Rotten to the Core

by Casey Kelleher

  Kate had blown both those theories out of the water; at first, anyway. When Jay first spotted Kate, he just couldn’t resist, he had known that she was Billy O’Connell’s sister, and because of that the thought of having sex with Kate had a lot more than the obvious appeal.

  He hated Billy with a passion, especially after everything that had happened with Jay’s dad. The police may have come up with nothing when they investigated his father’s murder, but Jay knew it had been Billy who killed him. He missed his old man every day. Saying that his dad hadn’t been a popular bloke was an understatement, and Jay had been witness to why on many occasions. His old man would literally rob old grannies if he had to and Jay had often been made to play decoy for him.

  Driving along he remembered when his dad had actually made him fleece some old bird one night in town. He had only been a boy. His dad had made him sit down on the pavement and pretend to cry; it was getting dark so the chances of a passer-by not stopping were slim. The woman had bent down to comfort him and sounded quite concerned as she asked him if he was okay. Jay had stood up quickly, pushing her backwards with all his might onto the pavement, just like his dad had told him – “Catch her unawares, boy” – then grabbing her handbag from her wrinkly, frail grasp. He had then fled to where his dad had been lurking somewhere nearby. “Chip off the old block,” he got called that time, and he was given a fiver for his “help”. Jay had been ten, and even then he knew that he had done wrong, but he also knew that his old man would give him a hiding if he refused to help out and eventually the guilt wore off.

  Jay had been pushed into more and more muggings and then burglaries, and as he got older and stronger he started acting as one of his dad’s heavies, pulling in any outstanding debts that were owed. Jay got used to it as the norm. He accepted his dad for what he was and started to become like him.

  He remembered sitting in the pub one night with his dad, he must have been twelve or so, both of them sitting there thick as thieves putting together their latest scam, when some guy stumbled over to them a little the worse for wear. He didn’t say anything but glared at Den, Jay’s dad, and then to Jay’s horror the man had brought a glass bottle down on Den’s head with a loud thump. Blood had poured out of a gaping cut, and Jay’s dad had fallen to the floor. The pub went silent as the man spat in Den’s face and said simply “scum” before calmly walking out.

  Not one person in the pub that night had helped, in fact many of them looked in disgust at Den, and they had probably thought that he had deserved that and then some. Jay had seen everyone get back to their chatting and drinking and carrying on as if nothing had happened. That had been more shocking to Jay than the attack on his dad, the fact that no-one came to his aid. His dad had been treated like he was nothing. He remembered watching his dad trying to pick himself up off the dirty floor, with blood trickling down his forehead. That night, Jay had felt for the first time an overwhelming urge to protect Den, realising that he was all his father had.

  Jay thought back to when the police had turned up at his house the morning that his dad had been found murdered. Jay knew, straight away, who was to blame. Although it could have been dozens of men who had done it, his dad had pissed many people off and had an awful lot of enemies, Jay knew exactly who it was. Billy may have had a lot of faces as back-up, but not all of them were as loyal as he would have liked to have thought. People talked. Of course the police couldn’t prove it, but Jay knew. Oh yeah, he hated Billy with a passion alright, but he would bide his time. Billy’s time would come.

  In the beginning, Jay made Kate promise to keep their ’relationship’ a secret from everyone, and Kate had been more than happy to do so, as it was in her favour too, she knew her brother would have put a stop to it otherwise. Jay was a looker, he knew that; he had a toned body and money in his pocket, so he wasn’t used to having to chase women. Most girls would be gagging to have a bit of him, so Kate had proved a bit of a challenge, which was new to him. Being really shy, she had made him wait longer than any other bird he had ever been with to get inside her knickers. The four long months had driven him wild. She had told him that she was a virgin and by the time he finally got her into bed he was aching for her.

