cathy had burst out laughing at that remark, leaving Nell blushing even more fiercely than she had done at that infamous New Year’s Eve party. She started to stammer something else, and I shut her up with a hug and a finger to her lips.



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This story is 102 words long.

Broken Wings 55

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CHAPTER 55
In the end, it was Charlie who made the bridge that brought Tiff to us. The latest girl had done her best, holding her hand out to Gemma, but it was Charlie she clicked with. I suspected it was mostly to do with their shared experience of the man that the latter, with an increasing prickliness, started calling ‘That wonky-eyed cunt’.

Whatever the reason, they seemed to work well together, and the only time that I really saw the damage that had been done was in the simple fact that neither of them would ever leave the House. Not for any form of schooling, not to go shopping, not for a night out at the Smugglers. Just not, ever.



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This story is 120 words long.

Broken Wings 54

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CHAPTER 54
To my surprise, Tiff wouldn’t talk to me when she first arrived. A small, huddled figure reeking of fear, she almost clung to Kim, who looked at me over the child’s shoulder with a little smile that clearly said “Leave me to deal with her”

“Tiff?”

“Yeah?”

“Going to take you out the back. Quieter there, just us girls, OK?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That OK?”

“S’pose so… Is there a door?”



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This story is 74 words long.

Broken Wings 53

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CHAPTER 53
I managed to wrestle down the words that all but shot out of my mouth, because there was so little space between the words ‘Charlie’ and ‘rape’.

“Kim?”

“Yes, Nana?”

Shit. That was getting too well established. Not now, though.



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This story is 41 words long.

Broken Wings 52

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CHAPTER 52
Heidi came over a week later, having spent some time digging out the necessary paperwork Frank had asked for. We settled down in the kitchen cum airlock with a cuppa and, purely by the slightest of random coincidences, a couple of Gemma’s treats

“Took some time with one of the family court judges, Debbie. He’s someone I’ve dealt with before, a bit more switched on than most of the others. This is good! Would it, by any chance, be some of Gemma’s work?”

I grinned and nodded.



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This story is 92 words long.

Broken Wings 51

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CHAPTER 51
He looked up from his till, mouth open slightly, and I could see him trying to make sense of what was in front of him. After a couple of seconds, he shook himself and offered up a slightly puzzled smile.

“Debbie?”

I tried not to grimace, keeping my own smile as genuine as I could manage.

“How are you keeping?”



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This story is 61 words long.

Broken Wings 50

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CHAPTER 50
There was an inquest, of course, and by that I mean the one in Heidi’s office. Paul dropped me a word after we had returned from the mountains, and I was relieved to hear that two women I had grown to feel a deep affection for were out of the firing line. It wouldn’t be the last time we lost a girl, by far, but at least that time we had someone to blame, blame properly, rather than a family member.

Enough on that subject. Old wounds still hurt, hurt even more, when they are opened again.



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This story is 100 words long.

Broken Wings 49

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CHAPTER 49
I understood her sudden stop, so I left it there. As long as she could make it, I would be more than satisfied. I started the usual process of checking for any new gear we would need, such as boots, and ran the idea past Nita. She was in a dark mood when we met up at Tesco’s, as I took a break in their store café.

“Heidi is furious, Deb. Absolutely livid, and I think she is looking for a disciplinary against the lazy cow”



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This story is 88 words long.

Broken Wings 48

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CHAPTER 48
Three days after that, on a rest day from work, there was a hammering at the back door. When I looked through the spyhole, Sparky was standing outside in the light rain that had made the last few days a miserable experience. I quickly unlocked everything and waved him into the warmth of the kitchen, but before I could offer him a cuppa he was holding up a hand for silence.

“You got a number for that copper of yours, Debbie?”

“Paul? Yes. What’s up, love?”



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This story is 88 words long.

Broken Wings 47

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CHAPTER 47
I waited until his car was out of sight, before approaching Alicia and Heidi, who was on her phone.

“Yes… yes… Thanks. Hang on a second”

She raised her eyes to mine.

“Paul is following him to see where he goes. So far, it looks as if he’s heading out of the city. Now, would you be happy if Anita and him come back to yours in a bit? Council of war, if you take my meaning?”



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This story is 79 words long.

