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now. She had all her furniture to pack up, her change of addresses to sort out, and she still had to go and see Scott, which was another thing she kept pushing to the back of her mind.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    ‘Please tell me that’s all of it.’ Jay crammed two more boxes into the back of the van he’d borrowed. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m knackered. I think you owe me a beer when we’ve shifted this load.’
    ‘I think I can run to that,’ Kelly answered. For all her misgivings, she wouldn’t have managed today if it wasn’t for Jay and his offer of a van. Her mum and dad had helped her to box up the remainder of their belongings yesterday, keeping Emily with them overnight so Kelly could shift the heavier items without her getting in the way this morning.
    Jay pulled down the roller shutter and secured the padlock. ‘I reckon we’ll have this unpacked at the other end in a couple of hours. Do you want to see if we’ve forgotten anything?’
    Kelly went back into the house and wandered around each room, checking cupboards, pulling out kitchen drawers, but she hadn’t missed anything. Finally, she made one last trip to the living room. She held back tears. Never again would she open her curtains and feast her eyes on old Mrs Shelby across the road at number forty, who’d wave whenever she saw her; be woken up by the boys from number thirty-two coming home from the pub at the weekends; be able to nip in to see Sue, her mum’s friend, at number seventeen to check on how her grandson was doing.
    She had so many memories, good and bad: bringing Emily home from hospital, her first Christmas, her first birthday. Painting the living room walls buttercup yellow for two days until she and Scott couldn’t live with it any longer and had to do it all again in pale lemon; the police knocking on the door every time there had been a robbery or break-in to check for stolen goods. Kelly had lost count of how many times that had happened during their relationship.
    ‘Ready?’ said Jay as he came back inside.
    Kelly turned towards him. ‘It’s not fair,’ she choked back tears. ‘Why should I have to move out because of that thoughtless git? This is my home, too.’
    ‘Don’t worry. I’ll help you in Clarence Avenue. It’ll be like this place in no time – only don’t try and badger me into any wallpapering. I’m crap at it. It always rolls down the wall again, no matter how much paste I put on.’
    Kelly’s lips twitched, thankful that he was trying to make her smile.
    ‘Has Scott called again?’ Jay asked.
    ‘Yeah, last night.’
    ‘And am I taking you to see him?’
    ‘I’m not sure.’
    Jay nodded. ‘I thought you’d say that. But he needs you, Kel. I can’t imagine what it’s like in there but I know he’ll be missing you.’
    The lone tear that had trickled down Kelly’s cheek now headed towards her neck. She wiped it away abruptly. ‘He should’ve thought about that before he did that last job. I told him not to do it.’
    ‘Don’t you think he regrets that now?’
    Kelly had asked herself that more than once over the past fortnight and it was eating her up inside. Had it all been a mistake? Had he been unaware of his actions? She needed to see Scott, ask him why he’d done it – to hear him say he hadn’t realised that he’d put their lives into jeopardy. But it was too raw.
    ‘I’m not ready to forgive him yet. Look what’s happened because of his stupidity.’
    ‘I know. You’ve every right to be upset.’
    Yes, she did have every right to be upset. But Kelly didn’t want Jay to see her like that. Despite her anguish, she held her head up.
    ‘Upset is one thing, but feeling sorry for myself? I’m better than that.’
    Jay flashed a smile. ‘Of course you are, but everyone’s entitled to throw a wobbler every now and then. It’s only natural.’
    Kelly sniffed, knowing that if she stood there much longer, she’d start crying properly. ‘Let’s get out of