J & P Book 1 - Say You Need Me

Chapter 2

The land line phone rang again, reasonably early the next morning, not long after Jenny's mum and Mike had returned and left the house again for work. Jenny was up and dressed, but with no plans for the day other than to unwind, she was lying in her room, relaxing with a magazine.

She stared around her bedroom. The pastel colours were so calming in times of stress and worry. The wallpaper was a shade of pink, and the paintwork was all a light purple hue. Many people who had been up here had hated the decor, including Deny and Becky, but Jenny thought it was perfect. It was plain and simple, just as she'd always wanted it.

She had decorated it herself last summer. The summer of 2000 had been a long, hot summer. A summer when she had not a care in the world. She had a wonderful boyfriend, no university coursework to fret about; her life lay before her.

And now everything was getting on top of her. The stress of job interviews, learning to drive, relationship troubles, and now further complications.

When she heard the telephone she immediately sat upright, terrified that it would be another unwelcome call. There was no way she was going to answer it today.

"Deny! Get that!" she shouted into the next room. Both doors between them were open so he was sure to hear her.

To detract her attention from the constant monotonous ringing, she stared out of her bedroom window at the beautiful, late August morning. Her bedroom window overlooked a picturesque side street and she would often look out at the houses there, wondering who lived in them, and how they went about their lives.

Soon, when she looked out of this window at this time in the morning, the sun would not be shining over the little street, and winter would have set in.

Winter. Jenny hated the winter. It was cold, and depressing, frightening, like the telephone, ringing over and over in her head...

"Jenny? It's for you!" she heard her stepbrother shout. Jenny froze. What if it was him again? Yesterday's call had haunted her all night.

She heard footsteps, and then Deny put his head around the top of the stairs.

"Hey," he remarked, "Who do you know that calls you Jennifer?" He cackled as he returned down stairs.

Jenny cringed. She hated that name. Since she was five she had insisted that everyone was to call her Jenny. Even all of her teachers, lecturers and employers had addressed her as Jenny. Except her sixth form tutor, who had always routinely quoted from the register. But apart from that, no-one ever called her Jennifer. At all.

Suddenly she felt safer. The caller, yesterday afternoon, had referred to her as Jenny. This caller was off the suspect list straight away.

"Find out who it is," she called back down to Deny, still not certain that she could trust anyone. It could have been Joe, disguising his voice and his words.

From downstairs she heard Deny grumble and then trudge wearily back to the phone to ask the desired question. There was a pause. Jenny closed her eyes, hoping that she might awaken in a better world where love and safety were guaranteed. However, she was awoken by Deny's dumbfounded call.

"It's Paul Williams!"

Jenny knew who Paul Williams was. But she had never associated with him. She had, in fact, known him for years, they had attended the same primary school, and they had both been in the same sixth-form tutor group. He was a very intelligent boy, but quiet, and shy. The only time she'd heard him speak was to answer a question in class, or his name in registration. And he always, always looked miserable.