Blood Donors (14 page)

Oh yeah
I say.
You oughta try it sometime
.

Hold up
say Sis, takin’ a couple of pics of the scene.
Big Auntie goin’ to want to see this
.

We headin’ up towards our flat, give me chance to shower and put on some clothes. Feelin’ down. Megabugs been outwittin’ us.

If they been growin’ big all summer and now they ready to take over the block, and they ain’t hidin’ down the rubbish chute—

Then where they been hidin’ out?
Sis finish the question for me.

And we still need help. It pretty clear that The Three Great Detectives ain’t exactly of Sherlock Holmes standard. Compo could do a better job than us.

On the way up, we pass by His Majesty, skulkin’ roun’ the stairwell, lookin’ as bad-tempered as ever. He the only pet in The Finger badassed enough not to have been taken by the Megas. Ain’t sure he even a pet. Maybe he animal security. He hiss at us, and flash his claws as we pass by, makin’ Sabrebaby whimper and pull in close to my legs.

We get up to Mus’s floor and Sis hand me the loverdog while she figure which door to knock on, find Chantelle. Mustaph put his hand forward give ol’ Romeo a pat on the head, and say
Ooh, nice
.

Now
what he seen? He reach forward, grab the pooch’s paws, two in each hand, try and prise them apart like they jammed. Dog got rigor mortis, ain’t even dead.

When I see what attached to Romeo’s belly I almos’ drop the dog on the spot.

What the—?

Sabes gives a low snarl, bares his fangs.

What attached to Romeo’s belly is three sacks of blood, look like sausage skin.

As if I hadn’t had enough pukiness for one day, now Romeo gone and got his intestines leakin’ all over my arms.

’Cept these intestines be movin’ aroun’, like they alive. They attached to Romeo’s belly fur by tiny snouts. I can see the snouts suckin’ away, and the dog’s blood fillin’ out the head at the top of each snout, each head givin’ a little jerk, like it swallowin’, and the blood disappearin’ into the sack behind it. Bloodsucker don’ even have legs. It jus’ a bloodsack attached by a snoutsucker.

I look at Romeo’s eyes, but he ain’t lookin’ back. His nights of romance all behind him. Eyes are dead.

Nymphs
Sis declares.

Nymphs. Bug eggs. Grown heads so they can start sucklin’ on their own.

Gnarff!
Sabre leap up and get his jaws roun’ one of these nymphs, tug it away. He stand there, chompin’ at it, like it sausage fresh from the butcher’s shop. Blood drippin’ down from his muzzle.

My dog turnin’ cannibal.

I grab one of the remaining nymphs, pull it off with my hand. It bursts all over, Romeo’s blood leakin’ down my arm.

Mustaph vomit again, loudly. Thought my pal had stronger stomach than that. I myself find a mos’ disgusted groan makin’ it way out my lips.

Sis produce her crowbar.
Put the dog on the floor
.

I ain’t arguin’.

She whack the last bloodsack with the crowbar, usin’ excessive force. Hear a
splat
and a
clang
both at the same time. Bloodsack burst, poor dead Romeo covered in his own bloodbath.

Couple of doors open, shocked faces poke out. Horror and disgust.

Mum come around the corner and stop dead in her tracks. I mean
dead
.

This
time, she ain’t goin’ to deny the evidence in front of her very face.

Romeo! Oh, Romeo! What’ve you done to my baby!

Uh-oh.

Girl with a orange face and freaky long nails come stormin’ outta her flat, runnin’ her hands through her hair, eyes blazin’ like she gonna rip my head off. I know about these type of girl. You do not mess with them. You mos’ certainly do not mess with their Chiwowows.

Mum frozen, open-mouthed, like she ain’t quite believin’ what her eldest and best gone and done this time.

Neighbours starin’ roun’, takin’ in the carnage.

I’m holdin’ my hands up, try and placate Orange Girl. Big mistake. Hands covered in Romeo’s blood.

