Rotten to the Core (25 page)

Billy made his way to the gentlem
e
n’s lounge
.
Paul watched as he walked upstairs, he was a big bloke
,
as broad as he was tall. He
felt
that he had witnessed the calm before the storm. Billy was never a man of many words, but Paul could tell that he was troubled. He liked Billy, he always had. Since Kate had
started working for him
, she had done nothing but sing
Billy’s
praises, the only negative thing she had ever hinted at about Billy was that he was very over
-
protective but that she knew he had her best interests at heart. Paul couldn’t help wondering about that
,
though, how could Billy stand back and watch his sister be with such a lowlife? He imagined that it must take a lot for him to remain calm and controlled
.
I
t just didn’t make
sense
,
s
urely he wasn’t happy about the relationship
.
Paul had heard that Billy had even let Jay have a small hand in his business dealings. Maybe it wasn’t as simple as that
,
though, he knew the theory behind the old saying
“
keep your friends close
…”
and all that. Something was definitely up, he was convinced that it
involved
Jay, and if he was right he had no pity for Jay, the guy had a lot coming to him
.
Paul could see there was something unhinged in Billy, something in his eyes, he was not a man to be crossed.

28

She pulled the thick blue rope up and reached up on her toes to make it tie around the light fitting on the ceiling
;
it was a big wrought
-
iron light fitting so it
had seemed
st
rong
enough. She had already
made
a big loop on one end of the rope. She had only ever seen this sort of thing in
films
, and had up until now thought that attempting suicide was done by somebody using it as a pathetic cry for help, to gain attention. Well
,
that wasn’t an option for her anymore, she had no-one who could help her and attention was the last thing she needed, she had had enough attention to last a lifetime
:
all of the wrong kind.

She stood on
a
chair and pulled down hard on the rope, she could feel a rope burn on her right palm as she tugged tightly and knew it was strong enough to hold her.

She looked at the
brown wooden
chair she was standing on,
at
her pale
,
grubby feet,
her
scuffed
toenail-
varnish
; her feet were as
neglected
as
the rest of her. She didn’t care about herself anymore, she had let herself go. She wasn’t sure
whether
she should have written a note, but looking over at the dining room table she was glad she had now. There were two envelopes, one addressed to her parents, letting them know that it wasn’t their fault and that she loved them and was sorry. Her mum would be devastated, but she wasn’t sure if she would be more upset that
the
illusion of her successful daughter was shattered more than finding out
the truth of what her daughter had actually become. Her dad would
be
disgusted and very disappointed, he had bought and paid for her to have the best throughout her childhood and he would not have understood how she had come to this at all. They lived in another world
,
most of the time, they had bridge afternoons and dinner parties
;
they had no idea of how everyone else lived, struggling to get by and doing whatever was needed to pay the bills. There was a time that she had been tempted to call and tell them everything, sure deep down
that
they would help her
and
take her away from it all. Something had stopped her
,
though
:
a combination of
shame
and
fear
, as
over the months she had sunk lower and lower. Even the punters knew it
.
S
he was a mess, a down
-
and
-
out, there to be used and abused, and for practically pennies now as she was so far out of it these days she would just mainly lay there in her own little dream world, hardly even acknowledging whoever was grinding and panting away on top of her.

The other envelope was addressed to Kate, apologising for everything, confessing about what she had done behind her friend
’
s back with Jay and how he had got her hooked on drugs and
prostitution
. She had cried when she had written it. She had thought about how upset her friend would be once she heard she was dead and felt even guiltier for the pain she
would
cause
.
S
he thought about all the memories of
them
growing up together,
the laughs and
the mad nights out clubbing.
Kate
had been the only person that had ever really cared for her, and she was beside
herself at how she could have treated her like she had
,
s
he could not forgive herself for that.

Next to the envelopes was her empty bag of gear. She had summoned every bit of strength
not to take anything this morning, to remain clea
r-
headed while she sorted out the last few things she had to do, which had been so hard
;
she didn’t normally have to deal with her feelings and writing the letters had brought them all out
;
she had had to be strong and find the right words, she wanted to do that much at least, she felt that she owed them that.

