Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives) (26 page)

Where the bloody hell did he get that from?

Alarm bells went off in her head louder than the rap shaking the walls. Nike had told her not to worry about the bank accounts, and that he’d take care of them. She hadn’t checked lately because it upset her too much, so she’d been grateful. Now she wasn’t so sure. They’d never kept secrets from each other before.

With her heart pounding, she switched off the computer and picked up Jake. “What has your father done, Jakey?” she said, hugging him tightly. “What the hell has he done?”

35

Mikey

Mikey knocked on the Connor’s door. He heard shuffling inside then Corey opened up.

“Cool, I wuz gettin’ bored. You wanna...” Corey’s expression dropped. “What happened to you?”

Mikey ignored the question. “Why haven’t you guys been answerin’ my messages?”

Corey wiped his left hand on his hoodie, smearing pink across the grey material. Mikey figured it was probably food.

“Tama’s pissed with you,” Corey replied. “He said he wuz gonna call ya back though.”

“Do ya know where he is?”

“He went out with Naf earlier. When they came back Tama wuz in a shitty mood, ranting at Naf for interrupting him at some chick’s place. Reckons Naf almost gave him a heart attack.” Corey sniggered. “You should’ve seen Tama’s face when Mum walked in, and told him off for swearing. He went bright red, spluttering and apologising to her. I’ve never seen Tama grovel before. It wuz bloody hilarious.”

Mikey pushed past Corey and headed for the couch. Like he gave a shit. He was mad that Tama was avoiding him because of what his mother did. He’d done nothing wrong, but still got blamed for every bloody thing.

Corey closed the door. “Who bashed you?”

Mikey looked down at his boots. “My mum.”

Corey went silent; probably shocked that he’d finally told the truth about his injuries. Even though he never talked about it with the gang, he knew the guys suspected she beat him. The first time Corey had asked him where he’d gotten a black eye from he’d lied, saying a bully in his class had done it. The guy was an arsehole, but he still felt bad when the gang beat the prick to a pulp. After that he brushed them off, with “Nah, I just tripped,” or “I got tackled in rugby,” lame shit like that.

Corey sat down next to Mikey. “She hurt you all those other times too, didn’t she?”

Mikey nodded, numbed by the fact he was finally admitting it.

“You wanna stay here?” Corey asked. “Mum and Dad won’t mind.”

Mikey covered his face. He wanted to take up Corey’s offer, but was worried about Caitlin. He hated the thought of his li’l cuz alone with his mother for too long. With the kid’s stutter his mother was bound to snap. He couldn’t bear it if she hurt Caitlin.

“You all right, Mikey?”

Mikey shook his head. “Tama’s mum’s dead.”

“Holy shit!” Corey put an arm around his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, man.”

“Tama’s gonna go nuts,” Mikey said, “but I can’t tell him over the phone. And now Mum’s Caitlin’s guardian.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m trapped. I can’t leave Caitlin with her, but I can’t live in that fuckin’ house anymore.”

“You wanna talk to my mum about it? She might be able to help.”

Mikey shook his head. “She won’t be able to do anything.” He wiped his face. “I need to find Tama. The funeral’s on Wednesday. Call Naf and tell him to bring Tama here.”

“Okay.” Corey pulled out his mobile and pressed speed dial. He waited for a few seconds, then spoke into the phone. “Naf, is Tama still with you?” He paused. “Bugger, we need to find him. Mikey has to see him straight away. Tama’s mum’s dead.”

Mikey heard Naf shout, “Fuckin’ hell!” through the phone.

Corey waited a moment. “Just tell your boss someone has died and leave.” After a pause he thumped the ground with a heel. “I don’t fuckin’ care what he says! Get your arse here now or I’ll come there and kick it!” He hung up, and looked at Mikey. “Naf will be here in about thirty minutes. He said he dropped Tama off at some chick’s place. When he gets here, we’ll take his car and head out.”

Mikey nodded and looked up as Corey’s mother entered the lounge with a basket of washing.

“Hello...” Her smile slipped. “What happened, Mikey?”

“Tama’s mum killed herself,” he said.

Both Corey and Mrs. Connor gasped.

“Shit, you didn’t say it wuz suicide,” Corey said.

Mrs. Connor dumped the basket on the floor and sat down on the other side of Mikey. She ran a hand up and down his back. “How’s Caitlin doing?”

“She’s with my mum.”

Corey’s mother looked so lovely. Her long black hair was tied back in a plait and she had makeup on. She was so different from his mother. She took care of herself and was nice to him, always asking how he was ... like he was important.

“What happened to your face, love?” she asked.

He looked at her nervously. What would she say if he told her the truth? Would she help him and Caitlin? He sucked in a breath then started talking before he could back out. “Mum abuses me...”

36

Tama

Tama opened the stereo, slipped in The Black Seed’s CD, then pressed play. The guitar rift of
Sometimes Enough
started, the reggae beat following close behind.

Bobbing his head up and down to the music, he walked towards the brunette from the party, his eyes narrowing in on her tight black sweater. Usually when he drank too much the chicks the next day were never to his taste, unattractive scrubbers he would never hit on without being pissed. But Kelly ... hmmm ... she looked tasty, her tits definitely more than a mouthful. He wondered what her pussy tasted like, because her peachy arse definitely looked scrumdiddly-fucking-umptious.

