Jess frowned as she got his answer machine, a familiar voice spoke to her
"Hey in not here at the moment but if you leave a message I'll get back to you as soon as I can"
She paused trying to find the right words then blurted into the phone
"Hey Greg it's me…….look I need to talk to you…..it's urgent…can you phone me back?"
As she ended the call on her phone she sighed and surveyed her surroundings. She could see at either end of the road cars parking ready to pick up their children from the local primary school and just a little before that she could see a small terraced house with a painted blue front door which was peeling, the front garden was overgrown and two windows were smashed.
"Home sweet home" Jess thought as she reluctantly made her way towards the house.
As she was putting her key in the rusted lock she heard raised voices.
"Where the fuck have you been?"
"Out"
"Where?"
There was no reply
"Have you been with her?"
Still no reply
"Well?"
Jess sighed as she walked into the house, from the hallway she could see her mother with her hands on her hips and her face was red from screaming and Mike her mothers boyfriend equally as red.
Jess quietly crept up the stairs and went silently into her room, only when the door was shut did she dare to make a noise. With a groan she threw herself onto her bed and buried her head in her pillow willing for all the shouting to stop.
But her silent pleas were in vain because the shouting continued getting louder and louder and Jess buried her head deeper and deeper into the pillow.
The shouting had gotten so loud now she didn't even hear her door click open. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and she gasped as she whirled around
"Whoa! Sorry I didn't mean to scare you!" said a voice
Jess caught her bearings and frowned at her intruder. He had short brown hair packed full of some new brand of gel she had never heard of his eyes sparkled as he smiled at her.
"Cam you're such a twat!"
"Well I said I was sorry anyway I knocked before I came in"
"Yeah right"
Cameron sat down on the bed beside her
"Yuck you stink!" she said
"Why thank you it's my new deodorant it's called odour toilette"
"Yeah well it smells like a toilet!"
"You just have no taste!"
"Yeah well I'm gonna have no sense of smell if you don't move away from me!"
Cameron threw a pillow at Jess and she pouted playfully
From downstairs they heard "Fuck you!" and the sound of smashing, Jess groaned and put her head back on the pillow
"It's going to be alright Jess" Cameron said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, he knew how much the arguments affected Jess. He was older and could deal with it but Jess was young still 15, it wasn't fair on her.
"No it won't Cam" she sobbed
"Yes it will I promise you everything is going to be ok" he tucked a stray strand of her long brown hair behind her ear and leant down beside her "Baby sister!"
"I'm not a baby!" she said sitting up and lightly hitting him on his arm
"Yes you are you're my little baby sister" he said with a grin on his face
She frowned and this just made him laugh even more "Come here" he said and he pulled her into a hug
"Ewwww! Cam get off me I can't breath!" she squealed
"As you wish princess" he said releasing her with a big grin on his face
At that moment they heard running up the stairs and both of them froze then someone burst through the door it was their mother red in the face from screaming
"You two come on we're going!" she shouted
"What?" Jess asked "Why?"
"Jess for god's sake don't argue with me for once on your life just do as I say!"
"Mum where are we going?" Cameron asked
"I don't know" their mother screamed "Just get downstairs and outside by the car now!"
The two children followed and as they went downstairs Jess gripped her brother's hand and whispered "I'm scared"
And he whispered back "It's going to be ok" but he didn't believe it himself.
As they stood outside waiting they could hear more shouting from inside, a passer by looked concerned but Cameron just smiled sweetly and said "Hello" and the passer by went on.
Suddenly their mother burst out of the door screaming at the children
"Get in the car"
Even from a distance they could smell alcohol on her breath
"Where are you going?" Mike screamed
"Away from you"
"This is so typical of you, fine you want to be the innocent victim you do that I'm through with it"
"Yeah I am the innocent victim in all of this I'm not the one who's playing away from home!"
"Yeah you play that card, where's your proof?"
"I don't need proof it's written all over your face!" she turned to face Jess "Get in the fucking car" and when Jess didn't move she strode over to her grabbed her roughly by the arm and shoved her in the car, her nails digging into Jess's bare arm
"Mum Ow! You're hurting me!" Jess squirmed trying to get out of her mother's grasp
"Mum leave her alone!" Cameron shouted
"Get in the car!" she shouted at Cameron still trying to get Jess in the car
"Mum at least let me drive!" Cameron protested as he saw the empty wine bottle just inside the house
"No get in the car NOW!" she screamed and with that she dragged Jess in and roughly shut the door on her struggling form then got in the car and pulled away so fast the wheels squealed and left tyre marks on the road.
"Mum please slow down" Jess begged looking at the speedometer which was climbing
"Jess shut up!" her mother hissed with a tone she had never heard before
"Mum" Cameron protested
"Mum…Mum please I'm really scared!" Jess begged her voice quivering
"Jess I'm warning you if you don't pipe down!" her mother snarled
Cameron looked around from the front passenger seat at his little sister who was cowering in the back he gave a weak smile but she continued sobbing
"JESS FOR GOD'S SAKE WILL YOU SHUT UP!" her mother said turning around grabbing her daughter by the arm her nails digging into the young girl's bare arms
"MUM THE WHEEL!" Cameron screamed but it was too late, the old blue car drove straight on into an old tree and that was the last thing Jess remembered before everything went black.