Playground Cool

by Sinclair, Jamie

  The man, slightly shorter than Ben, but of a stockier build, looked momentarily taken aback by this unexpected assault before smiling and head butting Ben on the bridge of his nose, knocking him to the floor. Ben was so surprised and unused to confrontation, that he didn’t really feel anything. He was too drunk to react and was only vaguely aware of falling back and hitting the floor.

  Before he even seemed to have taken a breath he could feel something thudding into his back and stomach as the man, aided by a friend, began to kick away at his stunned body. Instinctively, he brought his arms up to cover his face and curled into a ball. Something smashed next to his head, shards of glass spraying over him, kicks still digging into his exposed back and head.

  Then, as quickly as it had begun, the blows stopped. He felt arms around his waist, pulling him to his feet. He tried to focus his eyes and saw the blurred shape of a man in a suit looking straight at him.

  ‘C’mon mate, you’ll be okay.’ The man led him up some stairs and out of a side door. As he moved, Ben saw a group of men wearing the same suits half dragging, half carrying a writhing man and another bloke with his arm twisted up his back, being pushed out towards the front of the club.

  Once outside the cold air hit him with a sharpness that the physical attack didn’t have. He sat down against a wall, a hand pushing his head between his legs, a voice instructing him to take plenty of deep breaths.

  ‘He a mate of yours then?’ Asked the man who advised the deep breathing.

  ‘Nah, we work at the same place.’ Ben didn’t recognise this voice at first.

  ‘You did well to get involved the way you did, he was getting a pasting.’

  ‘I was just coming out of the toilet and I saw him lying there with those two blokes booting hell out of him. I grabbed the nearest one and then you lot arrived,’ the voice explained.

  ‘Will you be okay with him?’

  ‘Yeah, fine.’

  Ben lifted his throbbing head slightly and saw a couple of the suit clad bouncers re-entering the club by the side door.

  ‘Hi. You look rough.’

  Ben looked up at the man who’d apparently saved him from a worse beating.

  ‘I’m Jack by the way.’

  ‘I remember. New bloke from work. Thanks for the help.’

  ‘You weren’t doing too well,’ Jack said, looking down at Ben’s bleeding and battered face. ‘Want me to ring a taxi or what? That nose might need looking at…’

  ‘You could ring Rhia for me,’ he said without thinking.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Asked Jack, taking his mobile phone from his pocket.

  ‘Erm.’ Ben paused. Now that he’d said it, he realised he wanted Rhia more than anything. He needed her to take him in her arms and make him feel safe. He felt like he was finally surfacing from a deep pool, allowing himself to say her name, to ask for her.

  ‘Just a friend,’ he said finally.

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  There was nothing on the television worth watching and if there was Rhia wasn’t paying any attention to it. Her friend, Jen, had called earlier and dropped a major bombshell. She’d been seeing a chap called Norm for a while, but Rhia hadn’t thought it was anything serious. Now it turned out that this bloke had asked her to go and live with him in London. Jen had asked Rhia for advice but she wasn’t much help, saying that if she loved him then she should go. Jen had then asked if there’d been any progress on the Ben front, but Rhia had nothing to report. Jen sounded happy though, she was due to have an intimate meal with Norm and they were going to discuss the move then.

  Rhia had come in from work and gone through the ritual forced pleasantries with Fran, shared a meal and some wine, before having a long bath and going to bed early. Despite feeling exhausted sleep evaded her, an occurrence which was becoming a pattern. So now she lay in darkness in the early hours of Saturday morning, the flicker of the television illuminating her expressionless face.

  The ringing of her mobile took her so by surprise that she actually jumped. The sound seemed amplified because it was so unexpected at this hour. Her left arm shot out to grab the phone, her eyes focussing quickly upon a number she didn’t recognise.

  ‘Hello.’

  ‘Hello, is that Rhia?’

  Who the bloody hell was this? ‘Yes’.

  ‘My name’s Jack. I’m with Ben.’

  Her heart missed a beat then kicked back in with renewed vigour at the mention of his name.

