Something You Should Know

by Melissa Hill

  “Oh, come on don’t give me that,” Lydia was petulant. “You were up for it as much as I was – more so, as I recall.” She reached for him again. “Look, forget about her – let’s continue where we left off.”

  “Lydia, please. Just go, will you?” Shane insisted.

  Lydia flinched slightly but said nothing. As she left the room, Shane called after her. “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. You didn’t ask to get caught up in all of this.” His voice softened as she appeared again in the doorway. “I think it’s better if we forget all about this for now, OK? What happened here was a big mistake. I love Karen, and I’ve been an absolute idiot. I’m very, very sorry.”

  Lydia said nothing. She went back into the bedroom and quickly got dressed, before walking out, slamming the front door behind her.

  Shane flopped down on the sofa, and put his head in his hands.

  He’d made such a mess of everything. Karen would never forgive him – now he’d probably lost her forever. How could he have been so stupid? What in God’s name was he supposed to do now?

  Chapter 13

  Karen arrived back at the flat, her entire body shaking with fury. There was no sound from inside, so maybe Jenny wasn’t home. Karen half-hoped that she wouldn’t be there. She didn’t know if she had the strength to tell anyone what had happened. How could she have been so stupid? Here she was, dishing out advice to Jenny about her love life, and accusing Roan of playing around. Little did she know it was her own boyfriend she should have been watching.

  She replayed the scene at Shane’s flat over and over again in her head, seeing clearly Lydia gloating over her. God, the wagon must have thought all her birthdays had come at once, when she saw Karen standing at the door.

  And as for Shane... Karen didn’t realise that she could feel such anger and resentment towards someone, while feeling so hurt and betrayed by them at the same time. If she was being perfectly honest with herself, she hadn’t realised her feelings for him had been so strong until now. She felt as though her heart had fallen into the pit of her stomach when she saw the two of them together. Karen shook her head as she felt tears form in her eyes again. She wasn’t going to cry this time, not again.

  The door finally opened, and Karen walked in to see Jenny and Roan sitting in silence at opposite ends of the room. Neither of them looked at her as she entered. Karen, head bent, said a quiet hello, and went quickly to her bedroom.

  She lay on the bed for a little while, and then, after a few minutes, sat up and wiped her eyes on the edge of the duvet. She thought for a minute, before getting up and examining her reflection in the mirror. She wiped her face, and put on some make-up to try and conceal her blotchy cheeks, and red-rimmed eyes. It was a difficult job, but she managed to look some way normal when she re-entered the living-room a few minutes later.

  “Jenny, I’m going out again for a little while – I’ll see you later.”

  Her friend nodded, distractedly.

  “Bye, Roan.” Karen was sorry she’d said anything, when she barely got a grunt in reply.

  Karen strode down the Rathmines Road, feeling a lot better now that she knew what she was going to do. Some of the girls from the office usually met up for drinks in the Turk’s Head on a Saturday night. Tonight, Karen was going to join them, and she was going to try and forget all about Shane Quinn.

  “Roan this is stupid. I don’t know why you’re getting so upset about it.” Jenny moved over to sit beside him on the couch. “I wasn’t implying anything, I was only asking.”

  “You were implying that I don’t pay my way,” Roan said huffily, his arms folded across his chest, refusing to look at her.

  “That’s not at all what I was saying. It’s just that I’m a bit short this month, and I wondered if you could pay back some of the money I lent you before, that’s all,” she said nervously. He was upset now – she shouldn’t have said anything. She didn’t like it when he sulked like this. He had already been sitting there for nearly an hour, without saying a single word to her.

  “Come on, just forget I mentioned it, OK? It doesn’t matter, I’ll sort something out with Karen for the rent.”

  Silence.

  “OK, OK I’m sorry. I don’t know what else you want me to say.” She moved away from him again. He was being really childish behaving like this.

  “Well, it’s nice to know that you appreciate my bringing you off on holiday,” Roan said sulkily.

