J & P Book 5 - Never Let Me Go

Chapter Seven

Because it was better than staying in for the ninth night in a row with only a ready meal and a can of beer for company; Deny had reluctantly agreed to go with Becky to Jenny's. It was never his favourite destination; her plush family home made his poky flat seem inadequate, and of course there was the usual chore of doing his best to stay out of any room in which Jenny's pathetic excuse for a husband was located. He still hadn't got his head around the fact that he and Williams were family now; in his head they would always be enemies.

Apparently, Jenny had some news for them. Great. That meant she was obviously pregnant again. Well done, Williams, you've spawned yet another scrawny little offspring. He made it look so easy, just like he'd made it look so easy when he'd lured Jenny away from Patrick, and devastated the whole family. They made him feel sick. How much in love they always claimed to be. Nothing could be that good in real life. Life was shit.

Deny's life certainly was. He'd loved two women; the first could never love him back, instead choosing to put him through the daily agonies of seeing her with men who did not deserve her. Perris, for example. He still regretted not killing him when he'd had the chance, after finding out what he'd done to Jenny.

Then Williams, who just hung around like a bad smell. He'd had a sick little hold over her ever since that fateful morning Deny had answered the phone to him. It wasn't just Deny that didn't understand what Jenny saw in a creep like Williams, but he was the one who was the most nauseated by their relationship. He couldn't bear to be in the room with the two of them. All Williams had to do was look at Jenny and he had her turning cartwheels for him. Deny was often tormented by picturing them together, the thought repulsed him.

Of course, Patrick hadn't been so bad. He was relatively normal. But he was stuck up, self-righteous, always thinking he was that little bit better than everyone else. Deny had felt sorry for him when everything had kicked off, but a little part of him had thought it was about time Patrick had learned some home truths.

The second woman Deny had loved, Yolana, had married him. She'd been good for him for a long time. She'd kept him grounded, and he'd adored her. But he'd not looked after her, not given her the respect she'd deserved. He'd taken her for granted, and she'd had enough. They'd been trying for a baby; it wasn't really what he wanted, but he hadn't wanted to lose her, and he thought that she'd stay if she got pregnant. But he couldn't even do that properly, and when the first man turned Yolana's head, she was gone. She wouldn't be back.

And that was why he was lonely, and he'd said yes to Becky's suggestion about going to find out what their step-sister's "news" was. Now he was sitting on the sofa next to Becky, not looking at Jenny directly, drinking a diet coke as he was driving back later. Thankfully, Williams was staying out of the way.

"So.." Jenny said, awkwardly, leaning against the wall. "You both know that I've never met my dad."

"Yeah.." Becky said, after a pause.

"Well, on Saturday, when we were away, Patrick had a visitor, from a girl called Aimee. And, to cut a long story short.. She's my half-sister."

This was a plot twist Deny hadn't expected. He looked across at Becky in concern. Becky wasn't going to like this news. She was very protective over her step-sister and wouldn't want to share her with a stranger.

"No way, Jen...! Really?" To his surprise, Becky was smiling widely.

Jenny nodded. "Really. She's about ten years younger than me. My dad left when I was tiny, about Grace's age I guess. So then he found someone else, settled down with them. Had another little girl."