Darker London

Helena wasn't doing well.

This wasn't a new experience. Helena hadn't been doing well for the last six months, as much as she tried to keep the extent of it under wraps. She knew the main trigger for her slow downward spiraling was the police putting her rape case on 'inactive'. She couldn't find anyone else who would testify in a court or even talk to the police, so the whole thing had become pointless. Her solicitor had made it very clear that it would be near impossible to get a conviction without anyone else coming forward. All the guards had really good reputations, and Helena still could be 100% sure which ones had been her attackers in the first place. Sure, she'd gotten a name from one of the girls who had agreed to talk to her before pulling out, but without her going on a stand it was worthless.

( Babe, there's something broken about this )

Saturday afternoon found Stephie standing on Cherry Orchard Lane. It was a cold day, but Stephie’s hangover was sending flushes of heat through her. She had big black coat on over a collection of last night’s party jeans and a couple of tops she’d borrowed from Josie. Her lack of underwear was uncomfortable but not unbearable.

Stephie definitely did not have a plan. She hadn’t realised she was coming here till she found herself heading for the tube station instead of across the park toward Victoria Lane. She didn’t even know if Jinx would be home, didn’t know what else he was doing with his life these days. Maybe Yvonne had taken him back to Manchester, maybe he was driving cross country with Lucas. Stephie didn’t know. It had only been a couple of weeks and already she felt disconnected from him.

( Trust me mine is better )