Broken Wings 46

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CHAPTER 46
I could see some of Alicia’s face in him, but he was much taller, his hair a shade lighter, what was left of it. He paused immediately in front of me for a few seconds as he scanned the room, looking for his ‘son’, no doubt. I looked over to Alicia, and caught her nudging Heidi. That answered one question, at least, for I had wondered whether he had been sitting in her office for his chats or if she had been keeping the same arms’ length relationship that I tried to. One Dearest Daddy calling at the House had been more than enough.

Heidi turned to Alicia, and I could read her mind as her eyebrows lifted in mute enquiry: are you sure about this?



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This story is 128 words long.

Broken Wings 45

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CHAPTER 45
I looked across to Kim, whose face was twisting a little, and I absolutely no need to ask her the reason. Abruptly, she stood up and left the room, heading for either the kitchen or the back door. Shit. I touched my face, where that bruise had lingered for far too long. Give her a minute, then go after her, see she was okay.

To my surprise, the kitchen door opened again after about thirty seconds, and she called across to Alicia.



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This story is 83 words long.

Broken Wings 44

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CHAPTER 44
The weather was once more closing in, along with the calendar. I was getting old, I realised, and everything was telescoping. Time was shortening, each month flying past, but the House was buzzing with life, each of my girls opening up at their own rate, but opening, nevertheless. They formed a little phalanx each morning as they headed off to the school Heidi had found for them, and while I was still working my full range of duties for Bert, I was spending very little time at Ruth’s. It had always been my go-to for a decent breakfast, but with so many teenagers to be fed each morning, it would have been awkward. Fester would have lost his mind, though, over what they chose to eat.



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This story is 128 words long.

Broken Wings 43

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CHAPTER 43
As Alicia disappeared, I turned back to Kim.

“Spill them, then. All those beans I can hear rattling around. Late?”

She turned back to the stove, trying to appear intent on her cooking.

“Nothing really. Just going to the pictures”

“With?”



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This story is 42 words long.

Broken Wings 42

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CHAPTER 42
I will freely admit that I was terrified. The girls had not been living as themselves for that long, and so far it had been in a protective bubble. Their sixth form studies had been just down the road from the rest of us, and there had always been an available escape route in the forms of Marlene and Ruth. Their new place would be without such safety nets, as well as being a long way away from us. Oily and the rest had gone above and beyond the expected in sorting out their little car, and they still had each other to look to at University, but I was still sweating blood until their first return home for a weekend.



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Broken Wings 41

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CHAPTER 41
Cathy turned out to have been absolutely right about the break doing wonders for their exam chances, or else the two girls were ferociously bright. I had guessed that about Cathy on first meeting her, but Nell’s softly-spoken manner hadn’t revealed the true depth of her own intellect. I actually felt a little bit of resentment at their results (all ‘A’ grades!), with a little bit of snarkiness about how two girls from a children’s home had outperformed so many of Daddy’s Little Rich Bitch Princesses, but told myself I was being unfair on girls I had never met.



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Broken Wings 40

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CHAPTER 40
That party went exactly as I had expected, with no issues beyond a prospect having to smile a but less than nicely as a guest from another club spent a bit too much time investigating how close he could get to Nell, while Kim spent a sizeable part of the evening looking wistfully after Oily, and much of the rest trying not lo make her lust too obvious.



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Broken Wings 39

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CHAPTER 39
I didn’t have a clue how to deal with the situation. Not a single one; I wasn’t exactly the world’s expert on relationships, with my history. Before I could pull together some stupid attempt at advice, Kim gave me a squeeze and a twisted little smile.

“Don’t worry about me, Deb. Really, don’t. Ruth has my back at work, so you don’t need to worry. And, well, I’m not going matchmaking for you, so you can bin any worries on that side”



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This story is 90 words long.

Broken Wings 38

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CHAPTER 38
Paul’s confession was another little wedge knocked into the cracks in the armour I had erected around that filthy bastard Cooper, another little sign others could suffer as badly as I had. I had gained some understanding of that simple fact watching Gandalf after Sam’s murder, and as I dug out the story out around the two rapes, I found my perverse top-victim game crumbling.



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This story is 68 words long.