  Jenny’s heart dropped to her stomach. That was a bit low. Roan had announced only a few days earlier that he was taking her on holiday to Venice, for a week in early June. While she had been thrilled at the prospect of going away somewhere romantic with him, and equally delighted that their relationship hadn’t been affected by her ‘accusations’, Jenny knew that if she had to be perfectly honest, she would have preferred that he pay back the money he owed her.

  “Fine,” she said shortly and, to her surprise felt herself getting annoyed at him. “Thank you so much Roan for booking this holiday for me. The thing is,” she continued, “I didn’t expect that you’d pay me back like this, and I myself owe Karen for covering my rent for the last three weeks.”

  Roan looked at her, incredulously. “Come on, Jenny – you’re the one with the big job in the bank. Surely you’d be the last one stuck for a few bob.”

  “Well, you obviously haven’t seen my wages slip, otherwise you’d know that my wages are nothing to shout about.”

  "I’m surprised at you, Jenny,” he said, his voice lowering, “I didn’t think you were that kind of person.”

  “What kind of person? What are you talking about? I’ve lent you more than a few hundred in the last few months, and I haven’t seen a penny of it. I’m not made of money.”

  Bzz. Bzz. Buzzzzzzzzzzzz! The intercom buzzer startled them both. Jenny jumped up quickly to answer it.

  “Jenny, is she all right? Buzz me in – I need to talk to her.”

  “Tessa? Is who all right? What are you talking about?”

  “Look, just let me in, will you?”

  “OK, OK.” Jenny pushed the door release and replaced the handset. Everyone seemed in bad form today. Karen had come in earlier with a face on her that would stop Big Ben.

  Tessa appeared in the living-room, breathless after racing upstairs.

  “Is she alright? Gerry just told me … oh, the stupid gobshite. I’ll kill him. Is she alright?”

  “Will you calm down for a minute – what’s going on?”

  Tessa paused as she caught her breath. “It’s Shane. Karen called to his flat earlier to make up with him, and she caught him with Lydia. Hasn’t she come home yet? I wonder where she is? God – I hope she’s OK.”

  Jenny looked at her, wordlessly. Why hadn’t Karen said anything?

  “She’s gone out,” she managed to say. “She left about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “What? You let her go off on her own, in that state?”

  Jenny looked at Roan. “I didn’t know – she never said a word. She seemed upset about something, but we were in the middle of a discussion, and I didn’t get a chance to talk – ”

  Roan stood up picked up his jacket and walked towards the door. “Look, I’m outta here. I’ve put up with enough drama today already. See you later.”

  Jenny watched openmouthed as he disappeared down the stairs, then she turned back to Tessa.

  “Well? Where did she say she was going?” Tessa asked. “Will she be gone for long?”

  “Look, I knew nothing about this. Karen said nothing to me. She just walked in here, stayed a while in her room, and then told me she was going out again. How was I supposed to know what had happened?”

  “You’re right, you’re right, I’m sorry, Jen, it’s not your fault.” Tessa began to pace the room. “It’s just – she must have got such a shock. And Shane is in an awful state … he tried to go after her, but she blanked him and …”

  Jenny tried to take it all in. Apparently Karen had caught Shane with Aida
n’s dreadful sister. What was he doing with her? She knew that he and Karen were on frosty terms but this was awful.

  “Tessa,” she began, “it might be the best thing for Karen to get away from here for a while. It’ll give her a chance to calm down a bit, and maybe see things more clearly. There’s no point in us running around trying to bring her back. She’s better off.”

  “Are you sure? What if she does something stupid?” Tessa wasn’t totally convinced.

  “I know Karen. This is her way of coping. She’s never been the type to sit around, thrashing things out with everyone else. She’ll deal with it when she’s good and ready.”

  Tessa nodded, contrite. “I suppose you’re right, and at least you know what you’re talking about.”

  “I know you’re just worried about Karen, but she’ll talk when she’s ready to talk - we’ll just have to wait until then.” Jenny filled the kettle. “Now, will you sit down and take your coat off?” she urged. “I’ll make us a cuppa, and you can tell me exactly what happened. You say you’ve spoken to Shane?”

