“We had a break-in.”
“What wuz taken?”
“Nuthin’—”
“Eh?”
Her face screwed up. “Someone wanked off onto my knickers.”
“What?”
Jake’s crying picked up in volume. Nike moved off the bed, and ran a hand up and down Jake’s back. “Ssshh, sweetie.”
“I found my good pair of knickers in the clothes’ basket,” Jess continued.
“You call the police?”
“Of course I did.” She glanced down at her watch. “And why are you so late?”
“I had to catch the bus back after droppin’ off the van. And why didja stay here for? You should’ve gone to Mum’s.”
“I called her, but she wasn’t picking up either, so I went next door to Mrs. Cassidy’s house and stayed there until dinner time.”
“You could’ve gone to a mate’s house. Selena’s only just down the road.”
Jess rubbed her forehead. “I didn’t want Selena knowing. She would’ve told my brothers, and no way in hell did I want them turnin’ up here again.”
Nike frowned at the memory of her two brothers roughing him up before the wedding, just because he wanted to get married at his marae and not their church.
“I’ll call Mum now,” he said, passing Jake over to her. He pulled out his phone from the jeans lying on the floor and pressed speed dial. When she didn’t pick up he tried her mobile. After a few rings she answered. He could hear noise behind her, a man talking and the sound of trolleys being wheeled around.
“Mum, are you at the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Why you still there? It’s well past visiting hours.”
“Something happened—”
“Is Maia alright?”
“Yes, but...” She paused. “I saw Tama at the hospital. The police took off after him. It was so scary.”
Nike gripped the phone tighter. He was definitely going to kill the bastard.
“Nike ... are you there?”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t come for Maia. The police said his cousin was shot in the stomach.”
Nike loosened his grip. “Which cousin?”
“They said his name’s Michael Thomas. The poor boy’s in a bad way. They’re not sure he’ll pull through.”
Mikey? Nike ran a hand through his hair. Christ, he was just a kid.
She continued, “I won’t be going to work tomorrow. I’m staying with Maia until I bring her home at lunchtime.”
“I thought she wuz leaving tomorrow night.”
“Well, they reckon she’s okay to come home earlier.”
“S’pose that’s good. Are you able to pick me, Jess, and Jakey up at seven-thirty tomorrow morning?”
“What happened to your van?”
“I’ve got a new job, but that’s not why I’m calling. We had a break in today. Nuthin’ wuz stolen, but I’d feel safer if Jess and Jakey stayed at your place tomorrow. I also need a lift to work.”
“Is Jess and Jakey alright?”
“They’re fine.”
“Thank God for that. I couldn’t handle it if anything else happened.”
“Well … are you able to come over?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Thanks, Mum. I’ll see ya tomorrow then.”
“Okay, take care, Son.”
“I will.” Nike hung up and placed the phone on the cabinet, then held out his hands for Jake.
Jess held onto him, her expression mad. “Why didn’t cha tell me ‘bout that money being paid into the credit card?”
Crap! Nike dropped his hands.
“Well ... where’d ja get it from?”
“Um ... I’ve been doin’ a bit of extra work to pay off the credit card. I’ll go bring Jakey’s cot into our room.” He headed down the passage. He didn’t want to lie to her. Yeah, he left out details and had told a few white lies ... but shit, he couldn’t do whoppers.
She followed. “Couriering?”
“Yeah.” He picked up the cot. “Please move, it’s heavy.”
She stepped aside. “Who for?”
“A mate.” He grunted as he manoeuvred the cot down the passage.
“What mate?”
The cot scraped against the door. “Fuck, will ya let me concentrate, please?”
“No, tell me who your mate is.”
He placed the cot at the end of their bed and glared at her. “What’s with all the fuckin’ questions? I’ve had a long day. Give me a break.”
“You’ve had a hard day?”
Nike exhaled. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
Jess placed Jake into the cot. “Then tell me who it is.”
Nike climbed into bed. “We needed the money.”
