‘Nah, mate, I’m good, I want to get this painting done.’ As soon as Mark left he looked at me, then he looked at George who was asleep nearby. I narrowed my eyes at him. What was he doing?
He grabbed a step ladder, put it up near the skylight and opened it. He climbed up and although I am not a fan of heights, I soon realised I had no choice but to follow him. I saw Liam climb out, what was he up to? I climbed up the ladder and perched on the top, looking out. To my absolute horror, Liam was standing on the roof. It didn’t look safe but he seemed quite comfortable on it.
‘Oh for goodness’ sake,’ he said when he saw me peering out. I noticed he had a tool with him and I suddenly got the feeling he was going to smash the other skylight window, then make out it couldn’t have been him as he was in a different room. That made sense.
Once, when I was in love with Snowball and she was acting as if she was immune to my charms, I decided to perform a grand gesture, climbing a tree in order to woo her. It went wrong when I got so high and realised that I am actually terrified of heights. I froze and then, to cut a long and tragic story short, I had to be rescued by the fire brigade which was very humiliating for a cat like me.
As we glared at each other, I knew that I had no choice, I couldn’t let Liam cause any more problems for my family, especially with what I had heard from Franceska and Tomasz — if he did it might be the last straw. I mustered all the courage I could and managed to get out of the skylight; well, if Liam could fit through it I had no problem, but then my stomach lurched and I froze yet again. I looked up and saw the sky, I looked down and everything, cars and people, seemed tiny. I couldn’t move as I stood on the ridge of the roof. I couldn’t even shuffle back inside but I tried not to let Liam see my fear.
‘You’re such an annoying cat.’ Liam looked angry. I realised how vulnerable I was, he could do anything. My heart started beating quickly. Although, here was the thing with Liam, he was clearly under Andrea’s spell but he wasn’t dangerous … at least, I was pretty sure he wasn’t. I really hoped he wasn’t. I watched on with horror as he, obviously braver than me when it came to heights, stepped back over me and slid back down the skylight. Thank goodness, I thought as I got ready to follow him.
‘I’ll get you when I’m ready,’ he said and before I had a chance to get through the window, he shut the skylight, leaving me perched very precariously on the roof.
I closed my eyes but that was even more terrifying, so I opened them again. Surely he wouldn’t leave me here? I could still see all over the village, it was high, higher than I had ever been — this wasn’t good. I clung onto the roof with my paws, and although I could see the skylight, it was closed so I wasn’t sure how I would get in, even if I did dare move. I thought about making a noise but there was no point, no one would hear me, the wind would just carry my voice. I hoped George was alright, I felt a bit like I had left him at the mercy of Liam. I might have stopped him from doing any damage but the result was that I was stuck on a roof and my kitten was inside.
No one could see me, so I was literally stuck. The rest of my families were on the beach, which seemed miles away. I knew there would be no point in calling out. No one would see me or hear me.
I inched as close as I could to the skylight, so I could see inside, clinging on for dear life. That was actually less frightening. At least I could see the room. I wondered if I could get anyone’s attention — at some point surely they would come looking for me? I could see Liam, who carrying on with the painting, still looking annoyed. Although I was scared and also getting weary with the effort of holding on, I still kept vigil on the skylight, hoping someone would see me. Surely Liam would come and get me — he didn’t want to kill me, just because I’d scuppered his plans, surely he wasn’t that evil? But it was beyond frustrating. I could feel my legs seizing up from being in the same place for so long. Liam left the room a few times, but I couldn’t see any sign of George. Yet again I began wondering if I would ever be rescued.
The sun was hotter up here, I was thirsty, tired, and my whole body ached from the effort of not falling off the roof. Just what was going to become of me?
It felt as if it was getting late, and the sky was darkening in a way which made me think it might fall on my head, when I finally heard voices and Polly and Colin entered the room. I literally splayed myself across the skylight and yowled. The glass was thick though and my voice seemed to disappear into the air.
‘Look, Polly I am sorry but, as I said, it’s sorted now and he’s done a good job painting the room,’ Colin was saying, I could hear faintly.
‘Fair enough but I’m not exactly thrilled. After all, it was his paint that George stepped in, and he could have ruined the bathroom floor with it, we’d literally only just had it laid.’
What? I thought, how on earth had George got in paint?
‘I know and I’ve given him a ticking-off. And the good news is that the floor is good as new, as is the kitten.’ He tried to laugh but he sounded guilty. ‘Please, look I know he’s made a few mistakes but he’s a good lad—’ Suddenly he looked up and I bashed my paw as hard as I could on the glass. ‘Polly …’ Polly followed Colin’s eyes.
‘My God, what is Alfie doing up there?’ Polly shouted.
‘Hold on.’ Colin looked flushed. He grabbed the step ladder, which was perched against the door, unfolded it and climbed up. I carefully inched back as he opened the skylight. He gently took hold of me and, my heart still beating out of my body, he brought me back inside. He gave me to Polly.
‘Oh, Alfie, how did you get on the roof? Poor baby, are you alright?’ Polly cuddled me, stroking my fur, which calmed me down.
‘Liam, get here,’ Colin shouted. Liam walked in. He had obviously been cleaning up, he was still holding a cloth covered in blue paint.
‘How did Alfie get on the roof?’ Polly asked. ‘First I find George has trod paint all over the bathroom floor then our other cat is stuck on the roof. And you were working here so how didn’t you see it? Just what is going on?’ She looked furious as she cuddled me to her. I began to feel safe again.
‘He must have climbed out when I wasn’t looking. I opened the window so it didn’t smell of paint but then I closed it, which is when George must have got in the paint,’ he said. I still didn’t know quite what George had done.
‘Liam, you need to be more careful,’ Colin said. Polly and I both glared at him.
Once I’d had some water, and a lot of fussing from Polly, I went to find George who was in the bush looking for Chanel. At least in Lynstow I always seemed to know where the boy was.
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘That man is a maniac,’ George said plaintively. ‘He grabbed me from where I was asleep and put me in the paint tray, then he told me to walk across the bathroom floor. I wouldn’t so he picked me up and made me.’
‘How awful, I wish I’d scratched him or worse. Did he hurt you?’
‘No, and at least Polly wasn’t cross with me.’
‘No, she seemed to blame Liam, which is good. I tell you what, that man is now in big trouble.’
‘Is he?’ George’s eyes were wide.
‘Yes, George, this is war.’
After the roof incident, the adults fussed more than normal over me. I have to admit I was terror-stricken every time I thought of it, being on that roof. It was even higher than the tree I’d got stuck up a few years back. But at the same time I didn’t want to make too much of a deal about it for George. I just kept warning him about Liam and although of course George said he wasn’t scared of him, I reiterated that he should never let himself be alone with him. What if he’d done that to George and not me? What if my kitten was stuck on that roof, what if he’d fallen? I couldn’t bear to think about it. Two things were clear. This was more serious than I first thought.