Fighting for Survival (The Estate, Book 3) (25 page)

‘And you had your reasons.’ Caren gave her hand a quick squeeze, ignoring the blood stained bandage around Ruth’s wrist. ‘You need to work through your problems in your own time and then you’ll come out the other side.’

‘I – I’m scared that I might not make it.’

‘You will – we’re all stronger than we think. I know what it’s like to move into Stanley Avenue and feel like you don’t belong here. Luckily for me, I have John to talk things over with. He picks me up when I’m feeling low. But you don’t have anyone.’ From a pocket in her jeans, she pulled out a piece of paper she’d written her mobile phone number on. ‘The next time something gets you down, maybe you could text me and if I’m free, I’ll pop down to see you.’

 Ruth wiped at the tears that had fallen and smiled again. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

Caren smiled too. ‘Now, don’t lose that slip of paper.’

Pleased with herself after most of the neighbours had come out to hassle Ruth, Gina lit a cigarette and leaned on the gate, watching out for Pete. He’d gone out earlier, said he’d pay a couple of bills and then come home and take her for a cheapo lunch in Wetherspoons. Gina was hoping to get him merry enough so that he’d sub her a twenty so she could get some new shoes. She fancied a treat.

Jenny Webster wobbled her heavy frame across to her. Jenny lived in the corner house with her son and daughter from a previous marriage and an Afro-Caribbean man who made Gina’s neck ache when she addressed him. Jenny was the same height as Gina: she often wondered how they got it together.

‘Can’t believe that about Ruth Millington, can you?’ said Gina, the minute she drew level with her. ‘I didn’t know you could do that, give your kids back.’

‘Me neither.’ Jenny rested her hand on the gate while she caught her breath. ‘I’d have given my Leo up a long time ago if I had known,’ she laughed. 

Gina did too for a moment. ‘She’s a sneaky piece of work,’ she added.

‘She is – I’ve seen some comings and goings at her place already.’

‘Oh?’ Gina realised she might be about to hear more gossip.

‘I don’t trust her.’ Jenny glanced up and down the avenue before turning back. ‘I was going to tell you earlier, then I wasn’t sure but I think you should know. I saw Pete going in to see her the other morning.’

‘WHAT?’ Gina roared.

Jenny nodded. ‘It was early, about nine-ish.’

‘Did you see what time he came out?’

‘Yes, just after ten.’

‘And was it the first time you saw him?’

Jenny paused. ‘It’s not my place to say – I’ve said enough already.’

Gina clenched her fists. ‘Tell me!’

‘I’ve seen him a couple of times. I don’t know what…’

But Gina wasn’t listening anymore. She was across the road and heading for number thirty-two. Jenny trotted behind her as quick as she could.

‘You’d better come outside, Ruth Millington!’ Gina hammered on Ruth’s front door. ‘I know you’re in there because I’ve just seen Caren coming out.’ She lifted up the letterbox but she couldn’t see anyone. ‘I’ll rip your fucking head off when I get hold of you. You’ve had it, do you hear?’

Behind the kitchen door, Ruth sat with her hands covering her ears. Damn that family. If it wasn’t Gina spreading malicious rumours and turning the neighbours against her, it was Pete coming to get his end away. Although she knew they shouldn’t have done what they did, he had taken advantage of her at her weakest moment and now it looked like she was going to pay for it in more ways than one. Still, at least Gina hadn’t found out about that yet. It could only be a matter of time but maybe all this other gossip would keep her off their trail for now. Then she could talk to Pete and see if he would back off.

 ‘You have to come out some time and I’ll be waiting.’ Gina shouted again.  ‘No one messes about with my Pete and gets away with it.’

Ruth gasped: Ohmigod, she
had
found out! Were all the women in Stanley Avenue set up as spies? Pete had only called round twice.

Ruth pushed herself further into the corner of the room as the banging on the door continued. Why couldn’t everyone leave her alone? 

Gina snapped down the letterbox and stared up at the windows. There wasn’t a movement from anywhere but she knew Ruth was in. She picked up a brick from the garden and threw it at the large windowpane in the living room. It bounced back onto the garden, narrowly missing her toes.

