The Estate_Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

by Karen Woods

  “Wow, fucking hell. I’ve kissed loads of girls it doesn’t mean I’m going out with them.”

  Diane started to snigger. This boy was so funny, she flicked her hair back over her shoulder and let out a laboured breath. “I’m babysitting tonight with Melanie. Come around if you want?”

  “I don’t know yet. I might. I’ve got a bird to meet later so I’ll see how that goes.”

  Melanie sat in the living room eating a bag of salt and vinegar Chipsticks. She always munched on food when she was upset. Her mother came into the room and plonked down on the sofa. As she started to take the head scarf off from her head she shot a look over at her daughter. “Bleeding hell, what’s up with your boat-race?”

  Melanie sat back in the sofa, sulking. Marion got up after she took her shoes off and put her slippers on and started to empty her shopping bag. She threw over a small bag at her daughter. “There you go, that should put a smile on your face. Go on, try it on.” Melanie opened the small brown paper bag and she smiled as she brought out the electric blue eye shadow.

  She opened it with haste and slid her finger slowly over the make-up. It was just the same as Debbie Harry’s. “Thanks mam. I thought you said I wasn’t allowed to wear any slap.”

  She came back into the room from the kitchen and chugged hard on her fag. “Well, I had a re-think. Life is for living and you have to take every day as a gift. Losing our William has taught me that.”

  “But, what about dad? He’ll go mad when he sees me wearing it.”

  “You leave him to me. He won’t notice it anyway. He’s pissed up all the bleeding time. I swear to you I could walk in here with all my Jack and Danny hanging out and that man wouldn’t flinch.”

  Melanie broke out in fits of laughter. Her mother was rum. She never held anything back, she just said what was on her mind. “Mam, are you and dad alright? I hear you arguing all the time. Is he leaving like he said?”

  Marion let out a laboured breath and plonked down on the sofa. “You tell me because I don’t know. I’m sick of him treating this house like a hotel. He finishes work and he’s straight in the boozer until last orders. He falls through the front door every bastard night and then he kicks off with me. I won’t stand for it and if he thinks he can treat me like that, then he can pack up his bag and fuck off to his sisters. I’m nobody’s doormat.” Marion had been through the mill with her husband in the past and he wasn’t scared of giving her a backhander for answering him back. He’d blackened her eyes, bust her nose, and kicked the living daylights out of this woman. He was horrible when he was pissed, there was no talking to him. The police had been called to her house on a few occasions but they were a waste of space, they did fuck all really. They just left Arthur to his own devices. That was the way of the world. Marion’s own mother had been beaten from her husband and when her daughter told her of the abuse she was receiving she just shrugged it off and said, “You’ve made your bed, you need to lie in it.” What kind of advice was that to be giving her daughter? Surely, she should have told her to get away from her abuser as soon as she could. Maybe she should have gone around to the house and whacked the big bastard over the head with a frying pan when he was sleeping. That would have showed him wouldn’t it?

  Melanie moved closer to her mother and rested her head on her shoulder. “Mam, I still think about William every day. Will this pain in my heart ever go away?”

  “No love, it won’t. They say times a good healer and although the pain will always be there it will ease. Our William will always have a place in our hearts no matter what.”

  Melanie sucked the tears back, her eyes filling up. “Mam, why haven’t I had a period yet? All my friends have and I’m the only one who’s not been on the blob. Do you think there is something wrong with me?”

  Marion chuckled and rubbed the top of her daughter’s head. “Stop worrying. When it’s ready it will come and trust me, when it does you will wish you never started.” Marion had always been quite open with her daughter and if she needed to Melanie could have asked her anything. They had a great relationship regarding personal issues.

  “Mam, I’m babysitting tonight with Diane, can I wear some of the eye-shadow?”

  “Yes,” Marion nodded, “but don’t be caked in it.”