Broken Wings 37

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CHAPTER 37
I watched Cathy carefully for a few weeks after that incident, her comments about the need for control still fresh in my mind, but for once it was Nell who stepped up to the mark, engaging her attention with almost obsessively detailed queries about UCCA or whatever it was called, as she planned both girls’ future university careers.

It took my mind off my worries for the two, which allowed me to steer Maisie into the same A-level college Nell and Cathy would leave the following Summer, and that in turn gave them someone else to look after.



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Broken Wings 36

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CHAPTER 36
It was a little bit quieter on the ride home, as tired bodies recovered from hangovers, and nobody was really in a rush to leave such a lovely spot. We took a break at the top of the first real climb, where the quarries looked out over the flatter lands to the North, before descending to the busier ‘Amman’ towns and the faster roads back to Cardiff. After we got home, both bathrooms had queues for the balm of hot water, but I made the girls lay the tents out to dry and air before they indulged in steam and soak.



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This story is 102 words long.

Broken Wings 35

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CHAPTER 35
I suppose that Maisie’s arrival was the start of another new life for me. I had managed to get through to Kim by a simple process of empathy, for she was me, in so many ways. There was a fire in her, one I had seen when she had called me a nonce and issued directions about sex and travel. Each time she snarked at someone, I heard myself passing a comment about a horse to a woman whose looks were more Clydesdale than filly. I realised how much I depended on her support only when things took a little turn for the worse.



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This story is 106 words long.

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CHAPTER 35
I suppose that Maisie’s arrival was the start of another new life for me. I had managed to get through to Kim by a simple process of empathy, for she was me, in so many ways. There was a fire in her, one I had seen when she had called me a nonce and issued directions about sex and travel. Each time she snarked at someone, I heard myself passing a comment about a horse to a woman whose looks were more Clydesdale than filly.



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Broken Wings 34

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CHAPTER 34
Life got a little more complex with three guests, but they really seemed to settle with each other. Kim and Cathy clicked immediately on the music, while the latter’s studious nature chimed with Nell’s own shyness. Kim pleased me once more, with an offer of simple kindness. Rather than have Cathy as the first occupant of the second house, Kim moved her stuff into one of the bedrooms there and handed her own room to the newcomer. Such strength in one so young.



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This story is 86 words long.

Broken Wings 33

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CHAPTER 33
The next few weeks were as dreary as that time of year often is, enlivened only by another visit from Dr Thomas, which left the girls smiling, and a solo drive out to the East. The boys’ home was in Overmonnow, with a name that, for once, didn’t leave me twitching with references to castles or river views, despite its location. Mrs Hughes, the director, manager, head screw, whatever, really seemed a decent woman, and the boys I encountered were actually laughing.



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Broken Wings 32

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CHAPTER 32
The boys set off home on Boxing Day, timing their departure to match my own exit on the way to work. Graham had worked with Kim the day before to prepare the vegetables in the boot of his car along with the beef joint I had spotted hidden away in the back of the fridge, so our Christmas Dinner had been as good a meal as we could make it, and in as traditional a wat as possible, my lunch box carried sandwiches made from cold offcuts of the roast, prepared by Nell as the rest of us slumped over-full in front of the usual Bond film.



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This story is 108 words long.

Broken Wings 31

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CHAPTER 31
Both youngsters sat open-mouthed for a few seconds, before Kim, naturally, turned to me.

“Is Marlene always like this? And tell me again why we are here?”

My overdressed friend burst out laughing.

“Well, I can see which one of these two delicate flowers has been with you the longest, Debbie! Now, what can Marlene do for you?”



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Broken Wings 30

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CHAPTER 30
I went out of the back door and around the end of the terrace, which allowed me a look down the street at whoever was knocking, rather than taking the risk of opening the front door. It was a middle-aged man, suit and tie under a long raincoat, topped off by a golfing umbrella.

“Can I help you?”

He turned to stare, then smiled.

“I recognise that voice. We spoke on the telephone. Rhys Thomas?”



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Broken Wings 29

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CHAPTER 29
I handed the hammer back to Nell, setting the frame as square as I could. It was only the second we had placed by the stairs, but it was a good one. Pat had set her timer to capture all four of us at the top of Carnedd Llywelyn, sun brightly shining and our jackets covered in lumps of snow from our silliness with axes and polythene survival bag. Just down from that picture, three of us grinned on top of Y Garn. The sunlight in the photos could do nothing to illuminate the staircase, but the memories did exactly that. Nell chuckled.

