Teabags & Tears

by Woods, Karen

  “Oh Tracy tell them your good news.”

  Anita and Graham both looked at her with vacant faces. She had their full attention now. A smile formed on Sandra’s face as Tracy looked uncomfortable fidgeting about on the sofa. Her parents were waiting anxiously looking at Sandra then back across to Tracy. Sandra couldn’t wait any longer. Taking a drag from her cig Sandra broke the silence.

  “Our Tracy is pregnant!” Anita and Graham looked shocked.

  “What do you mean she’s pregnant?” Sandra chuckled.

  “Well apparently Mark is the father. He’s been her boyfriend for a while hasn’t he Tracy?” Tracy was livid and couldn’t get her words out quick enough.

  “Me and Mark have been together for ages. Just because I don’t tell everyone my business, it doesn’t mean he’s not the father.”

  Her parents were gobsmacked. Tracy had slept with Mark a few times in the past, everyone knew that, but she was lying through her teeth when she said he was her boyfriend. They were just fuck buddies.

  Sandra finished her cig and left her parents still staring at their beloved child. Her father was disgusted and he couldn’t hide it. He’d always wanted better things for his youngest child and now he looked at her with disappointment in his eyes shaking his head.

  “Right I’m off,” Sandra announced. Her mother just nodded. Graham seemed in a world of his own and made no reply. No big hugs goodbye, just a nod of the head.

  “Typical!” Sandra mumbled as she left the house.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Sandra headed home. Her head was in bits now. Her husband had fathered another child. This was the end and there was no way on earth she could ever forgive him. It was the ultimate betrayal. Picking up her mobile phone she got in touch with Tina and told her she was on her way round to her house. After all she couldn’t go home yet she was a mess.

  By the time she knocked on Tina’s door she couldn’t even speak. Steven opened the door to her and could tell something had happened. “Come in love, come in. I’ll get Tina.” Sandra followed him like a lost sheep sobbing. Tina came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head. As soon as she saw her best friend’s tears, she knew she needed her. Tina gave Steven the eyes to disappear and shouted to him as he left the room for him to put the kettle on.

  Both girls sat down and Sandra dropped her head onto the table. Her hands guarded her face and Tina had to pull at them to get a glimpse of her face. “Fucking hell Sandra what’s wrong. Come on tell me?”

  Sandra snivelled. Her eyes looked red raw as she lifted her head up. As she spoke her lips trembled. “He’s got her pregnant, Tina. The dirty twat has got my sister pregnant.”

  Tina looked horrified. “How do you know? I mean what makes you think that?” Sandra started to tell the story of Tracy’s attack. Tina went white in the face and she hoped the police wouldn’t be knocking on her door any time soon. Tina stopped her and made her go over the details of the attack in more detail. Tina looked like she’d seen a ghost. Her hands were shaking as she reached for her cigs.

  Sandra struggled to get her words out. “I know its Kevin’s kid even though the tart is saying Mark is the father. Come on, we all know she just uses Mark for money and that don’t we?”

  Tina nodded, then focussed on the other part of the story. “So let me get this right, someone drugged Tracy and tattooed her face. And now she’s found out she’s pregnant.”

  “Yes,” Sandra sighed.

  Steven returned carrying two brews. He held his hand on Sandra’s shoulder and squeezed it. “Are you alright love?” he asked. Sandra sniffed up and smiled at him. He could see she was far from alright and tried to make conversation. “Ay while you’re here let me do ya a tattoo.” Sandra looked at him. She didn’t know if he was joking or being serious. Tina now jumped into the conversation. They were trying to take her mind off the situation.

  “Yes Sandra, get the same as me ‘Carpe Diem’. Maxine can get one too and we can all say we have survived cheating bastard men.” She rubbed at Steven’s leg as he stood beside her. Sandra looked as if she was thinking. She knew she had a long way to go before she was a survivor but this was a start surely. She agreed.

