by Woods, Karen
Checking he was settled in the living room, she crept to the small cupboard where she’d hid the weight gain powder. Pouring it all into a big container she scooped several heaps from it and placed it into his glass. See could still see the powder floating around at the top of it. “Fuck” she whispered. Finding an old bottle she poured all the brown liquid into it and shook it vigorously. Once it was done she poured it back into his glass. “Job done” she chuckled. In the future she would mix it up in one batch. She couldn’t take the chance of ever getting caught. He would kill her for sure. Stroking her throbbing face she went to give him his drink. The side of her face was starting to swell, it looked red. She went to leave the room but he shouted her back.
“Sandra get your arse sat down here a minute. I need some help. This shit is doing my head in.” He patted the seat next to him on the sofa. Passing him his drink she obeyed his orders. Sandra listened to him and knew she had to pull herself out of the dark hole and speak back to him. She spoke as if she cared. “Just phone him and meet him. There is no point hiding away is there? It just makes thing worst. Zac knows these things happen all the time so he can’t blame you, can he?” He sat forward, his head was dipped between his legs as he dragged his fingers through each strand of hair.
“Yeah, yeah you’re right, I’ll phone him in a minute and arrange to meet up. I need a bath and that first though. I stink like a donkey’s arsehole.” Sandra watched him gulp at his drink. Her face smirked as she watched him drain the last little drop. “Run the bath for me will you? I’m all over the place and can’t think straight.” Sandra stood up immediately and headed back into the kitchen to get some toiletries to take upstairs.
Entering the bathroom she locked the door behind her. Tears fell and she threw the toiletries on the bathroom floor. Watching the water fill the bath, the steam filled the bathroom and it made it hard for her to see, her eyes focused on the floor. The hair removal cream she’d just thrown to the floor stared right back at her. The tears stopped as she bent over to grab it. Sandra read the words on the label. Her hands shook as she reached for Kevin’s hair conditioner. He always liked expensive stuff for his hair. She carefully unscrewed the lid from his Tony and Guy conditioner. She inhaled its fragrance. It smelt like lavender. Quickly she opened the hair removal cream and squirted the lot inside the red and white container. Her hands now held the hair treatment in her hands and she stood and shook it with all her strength. Pulling the lid back off from it she stuck her nose to the bottle and inhaled deeply. There was no trace of the hair removal fragrance. A smile crept over her face as she placed it back by the bath. Kevin loved his locks more than anything and Sandra knew he would be devastated if he lost one strand of his hair. The bath was now full. Checking there were enough towels in the bathroom, she left to tell him the bath was ready.
Kevin could be heard coming up the stairs and she rushed to the bedroom trying to look busy. The hair loss plan set her thinking and she knew her sister would be getting some of it as well. No one would ever know it was her and that’s what she liked about it. She could hide behind her cloak of deceit and never go detected.
Kevin came into the bedroom. Searching his wardrobe he handed her a pair of jeans and a multi coloured top for her to iron. “Run the iron over them babes.” Sandra said nothing and took the clothes from him. As she stood to go and get the ironing board out from the cupboard she told him she planned to go out tonight with her friends. His body froze at the bedroom door as he screwed his face up. He looked angry but left the room just huffing. Sandra placed her two fingers into the air and shoved them in his direction. “Wanker” she whispered.
Sandra turned on the CD player and listened to some tunes whilst she was ironing. She ironed her black dress at the same time. Music made her feel giddy and as she listened to The Mavericks track “Dance the night away” she shuffled her body to and fro around the ironing board. Kevin could be heard coming back out of the bathroom, he looked in shock. As she looked at him she could see tears in his eyes. Holding his hand out in front of him, he revealed a mass of hair in his palm.
“Sandra my fucking hair is falling out. Look!” Her eyes stared at the black hair he held in his hands. He kept running his fingers through his hair pulling even more of it out. Sandra looked concerned. She didn’t think the hair removal would have been that good but looking at her husband’s face her plan had worked even better than she’d expected. She came to his side and comforted him. As she held him she smiled from ear to ear. She was becoming ruthless in her quest to ruin him. She offered some words of comfort.
