The Game by Linda Calvey

Author:Linda Calvey [Calvey, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Sarah looked gaunt and bruised, sitting across the table from Ruby. She fiddled with the cuff of her hoodie as she grinned at her friend. Ruby looked around the visiting room of Holloway Prison. It was a surprisingly light and airy space with a few pot plants here and there, and books for young children.

‘How on earth did ya end up ’ere again?’ Ruby sighed. She was exasperated with Sarah for getting herself into trouble, though she also saw a woman who’d had a hard life. Though they were the same age, the pair couldn’t have looked more different. Ruby looked ten years younger than her age, the very epitome of a wealthy woman, with sleek hair, manicured nails, a designer outfit and Louboutin heels. Her teeth were white, her skin flawless, and she wore just a smattering of make-up: a slick of lip gloss and mascara.

Between Sarah’s smiles, her expression fell into disappointment. Her skin looked grey, due to lack of sunlight, and she had lines around her eyes and mouth, signs of a hard life. Her blonde hair was scraped back in a ponytail, but she wore a good-quality tracksuit, one that Ruby had mailed to the prison for her.

‘You look gorgeous, Rube,’ Sarah said enviously, looking her friend up and down.

Ruby smiled back at her, wondering if she should take any of the blame for Sarah’s inability to make a life for herself. Though they’d grown up living beside each other, their worlds were galaxies apart. Should she have done more to help her friend? Could she have done more? Ruby waited for Sarah to speak. The woman sighed, rubbed her sleeve cuff against her chin.

‘Got into a fight with one of the girls in ’ere,’ she said, explaining the livid purple bruise above one eye. ‘She tried to nick my ciggies. Well, I gave her a pastin’ she won’t forget, though I’ve got to go in front of the board for my punishment.’

Ruby nodded. She knew this probably meant that Sarah would have to serve longer behind bars as a result. Somehow her friend never seemed to get a break.

‘Why are ya in ’ere? It ain’t the nicest place to end up,’ Ruby went on.

Sarah fidgeted again.

‘Drugs, weren’t it. I always said I’d never do heroin, but along came Terry and before I knew it, we was doin’ it together. Then he wanted me to sell it, not big-time dealin’ but just to a few mates, and I got caught.’

That would explain the amount of weight Sarah had lost. She was hardly more than skin and bones.

‘So, where’s this Terry now? Is he standin’ by ya?’ Ruby said, but regretted it instantly as she saw the shadow pass over Sarah’s face. Of course he wasn’t. Men like him rarely did. He’d be off somewhere, if he wasn’t banged up, picking another vulnerable woman, someone who would do anything he asked for whatever it was he offered that passed for love. Ruby felt a sudden lump in her throat.

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