“What’s funny, love?”

“Just thinking, yeah? Climbing pictures, next to stairs. Fits!”



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This story is 117 words long.

Broken Wings 28

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CHAPTER 28
The tops were drifted with white, as far down as the Heather Terrace on Tryfan, the sunrise pinking everything and almost dazzling in reflection from the eastern faces. Kim had the smug look that all newcomers to a place exhibit when they find someone even newer to gloat over.

“What you think, Nell? Good, or what?"



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Broken Wings 27

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CHAPTER 27
We didn’t stay out that late, as both Paul (which felt right) and I had work the next day. That was a worry, as Nell remained a little of an unknown quantity. I would be forced to take a risk, and that meant trusting Sparky with her. Kim would be at work as well, but at least she was someone I understood, who would be close by if needed.



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Broken Wings 26

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CHAPTER 26
I felt a little stupid at first, but then reconsidered. What did the idiot think he was doing collaring me there and then? I could see half of the people we wanted to warm up starting to drift away.

“Kim, Nell? Look after the urn, can you? And you, copper, passenger seat now, if you don’t mind!”



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This story is 59 words long.

Broken Wings 25

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CHAPTER 25
Nell sat quietly for a few moments, staring at the photo of three of us gathered at the little wind shelter, the sweep of the Carneddau behind us, her eyes downcast. I noticed her hands trembling slightly. Her voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear her words.

“I’ve never had this, you know. I always wanted to see the hills, the big ones, but Mam and Dad, they never went any nearer than that holiday camp out past Harlech. The do weekend specials there, country and western ones. We would drive up, or Dad would, man’s job, and all I saw of the mountains was out of a car window. We… I…”



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This story is 118 words long.

Broken Wings 24

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CHAPTER 24
We stayed that way for the rest of the morning, alternating a few of my more ‘lyrical’ albums with a couple of Nell’s tapes. There was one I did like, as bits of it were almost like heavy rock, but the others were a bit too fiddly for me. Nice tunes, especially in the one she had started with, but not really my thing.

“What was that loud one called again, Nell?”

“Sinfonia da Requiem. Britten wrote it for the Japanese, and they didn’t like it. Too Christian, they said. You liked it?”



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Broken Wings 23

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CHAPTER 23
Kim was off out early the next morning, to help with the breakfast trade, but she promised to be back at one for our shopping trip. She had clearly stirred Nell up, as that girl was the one who knocked on my bedroom door with a morning cuppa.

“Um, Kim said I should…”

“Thanks, love! Kim’s jeans and one of her tees?”

“Yeah, and she lent me…”



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Broken Wings 22

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CHAPTER 22
I watched the new arrival, and her gaze went straight to Anita, who shrugged in the most obvious of ways before pointing at me.

“Debbie’s house, Eleanor. Her call”

I turned to Kim, smiling as gently as I could manage.

“Upstairs here makes sense. Eleanor?”

Her reaction was delayed, so I asked myself how long she had used that name, at least openly.



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This story is 65 words long.

Broken Wings 21

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CHAPTER 21
Sparky and Kim helped me into the living room, and then Sparky went back into the kitchen for a minute, returning with a towel and a bag of frozen peas, which he pressed against my face.

“You are going to have a real shiner tomorrow, woman. Let that chill, and then I want to feel your face. The cold will numb it enough, I think”

“What for?”

“Broken orbit or cheekbone, love. Give it a few minutes…”



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Broken Wings 20

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CHAPTER 20
The bike ran sweetly as we swept over the Severn Bridge, that wind once more surprising me by its absence, Kim sitting in a far more relaxed way on the pillion, and then we were pulling up behind what was now our house. Luggage in, a quick shower each, using both bathrooms, and then I pulled the tent out of its bag to hang from the shower head to dry out. All of our used clothing went into the washing machine, and then we walked the short distance to Ruth’s place for something nice.

“Special tonight is sausage and mash, girls. How was the camping?”

Kim grinned.

“Magic! I don’t think my legs will be working properly for a few days, though!”