“Who’re you workin’ for?”
He pulled the covers over himself.
“Answer me, Nike.”
“Ash.”
He heard her breath in sharply. “Not the gang leader?”
“He’s not a gang leader.”
She walked around the bed. “Please tell me you’re not delivering drugs for him.”
He looked up at her. “I’m sorry—”
“Why, Nike? Why would ja do sumpthin’ like that? You hate drugs.”
“I wuz desperate.” He sat up. “We couldn’t pay the bills, you were stressed, and Ash kept askin’ me. I caved.”
“Nike...”
He cringed.
Jess cupped his face. “You hafta stop it. I couldn’t bear it if you got caught. I need you. Jakey needs you.”
He exhaled. Shit, he didn’t deserve her. “I told Ash today I’m not doin’ it anymore.”
She kissed his lips. He wrapped his arms around her, returning the kiss. He wanted to lose himself inside of her, to forget about their fight and what he’d done. He jumped as Jake let out a high pitch squeal. But that would have to wait. He let go of her and scooped up his jeans.
“Why ya gettin’ dressed for?” Jess asked.
“I’ll sleep in the lounge.” He pulled on his jeans.
“Why? I’m not kickin’ ya out of bed.”
He pulled on his T-shirt, picked up the bat and a blanket. “It’s not that, I just wanna make sure no psycho tries to get in while you’re sleeping.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He gave her a kiss then headed for the lounge.
40
Maia
“Where’s Mikey?”
Maia’s mother popped her phone back into her jacket. “What, love?”
“Where’s Mikey? You said he’s been shot. I wanna see him.”
“You know this boy?”
“Yeah, he’s in my class at school. Please, Mum, I wanna see him.”
“You can’t, sweetheart. He’s in intensive care. They’ll only let family in.”
Maia screwed up her face. “But he visited me.”
“They won’t let you in.”
“Then tell them I’m his girlfriend.”
Her mother’s face fell. “You didn’t tell me you were going out with that boy. When did this happen? Is that why you snuck out ... to see him? What were you thinking? For goodness sake, he’s Tama’s cousin. You haven’t had sex with him, have you?”
Maia rolled her eyes as her mother blathered on. She hadn’t even kissed a boy let alone had sex with one.
“No, Mum, I’m not goin’ out with him. Just tell them that so I can see him.”
Her mother let out an audible sigh. “Sheesh, Maia, you had me going there for a moment.”
“Well ... can you get me in?”
“Okay, I’ll give it a try. But no promises it’ll work.”
Maia glanced at the carnations as her mother left the room. She was grateful that she’d slept through Mikey’s visit. No doubt she would have screamed like crazy.
The old woman across from her coughed. Maia’s attention shifted to the empty bed where Stella had been. She wondered how the girl was doing with her thug boyf
riend. Man, she was just as bad as Stella. But … it wasn’t like she was going out with Mikey. And all she wanted to do was to make sure he was alright.
An image of Mikey’s face from Saturday popped into her head. He’d looked guilty and upset when the other guys were laughing, but he still chased her. She shook her head. Guys were just too hard to understand, especially Mikey. He’d always seemed interested in her, but never asked her out. If he had she would have said yes, but instead he attacked her.
Still feeling exhausted from not sleeping well, she let out a loud yawn. The nightmares with Tama were driving her nuts. She couldn’t nap off without seeing his horrible face. She rested her head to the side, willing herself not to think of Tama. Her eyelids slowly drifted down.
***
“Maia, are you asleep?” her mother asked.
Maia opened her eyes and stretched. She grimaced, wondering how long it would take before she could stretch without hurting. Although she was healing well, it still felt like Tama had left his blade inside of her.
Her mother frowned. “You alright love.”
“I shouldn’t have stretched. It still hurts.”
“I’ll go get a nurse.”
“No, Mum. It wuz just a twinge.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yup.” Maia undid her straps. She didn’t want to wait. If Mikey was as bad as her mother had said, she wanted to see him straight away. She swung her legs over the side of the mattress.
