Free The Boyfriend Bet by Josie Eccles Page A

give him anything
he wants to shut him up.
    At last I could finally put my feet up and watch T.V. I
was pigging out big time but I could enjoy it as I didn’t have to fight for the
remote or have to listen to Mum telling me I’d really eaten enough. And just
like that I was plunged into darkness. I absolutely hate the dark! I just froze
and waited for the screaming to start from Peter’s room. There wasn’t
any...what a relief. It could only mean Peter was finally asleep, thank god. I
presumed we’d had a power cut but there is something totally unnerving about
the dark. I swear I could hear my heart beating in the silence. It was
completely typical that this would happen when I was left alone babysitting
Peter.
    I took a deep breath and used my phone to light the way
as I walked to the kitchen steadily but carefully. I knew Mum kept candles in
here somewhere. I found a bag of tea lights in a drawer. Mum does like her
candles but she can only really have them out when Peter’s not around, like at
his dad’s or something. Typical bloody Mum though, there were not any matches
or a lighter anywhere in sight. Admittedly my phone was not a great torch but
you would think the logical thing would be to keep the matches with the
candles.
    Great, I would just have to wait until Mum got back, but
that could be ages. She didn’t even say where she was going. I could go next
door and ask. Simon did come round here on the scrounge this morning, so he
obviously thought we were on ‘borrowing’ terms with each other. I desperately
tried to think of another solution but the fact was I was shit scared and just
wanted some light.
     I knew I had to be quick if I was going to go round
and ask because Peter was upstairs and could potentially wake and freak out at
anytime. I could leave the front door open though, so I could hear if he was to
call out. What if Riley answered the front door, what would I say to him? I
felt even more nervous now, but I didn’t want to sit here in the dark all night
either.
    Feeling very brave and maybe just a little bit of
excitement mixed with dread that I could see Riley, I opened the front
door....and screamed! I wasn’t expecting someone to be standing there. I could
only make out an outline as the street lights were all out too and it was very
dark.
    “Hey, it’s me, Riley.”  I heard his voice. I
wondered if I’d scared him as much as he had frightened me.  “I just came
round to check that you were ok?”
    Oh my god! I think my heart did five somersaults or
something. Did he just say he had come round to see if I was ok?
    “Um, yeah I’m fine. The dark’s not that scary, is it?” I
lied.
    “Um no....of course not.” Riley replied but he didn’t
sound all that sure himself.
    “I was just coming to ask you, don’t suppose you have a
light?”
    “A light?” Riley repeated.
    “Yeah anything, matches or a lighter? I have some candles
and nothing to light them with.”
    “Oh, hang on a minute. I’ll be right back.”
    I stood on the doorstep wishing he would hurry up. Well, clearly
Ella was not out with Riley tonight, so that was something. After waiting for
what seemed like forever, Riley was back and he actually followed me back into
the house! He gave me some matches and I lit a few of the tea lights I’d found
and put them on the coffee table, creating just enough light in the middle of
the room.
    “Kind of creepy at my house and I’m home alone.” Riley
hinted as he took a seat on the floor next to me. I was sitting cross legged
with my back against the sofa.
    “Oh well, you’ll have to stay here then,” I said a little
too confidently for me. I think the semi-darkness was helping. I knew he
couldn’t see me properly, as I could not see him clearly. I could only make him
out through the shadows.
    “I’ve never met anyone like you.”  Riley said, just
like that.
    “What do you mean?” I whispered. I wasn’t sure I was
going to like the answer. He could just mean