Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives) (36 page)

Maia threw the T-shirt on the bed. She didn’t need Jess to tell her who it belonged to. Tama had worn it the first time he’d sexually assaulted her, when she’d kicked him in the balls.

“Phone Nike, Mum,” Maia said. “Jess needs him.” She looked down at the T-shirt.
We all need him.

53

Nike

Nike couldn’t wait till he dropped off Talia. He’d glanced at her once during the trip back and regretted it. The woman had been glaring at him. He knew he was going to get the sack, but man, it stunk that he didn’t do anything wrong.

He wasn’t looking forward to telling Jess. The look of relief on her face that things were finally picking up felt good yesterday. It sucked that he was going to shatter that. But even worse, she would want to know why he was fired. Nike sighed. She was going to go ballistic.

As he pulled on the handbrake, Talia jumped out of the car. Nike got out and moved around to the boot without looking at her. He opened it up and grabbed her purchases.

“Nike.”

He exhaled, thinking here it comes, the giant piss off and don’t come back speech. He looked up, now annoyed that the woman had stuffed things up for his family.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” she said.

Taken aback, Nike stood still.

“I shouldn’t have done that to you,” she continued. “I put you in an awkward situation and your reaction was perfectly understandable.”

She looked past him and scowled, then before he knew what was happening she leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. She stepped back and smiled. “I hope you’ll stay on with us.”

“What’s going on here?” Saul called out.

Nike glanced over his shoulder at Saul, who was chewing up the ground to get at them.

“Oh, calm down, Saul,” Talia said. “I just gave him a kiss to say thank you.”

Saul stopped in front of her. “You don’t touch the employees. Understand?”

“What’s wrong, Saul?” Talia smiled. “You think you have some competition for my affections?”

Saul glared at Nike. “Did you fuck her?”

“Hell, no! I’m married.”

Talia exhaled. “Don’t take your jealousies out on Nike. I was just teasing you. You always jump to conclusions every time we hire a good-looking male.”

Saul poked a finger in front of her face. “Listen. I’m not fuckin’ jealous. I turned
you
down, not the other way round. I’m sick of cleaning up after you, because you can’t keep your hands off the help.”

Talia’s face darkened. “I can have you fired for talking to me like that.”

“Try it, then see what the boss says about you kissing Nike.”

“Go fuck yourself!” She turned and stomped towards the front door, slamming it behind her.

Saul turned towards Nike. “Did she touch you?”

Nike stared at him, unsure whether he should say anything.

“I guess that’s a yes. Did you turn her down?”

“Yes.”

Saul no longer looked like he wanted to belt him, but his expression was still harsh.

“Stop lookin’ at me like that,” Nike said. “It’s not my bloody fault. It wuz fuckin’ embarrassing.”

Saul let out a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. She’s done this shit before. Just tell me what happened so I can deal with it.”

“Will you tell the boss?”

“No. I don’t want him finding out after the last time.”

“The last time?”

“You don’t wanna know. And, I give you my word that he won’t find out.”

Nike scratched his face. “She wanted my opinion on what clothes looked good on her. It wuz okay until she asked in the lingerie store. I didn’t want to go in, but she got mad. She took off her bra and tried to undo my pants. I told her no and said your name, then she went nutso at me. The kiss you saw before wuz an apology.”

“Like hell it was. She kissed you to piss me off. Don’t worry; I’ll make sure she doesn’t do it again.”

“How many times has it happened?”

“Quite a few times. Most were easy to deal with, but unfortunately the boss found out about the last one. And of course I had to fuckin’ take care of it. But it was the stupid arseholes’s fault for running off at the mouth, thinking he meant more than a fuck.”

Nike wondered whether it was the same bloke Ash’s mate had seen getting beaten up. Or was it the guy who’d ended up in the Waikato River?

The sound of ringing snapped him from his thoughts. He placed the bags on the ground and retrieved the phone from his jacket. He glanced at the name on the screen, then switched it on. “Can’t talk right now, Mum. I’ll call… Why ya crying?”

“You hafta to come home straight away. Get a taxi, anything.”

“What’s wrong, Mum?”

“Just get here now.”

“No, tell me what’s happened.”

“Jess...” She stopped as sobs racked her. “Please, she needs you now. We need you.”

“What’s happened to Jess?” When she didn’t answer him, he yelled into the phone, “What happened to Jess!”

“Tama raped her.”

The phone slipped out of his hand.

“You alright?” Saul asked.

Nike opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He felt Saul’s hands on his arms, steering him towards the stairs.

“Sit down, mate” Saul said.

Nike did as instructed.

Saul squatted down in front of him. “What’s happened?”

“My wife’s been...” He could barely say the last word. “Raped.”