Romeo covered in Romeo’s blood.

My hound got Romeo’s blood drippin’ from his jaws.

Mustaph, the idiot, tries – and fails – to stifle a giggle.

I look to Sis. Sis shrug. Big help.

What have you done! You animal!
Orange Girl lunge for my face, goin’ to have my eyes. Sis get a grip on her jus’ in time, put her in restraint.

I yell
It’s the giant bugs! The giant bugs killed your dog! And their bloodsuckin’ babies!

Orange Girl don’t look like she wanna kill me no more. She backin’ into Sis’s arms. Like she backing away from a
highly dangerous individual
. In his boxers.

Sabre trots up to me, drops the chewed-up bloodsack, looks up hungrily at me like he beggin’ for more. Dumb dog lick his lips.

Sis is forcin’ Orange Girl back into her flat, manages to make it look like she
assistin
’ her. Keeps one hand free, take herself a pic of this latest evidence. Out the corner of my eye, I see Mustapha edgin’ his way towards the down stairs. Traitor.

That leave me and Mum. She lookin’ at the carnage all roun’ the floor, and lookin’ at me, blood-spattered in my undergarms.

Let me explain
I say.

Mum ain’t sayin’ a word.

But I got plenty to say.
You gotta believe me! This ain’t no game. What you think this is – paint? It’s blood, Ma, bug blood
.

I’m treadin’ a trail of red footsteps all the way to our front door.

Take off your trainers
Mum mumbles, stickin’ her key in the lock. She pick up the post from the floor.

Is this all she got? Worryin’ about dirty footprints?

Listen to me, Ma!

She turns round, totters like she losin’ her balance. Her eyes got a sheen, like she about to cry. Muscles workin’ in her cheek, chewin’ the inside of her face away.
Blood
she whispers.

I’m washin’ my hands in the sink. Blood swirlin’ away down the plughole. I throw my hands at her, drippin’ water.
Clean. See?

She fixes me with disbelievin’ eyes.
What kind of an animal are you?

She tosses the post down, plonks herself at the table, and the sobs come.
I give up, Marshall, I give up
.

I cross my arms over my chest. What can I say?

I go and shower. Water boilin’ hot. Can’t seem to soap the stench of animal guts off of me. But it clear my head a little. Once this is all over, I will soak in a bath. Be rid of the filth.

I come back into the kitchen, and Mum say
I give up
.

She already said that. She pressin’ her own pause button all the while I was tryin’ to defumigate.

We can’t give up
. I’m lookin’ straight at her.
Not now. We bein’ attacked. So we fight. Like Dad would have done
.

Stop!
Her face streamin’. She got snot bubblin’.
Stop now. Won’t you just stop?

I don’ get it.
Mum, we ain’t need to be shamed. These bugs don’ belong to us. We ain’t done it. We ain’t dirty. They attackin’ the whole block. They killed all the dogs!

It is like we are not sharin’ the same conversation.

Just like him
. She smiles, like she cracked some bad-taste joke.
Just like him. I always feared you would be
. She grabs a hold of my wrist, pulls my hand to her face, kisses it. I pull away.

Mum, you got to pull yourself together. We got to think about Connor. Make ourselves safe. Understand?

She laughs, walks over to the balcony doors, looks out. With her back to me, she says
Why do you think Big Auntie went to see the council? Why do you think we’ve been speaking with the police?

Mum, this ain’t about the little bugs no more. It’s about the big bugs. Don’t you get it?

Ohh, Marshy… Is like she just ain’t hearin’ me
.

Big bugs. The Megabugs. That killed Sleepy Lady?

My son
she say,
my eldest son
.

I can’t believe she still thinks I’m doin’ drugs. What does she think she jus’ saw out on the stairs?

Tell me, Mum. Tell me you believe me. Why won’t you tell me?