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Broken Wings 19

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CHAPTER 19
Kim jerked at my words, turning her face to me with a look of obvious fear, shaded with guilt.

“What do you mean?”

“He looks really fit, that lad, doesn’t he?”

“Who?”



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Broken Wings 18

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CHAPTER 18
Our early evening meal was just as I had grown used to with my old friend, but it was made so much easier with her new double-burner stove. We had the usual mix of a couple of tins of stew, perked up with the addition of curry powder and a tin each of sweetcorn and button mushrooms, served over some reconstituted ‘savoury rice’ and some plain pitta bread to wipe out our bowls. That sounds boring, but there is something about being outdoors that always gives me an appetite, and the mixture was tasty and filling. I caught Kim smiling to herself.



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This story is 103 words long.

Broken Wings 17

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CHAPTER 17
After Nita had gone, Kim rose from her seat.

“I should get back to Ruth’s”

“Can it wait a few minutes? I really want a quick talk with you”

She settled back down onto the settee, and I tried to spot any signs she was looking to run. Once again, my memories were haunting me, of sitting in the darkness outside the back door as Dad fed the hedgehogs and two carrier bags sat forgotten next to my chair.



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Broken Wings 16

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CHAPTER 16
I was back there a week later, leaving Kim to do some extra work with Ruth, and this time Nita was with a middle-aged woman she introduced as Heidi. I stared a little when I heard the name, and she shrugged.

“My Mam was a bit conventional as a girl. I’m just glad it wasn’t Pollyanna. Now, Nita’s been giving me a bit of background, and I have done my own checks. Can I just say one thing before we go on?”

“What do you want to say?”

“Sorry.



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Broken Wings 15

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CHAPTER 15
The young copper looked confused.

“Never heard of her. You able to wait a bit while I ask one of the older lads?”

I pushed back hard on my instinctive reaction to being in a police station and nodded.

“Aye, please. I’ve got the time”

He was back in less than five minutes, with a broad smile.



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Broken Wings 14

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CHAPTER 14
The plan in question wavered a bit the next morning, as Kim seemed a little worse, and I realised that the run out to Southerndown might have been a bit premature. I raised that with her when I got in from work, no longer quite as worried that she was planning on a midnight flit. Once again, a pot of tea was produced as soon as I had my boots off.

“Kim?”

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking about yesterday. You think we were a bit early taking you out in the cold?”



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Broken Wings 13

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CHAPTER 13
Kim was running out of steam by ten o’clock, so I helped her up the stairs to her room before returning to the living room and Rosie, who was pensive.

“Who the fuck is she, Deb?”

“Someone else who’s had a load of shit, love. Thank your lad for the medicine; I don’t think she’d have survived much longer the way she was going, and the weather”

“Well, what are you going to do with her?”



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Broken Wings 12

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CHAPTER 12
When I returned to the living room, she was still there, wrapped up tightly in the sleeping bag, a light sheen of sweat on her face. I handed her the hot chocolate I had prepared, along with the first of the antibiotics, and watched her face light up at the aroma rising from the mug.

Her voice was clear, as Sparky had observed, but still weak.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Later, girl”

Another twitch at that word. I pressed on.



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Broken Wings 11

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CHAPTER 11
I made sure I followed the paper in question for a few weeks afterwards, which amused Ruth when she caught me reading it one day as I got outside a coffee and a ham and cheese toastie.

“Not exactly your sort of rag, girl!”

“Ah, a running story I’m looking for an update on”

“Would that be the one about the little shit who got a kicking from people you definitely didn’t know?”



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Broken Wings 10

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CHAPTER 10
My little Honda made short work of the ride up to the club, a sleeping bag strapped across the rear seat and a change of clothing in the throwovers along with some toiletries for the morning.

Being where I was, the bags also held some waterproofs.



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Broken Wings 9

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CHAPTER 9
Rosie went home with her parents after the funeral, which was not a good day. More than Sam’s life seemed to have been sucked out of the world, so four of us clung to each other as things were said and hymns sung, as Linden had insisted on a Christian service for her child. I went in a dress and tights I had bought for the occasion, far from my normal style, and afterwards hung the stuff in the depths of my wardrobe with a little prayer that it would be as long a time as possible before I would need them again. I had had far more than enough of death.



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