Dirty Game by Jessie Keane

arrived six minutes later and so Darren took advantage of the facilities.
    ‘They told us two casualties,’ said the men, eyeing the bloodied empty bed with suspicion.
    ‘My mate legged it,’ said Darren, holding a towel to his battered face. ‘We had a fight, it was nothing.’
    ‘Come on then,’ said one of the men. ‘Let’s get you seen to.’
    ‘What the fuck did you have to go and tell Connie for?’ Celia asked when they’d gone. She still sat at the kitchen table, her hands shaking, her face blank.
    ‘They had to know. They’re his family.’
    ‘He was targeted in my house.’
    ‘Darren said there was another man with him. Man with a deaf aid.’
    ‘One of his own?’
    ‘Seems so.’
    ‘I hope for his sake he’s a long way away by now,’ said Celia. ‘That’s what I should do. Just take off.’
    ‘You’ve done nothing wrong.’
    ‘It happened in my house.’
    ‘Don’t keep saying that!’
    ‘Not saying it won’t make it go away. I’m responsible. Me. No one else. Just me.’
    After that night things had gone ominously quiet and Celia had seemed to shrink into herself, become smaller somehow.
    So here she was, Annie thought bitterly. Backat her dear old mum’s. Who was being a bitch – as usual.
    ‘Coming round here pretending you give a shit,’ she was yelling. ‘Who do you think you’re kidding?’
    And maybe that was justified. Annie knew she should have called before, seen how her mother was getting on. She knew she should have contacted Ruthie long before now, too, and begged her forgiveness – grovelled if necessary – but every time she felt the impulse to get in touch the guilt kicked in and she just couldn’t face it.
    ‘Is he okay, that’s all I’m asking.’
    ‘Oh, he’s okay. Half dead, but doing just fine. She must let some scum in there, for a thing like that to happen. But what am I saying? Of course she does, the cheap whore. She let you in.’
    Annie raised her hand to hit her mother as hard as she could. She wanted to wipe that pathetic, malicious smile off that drunken, shrivelled face. But she held back.
    ‘Go on – hit me. Is that what that whore teaches you in that place?’
    Annie swallowed her anger and ignored Connie’s taunts.
    ‘Is he recovered?’ She let her arm drop.
    ‘He’s dying , you silly cow,’ spat Connie.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I’ve got nothing more to say to you.’ Shegrabbed Annie’s arm and started bundling her back out the door.
    ‘And Ruthie?’
    Annie had to ask the question, much as she really didn’t want to. She was on the step trying to take in what Connie had said about Eddie. If it was true – and why would Connie lie? – Max must be devastated. And when she thought of Max, she thought also of Ruthie. Ruthie must be in the thick of it all, the poor cow.
    But Connie didn’t answer.
    The door slammed shut. Annie heard the bolt go across.
    ‘What about Ruthie?’ she asked the closed door. She kicked it once, hard. ‘What about poor bloody Ruthie?’ she repeated hopelessly.
    She shouldn’t have come. She’d wrecked everything, why couldn’t she just accept that and leave it alone? Hating herself, she turned and walked away.
       
     When she got back to Celia’s Kieron was there, sitting at the kitchen table talking to Ellie. He looked up as she came in, his eyes laughing.
    ‘You forgot, didn’t you,’ he said to Annie.
    Annie stood dumbstruck. ‘What?’
    Ellie got up and left the room, smiling at Annie in passing and mouthing: ‘ He’s gorgeous. ’
    ‘You said you were going to sit for me today,at my place. Eleven o’clock. I phoned when you didn’t show up, but Ellie said you’d gone out. I thought I’d come over and wait.’
    ‘Oh.’ God, how had she forgotten? Her mind was whirling. And Celia had always stressed that she should keep the Delaneys sweet. What a fool she was. ‘I’m sorry. I completely forgot.’
    ‘Not very flattering,’ said Kieron.
    ‘Sorry,’ Annie said again.
    Kieron