Free Respect (Mandasue Heller) by Mandasue Heller Page B

face in years. How am I supposed to find him, never mind get money off him?’
    ‘I’m sure you’ll figure something out.’ Tracey shrugged and opened the door.
    Shocked to the core, Chantelle stayed rooted to the spot for several long minutes after Tracey had gone. Still there when Leon knocked on the door, she snapped out of her daze and, swiping at the tears that she hadn’t even realised she was crying, let him in.
    ‘What’s for dinner?’ he asked, shouldering past her and dropping his blazer on the floor.
    Relieved that he was home, because she had half expected him to go awol to punish her for shouting at him, Chantelle followed him into the kitchen. Now that she knew for sure that her mum was alive but had no intention of coming home any time soon, it was more important than ever to get things sorted between her and Leon. If they didn’t start pulling together, it wouldn’t be long before they were pulled apart – for ever.
    ‘I’m going to make spaghetti,’ she told him when she found him rooting through the fridge. ‘And then we need to talk.’
    ‘Whatever.’ Leon closed the fridge and looked in the cupboard. Disappointed to find nothing that he could eat which didn’t need cooking, he slammed the door shut. ‘How come you never buy biscuits? You never get nothing nice, you.’
    ‘We can’t afford it,’ Chantelle said guiltily. ‘Have you got any homework?’ she asked then. ‘Why don’t you make a start on it before you get too tired?’
    ‘I’m on holiday,’ Leon reminded her, shrugging her hand off his back when she ushered him towards the door. ‘I’m going to watch telly.’
    ‘Okay.’ Chantelle sighed. ‘But don’t have it on too loud. Oh, by the way …’ she added, keeping a casual edge to her voice. ‘Remember when you thought you saw your dad going into that house that time? Did you say it was opposite the precinct?’
    Leon curled his lip. ‘Yeah, why?’
    ‘No reason.’ Chantelle smiled. ‘Just crossed my mind, that’s all. I’ll give you a shout when dinner’s ready.’
    When she heard the TV come on in the front room, Chantelle took the mince out of the freezer and put it into the microwave to defrost. Then, chopping an onion, she mentally reran the conversation she’d just had with Tracey.
    She was furious that her mum had rung Tracey and not her, and in hindsight she wished she’d taken Tracey’s phone off her and got the new number for herself. But she’d been too shocked to think about it at the time, and now she doubted she’d get the chance again because Tracey would no doubt go back to avoiding her. It was particularly upsetting to know that her mum was more concerned about keeping her hands on the benefit money than she was about her kids. But as for telling Chantelle to get money off Leon’s dad, that was a joke. Leon claimed not to care that his dad had abandoned him, but Chantelle remembered how heartbroken he’d been when, a couple of years ago, he’d come home in tears after spotting Glenroy going into a house in Stretford with a woman and a child.
    ‘ I leaned right out of the bus window and shouted at him ,’ he’d sobbed. ‘ And I know he heard me, ’cos he looked right at me. But he just blanked me and shut the door .’
    ‘ Probably wasn’t him ,’ their mum had said. ‘ It’s been years since you saw him; you wouldn’t have a clue what he looked like .’
    But Leon had been adamant. ‘ It was him, I know it was. He just don’t want me no more. I hate him! ’
    Now that she thought about it, Chantelle realised it had been around that time when Leon’s behaviour had started to deteriorate. Before then, he’d just been a bit cheeky; but afterwards, he’d become sullen and argumentative – and it had got far worse when he came home after being in care.
    They had never spoken about his time with his foster parents because Leon flew off the handle whenever she tried to raise the subject. But Chantelle suspected that