“I bought you sumpthin’.” He pulled out Jess’s G-string and bra from his jacket, and passed them over. “You wanna try them on and see whether they fit?”

“Thanks, Tama.” She got up and headed for the passage.

Tama followed close behind, wondering which way he’d take her first.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Wait here, I’ll be back in a sec.”

He shrugged. Not like he was going anywhere fast. Turning back to the lounge, he wondered whether there was anything good enough to swipe. A hodgepodge of mismatched furniture filled the room. A snooker novelty clock and two Metallica posters were hung over tacky wallpaper, finishing off the Westie feel—all grunge and metal.

He inspected the miniature classic cars on the wooden shelves. They reminded him of Jayden’s collection. Guilt slapped him across the face. Shit, that was all he was feeling lately when he wasn’t high. But in Jayden’s case, he shouldn’t. Jayden deserved what he got.

“They fit perfectly. Thanks.”

Tama spun around. Kelly stood in the doorway fully clothed.

“I wanna see them on ya,” he said.

A blush spread across her checks, making her fair skin appear sunburnt. “I thought we could go to a movie or something first.”

“I don’t have a car,” he replied, not adding that he had only come over for sex.

“We can watch a DVD then. My flatmate has heaps.”

Tama nodded. He had loads of time to kill anyway, and they could always fuck later. “Got any chips?”

“Yeah. Choose a movie and I’ll get the food and drink.” She went into the kitchen.

Tama eyed up the DVDs in the cabinet under the TV. Action and horror made up most of the collection. “Seen, seen...” He flicked through, until he came to
Constantine
. “Haven’t seen that.” He pulled it out, and slipped the disk into the DVD player.

“Press play,” Kelly said as she came out of the kitchen. She placed a bowl of chips and two cans of Coke on the glass coffee table, then sat on the couch.

Tama grabbed a handful of chips and settled in next to her. He stuffed them into his mouth as Keanu Reeves came up on screen. “When are your flatmates home?” he asked with his mouth full.

“Sasha, who you saw last night, works late so she won’t be back for a while, and Zane will be here around seven, so you need to be out by then.”

Tama stopped in mid chew. “Why didn’t cha tell me you lived with that bitch? She ratted me out to the pigs last night.”

“You wouldn’t have come over—”

“So, ya know what I did then?”

She nodded.

Tama stood up and grabbed his jacket off the couch. “Didja fuckin’ call the cops on me while you were in there?” he said, jerking his head towards the kitchen.

She grabbed his hand. “No, I wouldn’t do that. I like you.”

He stood still for a moment, unsure whether he should take off. “Why would you? I stabbed someone.”

Her eyes widened. “You stabbed someone?”

“You said you knew.”

“Yeah ... I knew you had sex with Zane’s girlfriend.”

Tama pulled a face. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ ‘bout.”

“Who’d ja stab?” she asked, looking worried.

“Um ... no one you know. Anyway, it wuz self-defence.”

She visibly relaxed. “Sit down then.”

Tama shook his head. He couldn’t tell whether she was serving him up a load of bullshit or not. “Nah, I’m outta here.” He headed for the door.

Kelly jumped up and grabbed his arm. “Oh, come on, Tama. Please stay. You’ll miss out on seeing the lingerie on me.”

He stared down at her breasts. He’d enjoyed his time with her last night, and she sure was gagging for it. Plus, she’d been upset when he had to take off. Maybe she was genuine. She was pretty too, and he’d been really looking forward to rooting her.

He sighed, not sure whether it was worth the risk. “Nah, I better head off. Got places to go.”

She ran around him, blocking his way. “Come on, I only sucked you last night before Sasha ruined things. Plus, Stella said you’re good in bed.”

Tama smiled at the compliment, his eyes moving to her breasts again. “She did?”

“Yeah. And I think your tattoo’s way cool.”

“Thanks. I designed it.”

“It’s hot.”

His smile widened as he cupped a breast. “So are you.”

She giggled.

He pulled her close, his mouth connecting with hers. He was definitely going to root her. Plus, her story was probably true, the name Stella did sound familiar.

“You wanna go to my room?” she mumbled, against his lips.

“Definitely.” He let go and strode after her, heading down the passage and into the back room.

After closing the beige curtains, Kelly took off her sweater and dropped it on the queen-sized bed. Tama grinned. He couldn’t take his eyes off her tits.

“Shut the door,” she said.

He did as instructed, then took off his jacket and threw it onto the cabinet. A porcelain angel fell onto the carpet. One of the wings snapped in half.

“Dammit,” she said, scooping it up.

“Not my fault.” He pulled off his hoodie and T.

Still clutching the ornament, she watched as he undid his jeans. Tama frowned as he dropped his gruds. He was starkers, so why wasn’t she stripping? He reached for her jeans. She backed up and sat down on the bed.

What was the chick playing at? “Aren’t we gonna fuck?”

She looked down at his penis then blushed. “Can’t we just kiss for a bit first?”