She turn roun’, wipin’ away her tears. She never used to cry. That one of her things. I seen her carryin’ the weight of the world on her back like citizen Atlas, and never cry, not a trickle. Even when the paper called her
cheat
and the court made her work for no money and she couldn’t buy Con-Con new shoes, she never cried.

Oh yeah, ’cept that once, when she caught me teachin’ Con-Con how to fight knives.

It’s me that makes her cry.

How can I believe you?
She look at me straight, through her tears.
You come home covered in blood. Mutilating people’s pets, on your own doorstep. How did it get to this?

She just as shamed as ever. She don’t even care I stayed up all night guardin’ over Con-Con.

I’m watchin’ out for us, Ma. I’ll never let any of them things hurt Connor – or you
.

No
she say,
you are growing up a menace, just like people have been saying. And a danger to those around you
.

She just insultin’ me. I look away. I see the mail is addressed for me, so I pick it up and walk into the livin’ room, throw myself down on the sofa. Sit there, numb.

I’m done talkin’. I slide my thumb into the flap of my letter, tear it open.

I blink, start again at the beginnin’ like I’m in slow class, learnin’ ABC. This can’t be right. This is a letter from Dad. First letter in ten years. He says he’s served his sentence. He’s done his time, and they’ve let him out.

My dad is out of prison. He comin’ home. I look up at Mum.

Now we will share the same conversation.

Dad is out of prison
. I give her the news.

She surprise me.
I know
.

Mum takes the letter out my hands. She holds her palm out at me when I try and leap up, snatch it back. She readin’ it speedy, still with her hand held out to me like lollipop lady stoppin’ traffic. Then she look at the envelope, my name and address typed on it nice and neat like she can’t believe it. She toss it back at me, like it some scrap.

What do you mean
you
know
?
I say.

She don’ say nothin’.

He’s comin’ home, Ma
.

She shake her head.
He isn’t coming home
.

He is
.

He isn’t
.

Letter lyin’ on the floor between us, like a challenge. I got a state of confusion. We been missin’ him for ever. Why ain’t we leapin’ for joy?

What do you mean, Ma? What do you mean, you already know?

Oh Marshall…

She step forward to try and embrace me, but I leap to my feet.
They wrote and told you, didn’t they? Yesterday’s letter
.

I am slow, tired. Try and compute.
You didn’t tell me
. And I picture Mum and Compo, in the doorway last night, so long ago now.
You … you told Compo
.

I see she still wants to hug me.

YOU TOLD COMPO!

Marshy, you know what he did
.

I sit back down. Collapse, like a house of cards. Blown down.

We cope together for a few minutes, with silence. She wants me to say it. She wants to hear it come from my own mouth. She knows we both know it, but we never say the words.

All right, I will.

Yeah
I say, fierce.
He killed a man
.

That make her feel any better? Put things right?

He killed a man
she whispers back at me.

So I reach out, yeah? I take her hand.
We know that, Mum. But he was jus’ defendin’ himself, yeah? And now he done his time. This is top, this is the best ever
.

She shakin’ her head, over and over, like she can’t express enough how much she disagree with me.

Oh, Marshall, please don’t be so stupid. How can you refuse to understand?

I’m so through with this. My mum drivin’ me insane. I pull my hand back from her.

Look at me, son. Why do you think I never showed you any of his letters?

Letters?

Why do you think we had to move house as soon as the trial was over? Why do you think we never talked about the trial?

From nowhere, tears is wellin’ up in my eyes, like I’m soft, like Soft Stuart, like sad boy Ashley whose cheeks I can smash.
You love him!
I bawl.

I
loved
him
she say back.
Marsh, I missed him so much, I still miss him, but he’s dead, don’t you see? Dead to us. Soon as I found out what he did
.

I’m gazin’ back at the space where she took down the picture of him that I put up. How come she never liked to talk about him? How come she always hated it when I said I wanted to grow up like him? How come sometime when she looks at me, she has to look away? Why she so shamed of me?