  Tessa sat on one of the high stools, and propped her head up on the counter with her elbows. “Yes, he arrived at our place in an awful state looking for Gerry. Luckily Aidan wasn’t around – he normally has dinner with us on a Saturday after he and Gerry finish football training, and I don’t know who he’d murder first, Shane or Lydia. Aidan is very protective of Lydia, goodness knows why, because I think it’s everyone else that needs protecting from her.” .

  Jenny shook her head. “But why was Shane so upset? I mean, obviously he knew what he was doing – was it just because he got caught?”

  “Well, ever since he and Karen had that first argument, Shane has been hitting the bottle big-time. He didn’t expect Karen to finish with him just like that, and he took it very badly when she refused to talk to him afterwards.”

  “That’s just Karen, though. She can be very stubborn.”

  “I know,” Tessa agreed, “and we tried to tell Shane that, but he wouldn’t have any of it. I’ve never seen him in such bad shape”

  “I didn’t realise,” Jenny said, “I don’t think Karen did either. Why didn’t he let her know he was upset?”

  Tessa shrugged. “Search me – maybe he didn’t think there was any point. You know what Karen is like – once she makes her mind up, even the likes of Uri Geller couldn’t change it. Maybe he hoped that she’d come to her senses before he left – and unfortunately she did.”

  “But where does Lydia come into it?”

  Tessa’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the other girl. “She was probably hanging around like a bad smell. When she saw that Shane was suitably pissed, she more than likely leapt on him.”

  “Well, it takes two to tango, as they say. Shane couldn’t have been that innocent either.”

  “Yeah, but as far as he was concerned, he and Karen were finished. He needed a little comforting, and sure enough, Lydia was only too happy to oblige. The problem is that I convinced Karen only this morning to make up with him. She just happened to call at the wrong time – thanks.” She took one of the biscuits Jenny had laid out for them and bit into it. “I feel like it’s all my fault now. I should never have convinced Karen to call up to him unannounced. But, I didn’t think Shane would be drinking at that hour of the day, and I certainly didn’t think he’d be with that one.” She shook her head and looked forlornly around the room.

  “Don’t blame yourself. It was just a pity that the two of them couldn’t have sorted things out sooner.”

  “Amen to that. And seeing that Karen is gone AWOL, and Shane is leaving soon, it seems unlikely they’ll sort out anything at all at this stage.”

  “It’s such a pity,” Jenny said. “I know that she always pretended she wasn’t that serious about him, but they were getting on so well. I thought they were a great match.”

  “Don’t I know? But Shane’s messed up big-time now.”

  Jenny thought for a second.

  “I’m not saying for one minute that I agree with what he did but, to be honest, Tessa, I feel a little bit sorry for Shane. I mean, Karen finished with him. It was just an awful pity that when she changed her mind, it was too late.”

  “I know what you mean,” said Tessa nodding. “That won’t mean much to Karen though.”

  “It’s a bit of mess all the same though, isn’t it?” Jenny said, her face clouded in annoyance. “I bet Lydia is thrilled to be stuck in the middle of it all.”

  “I’m sure she was delighted when the two of them got caught like that. God, I’d like to give her a good talking to.’

  “You and me both,” Jenny said quietly, “you and me both.”

  Chapter 14

  “Mmm, this is out of this world.” Tessa declared, eating a forkful of banoffi pie. “This dinner was a brainwave, I can’t remember the last time I was on a night out without Gerry.”

  It was a Saturday night, and Jenny had booked a table at one of Temple Bar’s most popular Italian eateries. The three girls had just opened a third bottle of Chianti and were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

  Karen smiled. “Yeah, thanks, Jen. I know you’re trying to cheer me up and, believe me,”’ she said, clinking wine-glasses with her, “it’s working beautifully.”

  She was really enjoying herself tonight. Going out with Tessa and Jenny had really cheered her up, and after everything that had happened recently, she needed cheering up. He was leaving next week but so what? She had had enough of Shane Quinn. He and Lydia were welcome to one another, and now there was nothing to stop her having some fun of her own.