  Jay had enjoyed the challenge, and for months knowing that he was her first had given him the horn each time he fucked her. But the novelty had soon worn off, and it wasn’t long until he was back to his old self, wanting a less innocent and needy girl and craving easier, dirtier ones. He was bored with Kate, and he had been secretly disappointed too that Billy hadn’t found out about their relationship. He had been waiting for the fireworks to start for months. The relationship had now run its course, and he had been happy to let it fizzle out before she had dropped the bombshell.

  A baby… his baby: what a shock.

  He had always fancied being a dad; he thought he would make a good one. He could see himself with a son; a little boy of his own. It was not an ideal situation, and he certainly didn’t believe in settling down, but the more he thought about it the more the whole thing was growing on him. Kate would be a good mum to the kid, even he could see that. She was nothing like most of the lazy slappers around here, and she was completely oblivious to his goings on, really naive. Maybe he would stand by her after all; have his cake and eat it. He smiled to himself as he parked the car. Maybe it would all work out. Oh, and he couldn’t wait until Uncle Billy found out, he chuckled to himself.

  He walked to the next street, making sure his car wasn’t anywhere near the flat that he was going to. He didn’t want to be seen. He was on a promise: this girl had been throwing herself at him, and had made it blatantly clear the last time he had seen her that she was up for it. Not really his type, a bit podgy and not as great looking as he was used to, but he knew that her shortcomings would work in his favour. She would get a good seeing to and be grateful to him for giving it to her.

  5

  It was late morning, and Kate had been ringing Jay’s phone all night. She paced the house, worried sick that her brother had caught up with him. There was no point thinking about going to bed as until she knew Jay was okay she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She picked up the phone to call Emma and started dialling her number, before chucking the phone back down on the table. She decided to go around there; she would go mad if she stayed in this house for much longer anyway.

  Grabbing her jacket and keys, she started walking. Emma only lived a couple of streets away, that’s how they had met when they were young. She and Emma had spent countless summers hanging around the estate with the other kids. Emma was always getting them into mischief; it had been part of her charm, at first. Kate had always been a shy girl and Emma had seemed to be everything she was not. Kate was not afraid to speak up for herself, even against some of the older rougher boys on the estate, but many times Emma had gone too far and caused trouble for them both and Kate had always been the one who tried to get them out of it. Mind you, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that Kate’s brother was the toughest boy around, and no-one wanted to mess with him. Emma didn’t really care if she caused trouble, she knew that Kate would always be her back-up and even if things did ever get out of hand, she had no reason to be bothered, she knew her parents wouldn’t say anything to her.

  Emma’s mum had left it until she was in her late forties to try for a baby, and unfortunately she had an early menopause shortly after Emma was born. As having another child was never an option, Emma had been spoilt rotten by her parents. She was their precious little girl, and in their eyes could do no wrong. To make up for her not having a brother or sister they bought her everything: the latest toys, clothes, DVDs and CDs. Kate didn’t recall Emma wanting for anything; if she even so much as looked at something then it was hers. Most people where they lived were poor, so Emma had an awful lot in comparison, and Kate wasn’t always sure Emma appreciated what she had.

  Even now Emma was twenty one, her every whim was still pandered to; no matter how old she got she was always th
eir little girl, as they constantly reminded her. Emma’s dad had even bought a flat for her last year, and Emma had rung Kate excitedly to tell her the good news. They were both even more excited when Emma asked Kate to move in with her, as this was something they had talked about the whole time they were growing up. They had spent hours in their own little fantasy land, thinking that they could spend every minute together, there would be no need for jobs or bills or men as they had each other: best friends forever. They wouldn’t have to cook, as they would get takeaways every night, and when they weren’t out shopping and partying they would have friends over all the time; maybe they would even get a puppy.

  The day Emma got her keys she had knocked on Kate’s door and they continued their little-girl fantasy once again, but this time they could actually put it into play, they could be real flatmates.

  “Just think of the parties we can have, babe,” Emma had squealed.