  ‘He’s had a bit of an accident.’

  ‘What’s happened?’ Oh God. Please let him be all right. ‘Is he okay?’

  ‘He’s fine. He’s sitting here. I’ll put him on.’

  There was silence while the phone was passed across and then she heard Ben’s voice, slightly slurred and sounding tired.

  ‘Rhia? I’ve had a bit of a fight. Well, a bit of a kicking actually.’

  ‘Oh my God, where are you?’

  ‘Could you come and get me please?’

  ‘Where are you?’ She repeated again, more firmly this time, already out of bed and pulling a pair of tracksuit bottoms from the floor.

  ‘I’m at the Breakfast Club on Canal Street, and my head hurts.’

  ‘Stay there,’ she ordered, ‘I’ll be there in ten minutes.’

  She ended the call and drove as fast as she dared towards the club, her mind filled with thoughts about what state she might find him in. He was talking though, which was good, but he sounded awful. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, speeding through the almost empty streets, determined to get to him as quickly as she could.

  * * * * * *

  Inside the nightclub, Katie had returned from buying the drinks and had completed a circuit of the club in her hunt for Jack. Having finished her own drink, a double caramel vodka, she put down her glass on a ledge and began to drink the vodka she’d bought for Jack. Surely the queue for the toilet couldn’t be this long. She went through the door that led to the outer section of the club to continue her search.

  She walked down a flight of steps and passed the gents toilets, there was indeed a small queue, but Jack wasn’t a part of it as far as she could see. Then she saw the girl, Em, leaning against a pillar, pinned underneath some bloke. He had one hand clamped on her bum and the other had succeeded in removing one boob from her top and was kneading it like dough.

  Katie walked past with a smile, thinking how classy the girl looked with her top hanging down and her tits on display to passers by, relieved that the man with Em wasn’t Jack. The problem remained however, where the hell was he? Finally, her last drink finished, she decided to check the entrance and then outside to see if he’d gone for some fresh air.

  * * * * * *

  ‘Excuse me, I’m looking for someone. He’s been hurt I think.’

  The bouncer looked down at Rhia and thought for a moment. ‘Oh yeah, we had a bloke got in a bit of trouble earlier. He’s round the side with his mate. Follow me love.’

  She was led around to the side of the club, down a narrow alleyway where she saw a man pacing slowly in front of Ben, who was slumped on a step with his head between his knees.

  ‘Ben.’ She cried running towards him. ‘Oh my God Ben. Are you alright?’ She was upon him now, on her knees beside him, one arm around his shoulder, trying to lift his head to see his face with the other, her concern the most natural thing in the world, all their problems forgotten in that moment.

  He looked up slowly, his nose swelling and covered in dried blood which had run down his face making the injury appear a lot more serious than it actually was. His head throbbed where he’d been kicked; his back burned. He felt her arm around him and focused on her face, so worried and scared, so beautiful to his swollen eyes.

  ‘Hello you. Thanks for coming.’

  She held him tightly, loosening her grip when he moaned in pain. ‘Can you get up? Can you walk?’

  ‘Yeah yeah, I’m okay. Don’t worry.’

  He tried to stand but his legs wouldn’t hold hi
m. Jack ran forward to support him on one side while Rhia took the other and between them they helped Ben to her waiting car.

  ‘I’m taking you to the hospital,’ she said firmly, ‘You look awful.’

  ‘No Rhia, I’m fine, really. Just bruises I think.’

  ‘Your nose might be broken though.’

  ‘I need to sleep. If it hurts in the morning I’ll go then. Take me home Rhia, please.’

  She looked at him as they slowly walked to her car and couldn’t help but smile despite the circumstances. She was with Ben, he’d asked for her and she’d come and now they were together, perhaps only because he was hurt and drunk, but together.

  They lowered him into the back of the car to allow him to lie down and she drove to their house.

  * * * * * *

  Katie stood in the doorway of the club and at last she could see Jack. He was talking to a woman through the window of her car then, after a few seconds, she pulled away and he hurried back towards the club. When the bouncers waved him back in, she marched over and confronted him angrily to find out where the hell he’d been.

