that it woke up the other cherubs sleeping in their rooms.
Lauren didn’t try to run when she heard James coming, but she didn’t stop either. He eventually cornered her on the landing between the seventh and eighth floors.
‘Leave me alone,’ Lauren sobbed. ‘I want to go to bed.’
‘You can talk to me about anything, you know,’ James said, as he moved in to try giving his sister a hug; but she backed into a corner and adopted a fighting stance.
‘You’re an animal,’ Lauren spat. ‘Don’t touch me.’
‘Me and Kerry … I mean … You know it’s never been perfect between us.’
‘You use girls,’ Lauren growled. ‘Sex is like eating chips or taking a dump to you; to all boys. You don’t care how it happens, or who gets hurt, just as long as you get plenty of it.’
‘Come off it. First of all, I’m not getting any and second the only person in the world I love more than Kerry is you.’
Lauren smiled grudgingly, before breaking out in fresh sobs. ‘I ended up in this room,’ she sniffed. ‘It was so horrible. They kept the girls locked up and it made me sick thinking about what had happened to them. Then this man came in and told me to get undressed.’
‘Oh god,’ James said, completely shocked. ‘I had no idea. I’m really, really, sorry.’
‘I don’t mean that, James. The bloke didn’t get his hands on me. But I stabbed him and he’s on life support. I hate his perverted guts, but I still don’t want him to die.’
Lauren finally let James close enough to touch her and he pulled her into a tight cuddle.
‘You’re safe now,’ James said soothingly.
‘I wanted to speak to you when I arrived back,’ Lauren sobbed. ‘But then I saw you with your eyes practically out on stalks and Dana’s boobs in your face. It made me want to puke my guts up. Like you were one of them.’
‘I can’t help liking girls, Lauren. Sometimes girls are all I can think about, but there’s a massive difference between getting off with Dana and trying to rape someone.’
‘It just seemed …’ Lauren said, but couldn’t finish her thought. ‘I came to see you because I didn’t feel like going to sleep. I thought you’d probably be annoyed if I woke you up, but when I walked in and saw that …’
‘We didn’t stop ’cos we thought the door was locked.’
‘So what’s with all those papers in your room?’
‘It’s to do with Ewart’s investigation,’ James explained. ‘But don’t worry about that now. Do you want me to come up to your room and sit with you for a while? Or you can come back down and sleep in my room.’
‘Nah, I’ll be OK,’ Lauren shrugged. ‘By the time I climb into bed, I’ll probably be so knackered that I’ll just keel over.’
‘If you’re sure,’ James said, as he gently rubbed Lauren’s back. ‘Goodnight.’
‘And you’re going to own up to Kerry first thing in the morning, aren’t you?’
‘Lauren, I can’t …’
Lauren’s tone stiffened as she put her foot on the first step. ‘If you don’t tell Kerry about Dana, I’m telling her about all the other girls. It’s for your own good, James.’
‘Please Lauren,’ James begged. ‘She’ll kick my arse. How exactly is that good for me?’
‘You’re my brother and that counts for a lot. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you go on making a fool of Kerry.’
‘Whatever,’ James huffed. ‘You can bring me grapes in the hospital.’
33. TROUBLES
James set his alarm for 4:30 a.m., but he didn’t need it. His head kept churning and sleep remained a remote possibility.
He hoped that Lauren was OK and he was worried about Kerry, but that was nothing compared to going after Ewart. If they were wrong about him, they’d get busted for stealing documents and leaving campus without permission and end up being kicked out of CHERUB.
James looked back into his room as he pulled shut the door, knowing there was a chance that he’d never be back. He knew who lived inside every room and as he walked down the corridor, he realised that he might never see his friends again either: Bruce, Shak, Mo, Gabrielle, the twins; Kerry.
He wasn’t looking forward to his next meeting with Kerry, but the thought of never touching her or even hearing her voice again was a million times worse.
James rubbed a tear out of his eye as he waited for the lift, but he was still determined. The only thing worse