“It’s all the stress Kevin. You just need to stop worrying and it will grow back.” As she looked more closely at his scalp, she nearly burst into fits of laughter. The fucker was completely bald in parts. She straightened her face and offered him a solution. “You’re better off shaving the lot off. You can’t walk about looking like that. You look a right twat.” He ran to the mirror for a closer look. His face was showing signs of distress. “Will you get the shavers and do it for me Sandra? I think they’re in our John’s room. He had them the other day shaving his barnet.” Sandra hurried in search of the clippers. Once she’d found them she told him to sit down while she shaved the rest of it off.
Holding the black shavers in her hand she felt like never before. She felt in control for the first time in her life. As the chunks of hair fell to the ground she watched his distressed face in the mirror. His face now looked long and every flaw on his skin seemed to stand out. He looked a right prick. His ears looked massive. Sandra lied when it was finished and told him how much he suited his new hair style as Kevin stood before the mirror turning from side to side. He hated it and she could tell. His mobile phone was now ringing on the bed and he could see the familiar name of Zac spread across the screen. While he answered it Sandra cleaned up the hair from the floor and listened at the doorway as she heard Kevin setting up a meeting with the drug dealer. As he held the phone in his grip he paced around the bedroom with a frightened look on his face. The meeting was now set and Kevin was ready to meet his demons.
Sandra sat in the mirror applying her make-up as Kevin pulled up his jeans. Every time she looked at him she wanted to burst out laughing but she managed to keep a straight face. As he said goodbye he bent down towards her and kissed her cheek.
“Wish me luck Sandra. It might be the last time you see me.”
Sandra kept her cool. “Don’t be daft. Nothing will happen to you. Just tell him straight.”
“Well let’s hope you’re right ay,” Kevin huffed. He left the bedroom. Once she heard the front door slamming, she jumped up from the bed and peered through the top window at him. She could see him getting into his car. He looked a right twat with his new hair style and Sandra pissed herself laughing again. She placed the curtain back and returned to get ready. The smile on her face couldn’t be removed and she couldn’t wait to tell the girls about her first couple of victories. Quickly reaching for her diary she told it that she was getting stronger and how she’d made her husband lose his precious hair.
CHAPTER NINE
Kevin drove to his destination with a look of desperation on his face. He knew this man wouldn’t take any shit and he prepared himself for the worst. Driving to a deserted car park inside Heaton Park, he turned his engine off and sat trembling inside. Looking into the rear view mirror he checked his face. His hair was a disgrace and he knew it. He looked like he’d escaped from a concentration camp. Gritting on his teeth he blew from his mouth to try and remain calm.
Ten minutes later a silver BMW pulled up at the side of him. Zac was driving. He was a large white man with several tattoos across his upper arm. His white vest-top showed off his bulging biceps. Another two men sat in the back of the car. One of them was black and the other was white. They too looked like they worked out. They looked like warriors. Zac gave the signal for Kevin to come and join them. With hesitation he unlocked his car door and made his way towards the car. The passenger door
was now flung open.
The atmosphere was tense. Kevin could feel the guy’s breath in the back of the car filtering down his neck as the car pulled out of the car park. Kevin didn’t say anything he just sat there fidgeting about with his coat. Zac turned the music up and nodded his head to the beat. He was driving like a mad man and Kevin thought about trying to jump out of the moving vehicle. Zac must have been watching his eyes checking the doors through the rear-view mirror and pressed the central locking at the side of him. Kevin was trapped now and he would have to take anything they had planned for him. He was shitting himself and small droplets of sweat could be seen forming on his forehead. Licking his lips he coughed and began to try and make conversation.
“Where we off to lads?”
Zac turned to him and grabbed his knee as the traffic came to a standstill. Kevin fell back into the chair as he felt his leg being crushed.