‘Gina!’

Gina turned to see her mum running towards her.

‘Leave me alone, Mum. I’m going to get her. She’s been –’

‘Never mind her. You’d better come quickly. It’s your Pete. He’s in a right mess. There’s blood everywhere.’

‘Pete?’ Gina stormed into her house. ‘Where the hell are you?’ She went through to the kitchen. ‘Pete!’

Pete sat on the floor, his back resting on the oven door. His face was a mishmash of bruising, swelling; thick blotches of red blood oozed down his cheeks, his neck, over his T-shirt. He was holding onto his ribs.

‘You should see the other guy.’ He tried to smile but winced in pain.

Gina wet a tea towel with cold water and dropped to her knees beside him. She held it to his nose.

‘Is this Lenny’s doing?’ she asked.

‘Ow, Gene, don’t be so rough,’ Pete moaned.

‘You knew full well this would happen if you went after him. He could have killed you. He’s a fucking idiot!’

Pete stopped her hand with his own. ‘I couldn’t let it rest; I knew he’d be after me. But I saw him across the shops. He shouted over, asking how the young ‘un was. Then he laughed. I just flipped. No one laughs at me or my family.’ He tried to smile again. ‘At least I got the first punch in.’

Gina held back her frustration. What was happening to her family? Were they all hell-bent on fighting to get what they wanted? And since when had it started to control their lives, spiral out of control? No wonder people thought they were scum. They gave them enough reasons to think none the wiser.

‘We have to stop,’ she said after they’d sat in silence for a while. ‘All this fighting, it’s not good.’

‘If we don’t stick up for ourselves, people will walk all over us.’

‘People do that anyway. We’re the Bradleys; people think we’re shit. That’s why we fight, to get one in before someone knocks us down.’

‘It’s a beating, Gina.’ Pete withdrew the towel from his nose, trying not to retch at the sight of all the blood. ‘I’ll get over it. I always do.’

Gina rested her back on the unit beside him. ‘But what’s it doing to us? Our girls have turned into animals. Even I’m ashamed of them at times.’

‘They have your temper.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean!’

‘You’ll fight over anything. That’s hardly a good example to set.’

‘Don’t go blaming this on me. This is your doing, not mine.’

‘I know.’ Pete sighed. ‘We should try and talk to them, though. Let’s catch them when they come in later.’

But later, after school, Rachel and Claire were causing trouble outside Shop&Save. An elderly gentleman had been going about his business when Rachel pinched his tweed cap and raced off with it on her bike.

‘Come back, you little cow,’ he shouted, brandishing his walking stick and tottering after her.

‘Relax, Granddad,’ she taunted him, riding by but not near enough for him to claim back his cap. ‘You want it? Go and fetch it.’ She threw it into a huge puddle of water.

‘That’s my best cap!’ The man bent down and retrieved his soggy possession. He glared at Rachel. ‘You’re such an awful generation. This would never have happened in my day. You’d have been locked up and dealt with by the local bobby.’

‘Yeah, yeah, and I suppose you’ll tell me that you fought a war for me too.’

‘I’d have never fought a war for a piece of shit like you.’

‘Ooh, Granddad’s getting brave.’ Rachel beckoned to the other girls. ‘Come on over, join in the fun.’

‘Leave him alone,’ said Laila.

Rachel looked over in disbelief; Laila was always the mischief maker. The scowl on her face said she was definitely annoyed about something. Ignoring the man, Rachel rode over to her. She was sitting on the railing with Ashley. Claire was beside her, sitting on her bike, a foot down on the floor to steady herself.

 ‘What’s up with you, you moody cow?’ Rachel asked Laila.

‘Nothing.’

‘Yes, there is. You’ve been like this for days now.’ Rachel peered at her closely. ‘You’re not knocked up?’

‘No! And keep your bleeding voice down. I don’t want any rumours starting about
me
.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ When Laila didn’t say anything, Rachel pushed. ‘Go on, tell me what rumour is circulating. Is it about me?’

