13. Jessica

Jessica

After Mrs Kingswood has gone, I head straight for the nearest phone booth to call Alex. Disturbed by his mother's revelations, I decide now is the time to warn him ahead of time that our plans for tonight will need to be cancelled. The bizarre conversation about demon possession combined with Cynthia's warnings about the neighbours being wise to our clandestine meetings convince me it might be a good idea to put things on ice for a while, at least for a couple of days until the dust has settled. My head is all over the place and I just need space to take stock of the situation.

Nervously, I put some coins in the slot and pick up the receiver. As I wait patiently for the call to connect, I notice several seedy business cards for a local massage parlour stuck to the booth's grimy interior.

Alex answers on the second ring. "Jessica, is that you?"

"Yes," I reply.

"Oh baby, I've been missing you like mad! I can't tell you how pleased I am to hear your voice. All day I've been hoping and praying that you would call me just so I can hear your voice. We are so in tune with each other, you must have read my mind. Is everything okay?"

I scratch the side of my nose. "Not really."

"What is it? What's happened?"

"So, I'm thinking that maybe we shouldn't meet up tonight. I know we planned for you to drive down again but I think it's all a bit too risky at the minute."

A hint of panic enters his voice. "What do you mean? Why are you saying this? Last night was so magical, I thought we had a new understanding between us. I thought you understood that I now need to see you every single night, never fail. I don't mind driving a thousand miles, you know I'll do whatever it takes to be with you, even if it means only staying for an hour."

Biting my lip, I press my thighs together and try desperately not to get aroused by his voice. Even at this distance he's affecting me, and my sex is crying out for a good seeing to.

"I know, and I do want to see you too, believe me," I say, in an attempt to pacify him. "It's just that one of my neighbours, Mrs Biederhof, told my mum she saw us climbing through my bedroom window on Saturday. My mother confronted me about it today and I denied it, obviously."

"Did she buy it?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure she did, she kept asking all sorts of questions, but either way it might be safer for us to cool things for a couple of days, or at least until things have calmed down. It wouldn't be safe right now for you to come to my bedroom as she'll be watching me like a hawk, not to mention Mrs Biederhof."

"Then can you come over to mine?" he asks hopefully. "I could come and get you later and bring you back here to spend the night? Don't you understand how much I need to see you, my beauty? I'm literally dying here."

"Me too," I say, twirling the phone cord around my finger as I picture his head between my thighs. "I really wish I could be with you, but it isn't just the thing with the neighbours that's bothering me. There's something else too…"

"What is it? What's happened? Tell me!"

"Your mother Beatrix just came to see me."

"What!" Alex sounds genuinely alarmed. "What did she say?"

"She said all this outlandish stuff. I don't even want to repeat it."

"Tell me what she said. I need to know everything."

"It was just all this stuff about your father, something about you playing with a Ouija board, demonic possession and some creature called Erasmus. It was totally crazy, totally unbelievable. She…she wanted me to stay away from you." There's a long silence on the other end of the line. "Alex, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here," he replies, his tone dripping with ice. "I can't believe she said all that to you. How dare she try to interfere in our relationship? I'm absolutely livid!"

"I'm so sorry, darling, I know it's crazy. Listen, I've got to go. I've got to do some shopping and then I've got to prepare for work. I'm on a late shift tonight."

"I need to see you, Jessica. More than ever now that I know my mother is trying to drive a wedge between us. Please can I drive over tonight after you finish work, and we can go somewhere quiet to talk?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Like I said, I think we shouldn't meet up for a while. We need to wait for things to settle."

"It sounds like you're just making excuses not to see me," he growls. "I hope you're not letting what my mother said get to you?"

"No, of course not," I say, noticing a man standing outside waiting to use the phone. "But I'll admit I'm a little shaken up by it. I'm sorry Alex, I really do have to go now. I love you. I'll call you soon and let you know when it's safe for us to meet again."