“You don’t need to know where we’re going mate. You just need to know where my fucking bud has gone.” Kevin tried to answer but a hand come from behind him and squeezed his shoulder.
“Shut the fuck up” the voice shouted. Kevin felt sick and knew if he came away from this alive he would be a lucky man.
Zac was a well known drug dealer who ran the drug scene in Harpurhey and Collyhurst. Everyone feared him and knew you didn’t fuck with him unless you were willing to take a bullet. Stories of his ruthlessness were always being told in the area. Even though you didn’t know Zac personally, you knew he was a man you didn’t fuck about with. Kevin had always got on with him and had never had any trouble from him but that was before his weed was stolen. Now was a different story and he was just about to find out exactly what this man was capable of.
The music was turned off now and the two men got out of the back of the car. Fuck me they were massive. Every inch of them was toned; even their fingers looked as if they had been on steroids. Zac led them inside an old scrap yard. A few cars were still lying about but it obvious the place had been closed for a while.
Kevin and Zac walked in front as the two foot soldiers walked behind them. They were watching Kevin’s every move. He was walking as if he’d shit himself. He looked weak, as if his legs were about to buckle. A small door was now opened in front of him and Zac led him inside.
The room was quite long and old chairs were scattered about the room. An old desk was situated on the back wall and Zac parked his arse on top of it. A chair was pushed to Kevin and he was made to sit on it in front of him. The two men were now at either side of him. They both stood with their arms folded and awaiting instructions from Zac. The main man now cleared his throat. He could be seen skinning up. Once his spliff was made he lit it and choked as he took a deep drag from it. His face now looked serious and he chewed on his fingernail as he spoke.
“Right Kevin, firstly let me just tell you how much of a twat you look with a bald head.” The others chuckled at the side of him and Kevin tried to explain but Zac shut him up straight away. “Shut the fuck up. I’m not here for chit-chat. I want my fucking money back!” Kevin tried to speak again but a fist came from his right side and landed right into his eye. He screamed out in pain. The man now pulled his head up from behind him and made him look at Zac.
Kevin slavered as he spoke. “Mate I don’t know what happened. Some fucker must have been onto the grow and had it away.” A fist pummelled his face again and this time he fell to the floor like a dead weight. Covering his head with two desperate arms he could feel his body being kicked and punched. Zac’s soldiers now dragged him back up and threw him back onto the chair. His eyes were nearly closed and he was struggling to see. Blood trickled from his nose and every bone in his body felt like it was on fire. He struggled to remain on the chair.
Zac now stood up and walked towards him. Gripping his face he screamed. “Nobody has me over you prick. I want what you owe me and I want it now!”
Kevin nodded. You could just about hear Kevin’s struggled words. “I’ll get it for you. I’ll have to sell my car and that.” He could feel teeth sinking into his face now and screamed out in pain. Zac pulled a piece of flesh from his face with his teeth and spat it onto the floor.
“Selling your fucking car won’t be enough to repay me you wanker.”
The drug dealer now walked from him and left him coughing blood from his mouth. Zac stood thinking for a minute he paused.
“Right twat bag. You can start selling brown for me. You’ll work for fuck all and do all the running about. That means picking parcels up and bagging it. Do you get me?” Kevin heard his words and doubled over in pain. He would have done anything at that moment to stop the beating and agreed. His head was being knocked about still and as he put his hand up to defend himself he could see blood pouring from his hand. He’d been slashed.
The men stood and watched him suffering. Usually they would have cut his fingers off but they let him off lightly because he’d agreed to deal the hard stuff for them. In the past Zac had showed off people’s fingers in the pub that he kept in a steel tin. That was his way of letting everyone know that if they fucked with him that’s what would happen to them.
The men left Kevin for a few minutes then dragged him from the chair and carried him back to the car. They handed him an old coat and told him if he got blood on the car seats he would have to pay for that as well. His body was shaking uncontrollably and if you listened carefully you could hear him crying.