  “Will we go for a drink somewhere else afterwards?” she said to Jenny, who was already well on the way to drunkenness too.

  “Of course,” her friend said, signalling for the bill. “The pubs won’t know what’s hit them once we’re finished here, right, Tessa?”

  Tessa shook her head eagerly and a short time later the three girls moved on to a trendy disco bar nearby. Karen watched Jenny flirt unashamedly with the barman as she ordered another round of drinks. She also seemed to be enjoying the night, and it was a nice change to see her out without Roan for once.

  Although lately, Karen thought, he had been behaving like the perfect gentleman and the two of them had actually held what amounted to a decent conversation the other day. While waiting for Jenny to get ready, Roan had sat down and chatted away to Karen about the film she was watching. She would never have pegged Roan as the romantic type, and she had nearly fallen off the sofa when he told her that Pretty Woman was one of his favourite movies of all time. She wondered if maybe he fancied himself as a bit of a Richard Gere, although it was a lot more likely that he just fancied Julia Roberts. Since discovering that her own relationship may have been one giant fiasco, Karen was willing to forget about her earlier distrust of Roan, and decided to try to be a bit nicer towards him.

  Speaking of nice, you ain’t half bad, mister, she said to herself, spying a tall fair-haired guy smiling at her from across the room. She smiled back at him, and within seconds he had made his way through the crowds and over to them.

  “Hi,” he said, eyeing Karen appreciatively.

  “Hi, yourself.” Karen smiled back, and Jenny and Tessa looked on with interest.

  “I was going to say something about fathers, and thieves, and stars,” he said, “but something tells me that you’re not the kind of girl that falls for corny chat-up lines.”

  “You’d be right. But isn’t that a roundabout kind of line, all the same?”

  He held his hands up. “OK, you’ve got me there. Should I quit while I’m

  ahead … ?”

  He smiled lazily, and Karen noted that he had the unusual combination of brown eyes and fair hair. His colouring was so dark it made him looked foreign – maybe Danish, or Swiss. No, she didn’t want this guy to back off, not at all.

  “So, are you here with some friends?” she asked, eyeing him flirtatiously through her dark eyelashes.

  �
��Yeah, we’re got seats over there – would you girls like to join us?” He indicated a small group behind him who had somehow managed to secure a precious table.

  She looked at Tessa and Jenny, and they both shrugged.

  “Lead the way.” Karen enthused, winking at Jenny, as she followed him across the room. They were introduced to the others, and Karen soon discovered that her ‘friend’ was called Charlie, and was neither Danish nor Swiss. He was from Wicklow and he and his friends had come to Dublin for a birthday night out, and were staying in the Conrad Hotel for the night.

  “Mmm, the Conrad, very swanky,” Karen said, before downing her bottle of Budweiser in one.

  “We could go back to the resident’s bar for a drink if you like,” Charlie suggested, unable to take his eyes off Karen. “It’s nearly closing time here, and we should get a few late ones there.”

  “Lead the way then.” Tessa said, nicely drunk, and anxious for a few more drinks to keep her going.

  After waiting forty minutes at a taxi rank on Dame St, the little group eventually decided to walk to the hotel. Jenny tottered along drunkenly on her high heels, holding on to an equally wobbly Tessa for support. “I’ll never be able to make it in these shoes.” she moaned.

  One of Charlie’s mates, Brian, knelt down in front of her. “Here, I’ll give you a piggy back,” he said.

  “Are you sure you can handle it? I’m no Kate Moss, you know,” Jenny laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “I’m a big strong Wicklow farmer – the likes of me could carry twenty Kate Mosses,” he said, feigning a thick country accent, as he lifted Jenny off the ground.

  “Well, good, because you might have to,” she giggled, as Brian began to carry her up Grafton St. He kept going until they reached St Stephen’s Green, and then he had to let her go.

  “Your mate’s a good sport, isn’t she?” Charlie said. “Girls her size are usually very self-conscious about their weight.”