“Well, would you like to go with me?” Noah asked, sheepishly.

“I’d love to. Thank you,” I replied, after a slight pause.

“That’s great. So, I guess I’ll see you at school?” he suggested with a happy grin. At my nod and smile, he pulled Barbie along to continue their stroll, lifting his hand to wave goodbye as I walked inside. I was still smiling and contemplating what to wear to the dance, when the slap came out of nowhere and hit with so much force that the side of my face smashed into the kitchen cabinet. As I landed on the floor, Frank’s boot hit me straight in the stomach, and I choked back the bile that would only make him madder.

“You little fucking slut. You can’t even take the rubbish out without lifting your skirt for the nearest pussy-sniffing son of a bitch out there. Have you fucked him already? You have, haven’t you?” he screamed, not waiting for an answer as a second boot planted in my gut.

It was a long time before the hits stopped coming. Apart from the one cut to my eye, my clothes would cover the worst of the damage. I didn’t make it off the floor that night, and the next day I made it as far as my bed, but as soon as I was well enough, I gave Noah some lame apology and broke our date. He never asked again, and I stopped looking him in the eye. I stopped looking everyone in the eye. The floor had became my new favourite scenery, and my stepfather’s reign of power had begun.

I HAD WORK SOON, and I needed to get my head in the right place. Using a technique I’d first read about on the Internet, I grabbed the scented candle on my bedside table, lit it, and inhaled deeply, savouring the candle’s sweet vanilla fragrance. Holding my breath, I focused on clearing my mind of everything and exhaled. After a few minutes, the panic had receded. I was always afraid, but I could think past the anxiety now. Looking at my watch, I saw I only had thirty minutes before my shift started. For the second day in a row, I was running to work again.

“GOOD MORNIN’, SUNSHINE,” Danny croaked, in his usual gruff voice. He sounded like he smoked twenty a day, but it was probably more like fifty. The tips of his fingers gave away his habit as much as his voice.

“Morning, Danny. How are you today?” I asked. Danny looked up from the menu. He always read the menu, and I had no idea why, because he ordered the same thing every day.

“What happened?” he barked at me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning in confusion.

“You asked me a question. Aside from asking me what I want for breakfast, you never do that. So I want to know what’s up.”

I could feel myself clamming up. I looked down instinctively and bit my lip.

“Now, don’t you start cowering on me, girl. Something’s happened to you, and I’m nosy enough to want to know what it is. You should know me well enough by now to know that my bark is worse than my bite, so stop looking at the floor and better still, take a seat and talk to me a little bit.”

He nodded at the seat across the booth from his. I looked up and met his gaze. You could tell a lot from a person’s eyes. I wasn’t the world’s best judge of character, but I could usually tell when a smile on the face hid meanness behind the eyes.

“I can’t, Danny. I don’t think Mike would much like me sitting down on the job.”

“Don’t you get breaks?”

“Danny, you’re always my first customer of the day. It’s a little early for a break, don’t you think?”

“Rhona?” Danny barked, as she headed toward the kitchen.

“Can you spare our girl for five minutes?” He nodded toward me, and I was stunned.

“Course I can. We won’t get many in till half past. Just keep an eye out for anyone in your section,” she called back, seeming unperturbed. So far, Danny was my only customer, so pouring myself a cup of coffee, I sat down in the booth opposite him. He waited patiently.

“Don’t you want to order your breakfast while we wait?”

“I’ve got all day,” he said. “You can put my order in when the next table fills up.”

“So?” he barked.

“I made a new friend,” I answered. His expression didn’t change, but the tone was more inquisitive.

“Boy or girl?” he asked.

“Err, girl,” I replied, embarrassed.

“Good. I hope she’s got a bit of spunk about her. You need someone to bring you out of yourself.”

“How do you know this isn’t the extrovert me?”

“Huh,” he grunted. “If this is the extrovert you then the introvert you must be bloody mute.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or be offended.

“So, this is the reason why you’re so cheerful then?” he enquired.

“I guess,” I replied, swirling the spoon around my coffee. “She’s very different to me, but she seems really nice.”

“It’s about time you made some new friends and starting living a little. Life is for the living, my girl, and anything else is just marking time.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m going to become a social butterfly overnight. It’ll just be nice to have some company at school, that’s all. Making friends is fine but going out with friends usually requires money. I need as many shifts as I can get at Daisy’s to pay for school. You know that,” I explained as I sipped my coffee.

“’Bout that. I’ve been having a think to myself, and I reckon we could help each other out, you and me.”

“How do you mean?” I replied.

“Do you trust me?” Of course, I trusted him. Up until yesterday, he was probably my only friend in the world. But when someone asked if you trusted them, it was usually because they were about to put that trust to the test.

“I trust you, but I’m not sure how you think we can help each other.”

“Thing is, I’ve got a business down on Barking Road here in Canning Town. It’s not really all that big, so up until now I’ve been doing all the books myself. Ain’t much work, just a couple of nights a week, but I’m ticking on now and most nights I’m just too tired to take care of it. Now, last few years business has been good, so I’m thinking to myself that a bookkeeper is a mighty fine idea. Course, I’m not paying through the nose for it.”

I listened politely until his meaning sank in, and I was floored.