  ‘Sorry angel, I got roped into helping a bloke from work.’

  ‘How do you mean. I saw that Em bint following you through the door. First you’re flirting with her then you disappear and I find you outside talking to yet another woman. What the hell’s going on Jack?’

  ‘Get a grip! I told Em she’d no chance. I came out of the toilet and this bloke was getting a kicking so I jumped in to help. Then we took him outside to recover and I rang that woman to come and get him.’

  He draped an arm around her and pulled her closer for a hug. Katie felt angry and unsure of what she was being told.

  ‘You could’ve let me know where you were. I was worried. Then I couldn’t find you and….’

  ‘And you thought I was with some girl having a revenge fumble?’

  ‘Well, yeah. I suppose I did,’ she admitted sulkily.

  ‘Katie, lighten up. I didn’t intend to leave you but I’d no choice. As for Em, I saw her all over some bloke outside the toilet.’

  ‘Yeah, I saw her. Dirty bitch.’

  ‘So you can stop worrying now because I’m here. You grumpy sod.’ He kissed her on the forehead.

  ‘Can we go home now?’ Katie asked. ‘I’m tired and I’ve had enough of this place.’

  ‘Yeah, come on then. Hey, what’s the matter?’ He looked down at her, a few tears running down her face.

  ‘Nothing,’ she said trying to pull herself together, ‘Just being silly.’

  ‘Tell me, come on.’

  ‘I don’t know how you feel,’ she blurted out suddenly, ‘You never tell me and I hate it. I hate it! I really want to be with you but I don’t know. What if you leave me? That girl couldn’t keep her eyes off you and she was much prettier than me. Then you left me at the bar and I hated that.’

  ‘Katie, bloody hell.’ He held her tightly and kissed her again. ‘Calm down please. Shush.’

  She felt stupid now she’d said it, but at least it had been said, drunk or not. She felt his body trembling and looked up to see that he was laughing. Great, he thinks I’m mental and he’s going to tell me I’m right, he doesn’t feel the same as me and he doesn’t want to commit to me long term.

  ‘You really are daft aren’t you? You know I’m crazy about you and that I love you.’

  ‘Oh!’ She punched his arm. ‘God! You always say that. Always!’

  She stomped away from him and he followed, bewildered. They climbed into a taxi and rode home in silence, Katie looking out of the window, trying to stop the tears escaping from her eyes.

  Back at her house, they went in and he tried to talk to her but Katie, master of the art of totally-ignoring-someone-when-they’re-trying-to-find-out-what’s-wrong, went to the bathroom and locked the door. Jack waited in the corridor, occasionally saying her name, varying the tone hoping she’d answer. Finally she threw open the door and walked, naked, to her bedroom.

  ‘Hello.’ His eyes followed her as she walked past him without looking sideways. ‘I take it things are looking up.’

  He went to follow her into the bedroom but she swung the door shut and when he tried the handle he heard her scraping furniture across the floor to prevent him entering.

  ‘Katie,’ he shouted from the corridor, ‘Stop being so bloody ridiculous and let me in. I haven’t done anything. As I recall you were meant to be making an effort tonight because you’d been at it with dodgy Dave.’

  ‘Fuck off,’ she shouted from inside, ‘That’s the fucking problem, I got all dressed up and you ignored me half the night and every time I couldn’t see you I thought you were with someone else.’

  ‘How the hell is that my fault?’ He bellowed at the door.

  ‘Because I bloody well say so! I need to be sure you’re not gonna leave me. I need to be able to rely on you.’

  ‘You can rely on me. I love you.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘But what?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’m just not convinced. What’s the point in me being totally into you if you might clear off with some other girl?’

  ‘So, you’re totally into me then?’ He was smirking on the other side of the door.

  ‘That’s beside the point,’ she shouted.

  ‘Katie…’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’re mental, but I love you anyway.’