"Jessica, wait—"

I hang up and make a hurried exit from the phone booth. It's only as I'm walking away that I suddenly realise at no point did Alex deny any of the allegations made by Beatrix. He didn't call them out as preposterous or show any signs of shock when I mentioned the name Erasmus. It was almost like he had been expecting it. But what the hell does this mean? That his mother was telling the truth?

No, that's absurd. Demons don't exist. I refuse to believe it. Even so, I shiver inwardly every time I picture Erasmus' diabolical face and his terrifying animal eyes. No matter how hard I try to put aside my misgivings and tell myself I'm being silly, I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. It's like I'm in way over my head in something I don't fully understand with no viable escape route.

The rest of the afternoon passes without incident, and I try my best not to think about Alex or Beatrix, or Catholic priests and exorcisms. I try not to envisage Neville Kingswood lying at the bottom of the stairs with his body all twisted and his neck broken.

After picking Freddie up from school, I spend a bit of time with him in the local children's playground and relish having some quality time with my little brother. As I watch him laughing and running around, I find it hard to believe that any of what Beatrix said is true. How could it be? This right here, having fun with Freddie on the swings, is what real life is about, not the dark world of demons and poltergeists and Claremont Hall, which once more feels like nothing more than a distant dream.

Around five pm, I arrive at Sloppy Joe's for the late shift and find that I'm going to be working with a new girl called Katie who just started today. It's Amina's night off and Brian asks me to show her the ropes, which I'm more than happy to do as it will help to keep me busy and not think too much.

The next couple of hours run like clockwork. The diner is naturally quiet on Monday nights, so I find I have plenty of downtime to show Katie what needs doing: where all the crockery and cleaning stuff are kept, how to process an order, how to work the jukebox, all the usual stuff, and we have a proper laugh doing it. She seems like a nice girl, a bit shy but with a great sense of humour, and I decide that I'm going to enjoy working with her.

Then sometime around nine-thirty, the door to the diner opens and in walks a group of guys I vaguely recognise from school (I think they were in the year above me). As soon as they swagger in, they instantly cause a commotion with their rowdy and obnoxious behaviour, and it soon becomes apparent that this is one stop on what will probably be an all-night bender.

I roll my eyes. Here we go…

Drunk customers are never nice to deal with at the best of times, and if Amina had been working tonight, I would have begged her to oversee their order. Unfortunately, Amina isn't here to save the day, and as this is Katie's first night on the job, it looks like it will fall to me to do it. It just wouldn't be fair on the poor girl to drop her in at the deep end and leave her to deal with a bunch of boozers on her own.

Stealing myself for a confrontation, I pick up five menus from the countertop and walk hesitantly towards their table. As I get closer, my stomach lurches as I realise that one of the men is none other than Jack Parker. Seeing him again after all that's happened gives me whiplash and I stop and take a sharp intake of breath before proceeding.

Dressed in a grey Reebok tracksuit with a fresh tan and lush blonde hair styled like a member of a boyband, there's no denying he's drop-dead gorgeous. But Jack Parker no longer has any effect on me. Now when I see him, there is no rush of butterflies, no racing heart, no sweaty palms. The scales have completely fallen from my eyes, and he's now dead to me. In fact, just the sight of him makes me want to be sick. The thought of what he and Georgina did to me still makes me so angry I almost feel like turning around and walking right back to the kitchen.

Too late. He's already seen me.

"Hey, Jessica, how have you been?" he asks with a nervous smile. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

I totally ignore him. "What can I get you boys to drink?"

"Five Budweisers," slurs one of his friends.

"Actually, make mine a Cobra," says another. "Do you serve Cobras here?"

"No, we don't serve Cobras," I reply coldly. "But we do have Budweiser."

"Okay, then I'll have to go with a Budweiser." Then under his breath, the guy turns to his mate and hisses: "Bruv, have you seen the tits on that?"

"I know, proper fit, innit."

Ignoring the crude jibe, I hastily scribble down their order and am just about to leave when Jack suddenly reaches out and grabs my hand.