  They thought of colour schemes and planned lots of girlie nights… they were both so excited. Then Kate had told Billy. “No fucking way,” he had said. “She may be your friend, Kate, but she is also a little slapper, I can just imagine the sorts she will have round there, no fucking chance.” It had been embarrassing because Billy had said it in front of Emma, who had tried hard to hide her feelings and shrugged it off afterwards, but Kate knew that Billy’s comments had hurt. Billy had always had a problem with Emma, and Kate had never really known why. Of course she had her issues, but she was a good friend to Kate: the best in fact. He was probably just jealous. Kate had often thought that his friends were hardly the trustworthy type.

  Kate’s mum had passed away only two months before Emma had got her flat, so Kate thought that maybe she should stay at home with Billy for a bit. They were both grieving and very much needed each other; she couldn’t leave Billy to fend for himself. Maybe after a few months Billy would change his mind about her sharing the flat with Emma; maybe he would realise that Kate was grown up. He hadn’t changed his mind. Kate had justified it to herself; they would have probably fallen out if they had moved in together, as Emma was a complete slob, and Kate knew that she would have been left to do everything around the place. She liked going over there and staying the odd night, Emma was such a laugh to be around, a tonic, but Kate was always happy to come home to her nice, clean, and when Billy wasn’t home, peaceful house.

  Kate reached Emma’s flat and knocked on the door, waiting for her friend to answer. She waited a few moments and then knocked again, this time a little bit louder. Kate looked down at the black rubbish bag by one of her feet; animals had obviously dragged out the contents and there was food and rubbish everywhere. Leftover Chinese takeaway lay scattered along the pavement, and the smell was making Kate feel sick. Mind you, it didn’t take much at the moment. Since being pregnant, every smell had seemed to set Kate off. She had heard of morning sickness but she reckoned she had morning, noon and night sickness; still, it would be more than worth it. She smiled, thinking of the baby growing inside her.

  “Hey.” Emma yawned, as she opened the front door to her flat, wearing only her dressing gown. It was clear that she had been in bed, although it was after eleven: nice for some, Kate thought.

  “I’ve been up all night, Kate, couldn’t sleep; I’d invite you in, but I’m just going back to bed, I’m absolutely knackered.”

  “Oh, okay, Em… I just wanted to talk; the shit has hit the fan at mine.”

  Emma looked at Kate’s puffy, red eyes and realised that her friend had been crying.

  “Oh shit, Kate, you told him, didn’t you? You’d better come in.”

  She led Kate into her lounge, kicking a couple of empty cans on her way and a pushing a pizza box under the sofa. The curtains were still drawn and the air smelt of stale cigarette smoke. Kate felt the urge to vomit at the sight and smell of a half-finished mug of coffee with fag butts floating in it.

  “Sorry, babe, let me move that out the way.” Emma picked up the mug and went into the kitchen. “Do you fancy a cuppa?” she called, hoping that Kate wouldn’t: then she would be able to go back to bed.

  “Yeah, that would be great.” Kate did not feel like having a cup of tea, but she wanted to chat to her friend; she was so worried about the whole situation between Jay and her brother, and she didn’t want to go home just yet in case Billy came back and started his stupid shit again.

  Kate sighed, as she looked around Emma’s flat. She couldn’t believe her friend could be such a slob; the place was one step up from a squat. Emma had trashed the place; it had gleamed when she had first been given the keys.

  God, Kate thought, when she and Jay got their own place it was going to be like a palace. She was sure that Jay would let her decorate however she wanted, and she would cook him lovely dinners and run him nice baths when he got home from a long shift. It would be a proper home, clean and tidy, oh and of course there would be a nursery for the baby. Oh, the plans she had, she couldn’t wait. He hadn’t mentioned them moving in together but he would soon, she was sure; after all, they were having a baby.

  “There you go, babe,” said Emma, interrupting Kate’s thoughts as she plonked a mug of steaming tea down in front of her.

  “Now, tell Aunty Ems all about it,” she cooed, desperate to find out how Billy had taken it all.