  Melanie rushed upstairs. She needed to study the poster hung on her wall. Her make-up had to be just right. Melanie rolled on the bedroom floor and dug her hand under the bed. Her expression was serious as she searched for something lying there. Here it was, she dragged it out. She sat on the bed and opened the box of hair-dye. It was a peroxide-blonde colour. She’d nicked it from the local chemist weeks ago but she’d not had the courage to put it on. Would it even work? What would her mam say? She sat in deep thought, debating. Melanie held her head to the side. Her mother’s words played hard on her mind, she did say, life was for living. She read the instructions and began to mix the liquid and the blue bleach powder together. She was really doing this. Bleeding hell, her mother would have kittens when she found out. The deed was done, the bleach was applied on her hair. It stank. Melanie snuck into the bathroom and sat behind the door. She had to time this, make sure she didn’t leave it on too long. Her heart was racing but she couldn’t turn back now.

  There was a voice from outside the bathroom door. Someone kicking and banging on the door. “Will you hurry up in there. I need to come in.” It was her cousin Kerry. She was a right gobshite and often visited here to visit her auntie and uncle. Bloody hell this was all she needed. The girl was a grass, a German. Once she got wind of anything she’d be on her toes and down the stairs telling her mother everything. She needed to quieten her down. Melanie opened the bathroom door and dragged her inside by the scruff of the neck.

  Kerry was wide-eyed as she spotted the colour of her cousin’s hair. “Does your mam know you’ve done this?”

  Melanie pinned her up against the bathroom wall. “You’re going nowhere. You say one word and I’ll smash your head in.”

  Kerry squirmed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Go on then, you go and tell my mam about my hair then.”

  Kerry looked at Melanie and tried to work out if she could risk a good hiding from this girl. She was more than capable of this, she had history of giving her a slap when she got above her station. Melanie released her grip and moved towards the mirror. She could see her hair had changed colour already. The colour drained from her cheeks and she knew then there was no going back. Quickly, she squirted some shampoo on her hands and dipped her head in the small sink. Well, at least her hair hadn’t fallen out like she feared. Her fingers rubbed vigorously. The feel of the hair was rough and hard. “Kerry, pass me some of my mam’s special conditioner, go on squirt it on my head.” Kerry had made up her mind now that she would keep the secret and help her cousin. Finally, the job was done, Melanie was now a blonde. Kerry was invited into Melanie’s bedroom. There was no way she was letting her out of her sight until she’d finished. She smiled as she escorted her into the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them. “Sit over there and don’t move. You should be happy that I’ve let you in here after last time.”

  Kerry dipped her head. She’d been caught nosing in her bedroom by Melanie a few months before, reading her private stuff she was, looking at her photographs. The nosey cow. Melanie plugged the small hairdryer into the socket and placed the mirror on the back of the door. She rubbed her hair with the small white pot-towel and shook her hair. Kerry was watching her every move and never flinched. The hairdryer was on now and Melanie was styling her hair. This wasn’t a bad job for her first time. Alright, it was a bit orange in some places but most of it was blonde. Melanie used her finger to slide the blue eye-shadow over her top eyelid and started to smile. She looked a lot older than she really was now. Twisting her head from side to side she turned to face her cousin. “What do you think? Do you like it?”

  “It’s nice” Kerry answered, “but when your mam sees it she will go mad. How are you goin
g to hide it from her?”

  Melanie sat thinking. She rummaged in her wardrobe and pulled out a black woollen hat. “Bingo, she won’t know if I’m wearing this will she? Well, if you keep them lips zipped, motor-mouth. Remember, I’ll smash your head in if you snitch on me.”

  Kerry crossed her heart with her finger and swore she would never breathe a word to anybody. Melanie opened the bedroom door and let her hostage go. She knew which side her bread was buttered on for sure. Turning back to the mirror she smiled. She looked good, sexy even. Wait until John saw her now, he’d be all over her like a rash. She pulled the bobby-hat over her head and tucked her bright blonde locks under it. Her secret was safe for now. She was a rock chick, a rebel.