  Tina rang Maxine and she got there just as Steven began tattooing Sandra’s foot. She was screaming out in pain. Her head was turned to the side, and biting into her clenched fist. At one point she screamed out, “For fucks sake this is worst than child birth!” Tina chuckled as Maxine prepared herself for her turn.

  Sandra was now finished and the words “Carpe Diem” read across her foot. Looking at it in more detail she looked happy with the design. The art work made her feel strong inside and it just reminded her that one day she would be over all this mess. Steven placed a white bandage over it and taped it down. He was telling her how to look after it as Tina piped up. “Ay Sandra I can tattoo now, can’t I love” She looked at Stephen for support. He smiled and nodded as prepared to do Maxine’s tattoo. She was sat next to him now with her leg placed on his lap. Stephen continued.

  “Yeah she’s getting good, Sandra. I’ll have to watch her because she’ll be nicking all my clients soon if I don’t watch out.” Sandra praised Tina then a look came across her face that told everyone she was in shock. Tina offered to get her a cold drink of water and thought it was the effect of the tattoo that had made her feel sick. Sandra followed Tina into the kitchen area.

  Watching her best friend run the cold tap water she bit down on her bottom lip. Surely she’d got it wrong in her head? She had to get the question from her mouth before she sent herself crazy. Tina passed her the glass of water and told her to take a sip. Once the liquid hit her mouth Sandra told Tina to sit down for a minute. Tina knew by her face it was something important and quickly sat down. Taking a deep breath Sandra began.

  “Tina it was you wasn’t it?”

  Tina looked her straight in the eyes. “What was me? What are you going on about?”

  Sandra took hold of her hand and softly shook it. “You did that tattoo on our Tracy’s face didn’t you?” Tina couldn’t keep eye contact with her she was twisting and turning her head in all directions trying to keep the secret she held firmly placed on her tongue. It was no good Tina couldn’t hold it any longer. Sandra was her best friend and she needed to know the truth. “Yeah I did. She’s a slut and deserved it. How do you think I feel seeing the little tart shagging your husband right in front of everyone’s eyes?” You could now hear Maxine screaming in pain from the other room. Sandra looked towards the door. Her eyes cast back over to Tina.

  “Was she involved too?” Tina nodded and waited for her reaction. “Fucking hell. So you two have done that to her just for me?” Tina smiled unsure of what her next move was. Sandra now reached over to her and hugged her tightly as she cried. “Thank you so much. Nobody has ever stood up for me before like you two have.” Sandra now pulled away from Tina and held her head to the side. “So let me get this right in my head. You two drugged her and tattooed “slut” on her face?”

  Tina looked apprehensive at first before she became cocky as she spoke waving her arms about. “Yep that’s right. And to tell you the truth I would do it again to anyone who fucks about with another woman’s man.”

  Sandra sighed and twisted her fingers. “You two are fucking ruthless,” Sandra smiled.

  “Well anyway like you said she deserved it. The police haven’t got fuck all to go on so I think there will be no comebacks.”

  Tina now told her about the whole episode and laughed as she told her about when they shaved her fringe off. Maxine limped into the kitchen balancing on one leg. She held one hand on the door frame

  “That killed. It was like a needle being dragged deep into my foot.” They examined each other’s tattoos now and together they looked invincible. The words on their feet bound them together and from that day on the three of them would deal with anyone who got in their way.

  Sandra now told Maxine she knew who the attackers were who’d dealt
with Tracy. Maxine looked at Tina for guidance, but as soon as she saw the look on her face she knew their secret was out. The three of them huddled together in the kitchen and spoke about their next move to finish Kevin off.

  *

  Kevin sat in his front room bagging the heroin. The scales in front him helped him to weigh out the right amount of smack that would go into each bag. His face still looked swollen and you could see he was still in immense pain. He knew the task of paying the money back to Zac would never end. Kevin needed some help and as he heard his son come in through the front door he shouted him to come and join him.