  “Billy just went mental; I think he’s going to do something really stupid.” Kate started crying, she had almost no energy left in her now. She relayed the whole thing to Emma: how her brother had gone mad, smashing everything up, and how she had spent the rest of the night trying to put the house back together. “The worst thing is, Em, I can’t get hold of Jay. I’ve been trying his mobile all night, but it’s switched off. I’m so scared Billy is going to see him before I do.” Kate was crying harder now, really worried for her boyfriend’s safety.

  “Hey, come on… stop crying, Kate, it won’t be good for the baby,” Emma said, stroking Kate’s arm. “He’ll probably be trying to call you any minute now, hun. You know what men are like. If he was working at the club all night he probably went straight home to his mum’s for a kip. He’s probably in bed right now, none the wiser; you know what he’s like.”

  Kate took her first sip of tea and quickly placed it back on the table. It was like luke-warm milk, making tea certainly wasn’t one of Emma’s strong points.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right, Em; I’m just panicking, that’s all.”

  Kate knew that her hormones were probably making the whole thing worse. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad, maybe Billy would calm down, and once he thought about it all, maybe he would be happy for her. He would be the baby’s uncle, after all. She just needed to hear Jay’s voice to make sure he was okay. She felt her coat pockets, worried that she had left her mobile at home. She needed to get to it in case Jay had been trying to reach her; like Emma had said, he may call at any minute. She stood up and kissed her friend on the cheek. “Thanks for the tea, Em, you’re a star, but I’ve got to go, my phone’s at home, and you’re right, he might be calling me right now,” she said, as she made for the front door.

  “I’ll call you later,” Kate called, as she quickly made her way back out of the flat.

  Emma lifted the curtain and looked out the window, and seeing Kate practically running off down the road shook her head at her friend’s desperation. Kate didn’t have a clue when it came to men.

  She tipped her friend’s tea down the sink then looked at herself in the mirror in the hallway, running her fingers through her matted hair and wiping a black mascara smudge from under one of her bloodshot eyes. Having made sure she looked presentable, she walked into the bedroom. Closing the door, she let her robe fall onto the floor. Then, she climbed onto the bed.

  “Did you hear all that? You’re on the missing list, you naughty boy,” she teased. “Now, where were we?” she asked, as she slipped her lacy knickers off.

  Jay had heard every word of the conversation, and he really didn’t give a toss if Billy had finally found out a
nd lost it, in fact he was enjoying the drama of it all. Feeling horny at the site of Emma gagging for it once again, he smiled.

  “I think you were just about here,” Jay said, as he pulled her naked body down on top of him for the second time that morning.

  6

  The Dog was empty. That was a good thing; Billy needed time out to sort his head. He sat in his usual seat and gulped his whiskey in one mouthful.

  He looked around the pub, at the patches of mould on the ceiling and the wallpaper hanging off in places. The whole thing could do with being knocked down and re-built. It had been here for years, this place. It was definitely the atmosphere that brought customers through the door. If you wanted a nice quiet pint and a few familiar faces, you came here. There was cold beer and a friendly staff, and that was all that mattered in a local.

  It was only early afternoon, so Billy was grateful that the place was so quiet; he could sit and think. Billy was at a loss about what to do. All he knew was that Jay would be enjoying every moment of this situation. He felt that he could quite happily go round to his enemy’s house and kneecap him, and he would have done under normal circumstances, but these weren’t normal circumstances. This circumstance involved Kate, and Kate’s baby. Whatever his sister thought she might know about Jay, she didn’t know him as well as Billy did. He was a real dog. He shagged anything in a skirt, and his sister was naive to this, she believed in fairy tales for fuck sake. Billy knew there was no such thing as a happy ending where that man was concerned.

  “Can I get you another, love?” Norma had been working behind the bar for years and had been serving Billy alcohol since before it was legal for him to drink. He was always so tall and stocky, how was she to know he was still at school back then? He had fooled the local shopkeepers, though, being sold cigarettes from the age of twelve.