Amber Heather Burnside (that summer book .TXT) 📖

her time spent with Derek. He was obviously very much in love with his wife otherwise why would he take the trouble to seek help with their sex life, especially when she considered how uncomfortable he had been about asking her to see them both together?

When she thought about the connection between the couple Amber couldn’t help but feel a little envious. It was a while since she’d had a partner and she missed the intimacy of a relationship. Doing her job wasn’t the same; it was all about satisfying the customer’s needs, not about expressing love for each other.

By the time she reached the back of Piccadilly, she wasn’t feeling quite as upbeat as she had been at the hotel. Clients like Derek were rare and, as she looked around the grim streets of the red-light area, she resigned herself to the fact that the rest of the night would be filled with seedy clients wanting instant gratification for the lowest possible price.

Amber gazed through the windscreen as they made their way to her spot near the arches. They were almost there when she noticed Cora deep in conversation with a man she vaguely recognised. She felt an involuntary shudder recalling the way Cora had assaulted her in the pub and Sapphire’s warning that she needed to watch her back.

Her feeling of uneasiness was exacerbated because of the man Cora was talking to. Although Amber had never had any dealings with him, she knew who he was and had heard of his reputation. Kev Pike, known by many as Pikey, was bad news. Although not a major addict, he was a drug user who would obtain money by whichever means came easiest, including robbery and violence. For him street girls were a soft target and she presumed Cora had just become his latest victim.

Regardless of what she had heard about Kev Pike, Amber couldn’t help but admit to herself that she found him attractive. Tall, good-looking and well-dressed, many of the girls aspired to be with him in spite of, or perhaps because of, his reputation. It gave them a buzz to be seen with somebody who instilled fear in so many people. But Amber was cautious and preferred to keep her distance.

Even though Cora had treated her badly, she pitied her. But she was also concerned. If he was targeting street girls near her spot, then she was worried he might seek her out too. She tried to put it out of her mind; his threat was one of the numerous risks that girls on the street had to face. But at least if she were aware of it, she could make sure she had her wits about her.

12

May 1997

Amy’s mother had been with her current boyfriend for a few months. He was just one of many who her mother had dated over the last two years and Amy dared to hope that this time the relationship might last.

The man’s name was Sean, but she had been told to call him uncle, just like the previous boyfriend. Amy recognised that he wasn’t perfect; he and her mother rowed a lot, usually after they’d been drinking, but he often bought Amy gifts or gave her money, especially when he’d returned from the pub in one of his better moods.

This night Amy’s mother, Loretta, had gone out with Sean leaving nine-year-old Amy in charge as the oldest child. Amy hadn’t heard them return from the pub as she was asleep. But as she lay in her bed, a noise disturbed her. She listened keenly, trying to decipher what had woken her up.

It was distant and she couldn’t quite fathom what it was or where it was coming from so she crept out of bed and onto the landing. She soon realised that the source of the noise was in her mother’s room. Cautious about turning on the light and disturbing everybody, she tiptoed up to the bedroom door, feeling her way along the wall in the dark. Once she had reached the door, she listened carefully but she still couldn’t recognise the sound.

As she stood there her heart was pounding. She was terrified of being discovered as her mother had told her many times that she must never go inside her bedroom under any circumstances. All seemed to go quiet for a few seconds so when she overheard a loud moaning Amy jumped back in shock.

She heard some shuffling and her mother asked, ‘What was that?’

‘What? I can’t hear owt,’ replied Sean.

‘It might be one of the kids,’ her mother said.

‘I thought you said they’re not allowed to come in here.’

‘Well, they’re not. But you never know.’

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake!’ shouted Sean.

He sounded angry so Amy dashed back into her room as quietly as she could, diving under the quilt and pretending to be asleep. All seemed to go quiet again, but Amy couldn’t sleep. She was troubled by the sounds she had heard, especially the loud moaning. It sounded like her mother, but Amy had never heard her moan like that before. What if Sean was hurting her? He did sound angry and Amy knew that he and her mother had had some ferocious rows over the past few weeks.

It was a while later and Amy was still awake. She was troubled, the thoughts going around in her head. She didn’t like her mother bringing men home. The way they acted around her mother made Amy feel uncomfortable; the kisses and pats on the backside were too embarrassing.

And when they weren’t doing that they were usually arguing, which Amy found upsetting. She wished life didn’t have to be like this and that they could go back to the time before her mother had started bringing men into the house. It had been good then with just the three of them: her, her mother and Nathan.

When Amy had once asked her mother why it couldn’t be just the three of them like it used to be, her mother