‘Or me?’ asked Claire.

‘Don’t say anything,’ Ashley told Laila.

Rachel threw down her bike and grabbed the front of Laila’s jacket. ‘What’s going on that I don’t know about?’

Laila still said nothing.

Rachel pushed her away in frustration. ‘You’re all mouth.’

‘You’ll have no mouth left when Stacey’s finished with you this time.’

‘Aren’t we supposed to be on the same side here?’

Laila shrugged. Ashley studied her feet, running the toe of her trainers back and forth in the gravel.

Then Rachel understood. ‘You two are my bessie mates! Surely you don’t want to go back over to Stacey?’

‘Yes, she wants us to join her again.’ Ashley looked up at Rachel. ‘I know you’ll probably beat the crap out of me when I say this, but I’d rather have Stacey on side. She hits so hard.’

‘Tell me about it,’ muttered Claire.

Rachel turned to her with a scowl. ‘Shut up, Claire.’

‘Look,’ said Laila. ‘Don’t you think it would be better if we all joined as one?’

Rachel shook her head.

‘She’s going to get us together eventually,’ said Ashley. ‘Whether you two like it or not.’

‘She only thinks she’s got everyone on side,’ said Rachel. ‘Once the others get fed up of her childish ways, they’ll soon ditch her. That’s why we should stay strong now. We’ll all be top dogs again and Stacey Hunter will be nobody. Wouldn’t you like that?’

Laila nodded. ‘But it’s not going to happen. Stacey will keep them all on side because they’re scared of getting a leathering. She won’t stand for anyone deserting her again.’

Rachel sat down beside her on the railing, quiet for a moment while she thought about things. ‘We need to stick together.’ She looked at each girl in turn. ‘All five of us, including Louise. If we stay like this, she won’t break us down but if one of you two falls,’ she ran a finger across her throat, ‘then the Mitchell Mob will be fucked. Are we in this together?’ she asked, holding her breath while she waited for their reply.

‘I’m in,’ said Claire.

Rachel tutted. ‘I didn’t mean you, you dope. Laila? Ashley?’

Laila and Ashley looked at each other and after a quick nod of her head, Laila spoke. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I want to stay with you two. But if it’s a choice between you and her, then I think I’d rather go with her.’

‘But –’

‘Don’t complain,’ said Laila. ‘If I go with her, I want you to come too. And you, Claire. If we go over, we go over together.’

Claire shrugged a shoulder. ‘What do you say, Rach? One for all and all for one?’

 ‘What the fuck do you take me for?’ Rachel glared at her. ‘I’ll never side with Stacey Hunter. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.’

‘But –’

‘But nothing,’ Rachel interrupted her sister. ‘It’s either her or me.’ She picked up her bike and rode off.

‘Rach!’ Claire yelled. ‘Wait up for me! Rach!’

After pedalling fast to release some of her pent-up aggression, Rachel slowed down and let Claire catch up with her.

‘What’s up?’ she asked when she drew level at last.

‘Nothing.’ Rachel bumped down three steps onto Rowley Green and headed for home. She didn’t want her sister to know how upset she was. ‘I’m hungry,’ she lied.

As soon as they went through the back door, they could tell something was wrong. It was too quiet – even the television was off. In the kitchen, they found their parents sitting at the table.

‘Dad!’ Claire swallowed as she took in the state of him. 

‘Wow, Dad, you did it then?’ Rachel grinned. ‘You stuck up for Claire and took a beating off Lenny.’

‘Sit down, Rachel,’ said Gina. ‘You too, Claire. Me and your dad have been talking and we feel that the fighting has got out of hand.’

Rachel folded her arms defiantly. ‘You talk to us about fighting, when Dad comes home in that state?’

‘It’s
because
I came home looking like this that I feel the need to talk to you both. Things are going to get even nastier if we don’t stop now.’

‘I agree,’ said Gina. ‘Your Dad getting beat up today could be the start of things if you continue to fight with Stacey.’