Behind a Closed Door (The Estate, Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

you any trouble.’
    ‘You’d be surprised at the things I’ve seen when tenants have abandoned properties.’
    Kelly rolled her eyes. ‘Like what exactly?’
    ‘Walls knocked down, doors blocked in, fires and kitchens ripped out,’ said Josie. ‘That’s why we introduced the tenancy conditions. Anything done without permission needs to be brought back to standard or we’ll re-do the work and issue a charge.’
    ‘I hope you’re not referring to me. Me and Scott wouldn’t do –’
    ‘No, I’m not referring to you at –’
    ‘But you are going to make me move into that heap of junk you call a flat in Clarence Avenue?’
    ‘I know it’s not ideal,’ Josie tried to sympathise without sounding patronising, ‘but you can make it homely. Then, when you’ve lived there for a while as a registered tenant, you can go on the transfer list and move somewhere else.’
    ‘And the chances of ever getting to the top of that list are…?’
    ‘That will be up to you, and how Scott behaves when he comes out of prison.’
    ‘Is Daddy in prison, Mummy?’ Emily tugged on Kelly’s hand.
    ‘No, he’s not, Em,’ Kelly reassured her. She stared coldly at Josie. ‘Can you at least try and be careful what you say?’
    Josie didn’t falter. ‘This isn’t my doing. Things have to change. I know you don’t like it but that’s the way it is. Scott must have known the risk with every job he did and you didn’t say no to a life surrounded by material wealth because of it, did you? So you’ll have to make the best of your time there.’
    ‘But why Clarence Avenue? Can’t we move to somewhere else?’
    ‘No. When Mr Johnstone signed the tenancy agreement on Patrick Street, the only probable reason he managed to get a three-bedroomed house was due to low demand. We had a huge problem letting properties a few years ago but rising house prices have forced more people onto the renting ladder. Clarence Avenue is all we have for you at the moment.’
    ‘They’re both doss holes, if you ask me,’ Kelly argued. ‘I can’t believe that you think I’d want to live in any of them.’
    ‘Like I told you yesterday, you have no choice. It’s either Clarence Avenue or you can find yourself somewhere to live. I think it’s better if you go with the first choice, don’t you?’
     
    Later that afternoon, Kelly walked briskly up Clarence Avenue, pushing against the freezing wind. She held on tightly to Emily’s hand as she skipped along, singing a nursery rhyme. They drew level with the first flat she’d seen yesterday and Kelly shuddered, remembering the inside of the property. The walls had been nicotine yellow, a shade she’d never seen on a colour sample chart from any DIY store and it had smelt like someone had used the place as a toilet.
    Kelly chanced a quick look at the garden as she marched past. The weeds that had survived the winter had overtaken what looked like a rockery embedded in the middle of the postage-stamp sized garden. The obligatory mound of black waste bags formed another corner display, their contents shred across the path. Dried up baked beans, remains of a roast dinner and… urgh, she didn’t want to think about the rest. At least the inside of the flat she’d decided to take had seemed a little more habitable.
    She pushed her way through the overgrown hedges again.
    ‘Mummy, I’m wet,’ Emily wailed.
    Kelly kept a hold of her hand as she guided her down the steps. ‘Nearly there,’ she gave her voice a sing-song tone. ‘Then we can see our new home, Emily. Isn’t it exciting?’
    Kelly opened the door and bent down to have a nosy at the mail that had been pushed to one side when she’d been shown around. Dozens of leaflets advertised two for the price of one pizzas and double glazing. Red bill reminders for the previous tenant, the odd letter addressed to the new occupier and free newspapers aplenty.
    ‘Pooh, it stinks.’ Emily covered her nose with her hand.
    Kelly encouraged her to