‘Where’s Ed?’ Jacob asked, not directing his question to any of the other three in particular.

Matthew, Lewis and Steven all exchanged looks to query who Jacob had been speaking to but it was Steven who answered. ‘I think he’s off with that girl again.’

‘Pfft,’ Jacob said dismissively. ‘What a deserting little prick. It’s not as if she’s even got any friends for the rest of us.’

Steven was actually a little jealous. On the second day of their break, the six of them had been in a bar on the main street. It was crowded and noisy but, after an hour or so, Matthew noticed Ed was no longer with them. They had found him outside on a raised kerb talking to a girl. According to Lewis, who played rugby with him, Ed was still a virgin and everyone seemed surprised it was him who had been the first to hook up with someone of the opposite sex.

In the days that followed, Ed and the girl, who they had found out was called Sam, had spent pretty much all their time together. Barry and Jacob hadn’t taken it too well but it was clear to Steven their jealousy was based around the fact they hadn’t had any luck with women since they had arrived on the island of Rhodes. Steven didn’t actually resent Ed as they seemed to – he was simply envious because he wanted to find someone of the opposite sex he could hang around with.

The evening progressed much as the previous few had. Jacob and Barry drank constantly while Steven, Matthew and Lewis had just enough to get them drunk without going completely over the top. They moved from the English bar into one of the clubs. Most people went there to dance but the five of them sat in near-silence close to the bar watching the swaying crowd. Jacob would make the odd grab towards girls if any were unfortunate enough to get too near but, aside from that, the night was as uneventful as the rest of the holiday had been.

The next night they would be going home and, for Steven, it couldn’t come soon enough. After an hour or so, Jacob made one lunge too many towards a girl and they were thrown out. The places didn’t have bouncers like clubs might at home but the threat of the police had convinced Jacob it was time to go. After he hurled a mouthful of abuse at the few security staff, the five of them started to walk towards their apartment block.

Steven found the hotel itself horrible. There was no air-conditioning, which made sleeping at night almost impossible, while sharing a room was something he wasn’t overly comfortable with seeing as he was an only child and not used to it. Barry was a bad snorer but at least tended to fall asleep after they got back. Matthew wasn’t too bad and the other three were in the room next door. Although they were all clearly struggling to sleep, Steven would at least lie on his uncomfortable bed and try. In the adjoining room, Jacob would put music or the television on and generally make life miserable for all of them. If it had disturbed Barry, he would have probably stopped but Jacob knew the other four were intimidated by him, so did whatever he wanted.

The walk back to the hotel was slow and tortuous with both Jacob and Barry offering to fight bystanders for no reason other than the fact they were there. Steven, Matthew and Lewis kept quiet and walked a few paces behind, trying not to get caught up in things. Over the course of the week they hadn’t said too much to each other but had bonded in a silent way because of the way they had been mutually bullied into submission.

Eventually they arrived back at the apartments, making their way up the outside stairs to their rooms on the fourth floor. Steven had the key and opened the door but was hit by a wall of humidity as he walked into the room. The evening was cool but the room was far hotter. He had barely reached his bed when he heard Jacob’s unmistakable voice from the next room. Barry had opened the door that connected the interiors and was standing in the doorway cheering before crossing into the other room. Dreading what he might see but feeling inquisitive, Steven followed Matthew into the adjoining room.

It only took a moment to see what the noise had been about. Ed was in a bed on top of Sam. They had clearly just been disturbed while having sex and the look on the woman’s face was pure horror. Because the boys had been thrown out of the club, they had returned to the rooms around an hour-and-a-half earlier than they had on previous days.

Sam was holding the thin white sheet across the top of her chest with Ed lying half on top of her, also under the cover. Jacob was still cheering. ‘Waheeeeeyyyyy. Have you brought her back for us all to have a go? Good lad.’

Steven could see the disgusted look on the girl’s face. Her blonde hair was tangled across her face and he could see thin tan marks on her skin from where she had been wearing a bikini. She looked directly at Jacob then glanced across at the other boys. It was obvious she was associating the five of them together. ‘Fuck off,’ she said venomously, clutching the cover to herself. Ed looked as if he was going to say something but Barry was now standing next to the bed. Jacob was a little further back in the room next to Steven, Lewis and Matthew.

‘Mind your fucking language,’ Barry said, snatching the sheet away. Jacob started laughing as there was a brief tug of war with Sam desperately trying to hold onto the sheet. Ed’s eyes were wide with fear, Sam’s full of fury. It only took a second or two before Barry managed to grab the sheet away, leaving both Ed and Sam naked on the bed. The woman tried her best to cover her body as Barry and Jacob sneered with joyous laughter.

Steven felt sick and ashamed as he took in her thin frame but said nothing. The humid air suddenly felt cold. He shivered as Jacob stepped forward. ‘Nice of you to bring your little girlfriend around to give us all a go.’

Ed was reaching towards a pile of clothes on the floor. ‘Leave her alone.’

Jacob lunged forward and slapped him across the face with a large crack. Steven heard Lewis gasp next to him and felt stunned himself. ‘Do you think you’re better than us?’ Jacob said loudly. Ed was shaking with what Steven guessed was a mixture of shock and anger. Jacob slapped him again. ‘You think you’re better than us just because you’ve got yourself a whore for a week.’

Jacob’s words were slurring together, the alcohol in full effect, but Ed seemed unable to speak himself. Steven felt frozen and neither of the other two standing next to him said anything. Sam was staring at Jacob herself, still trying to cover her body. ‘Leave him alone,’ she shouted.

Jacob picked Ed up and shoved him to the ground then sat on the bed as Sam tried to shuffle away from him. Her clothes were in a pile with Ed’s on the opposite side of the bed from where she was. Sam went to stand but Jacob reached across and snatched her hand away so she was no longer covering her top half. ‘Why, what are you going to do about it?’

Barry threw the sheet across the room and walked to the door connecting the two rooms, closing it. He then went to the main front door and locked it. Steven watched on, too intimidated to say anything. As the doors were shut he saw the look on Sam’s face change from defiance to outright fear.

‘Let me go,’ she said fiercely. Ed had taken a pair of shorts from the floor and put them on. He stood and tried to hand some clothes to Sam but Barry snatched them away and flung them across the room.

At seeing her clothes being tossed around, Sam repeated her words but it sounded far more of a plea second time around. ‘Let me go.’

Steven finally found his voice but it faltered and cracked as he spoke. ‘I think we should just leave things.’

Jacob glared across at him furiously, then he used his free hand to point at Steven and the other two standing next to him. ‘If any of you fucking move, I promise you won’t be getting on that plane back home in one piece.’ He then turned to Ed. ‘And if you try anything, you’ll get the same treatment.’