DOVETAIL DIARIES ✔

Chapter Forty Four

‘What the hell is going on?’ said Cheryl from the side.

Nobody gave an answer. I kept my eyes on Marilyn. She looked at Leo stood by my side.

‘Why are you so evil?’ I said, feeling Leo’s hand take a tighter grip on my arm.

She laughed.

‘You’re talking rubbish now, Amber. Did you drink something you shouldn’t have last night?’ she said.

She giggled at Leo and gave him a knowing look.

‘You’re a bitch,’ I said, pulling myself towards her. ‘You set us up. You got Leo to make me point out Farley. You set it all up.’

‘What?’ I heard Cheryl say.

‘I really have no idea what you’re talking about,’ said Marilyn.

‘Yes. You do. You made sure it was Farley that got beat up not the guy from the other night,’ I said, shaking hard.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Cheryl and felt tears roll down my face despite my best attempts to stop them.

‘Watch what you’re saying, Amber,’ she said. ‘Like I said it might be better for you to get some rest. You seriously look like you need to chill out.’

‘Ok, that’s it,’ Leo said from behind me.

He took me by the shoulders and maneuvered me to the side with strong hands.

‘Leo,’ she said, smiling. ‘You can explain this to her. She’s just got the wrong end of the stick, somehow.’

‘No, Marilyn,’ he said.

‘Huh?’ she said, looking as though she were trying to hold onto her smile.

‘What we did was sick,’ he said.

‘Still, I’m not sure what…’ she said.

‘Don’t lie,’ he said, taking a step forward until he was right in front of her face.

‘I… Er…’ she said. ‘Leo…’

‘All that stuff you said about Amber – about her leaving me, about Farley – it was a pile of crap. You were winding me up. There’s a guy lying in hospital right now because of us. Do not deny it,’ he said.

There was a sort of ferocity in Leo I had never seen before, it was quiet but I could feel it from where I stood.

‘Wait no, I mean, we can talk about this. Leo, I…’ she said.

‘No,’ he said. ‘We won’t be talking anymore.’

Myself, Cheryl, Lambert and Jez watched as the two of them stood locked in each other’s sights.

‘I was just looking out for you, Leo,’ she said.

She reached forward to touch his chest. Her hand almost touched Farley’s blood on the shirt. He grabbed her hand.

‘No. You weren’t,’ he said.

The light of the aquarium made a blue glow around her outline. The smile had gone.

‘You just fall for her, every time, don’t you?’ she said.

‘Stop talking, Marilyn,’ he said. ‘I mean it.’

‘Quick to blame me but what about her? She’s the one that didn’t tell you what was going on. She’s the one who tricked you, not me,’ she said. 'You’re such a sucker. Just like my Dad.’

‘It ends here,’ he said.

‘No,’ she said. ‘I won’t let you fall into her trap again.’

He looked at her with total disdain.

‘Enough,’ he said.

‘It’s just the same thing with your family. Always the same,’ she said.

‘Shut your mouth,’ he said, looking as though he might actually strangle her.

‘Nutter,’ he said, shaking his head.

‘Make out I’m the mad one,’ she said, her voice cracking, her balance lost. ‘That’s what people say about my Mum all the time…’

‘God, woman, know when to shut the hell up,’ he said.

‘It’s not my fault I had to grow up with you people. I could never get away. My Dad, he always loved your Mum, more than he ever should,’ she said.

I could not figure out why she was talking about this stuff. She looked so empty and withered all of a sudden. Leo turned to me.

‘Right, that’s it. We’ve said our piece, we’re leaving,’ he said.

‘It was my Mum,’ she said.

‘What the hell does she mean?’ I said to Leo.

He shook his head.

‘She’s psycho, let’s go,’ he said.

‘She couldn’t take it, she thought my Dad loved Carol, she thought he loved you all more than he loved us,’ she said.

‘Mum? What?’ I said.

Marilyn’s body fell back onto the glass of the aquarium. Leo put an arm around me as though he were shielding me from gunfire.

‘Is she saying what it sounds like?’ I said to him.

‘I don’t know,’ he said.

Marilyn held her head back on the glass, eyes closed, fish swimming back and forth behind her.

‘I know what she's saying,’ I said. ‘It was Aunt Aggie. She’s the one who killed our Mum.’