The men seemed to have no remorse for the beating they’d just given him and it seemed as if it was all in a day’s work for them. Kevin shuffled about placing the coat all around his body. His head rested on the window and his face looked to the floor. He was in a bad way.
Once they were back in Heaton Park, Zac told Kevin he would be in touch. As he started to leave the car Zac stretched over to grab him back inside and looked him straight into his eyes. “Don’t forget what I want. If you don’t answer your phone when I ring you, I’ll be coming through your front door, team handed and you and your family will suffer. Do you hear me?” Kevin nodded and left. He struggled to walk back to his car and when he heard them screeching off, he fell to the ground. He struggled for breath and he tried to find his mobile phone in his pocket. As he located Sandra’s number he listened as it went straight to answer phone. Kevin curled up on the floor.
*
Sandra was having the time of her life. She was pissed as a fart and enjoying the company of Tina and Maxine. When she’d told them earlier about how she had put hair removal cream in her husband’s conditioner they roared laughing. She was on top form tonight and she mingled with everyone feeling more confident than she ever had in all her life. The night was going well until her sister appeared in the pub. Sandra kicked Tina under the table as they watched her approach. Tracy looked sexy. As always she had everyone’s eyes in the pub looking at her, especially Reggae Ronnie the DJ.
Tracy came to their table and leant over to kiss Sandra on the cheek. Sandra accepted and screwed her face up at Tina as Tracy’s lips connected on her face. Tracy was dressed in black skinny jeans and a red vest top. Her breasts looked as perky as ever and Sandra could feel herself comparing her own breasts to her sister’s. Maxine nodded her head as she gazed at the slut. By the look on her face she wanted to do her in there and then and she whispered to Tina, “Who the fuck does that tart think she is? We should deal with her you know and show her what happens when she fucks around with the big girls.” Tina agreed, she’d hated the spoilt brat for years and would have loved to have knocked that cocky smile right from her face. Sandra was her best mate and she needed to step up her game to help her.
Maxine was whispering down her ear. “Let’s get the fucker on her own. I’ve met her sort loads of times and she needs knocking down a peg or too.” Tina agreed. She looked about and made sure no one was listening.
“What’s that rape drug called where if you take it you can’t remember a fucking thing the next day?”
“Rohypnol”
�
�Yeah, that’s it.”
Maxine smiled as a plan hatched in her mind. Tina’s phone could be heard ringing and as soon as she saw Steven’s name on the screen she hurried to the corner of the pub to answer it. The noise from the music was deafening and she was struggling to hear him.
Sandra was knocking the brandy back, glass after glass. After all she could afford it now. Tina looked down in the dumps and when Sandra asked her what was wrong she sighed. “Oh it’s Steven. His dad has just been taken into hospital so he won’t be coming home tonight.” Sandra grabbed her and held her close.
“Looks like the Anne Summer’s rabbit is back in employment then doesn’t it.”
Tina smiled. She was sad but with help from her best friend she was back on the mend in minutes. Tina looked towards the dance floor and looked shocked to see Tracy and Maxine dancing together. Nudging Sandra in the waist she shouted over the music. “What’s Maxine doing dancing with that slag?” Sandra looked over and hunched her shoulders.
“Two faced fucker isn’t she?” Tina agreed and pulled her friend from her seat to join her on the dance floor.
The two friends danced away strutting their stuff. Sandra could feel eyes on her from a man at the side of them both. She asked Tina if she knew him and she told her she’d never seen the guy before. Sandra carried on dancing and kept turning to the man who was more than interested in her. When the song finished they both headed back to their seats. An arm now grabbed Sandra. As she turned it was the man who’d been staring at her. Sandra became defensive at first and asked him to take his hands off her. The man smiled and moved in closer to her.
“Sandra it’s me James.” She looked at him in more detail. She definitely didn’t know him.
“James who?”
The tall man now giggled. “Fucking hell don’t say you don’t remember me. Did you go out with a lad called James Perkins in St Thomas More School?” Sandra looked at him closely. Then as if someone had pressed a button her eyes became large as she wrapped her arms round him.