"Why are you blanking me?" he whispers, looking up at me with the cutest baby blue eyes. "Why am I in the doghouse? What have I done to upset you?"

"You know damn well what," I hiss. "Now let go of my hand, please."

"Wooo! She's fiery!" chuckles one of his friends.

"She's not interested, bruv. Let the girl do her job in peace."

Jack still refuses to let go. If anything, his grip gets tighter, and I can smell stale alcohol on his breath. "Can you just give me a chance to explain what happened?"

"There's nothing to explain," I snap. "Georgina put you up to it and you were too damn weak to say no."

"It's not what you think. I didn't want anything to do with it, but she forced me."

"Yeah right. You really had no other choice but to go through with it, even though you knew how much it would hurt and humiliate me?"

"Like I told you, I didn't want any part of it. I hated the idea, but Georgina was blackmailing me. See, the thing is, I borrowed some money from my dad—"

"Borrowed?" scoffs his friend. "You mean stole."

The other lads snicker, but Jack remains unfazed. He is completely fixated on me and it's like he can't see or hear anything else. "As I was saying, I borrowed some cash from my dad, and I was planning to give it back, you know? But before I could, Georgina threatened to tell my parents if I didn't agree to go along with what she had planned for you. For what it's worth, I want you to know that I'm sorry for what I did and if I could turn back the clock, I would. I never, ever meant to hurt you, Jessica. You've got to believe that."

"Great, now can you let go of me?" Finally, Jack releases my hand, but he's still not done with me. Not by a long shot.

"I've always liked you," he resumes quietly. "I mean, like really liked you. Ever since Year Seven, you were the only girl in school I actually fancied. For so long, I wanted to ask you out, but you always seemed like such an Ice Queen, I never had the guts to. You never paid me any attention…"

His mates begin to heckle: "Ooh, Jack's in love. Can't you see she's not into you? You're such a fucking melt."

Turning on my heel, I storm back towards the kitchen, bored to tears of his pathetic excuses. "Amina was right," I say under my breath. "You are a bloody wanker."

In a drunken rage, Jack springs up from his chair and roughly grabs my arm. "What did you just fucking call me? Did you call me a wanker? Take it back! I said take it back!"

"Oi, get off her, you little toerag!" Brian shouts, pole vaulting over the counter to intervene. "Stop harassing my staff. Right, that's it, I want all of you boys out now! You've been nothing but trouble since you arrived, and we don't give service to troublemakers."

"Make me, fat boy," one of the men spits. "If we choose not to go, what are you going to do about it?"

"Fine, then I'll have to call the police," Brian snaps. "Now get out, while I'm still asking you nicely. And don't think I don't know who you all are. I've seen you boys around town and know who some of your parents are. Trust me, they'll be hearing from me."

For a few minutes, the gang continue to laugh and jeer but eventually begin to make their way out the diner. With reluctance, Jack finally releases my arm and shoots me a death stare as he retreats.

"Hurry up, get a move on!" Brian barks, clapping his hands. "And if you behave like this again the next time you come around, you're barred from here for life. Got that?"

"All right, all right, Frank Butcher, keep your hair on."

"Don't worry, we won't be coming back to this dump."

Katie rushes over to give me a hug. "Oh, Jessica, are you okay? Those guys were so awful! Do you know them?"

"Sadly, I do," I reply, my voice trembling. "They went to my school. Complete twats the lot of them. Hopefully we won't be seeing them again."

The hour before closing time crawls along at a snail's pace and after my unpleasant encounter with Jack, I can't wait to get out of here and go home. It doesn't help that Katie won't stop talking about it and asking questions. What were they like at school? Why was Jack such an idiot? Do I think they'll come back to start more trouble? I mean, how the hell should I know? This latest debacle combined with the unsettling meeting with Mrs Kingwood earlier make me just want to forget this horrible day ever happened.