She had waited until Jay had paid her his nightly visit to collect his money and had sniffed the gear as soon as he had left
.
S
he knew now that it was a form of heroin
that
Jay had been supplying her with, she had loads of it
from
punters too, not China
W
hite like Jay had got her hooked on, just normal street stuff. She had realised she was a druggie the first time she had stuck a needle in one of her veins to take it
;
until then, even though she used
drugs
several times a day, she had convince
d
herself that she wasn’t an addict, that she had it under control. But she didn’t, she knew that now
:
s
he was a drugg
ie
, and a whore, and worse than that
,
she was trapped
,
and
she didn’t want to be
where she was
anymore. She didn’t want some dirty unwashed man forcing himself into her, while she laid on the bed with her legs splayed open, or to be strangled or used as a punch bag
as
some of the dirty fuckers liked, she
hated
being used and feeling filthy when they had taken from her what they wanted, fed up of waking up in the morning and thinking about gear, craving it so much that
it physically pained her
.
M
ore than anything else
,
she was sick and tired of feeling alone. Loneliness washed over her every second of every
day.

She didn’t want to be alone anymore. Placing her head in the noose and feeling a tear roll down her cheek, she kicked the chair. The rope tightened around her neck and she struggled for breath
;
she writhed around kicking her legs in the air
then
finally she gave in to unconsciousness.

Emma
didn’t hear the front door open, or her name being called, she didn’t feel
a pair of
big arms
wrap
themselves around her as she was lifted up and the rope loosened. She was out cold.

He hoped that he had reached her in tim
e.
H
e called an ambulance after making sure that she was breathing
,
he saw the envelopes on the table
.
H
e put them in his jacket pocket, then went and sat next to her until the ambulance arrived.

29

Billy was ready. He had followed Jay for the best part of a week and was sure he had seen it all
; it was
time to put things into motion. Today was Jay’s day of reckoning. Billy had everything he needed on the guy
; he
had had to call in a few favours
,
but
now
it was all in place. He thought he deserved a fucking Oscar for his acting skills with Tanya, but he knew that if he waited it out, she would dig herself into a deeper hole. Well
,
she was going to be wishing that she could jump in the bloody hole too in a moment
.
H
e grinned as he got out of his car and walked around to the passenger side
;
opening the door for Candice to get out, he took another look at her and smiled. Seeing her dressed like this of an evening in the gentlem
e
n’s lounge was the norm for him, but at this time of the morning, in his street, she looked obscene, like she had just finished filming a porno. He had told her to wear the most provocative outfit she owned and had laughed when he picked her up from her flat this morning. She had tottered towards him in six
-
inch heels and the smallest bit of fabric Billy had ever seen,
which
had the cheek to label itself as a dress
;
it was way too much for this time of the morning, in fact for any
time of the day full stop.
As well as looking v
ery slutty, she was tanned and glossy
,
just as they had discussed. Tanya would go nuts when she
saw
Cand
ice
.

“Ok
ay,
babe
;
I’m ready
…
let’s do it
.
”
Candice
winked as she took his hand
,
and they both walked towards the front door
.

Hearing
a
loud
,
squeak
y
laugh coming from her hallway and the front door closing loudly, Tanya sat up and pulled her robe around her
;
she had been chilling out to a bit of Jeremy Kyle on telly whilst lounging on the sofa, enjoying her
first coffee
of the day. Billy hadn’t come home again last night, but by the sounds of it
he
was now and he had company
.
She could hear the laughing in the kitchen
now;
getting up
,
she decided to
go and
see who was making that awful noise
.
L
augh
:
i
t sounded more like a fucking cat getting strangled.

Walking into the kitchen
,
a gobsmacked Tanya was not sure exactly what was going on but had a feeling that Billy had lost the plot.

“Oh hi
,
Tanya, do you fancy a coffee
?
I was just making one for Cand
ice
here
.
O
h
, actually,
I expect you’d rather a glass of wine
,
wouldn’t you, I mean it is after all almost ten in the morning
.
”
Billy had the kettle on and was acting as if nothing was up, but his shirt was undone and so was his belt
,
she noticed
,
and he had bright pink lipstick marks on his cheek
.
Looking at the tart sitting on her granite worktop Tanya’s blood started to boil
.

“
W
ho the fuck are you
?
” she glared at Cand
i
ce, sitting
i
n her kitchen with everything hanging out
,
like some kind of slapper
;
well
,
at least the girl was wearing knickers
,
thought Tanya, noting that they, like everything else this girl had to offer
,
were on display
.

Cand
ice
looked Tanya up and down as if she w
ere
a five foot seven
,
walking
,
talking
turd
.

“I’m Cand
i
ce
.
”
S
hort and simple
:
n
o explanation
.

Something was not right
.

“Well, Candice, what the
fuck
are
you doing sitting in my kitchen looking like a dog
’
s fucking dinner?” Tanya bellowed now, starting to feel really unsure of what was going on
.

“Ah
,
Tanya, Tanya, calm down will you
.
” Billy passed Cand
ice a
cup of coffee
.