  Receiving no reply, he tried knocking and calling her name a few more times before finally losing his temper and stalking off to sleep on the couch.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Jen looked at Norman across the table on the terrace at the rear of the mansion. He’d hired a team of caterers to prepare and serve a meal for them, along with a string quartet for atmosphere. Jen had been stunned into silence by the gesture, but so far hadn’t been able to enjoy the night.

  ‘I know it’s rotten,’ he said, ‘But I have to go. My dad’s not well at all and I have to be there to run things until he gets better.’

  ‘I know you do and I think it’s wonderful that you care so much, but you can’t keep everyone happy all the time. If you go, you might be gone for ages and I really don’t think there’s any point in us staying together when we don’t know whether you’ll be back.’

  ‘I agree Jen. That’s why I want you to come with me. You can stay at the house with me. You’d love mother, she’s really funny. Plus she’s dying to meet you.’

  He looked at her hopefully. Jen didn’t know what to say. She’d assumed she was going to be single again after tonight and now Norman had laid yet another surprise on her.

  * * * * * *

  ‘Right, we’re here,’ Rhia said, opening the back door of her car. ‘Do you want me to help you out?’

  ‘No, I can manage,’ Ben replied, groaning as he climbed gingerly from the car.

  She opened the front door and switched on the light, for an instant it felt strange to be standing in what used to be her hallway, but she’d no time to ponder.

  ‘Can you help me upstairs please Rhia? I don’t know how much weight I can put on my legs. They feel numb.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ she said, quickly wrapping her left arm around him and taking the stairs one at a time.

  She lowered him on to the bed, their bed, and pulled off his shoes before undoing his trousers and sliding those off too. So familiar, she thought to herself. Yet it felt distinctly odd to be here, helping the man she loved so much into bed after so long apart. She placed the duvet over him and asked if he needed anything else.

  ‘Some paracetamol please, and water. My throats killing me.’

  She ran to get what he wanted and, when she returned, he was already dozing off, a combination of alcohol and the ordeal he’d just been through. She sat quietly on the edge of the bed, lightly stroking his hair.

  ‘God I love you.’ She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. ‘So, so much.’

  He stirred and opened his eyes slightly to see her
there, inches from his face.

  ‘Are you alright?’ She asked, jerking away from him. ‘I brought your water.’

  ‘Will you stay?’ He sounded tired and weak. ‘I’d like you to stay with me.’

  ‘Of course.’ She replied with a wide, grateful smile.

  She changed quickly into one of his t-shirts and climbed in next to him, sliding over so that her arm touched his side. She could barely feel it, just enough so she knew he was there. He was asleep again in seconds and she lay there for a while, watching him. His pale face looked so peaceful, mouth slightly open as he breathed gently, already his face beginning to bruise.

  * * * * * *

  Jen sat on the edge of her bed, surrounded by clothes and bags. She felt like a child going on a big adventure. She still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to go with him. This was so unlike her but, she reasoned, if it went tits up, she’d have great memories and could easily come back. Besides, not working for a while would do her the power of good. She’d tried ringing Rhia and Katie several times but they hadn’t answered so, in frustration, she sent them both a text message telling them what she was doing and that she’d be in touch.

  * * * * * *

  Katie awoke to her mobile bleeping incessantly in the corner. She crawled out of bed and looked at the screen. Countless missed calls and a message. Jen’s number flashed above the message as she read it, disbelieving.

  Going to London to live with Normy! Think I’ve gone mad. Will ring U when I get there. Luv U, Jen

  She laughed in surprise and rubbed her eyes, then remembered the events of the previous evening. She’d fallen out with Jack because she wanted him to tell her that everything would be okay, not just that he loved her, but that she could feel safe with him, and he’d totally missed the point, as usual. She was aware that it was her own fault that it had come to this since she’d damaged the relationship in the first place and expected far too much from him. But if he was going to fuck her around in return, she’d rather end it now than later.

  She clambered out of bed and walked towards the kitchen, noticing from the pillow and the blanket that Jack had obviously slept on the couch, although he wasn’t there now. She was less sure of herself in the cold light of day, her anger replaced by a hangover and feelings that perhaps she should learn to keep her mouth closed and stop being such a lunatic.