Her mother held out her hands. “I’ll help you, love.”
Maia took hold and stepped down onto the lino. Pain stabbed between her shoulder blades. Gritting her teeth, she lowered herself into the wheelchair and smoothed down her hospital smock. She wanted to lean back, but knew that was a shit poor idea.
They took the lift down a few floors then headed for the nurses’ station.
“I’m here to see my nephew,” her mother said to the nurse at the counter.
Maia’s surprised expression quickly transformed into a frown as her mother started fidgeting just like Nike did when he tried to pull swifties on her. Shit, those two were awful liars. Her gaze flicked to the nurse, hoping that her mother hadn’t ruined her chances. She smiled when the solid looking woman with a grey bun came out from behind the counter and led them to the end room.
“He’s by the window,” the nurse said. “And be very quiet; all the patients need their rest.”
Green curtains surrounded each bed, while the beeping of the monitors provided a background rhythm. Her mother wheeled Maia past three beds and pulled back the last curtain. She flicked the light-switch above Mikey’s head. A faint glow lit up his face. He was asleep with his head lolling towards them. His arms rested on top of a grey blanket, while tubes and wires protruded from his body.
Maia stared at his face. Being good looking didn’t counterbalance chasing her and being the cousin of the biggest psycho alive. Shit, she was the insane one for still liking him. She felt like a bloody hypocrite after what she’d told Stella. Yeah, Mikey didn’t hit her, but he still tried to grab her against her will. She should hate him and be happy that he was hurt. Instead, she felt sick seeing him like this.
Insane or not she reached out and picked up his hand. It felt cold, the skin a lot paler than normal.
“Sweetheart, you alright?”
Maia shook her head.
Her mother reached out and wiped her cheeks. “Why you crying, love?”
“He chased me with Tama. I thought he liked me.”
“Oh, love. I’m sorry.”
“He visited while I wuz sleeping. Stella said he wanted to say sorry. He brought the carnations.” Maia felt her mother’s hand brush the back of her head. “Stella said he likes me. But why would he chase me and help Tama if he’s s‘posed to like me?”
“I don’t know, love. Maybe he was scared of Tama or just doing what he was told. But, it still doesn’t excuse what he did. He’s not the type of person I would want you to be friends with.”
Like she had a choice. Fucking Tama ruined everything. It was probably Tama’s fault that Mikey was shot too. That prick was a magnet for trouble.
A moan escaped Mikey’s lips. Maia looked up in hope as his eyes shot open. Pain flickered across his features. He gripped onto her fingers and squeezed his eyes shut as his body arched up. He let out an agonised shout then flopped down, his hand going limp in Maia’s. The monitor flat-lined.
Maia’s mother screamed for help. A nurse ran into the room, quickly followed by a doctor. The nurse switched on a machine by the bed and yanked back the blanket. Maia’s mother wheeled her away as the doctor placed paddles on and below Mikey’s chest.
Tears ran down Maia’s cheeks as she watched Mikey’s body jolt up from the electric shock.
“Reset to 300 joules,” the doctor barked. The nurse did as instructed.
“Stand clear!”
Maia covered her ears, not wanting to hear the thud as the electricity went through Mikey’s lifeless body.
41
Tama
He’d been waiting bloody hours for his aunty to return home. Darkness had settled in a while ago and he’d been freezing his nuts off inside Naf’s shitty little Escort. But at least the physical discomfort was a partial distraction from the brain fuck he’d been having since dropping Mikey off at the hospital. Corey and Naf had phoned a few times, the last an hour ago, giving him updates on Mikey’s condition. It didn’t sound good, but there was still hope they said.