“Told you she could be a
narky
bitch in the mornings
,
didn’t I
?
”
H
e winked at Cand
i
ce now
.
“Don’t listen to
her,
I think you look fucking tasty
,
babe, good enough to eat
.
”
H
e licked his lips and the room was once again filled with Cand
ice’s
loud dirty laugh
.

“
W
hat the fuck?”
N
ot being able to finish her sentence
Tanya
lunged for Billy, her cheeks were
flaming
, how could he try and humiliate her like this, bringing this cheap little slut into her house and talking to her like this
?
Billy grabbed Tanya’s wrist
,
just in time to stop her fist coming down on him
.

             
“
G
et her out of my fucking house
,
Billy, how fucking dare you
.
”
S
he was so angry
,
she could feel tears stinging her eyes
;
she was determined not to cry in front of them both, especially not Cand
ice
who was sitting there looking like the cat that had got the
poxy
cream.

“That’s just it
,
though
,
Tan,
it isn’t your house
,
is it? It
’
s mine, isn’t it
?
O
n paper
.
”
H
e looked at her seriously
.
Tanya felt sick. He knew. She didn’t know how or when
it had happened,
but he had found out. It was the only explanation
.
As
if reading her mind
,
he grinned at her, a grin that didn’t reach his dark, narrowed eyes
.

“You might want to go and get dressed
,
Tan
;
you have a busy day ahead of you
,
love. You’re moving out
.
”

She wanted to scream and shout, cry and beg
;
she couldn’t give up everything and walk away. This was her home
;
she had decorated every room, made it her own, and she loved it
.
B
ut she was not going to put on a show, not while that slut was watching her, no fucking chance
; Tanya
would be a laughing stock if this got out. She would keep her dignity and accept it.
T
he game was up, and she would have to leave, there was no fighting Billy once he made his mind up, and
the house
was in his name,
so
she didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“
O
h don’t you fucking worry mate, I’m off
.
Y
ou think you can bring some cheap little slut in here to our home
?
W
ell
,
you know what?”
T
urning now to face the girl on the worktop
,
she shouted
,
“
Y
ou
’
r
e
fucking welcome to him
.
”
S
he glared at Cand
ice
who still had the cheek to stare back smugly at Tanya
.

“
O
h I know I’m welcome to him
,
babe, I’ve been “having” him for months now
;
thanks for your generosity though
.
”
S
he fluttered her eyelashes and blew Billy a big pouty kiss
.

Tanya could re
s
t
r
ain herself no longer and lunged forward to slap the little tart, but Billy had seen it coming and jumped between the two.

He had warned Cand
ice
about
Tanya
, told her what had been going on with her and his sister’s boyfriend, and even though cheating was an everyday occurrence round these parts, even
though
Billy had been at it with her, Cand
ice
was disgusted at what she had been told
about the state Billy had found Emma
in
a few days previously, she found it hard to believe all that poor girl had been through, she knew
part
of Billy’s plan to sort Jay out, and had been more than happy to help
him
get his plan into action. Sitting here now
,
face to face, she could see what a cold
-
hearted bitch Tanya was, and that she also deserved whatever she got
; Candice
was actually really enjoying winding her up.

Billy took Tanya by
the
arm and marched her upstairs and stood in the doorway of their bedroom while she packed a few bits into a bag and threw
on
some clothes. He could see that she was fighting her rage and her tears, but he felt no sympathy for her
;
they were over, she had treated him like a mug and now she was leaving
:
e
nd of.

Tanya
put
as much as she could into the bag
then
looked around the room, wondering what would happen to the rest of her stuff. She hoped that she would be able to come back and get it when things had calmed down. As angry as she was, she was going to bite her tongue until she had her stuff back
.
Billy’s eyes followed hers around the room, and once again
,
as if he was inside her head
,
reading her thoughts
,
he said in a cold voice
:
“I’ll send it all on to you
,
” then he followed her back downstairs and held the front door open for her
.

Candice couldn’t resist one more dig
;
after all it was what Billy was paying her for this morning, to rub Tanya’s nose in it
.

             
“
Toodle
-doo
,
babe, nice meeting you
.
”
S
he waved from the front doorway, as Tanya walked down the path,
then
grab
bed
Billy by his shirt
and g
ave
him a passionate kiss,
before
clos
ing
the door with her stiletto
-
clad foot.

S
he was fourteen, but Jade
knew that she looked older than that. Once she had her slap on,
with
her hair
done
, and was wearing the right clothes she always got let in to the
local
clubs. Once she even got into
The Manor, an over twenty-ones club. It
had been
easy. It helped that she was tall and blonde and most of the door staff were men, and men were so pathetic
like that
. She could have any boy at her school she wanted, but she didn’t want any of them, because that’s all they were
:
boys.