At last, at just gone eleven, Brian pulls the shutters down on the restaurant and says goodnight to us. As the three of us part ways on the street corner, he asks me if I'm okay to walk home alone, and I tell him yeah, it's cool, I only live fifteen minutes away and should be back before I know it. Famous last words…

The sky is black as a raven's wing as I stroll along the busy high street in the direction of my flats, grateful there are still quite a few people about despite it being so late. No matter what time it is, Clapham is always buzzing it seems. I pass a couple of takeaways, a cut-price shoe shop and then as I reach the zebra crossing, I hear somebody say loudly: "Hey, isn't that the bitch who got us turfed out of Sloppy Joe's?"

Turning, I see Jack and his mates loitering at a bus stop holding cans of cheap lager, looking the worse for wear. As soon as they see me, some of them whoop and catcall, and a lascivious grin creeps across Jack's face that I don't like one bit. When he's smashed, gone is the softly spoken charmer to be replaced by an abrasive dick that I suspect is probably him showing his true colours. It's almost as if he has become a different person and as his gaze travels lustfully over my body, there's an expression in his eyes that scares the shit out of me.

Time to get out of here.

Quickening my pace, I walk hurriedly up the street towards Fenchurch Avenue, a shortcut that will take me back to my estate in half the time. Unfortunately, my unwanted admirer is now tailing me, his friends following a short distance behind, laughing and egging him on.

"Hey Jessica, stop!" Jack shouts. "Don't walk so fast. I want to talk to you."

"Leave me alone," I cry. "Just go away!"

"Ha! You're scaring her off, bruv," chuckles one of his mates. "I told you she's not into you."

"Bitch is blanking you hard, man."

"Maybe it's his breath."

Now at almost a run, I pass through a large swathe of people dressed up like they're going clubbing, and, hoping to lose my pursuers, use the brief diversion to shoot down a dark alley. I sprint a couple of steps and then, reaching a brick wall, I stop and look behind me to see if I've lost them.

Nope.

Jack and his four mates are standing at the entrance to the alley forming a human blockade. The laughter and jeers are getting louder, and my body is near paralysed with fear. Now they all have the same crazed look in their eyes as Jack, a look that tells me unless there is some kind of a miracle, I am in deep, deep trouble…

Slowly, Jack strides towards me, the cocky grin on his face getting wider and wider with every step. Desperately, I glance behind me at the wall to see if there's anywhere to escape to, but sadly there isn't. I'm like a fly trapped in a spider's web with no way out.

"Stay back!" I yell. "Don't come any closer. I'm warning you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jack says through clenched teeth. "You keep shouting like that and I'll knock your fucking teeth out. Now get on your knees, you stupid little bitch, and give me a blowjob."

The others shriek with laughter. I begin to feel sick. I need to get out of here, but how? What happens next feels like an out-of-body experience. I don't see Jack's blow coming, but I definitely feel it. A hard, stinging slap across the face that makes my eyes water. My handbag drops to the ground, scattering the contents everywhere.

And then I'm on the ground with him on top of me, trying to tear off my tights and hitch up my skirt. I scream and scream till my throat is hoarse, but nobody comes to my rescue, nobody cares. I might as well just be invisible to the passers-by on Clapham High Street who appear to show no interest in the sounds of a woman in distress. That I'm about to be raped just a few minutes' walk from a busy main road is utterly inconceivable, and yet here it is happening.

"You were always such a prick tease," Jack murmurs, his stale breath fanning my face. "Always wearing tight tops, playing hard to get like you were too fucking good for me. Well today, you're going to really get it."

As my attacker continues to be spurred on by his mates, the energy evaporates from my body and it's like the sound has been turned down on everything. My vision gets blurry, and a sea of men's faces dance around me like a horrific kaleidoscope of colours. My cheek hurts so much from the slap I can barely move my jaw, but still Jack continues trying to force himself on me. His penis is now exposed, and I can feel his hard-on pressed up against thigh. I'm so disgusted I think I've thrown up in my mouth a little.

"Hey Jack," snickers one of the devils. "When you've finished with her, can I have a go?"

"And me!" says another. "Break her in and make her nice and wet for me."

