Jayden was sitting on the wall when Darren left the gym.
Grangefields Boxing Gym was in a converted warehouse in the industrial estate maybe a mile west of where they lived. Unless he got out of work especially late, Darren tended to drive home, change, and jog to the classes. Sometimes Jayden met him after class and they went home via their favourite chippie, and sometimes Darren jogged home too, or caught a lift off Mike, one of the other regulars. Sometimes he did none of that, and drove.
It was a chilly night, and Jayden was banging the heels of his trainers off the wall. He didn’t climb down when Darren came out, instead giving him a dirty look and prodding him in the chest with a toe, probably silently protesting the cold. Not Darren’s fault. So Darren grinned, catching the ankle a
