Jack was hammering on the bathroom door and shouting at Ronnie to come out. Katy was hovering around, wondering what she could do to help. Her phone, which she had abandoned on the kitchen table, kept ringing.
"Look, he does need a walk don't he? Or he ain't gonna go down later!" Jack said annoyed. "Ronnie!" Katy sighed and leant on the back of the sofa watching. "Katy, will you please just answer your phone? Or I'm going to throw it out of the window." Jack snapped turning to look at her angrily. She gave him a sulky look and went to the table. The teenager picked up her phone but instead of answering it, she clicked 'ignore'. It was an unknown number and she had more important things to think about.
"Ronnie will you please just look after our baby? I'm serious, this has got to stop." Jack shouted through the bathroom door at Ronnie.
A text came through on Katy's phone as he spoke; 'Answer your phone, Katy, it's important. Connor.'
After a few seconds the lock clicked and the door opened, revealing Ronnie wearing in her best black dress. Katy clicked 'accept call' as she met her sister's eyes.
"Yes it does." She said and walked past Jack to the flat door.
"What?" The teenager hissed into her phone. "This really isn't a good time."
"Katy!" Jack said, signalling that she should follow her sister.
"I gotta see you. It's serious. I'm not messing around." Connor said. Katy hesitated. His tone sounded as though he was being completely genuine.
"Can't it wait?"
"No. We're both gonna end up in serious trouble." He said.
"Katy!" Jack said again.
"The allotments, ten minutes." He hung up. Katy's mind was all over the place. She didn't know what to do. Everyone wanted her at the same time. So many demands on her attention were making her frustrated.
"Katy, go and sort Ronnie out." Jack ordered. The teenager snapped.
"I'm busy!" She shouted. "Ronnie's a big girl, she's fine. If you're so worried, you go and sort her out. You're her husband, aren't you?" She grabbed her jacket and slammed her way out of the flat. Outside she immediately felt guilty and looked for her sister. She didn't want her sister to suffer just because her husband was acting like an idiot. Ronnie seemed to have vanished. Katy swore under her breath and headed for the allotments, pulling her hood up to disguise herself as best she could and praying that Whitney wouldn't see her.
Connor was sitting on an upturned wheelbarrow what Katy arrived at the allotments with his hood up as well. He stood up, looking around nervously as she approached. He didn't seem half as confident as he usually did, which made Katy sure that there was actually something wrong. She stood beside him so that they could talk in low voices.
"What's happened?" She asked earnestly.
"I need you to keep some things for me." He said quietly handing her a drawstring bag.
"Woah! What?" Katy said furiously. "You dragged me over here when Ronnie⦠just to get me to look after something for you?"
"Listen, that mate of yours, Nathan, he's in with some serious people, yeah. Why do you think he got stabbed? Messing around with a penknife? Nah, he did some seriously dodgy stuff, double crossed the wrong people." Connor told her in a low voice. "He gave me this stuff to keep safe, but if they ask the right questions they'll be coming looking for me."
"So you want me to put myself in danger, risk my family to save your nuts?" She asked glaring at him.
"They ain't gonna hear about you, are they? Listen, you can handle yourself, yeah. I know you can. Please, Katy."
The girl wavered slightly and, realising she was going to say yes, Connor took the opportunity to hug her. He planted a kiss on her lips and it was a moment or two before she pushed him away.
"Thanks, gorgeous." He said grinning.
"Seriously, you try that again and I will break you." She said, annoyed at him and herself. He winked but then looked at her seriously.
"Be careful, yeah."
She nodded, not convincing herself as she spoke. "Like you said, I can handle myself."