54

Tama

Fuck it! Why did Jess have to ruin everything with her damned crying? He wanted to stay longer, but couldn’t handle her bloody whimpering. And it wasn’t like he was rough. In fact, he was gentle if anything, and even saw to her needs. She tasted so damn good too. If he made it out of the hospital he was definitely going back for her, and she would just have to deal with it. And anyway, there was still Nike to take care of.

Naf turned onto Middleton Road. “You sure you wanna do this?”

“Yeah, I hafta see Mikey…” Tama flicked open his knife. “…and bleed that sick bitch dry.”

“Don’t ya think you should leave this one to the pigs? She’s still family.”

“Not
after what she did to Mikey.”

“It’ll fuck you up.”

“I’m already fucked up.” He closed the knife and pocketed it.

“Then make sure you get out fast if you see any pigs. And don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, knowing it was bullshit. He touched the brim of the cap he’d swiped from the Daniels’ house, and smoothed the hoodie over it. “No one will see my tat.”

Naf pulled over in front of the main entrance. “I’ll wait round the back in the same place as before.”

“Let’s hope I make it out then.”

“This ain’t a joke, arsehole!”

“I didn’t fuckin’ say it wuz.” Tama jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. He gave Naf the finger as he walked off.

As he entered through the sliding doors, he slid a hand into his pocket and gripped the switchblade. Just like every other time he’d ever been to Middleton it was busy. Patients were sitting, chatting, complaining, sniffling and scratching their very impatient arses.

Pretending to scratch the side of his face, he walked past the nurses’ station. Naf had told him where to go, so he took the elevator up a few levels and headed down the corridor. The harsh smell of disinfectant hit his nose as he neared a janitor mopping the floor. Tama edged around him and lowered his head as a nurse and doctor approached. They passed him with barely a glance.

Tama walked past the small nurses’ station hoping he wouldn’t get stopped. Luckily the woman behind the counter had her face glued to the computer. He didn’t know whether his picture had been given to the staff, but he was thankful that at least there were no police guards on his cousin’s door.

He entered the room. Except for Mikey’s bed, the other metal contraptions were empty. Mikey looked up as Tama walked towards him. Shit, his cuz looked terrible. Dark rings sat under his eyes, his face was gaunt and his expression haunted. Tama didn’t want to think about what Mikey had been through, the images popping into his head making him feel physically ill.

“How ya doin’?” Tama asked.

“What do you think? And, why the fuck are you here?”

Tama hesitated for a moment. His cuz never spoke back to him. He decided to let it fly, understanding that the kid had gone through too much shit for him to get precious.

“You should’ve told me ‘bout what your mother did. I would’ve helped you.”

Mikey dropped his gaze.

Fuck, the kid was tearing him apart. “Where is she?”

“Why do you wanna know?”

“So I can gut her.”

Mikey’s eyes flicked back to him.

“Look, Mikey. Corey told me everything. He said you blame yourself for what happened. It’s not your fault; it’s that sick bitch’s. She needs to be dealt with.”

“But I let her do it.”

Tama shook his head. “You didn’t let her. She forced herself onto you.”

“Like you tried to force Maia.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You wanted to rape Maia.”

Tama stared at his cousin. Mikey glared back.

“But I didn’t,” Tama finally said.

“You wanted to, though, just like I wanted to.”

Tama frowned. He knew Mikey liked the girl, but he never thought his cuz would take her by force. Mikey was too soft.

“I wuz boozed up, Mikey, I wuzn’t thinking straight. Anyway, you didn’t touch her.”

“I’m just like my mum, you are too.”

Tama’s face hardened. “No, we’re not. She’s a sick bitch. What she did to you, that shit ain’t right.”

“Have you ever raped anyone?”

Tama breathed in sharply.

“Well ... have ya?”

Shaking his head,
Tama looked down at his boots. Jess should be his anyway, and it wasn’t the same as what Aunty Trina did to Mikey.

“I almost did,” Mikey said.

Tama looked back up. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Who?”

“One of those girls you passed onto me. Casey sumpthin’. I told her all I wanted wuz to do her from behind, but she kept tryin’ to touch my dick and kiss me. I went nuts at her and she got scared. She tried to leave, so I forced her down. She begged me to stop just like I begged Mum.” He looked down. “Thank God I snapped outta it before I took it too far.”

“Why the fuck ya blaming yourself for that skank? It’s not your fault. Casey wuz a right tart who deserved all the balling she got.”

“It
is
my fault! But what makes it worse wuz I had it done to me.” The beeping from the monitor by Mikey’s bed increased. “Do ya know how degrading it feels?”

Tama shook his head, Jess’s whimpers resurfacing.

“It feels like you’re worse than shit. I’ve wanted to kill myself so many times, yet I still tried to force Casey.” Tears glistened in his eyes. “I wished I’d fuckin’ died last night so it would save me from havin’ to top myself when I get outta here.”