"How 'bout we all take it in turns and battery out that pussy? Think she'll like it?"

"Of course, she will, bruv. Skets love getting gang banged."

Their sick words shake me to the core, and I try even more desperately to lash out and get Jack off me, but he's far too strong. Shutting my eyes, I say silent prayers and prepare miserably to accept my fate.

And then it happens. An ear-piercing shriek of a man in excruciating pain. Gasping, I peer upwards and see the guy standing nearest me holding up one of his hands. Two fingers are missing, and he's completely covered in blood, but things begin to move so quickly, I barely have time to register it. Next, something dark and shiny darts at lightning speed towards another of the men and tears into his face, ripping out pieces of flesh, sending blood spurting everywhere.

Instantly, Jack gets off me and backs away as the entire alley is suddenly filled with what looks like a sea of huge black glossy snakes, rippling and undulating like a terrifying tsunami from Hell. There are more awful screams. More blood. More flesh torn apart. The sound of bones snapping. I'm so scared, my mind simply can't process the horrors unfolding before me. It doesn't seem real, can't be real. This is like something from a Science Fiction film, something unearthly that is impossible to describe.

Then I hear Jack screaming and I turn around to see one of the enormous snake-like vines darting towards him. With a shock, I realise for the first time that the creature has a mouth with multiple layers of teeth! It's a living, breathing thing from another dimension. Before Jack can get away, the monstrous organism lunges for him and rips out a massive piece of flesh from his cheek. Jack collapses to the ground yelling so loud it's like he's being tortured. Somewhere else, I see a guy lying in a pool of blood, moaning quietly with what looks like one of his eyes gouged out. I have no words. No voice left to speak. All I can do is stare and stare and stare in absolute horror at the carnage left by these…these creatures.

What the actual fuck is happening?

There's another shrill cry from one of the men, and I glance towards the entrance to the alley and what I see almost makes me pee my pants. Alex Kingswood is standing there in a hooded cloak, his face mottled with rage. Six massive black tentacles are writhing out from his back and his eyes glow a cold, demonic yellow. There's not a trace of humanity left in him. The tentacles appear to all be separate living entities with mouths and tongues and teeth on the ends like some sort of otherworldly reptiles.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

No…this cannot be real, no way! I must be dreaming. Somebody pinch me and wake me up from this terrible nightmare.

Then suddenly, five of the tentacles slither through the darkness like monstrous leeches and travel up the legs of each of the men lying helplessly on the ground. Bile rises in my throat. There's a chorus of ear-splitting shrieks as the creatures sink their fangs into their victims' crotches. Alex smiles wickedly, and then, with one deadly twist of his waist, he rips out five sets of testicles, sending a fountain of blood and severed penises flying everywhere.

I throw up instantly.

What happens next is a surreal blur. Wiping the vomit from my lips, I try to make a run for it but am backed against the wall. Slowly, Alex walks towards me with his arms outstretched, but I start screaming louder than I ever have in my life. Jesus, I don't want him anywhere near me! Looking left and right, I try to make a jump for it and claw at the brickwork in an attempt to climb up it.

But it's no use, I'm totally stranded. There is nowhere to escape from Alex. I know it. He knows it.

Then the wave of undulating tentacles engulfs me, wrapping themselves around my body so tightly I can barely breathe. It feels as if I'm being strangled. Tighter and tighter they press into my bones like the deadly embrace of a King Cobra, and all I can see are Alex's malevolent eyes glinting at me through the blackness.

Evil. Hypnotic. Mesmerising.

I gasp as one of the mighty tentacles worms its way up my blouse and envelops my throat in a lethal chokehold. Everything weaves and swarms around me, and my head starts to get light as the gruesome thing grips my neck so tightly, I'm momentarily prevented from breathing. A wave of sweet oblivion washes over me; the restricted blood flow leaving my body limp and floppy as a ragdoll. The last thing I remember before passing out is Alex's hellish face gazing down at me. And then everything goes black.