  John walked into the living room and stared at his father’s face. “Dad what’s wrong? Who’s done that to you because I swear I will do em in!” Kevin looked at his son and blew a laboured breath. He felt embarrassed at where his life had taken him. His hand now reached across to John and he gripped his hand.

  “Mate I know we haven’t seen eye to eye in the past but I’m in deep shit and I need your help,” John was now bouncing round the front room. He was fuming.

  “Dad just tell me who it was, and I’ll get a few lads together and we’ll go and sort them out. My mates got a gun so I’ll pop a cap in their arses.” Kevin raised his voice and told him to sit down.

  “Listen you don’t fuck about with these kinds of people. They mean business and won’t think twice about coming through our front door and dealing with us all. Your mother included.” Kevin looked serious. John sat down cracking his knuckles. He looked stoned, his eyes were glazed over. Kevin bit down on his bottom lip as he continued. “They would hurt us son. Without a shadow of doubt, so for now we have to leave it.” John shot his eyes at the drugs on the table. He’d dealt in weed before and knew this was some other kind of drug. John’s hand reached over and he picked up a small bag of the brown powder. Looking at his dad he asked what it was. Kevin shook his head in disgust. He hated that he was now getting his son involved, but he had no option.

  “It’s smack, Heroin.” John opened the bag and started to smell it. Kevin coughed loudly and told him that he needed to sell it to pay back the money he owed to the dealers. This job sounded right up John’s street. He now looked at his father.

  “Right I can sort out some runners and that, but we need some phones don’t we?” Kevin nodded. They both sat for a minute in silence then Kevin swore him into the secret they now shared.

  “Nobody must ever know about this. Not even your mam, or your brother.” He stared at his son waiting for a reply. John nodded and agreed. Whilst his father was distracted John pushed a small bag of heroin into his pocket. Once it was secure in his jeans he helped his father bag the rest of the smack up.

  By the time Sandra had got home all traces of the drugs had gone. She wanted to dive onto Kevin there and then and plunge a sharp knife deep inside his chest and rip his heart out. Looking at him with hate in her eyes she sat down and started to tell him about her sister’s ordeal. As she told him she watched his face drop. He looked white and ready to collapse.

  Kevin had introduced Tracy to Zac and his gang in the past and they knew he was shagging her brains out. Perhaps they’d done this to Tracy just to show him that they meant business?. His words were shaky as he spoke. “So is she alright then or what?” Sandra now sat forward in her chair as she dropped the bomb shell on him.

  “Yeah she’s fine. She wasn’t raped and the tattoo can be removed so she got off lucky didn’t she? Mind you her hair looks a mess at the front. But I suppose it will grow back wont it?”

  Looking at his wife Kevin agreed. Sandra now turned from his view and spoke. “Well anyway that’s the least of her worries. When they examined her the doctor found out she was pregnant. Fancy that ay!” Kevin couldn’t speak and nearly choked as he took deep drags from his cig.

  Sandra pushed him for a reply. “So what do you think about that then? Apparently its Mark’s kid.” Kevin stood from his chair. He needed to regain his balance as he stood up. Sandra loved the look on his face and spoke to him in an animated voice.

  “Oh how’s your leg. You look in pain?” He just mumbled and left the room without replying. She could hear him in the kitchen.

  A look of malice was etched on Sandra’s face. She stood to her feet and walked to the kitchen. Peeping around the corner she could see him texting rapidly on his phone. The phone was shaking in his hands and she knew he was falling apart. Sandra headed upstairs. She was knackered and needed some sleep. Searching underneath the thick mattress she found her diary. She’d always written one since being a young girl and found it helped her get things off her chest. Reading through the previous months entries she giggled. She was an evil cow she thought as she read what she’d previously done to her husband. Today was a good day for writing and she had so much to tell her diary before she went to sleep. Checking that the bedroom door was firmly closed she started to write up the day’s events. Her head was in bits and she secretly planned more payback of her cheating husband.