  Diane waited for Mick and his wife to go out and as soon as they left the street she whistled over to Melanie and the rest of the gang. It was party-time. It was always like this when anyone had a babysitting job. All the girls invited lads into where they were babysitting. It was a chance to get some serious snogging done, to explore each other’s bodies. Tonight was going to be fun, they’d dance, dress up in the couple’s clothes and eat anything that was remotely nice from the fridge. This was the perks of babysitting. Yes, you could make whatever you wanted to eat. That’s what they’d said before they left anyway, whether they really they meant it or not she wasn’t sure. Melanie was first inside and up until now nobody knew about her blonde hair. She was going to shock them all, wait for the right time to reveal her new look. Diane already had the music on as she entered the front room. “Adam and the Ants” was playing and each of them were dancing as soon as they heard the tune. Gary was hopping about on one leg and strutting his dance moves. He looked a nob but that didn’t stop him. Melanie looked around the house. This place was smart, well furnished. They even had a record player, a stereogram. Diane plonked down on the sofa and kicked her shoes off. “They’ve left me a film to watch. It looks alright too. We can watch it later if you want.”

  Melanie sat down next to her and kept her eyes away from John. Who the fuck did he think he was playing with her like this? She’d show him what she was about. She replied to Diane. “Yeah, that’s cool. We can have a dance first and something to eat. I’m starving. Is there any spam in the fridge? I loved it the last time I had it here.”

  She started to take her coat off and didn’t wait for a reply. Here it was, her big secret reveal. The hat come off with one swift movement and Diane was speechless as she watched her shake her hair about. “Fucking hell, what have you done to your barnet. It looks mint?”

  Melanie could feel John’s eyes all over her and it was her time to shine. “It’s nice isn’t it? I done it myself.”

  Gary was moving closer, he picked up some of her hair and checked it out. “It suits you. I like your make-up too. You look like Blondie now.” Gary couldn’t stop looking at her, he was mesmerised. Melanie turned to face John and opened her eyes wide. He had to say something for sure. “What do you think?”

  This lad was giving nothing away, he gave her the quick once over and replied. “It’s alright.”

  She sneered at him and he could see she was upset. “It’s alright!” Was that it? Was that all he had to say about her new look. It was like getting blood out of a stone with this lad?

  Diane tugged at her own hair. “I want mine done now. I don’t want to go blonde, but I do want something bright, maybe a bit of cherry red or something like that. I don’t care what my mam says I’m doing it.” Diane wasn’t the centre of attention now and she hated it. Melanie was in the zone and ready to impress.

  “I just seen Michael Handley from the top estate and I showed him my new looks. He said I look sexy.”

  Diane was jealous and she was finding it hard to give her friend any compliments. She was the pretty one in the group and she hated being upstaged. Gary pulled out a bottle of Woodpecker cider and jeered. “Come on then let’s get this party started. I want to get rat-arsed.”

  The kids were having the time of their lives; singing, dancing, and fooling around. Gary was all over Diane and it looked like tonight was the night that she would kiss him. John disappeared upstairs. Diane give Melanie the eye. This was her chance, her time to see how he really felt about her. “Go on then, go and have a chat with him while he’s on his own, see what the crack is with you two.”

  Melanie was lost in her thoughts. Was it just a kiss or something more? What if she’d got the wrong end of the stick? What would she say when she spoke to him? After all, it was just a kiss. She left the room at haste. It was now or never. John was inside the toilet and she could hear him flushing the toilet. She puckered up and waited for him to come out of the bathroom. “Fucking hell, you scared me then?” he chuckled.

  Melanie giggled and went to walk past him. She’d lost her bottle. He gripped her back by the arm. “You’re not upset with me are you?”

  She wasn’t expecting the question, she wasn’t prepared. Melanie took a deep breath and tried her best to be calm. “No, I’m not arsed what you do. I don’t own you, do whatever you want. If you want to see other girls then it’s no business of mine.”

  She was lying of course, she was upset but hiding it well. He moved closer to her and she could feel his hot breath on the side her neck. What was he playing at? His voice was low. “Do you want to go in the bedroom with me and see what happens?”

