Chapter 73

NV — Debenhams Elspeth's forehead wrinkled in confusion as she held up the phone for Briana.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

Shawna paused the game and turned towards Elspeth. She saw the comment wasn't directed at her and returned to her game. Briana looked at it, briefly, and shrugged. "Nope."

"What is it?" Shawna asked, intent on the screen.

"Marcus just sent Bri a text, 'NV — Debenhams'."

Shawna's face dropped, and she ran for the bedroom, abandoning the game.

"HOPE!" she called to the kitchen, not slowing for the reply.

"What?" Hope appeared, butter-knife still in one hand, watching the fleeing figure depart.

"No idea," Elspeth said. "Marcus sends Bri some weird text, and she's off like a rocket."

"Marcus sent you a text?" Hope put the knife down, frowning. "He doesn't normally use his mobile. Can I see?"

"Get your shoes on," Shawna blurted out as she returned, dragging a jumper over her head before Hope could get close to the phone.

"What's going on?"

Despite her confusion, Hope grabbed a pair of boots from beside the door and started slipping her feet into them.

"NV," Shawna gasped, hiking her jeans up and breathing in deeply to get the button done up. "Non-verbal. I don't know what's happened to him, but it's not good."

"Non-verbal? He's never gone non-verbal before. Tommy does, sometimes, but not often."

"It's been a hard time for him," Shawna paused, clenching her jaw. "I knew we should have gone with him."

"He asked us to stay. You know he's planning a surprise."

"This is not the surprise I wanted!"

"Nor me, but... he has to be able to go out on his own. You know that."

"I know." Shawna quickly patted herself down checking for keys.

"Non-verbal?" Elspeth started to ask, but Briana tugged her back, gently.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"He stops talking," Hope explained to Elspeth, as Shawna returned from the kitchen with her keys.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Shawna admitted.

"Can we help?" Briana asked again, opening the door for the hurrying pair.

"Stay here in case he comes back," Shawna told them with a tight smile.

"And try to keep your phone free in case he calls again. You're the first name on his address list," Hope added, and they were gone.

The two women rushed up the escalator two steps at a time, and quickly worked out where Marcus was from the crowd of people clustered around the check-out desk.

"Marcus?" Shawna called out, trying to press through the crowd, not seeming to get anywhere. Smaller and less concerned about using her elbows to good effect, Hope squeezed through along the wall to find him hunched over in the corner between the desk and the wall. Eyes squeezed shut and with his arms wrapped tightly over the top of his head, his phone lay broken on the floor in front of him as he rocked back and forth, tapping his head against the wall.

"Get up, spazzer!" Two uniformed schoolboys at the front nudged him with their feet, not quite kicking him but not far off. Hope didn't hold back that much, and jabbed the point of her toe into the nearest one's calf.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she yelled, raising a hand to slap the other, but the pair backed off. In the face of her anger, the crowd eased back a little, and Shawna was able to squeeze through, an overweight security guard with her.

"Is he with you?" he asked Hope, as Shawna darted past her. Her glare kept the onlookers at bay.

"Yes," she snapped. "Aren't you going to do something about this lot?" She pointed, and he seemed taken aback for a moment.

"Sure. Move along please, ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid you're causing an obstruction here," he began, and Hope left him to it, turning to crouch next to Marcus.

"Honey?" she called quietly, but Shawna had already tried that and he wasn't responding. "Sing to him?"

"I don't think he's listening," Shawna replied, her eyes fixed on him as she gently slipped a hand behind his head between him and the wall. It didn't stop the rocking, but his eyes flashed open to stare at them, and they both let out a small sigh of relief.

Holding a hand out to him, Hope just waited for him to respond, and a few seconds later he slowed to a halt, unwrapping his hands from about his head, though he didn't reach for her.

"Marcus?"

Shawna drew her hand back away from his head, and he looked around at the scene, seeing the stares coming his way from the slightly distant crowd.

"What happened?" Hope whispered, but Shawna cut her off, quietly.

"Doesn't matter," she said gently. She turned to Marcus. "Let's get you out of here."

For a moment he didn't respond. When he did he took them both by surprise, slowly pushing himself upright against the wall and shaking his head.

"What?" Shawna looked confused. She backed away as he slowly tried to ease past her and make his way to the desk. His arms were pressed against his side and his fists clenched tight. Staring fixedly at the woman behind the counter, he jabbed his finger down on the bag that lay there and unclenched his other fist to reveal a bank card that he passed over.

White-faced and moving her mouth silently, the woman stepped backwards away from him, arms up as though surrendering, and he started to tremble.

"Lady, he's just trying to pay," Hope pointed out quietly. The attendant turned as a young man in a suit arrived behind the desk, and she hurriedly muttered something to him.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store," he said when he finally made his way to stand before Marcus. "You're causing a disturbance and disrupting the operation of the store."

"No, he's not." Shawna's raised voice made both Marcus and the manager flinch, so she quietened as she stepped forward. "Those gawking idiots made the scene when they clustered round to see what was going on."

"Your friend was trying to embarrass a member of the staff, Miss." The manager turned his attention — gratefully, it seemed — towards them.

"Marcus?" Hope blurted. "I don't believe you."

"He..." the woman behind the counter blurted, then clamped her mouth shut.

"Yes?" Shawna asked, her eyes narrowed as she leant over the counter. "Go on."

"He was... He was talking about buying women's underwear," she snapped.

"Right. Men do it regularly," Shawna pointed out. Hope just blushed a little, and noticed Marcus doing the same. She couldn't decide if that were a good sign because he was following the conversation and not distancing himself from it, or a bad one likely to set him off again. Hedging her bets, she slipped her hand into his and got a weak smile in response.

"In different sizes?" the woman behind the counter snapped back, warming to her subject.

"Yes. Probably some for me and some for Hope," Shawna yelled back, pointing behind her as she leant on the counter. The ripple of whispers that passed through the crowd made her realise her volume, and she stood upright again.

"Freaks," the shop-assistant muttered to the woman beside her, and the manager turned to glare at her, but it wasn't him that caught her attention.

"Who the hell are you to judge from the heady heights of a Debenham's checkout assistant?" Hope snapped back.

"Fat bitch," Shawna chimed in, drawing a mutter from the crowd that still hadn't quite dispersed. "What? Only she's allowed to be offensive about people?"

"I think it would probably be best if I served you, and you could get on your way," the manager interjected before the argument could heat up. Shawna seemed about to argue, but Hope laid a hand on her arm, nodding towards Marcus. Shawna quieted as Marcus typed the required code into the hand-unit and took his bag of purchases away.

"So... the 'heady heights of a Debenham's check-out girl'?" Shawna asked as they collected their breath in the car. "This from a girl who wants to be a beautician?"

"I don't plan to judge people as a beautician, though," Hope muttered with a slightly embarrassed grin. "I wouldn't say, 'Sorry, you're not a suitable client because I don't understand how... how you could be such a fat bitch.'"

"Yeah, alright..." This time it was Shawna with the hint of chagrin. "I was just looking for something to join in with you. She wasn't exactly slim."

"Truly," Hope agreed, and the pair of them settled back into their seats with a giggle.

"Thanks," Marcus whispered from the back seat.

They both turned to look at him.

"Home?" Shawna asked quietly, and he just nodded, settling back himself and blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. They drove in silence for the short trip back to the house, and as soon as the car was stationary Marcus was out and up the steps to the door, leaving Shawna and Hope to follow.