  Later, John looked at the drugs in more detail. He’d been dying to have a go of smack for a long time. He loved a buzz and this stuff looked like it could offer it to him. A few of his mates had tried it in the past. Sitting in his mate’s flat he showed them what he had in his hand. At first they looked shocked and wanted nothing to do with it. John’s best mate Jason told everyone to get a grip and fuck off out of his flat if they were scared of a little bit of smack.

  Jason was twenty-one and loved drugs. He’d had heroin in the past and wasn’t afraid to try it again. The others left the flat. John now told Jason the situation his father was in. Jason rubbed his hands together. “Count me in mate. I need to earn some decent cash.” John watched as Jason prepared the heroin for them to smoke. John watched with anticipation at his mate tooting from the silver foil. Now it was his turn. John copied everything Jason had done and before he knew it he lay on the floor staring into space just like his friend. His eyes looked vacant and he seemed in a world of his own.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Tracy stood in the full length mirror and turned to the side. Her belly looked massive now and she looked disfigured as she stood in her white wedding dress. Tracy and Mark had announced they were getting married a month before. He’d paid for her to have the tattoo removed from her face and was over the moon that he was going to be a father. Tracy had told Kevin about his child but he told her point blank to get rid of it as he wanted nothing to do with her or the baby. She had no option but to marry Mark.

  Sandra had been planning this day in her mind for months. This was going to be the day she watched her sister fall to the ground like the little snake she really was. Maxine and Tina had helped set everything up and the plan was ready to wipe the smile from a lot of people’s faces.

  Sandra stood next to Tracy in the bedroom. My, how things had changed. Sandra was now the thin one and her sister looked like a beached whale. Sandra hadn’t really noticed her weight loss until now and as she looked in the mirror, she knew she looked good. The bridesmaid’s dresses were a soft lilac colour. Sandra hated her dress and only wore it to keep her mother happy. The two younger bridesmaids were Mark’s sisters. They looked so cute, unlike Sandra.

  Tracy’s mother was like a fly round shit. Every couple of seconds she would come up to Tracy and pull her dress straight. If it wasn’t the dress she was touching, it was her daughter’s hair. Sandra watched them both with a look of disgust on her face. The sound of a message alert could now be heard. Once Sandra checked her phone she realised that she had a message from James. Heading to the toilet she held her phone tightly in her hands.

  James and Sandra had been seeing each other regularly. They’d become quite close and he’d already told her he loved her. Sandra loved him too but knew she couldn’t be with him yet until she’d sorted out her own mess. James knew she was up to something but kept his nose out of it knowing Sandra would tell him when she was ready.

  Sandra read the message and held the phone to her heart. James was
so nice and he’d said in the message that she should have a great day and let her hair down. Her fingers quickly typed a reply back to him telling him she loved him too and she would see him later that night. Her mother was shouting her.

  “Sandra, are you in there? Come on, the car’s here for us. We don’t want to be late do we?” Sandra rammed two fingers into the air behind the door. Anita pissed her off so much and for years she’d just taken it. Today was going to be so different though because by the end of it, everyone would know just how much of a low-life tramp her sister really was, including her mother.

  “Right I’m ready,” she replied, “don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’m coming now!” You could hear footsteps walking away from the bathroom door. Sandra looked at her face in the mirror and gave herself a cheeky wink. “Right girl let’s show these fuckers what it’s all about.”

  Sandra quickly ran to see her sister before she left. Tracy was stood looking out of the window and didn’t hear her come in. As Sandra placed her hand on her shoulder Tracy jumped. “Fucking hell you shit me up then!”

  Sandra giggled. “Right I’m off to the church. I’ll see you there.” Tracy leant over and kissed her sister’s cheek. As she left her she mumbled “Fucking Judas” under her breath.

  The car pulled up at the church and Sandra could see her husband smoking at the side of it. She smiled and looked at her mother. “Look at that fat dick-head of mine. Don’t you think he’s piled some weight on?” Anita looked over to where he stood. She giggled.