  What a cheeky fucker he was. How dare he think he could just pick her back up whenever he wanted to. She told him straight. “No thanks, go and see one of your other girls for stuff like that. I’m not a slag.”

  John gripped her and dragged her inside the bedroom. He slammed the door shut and stood behind it. He smirked at her and touched his crotch. “You can suck my dick if you want?”

  Melanie was shocked, he’d never spoken to her like this before and something in his eye unnerved her. He staggered towards her and pushed her on top of the double bed. He jumped on her and held her hands over her head tightly. She was struggling to move but he was the one in control. “Get off me you dickhead. John, what are you playing at, turn it in. It’s not funny, let me go!”

  He remained silent and just looked down at her, studying her. His eyes were dancing with madness. “You’re going to suck my dick whether you like it or not. You know you want to!” Melanie tried to scream but he shoved the blanket over her mouth until she was nearly suffocating. At the last second, he lifted the blanket from her face and nodded his head. “You start screaming and I’ll do it again.” This was her mate, her friend, one of the gang. John reached down to his tracksuit bottoms and pulled his penis out. He moved closer to her lips and rammed it against them. “Open your mouth then, put it inside and suck it.”

  Melanie was terrified, her heart was pounding inside her chest. Opening her mouth, she could feel the warm flesh from his penis filling it. John was ramming it deeper and deeper inside, she was gagging. Suddenly, John howled out in pain. Melanie had locked her jaw around his dick and bit on it as hard as she could. She was the one calling the shots now. He was white with fear. She freed herself from underneath him and kept her clenched teeth tightly around his cock. She had to be quick, make a run for it before he could get her again. It all happened so fast. She was gasping for breath as she released her grip. She swung her arm back and smashed her clenched fist into his jaw. Melanie staggered as she tried to get out of the room. She felt sick and dizzy.

  “Dirty bastard,” she screamed behind her.

  She stampeded down the stairs and once she got back into the front room she fell to her knees, crying, sobbing her heart out. “Diane, throw him out of the house. Ring the police. He’s just tried shoving his dick in my mouth. Look at the state of me, he pinned me down and wouldn’t let me go. Ring the fucking police will you. I want him nicked for this. There is no way he’s getting away with it.”

  Melanie was hysterical, hyperventilating. John stumbled into the room and made his way to the sofa. He collapsed and started laughing his head off. “Fuck me, I was only jokin
g about. Wow, where has your sense of humour gone?”

  This was his word against hers and by the looks of Diane and Gary none of them believed her version of the story. Diane was sat on Gary’s knee and by the smile on her face it looked like they’d been snogging. “Melanie, come and sit back down. John was only larking about. You know he would never do anything like that. Bleeding hell, he’s not a rapist. Stop over reacting.”

  No one was listening. This lad was getting away with his crime. Because it was a crime, make no mistake about that. A dirty horrible offence that he needed punishing for. A liberty taker he was. Melanie snatched her coat from the chair and sobbed her heart out. “You’re my mate Diane. You should know that I would never lie to you about something like that. You can fuck right off. You carry on sitting here with him like nothing has happened if you want. But I’ll tell you now from the bottom of my heart that something has.”

  Diane was pissed out of her head, slurring her words. “You’re just going over the top, just sit down and get a drink down your neck.”

  Melanie spat over at John and left the house. She’d show him. She’d show them all. Who needed friends anyway?

  CHAPTER Three

  The months passed and Melanie kept John at arm’s length. His crime was never reported to the police and he was just carrying on as if nothing had happened. She still saw him every day, but he never gave her the apology she was waiting for. The funny thing was, she still had feelings for him, he was her first love. The man she had planned to marry. Then, she thought, perhaps it was her fault; her period had started soon after and she was up and down with her moods. She was questioning herself every day about it. Was it all a big joke that went wrong? Diane sat in her bedroom and lay on the bed staring into space. She looked different. Melanie looked over at her friend and giggled. “You need to leave them cakes alone, look at the weight you’ve piled on. How have you ended up with a gut like that? I thought you were eating healthily.”