Tama felt sick to his stomach that he’d been responsible for Mikey getting shot. It was always the wrong fucking time and place for the people he loved ... like when his dad died. His father wouldn’t have been on the motorway if it hadn’t been for him. Tama had wanted to go with him, but his mother wouldn’t allow it. He’d found out why later. His bitch aunty told him everything, blamed him for it too. And she had every right. His father had gone out to buy his birthday present. A brand new softball kit, the expensive one he’d seen in the city. If he hadn’t begged him every day for two months his dad would probably be alive today. Fuck, he hated himself at times.
He looked down at his hands. If Mikey karked it he knew he’d go mental again. When his dad died he’d totally lost it for months, ripping into anyone that came near him. Shit, he didn’t want to go through that hell again.
The sound of a car snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder as a red Honda turned into the driveway. Finally! He got out of the car and headed for the driveway, then stopped at the gate in surprise as Caitlin ran around the Honda, dressed in a pink sweater and purple jeans. What was she doing here? His mother never let his aunty babysit, often calling her a bitch and a bully behind her back.
Caitlin squealed in delight as she ran for him. “Tama!”
Tama opened up his arms. He picked her up and kissed her cheek. “Hi, gorgeous.”
“Tama, you-you look a-a-after me? Mummy not like Aunty B-Bitch.”
Tama sniggered.
Aunty Trina walked up to him. She was dressed in a long black skirt and blue blouse, the buttons pulled to breaking point. And the way she was looking at him suggested she blamed him for what Caitlin had said. Hell, he got blamed for everything else; it made no difference to him.
“So you decided to show up then?”
Tama glared at her. Bitch! She didn’t even look remorseful for turning him in.
Her expression softened a little. “I suppose Michael has told you what happened. Where is he?”
Giggling, Caitlin ran her hands over his head. Tama closed his eyes, trying to get his emotions under control.
“Tamati, where’s Michael?” Aunty Trina repeated.
Tama opened his eyes. His aunty’s harsh expression was now replaced with a look of concern. For the first time ever he felt sorry for her.
“He’s...” Tama breathed in. “He’s in hospital.”
Her face dropped. “What?”
“He wuz shot in the stomach.”
Aunt
y Trina started to bawl, her hands waving about. “How? Who shot him?” She screamed, “What did you do?”
Tama stared at her in disbelief. What the shit was she saying? He wouldn’t hurt Mikey. He loved him. “I didn’t do it. I took him to the hospital.”
She turned and waddled to the car. She squeezed in and slammed the door shut, her skirt getting caught in the door. Still holding Caitlin, Tama stepped out of the way as the car backed down the driveway.
“Will M-M-Mikey die l-like Mummy?” Caitlin asked.
Tama’s eyes darted to Caitlin. “What did you say?”
“Will M-Mikey die l-l-like Mummy?”
Tama frowned. Caitlin said the strangest things. She probably didn’t know what she was saying. No matter how much he reasoned with himself, he started to shake.
“You-you c-c-cold, Tama?” She wriggled about, trying to get free.
“No. Where’s Mum?”
Slipping through his grasp, Caitlin landed on her feet and grabbed her crotch. “I-I’m busting!” She ran over the grass and up the stairs.
Tama followed.
“It’s-it’s locked,” she squealed, still twisting the door handle. “Busting!”
He picked her up and carried her around the back, then put her down next to the shed. “Go here.” He turned around.
“No, I need th-the toilet.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “The house is locked. Just pull you knickers down and go.”
Caitlin’s squeals grew louder as she hopped between feet.
Tama grunted in frustration. Fuck it! He’d break the back window for her. He got a rock from the garden and smashed it through the glass, then unlocked the door. Caitlin ran inside, squealing repeatedly as she headed for the toilet. Tama looked down at the broken glass on the lino. Shit, he’d been so distracted that he hadn’t even considered using his Swiss knife. Now his aunty was going to kill him.
The memory of the last time he’d visited came to mind. All his sympathy evaporated as he kicked the glass to the side. Stuff it, the bitch deserved some payback.
The toilet flushed. A few seconds later, Caitlin came running into the kitchen. “I’m hu-hungry,” she said, pulling on the fridge handle.
Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives) Page 19