It was fucking cold, especially considering the scorching heat just a few hours earlier. There were drops of dew hanging limply from the tips of the grass at our feet, and I had, very stupidly, decided to remain in my shorts for the night. My legs were soaked already and we had only just gotten out of the car. My breath was jumping out of my mouth - the lights shining up from Dublin City making it shine almost magically. I remember thinking that if I were in a movie, it would be an artistic vision. I wasn't though, and reality closed in on me when I could see the approach of headlights from around the bend of the hill leading to the point where we had parked. I got the usual knot of nervousness when we had to deal with these assholes. Jack knows my weaknesses more than even I do. He knows I will never carry a weapon.
"Weapons are just asking for trouble."
I lived by that 'mantra' regardless. Whatever he threw at me, I could take and I would just notch it up as one more thing I could never forgive him for. If I am honest though, the whole knowing each other's weaknesses goes both ways. I know that as much as he continues to do so, he hates hurting me. He flinches every time he hits me and for that reason and no other, I insist on being the one that fights him. The boys can deal with the other fools, so long as I can keep Jack off their backs for a while.
The black Lexus pulled up about twenty feet from Diego's car, and subsequently, from where we stood. I was leaning on the bonnet wishing I had have brought a jacket with me, when three of them emerged from the car. I could barely make them out in the darkness, but there was no denying Jack's huge frame as he walked to the front of his car.
"I just wanna talk, babe. I promise."
This was ridiculous. We were like the fucking mafia having a conversation instead of a group of twenty-something Southsiders. I laughed at the inner monologue in my head. Martin threw me a glare of disgust. I winked at him and smiled. If only Jack knew he had been trying to fuck me only a few weeks before, completely willing to go against his older cousin in doing so. Ugly bastard. Diego nudged me with his elbow telling me to behave. He got so nervous in these situations. It's as if he thinks he is the only one that can control what happens. If something happens to me, he immediately puts it on his own shoulders to make it better in some way. It frustrates me. I nudged him back in a pseudo-retaliation.
Diego moved forward a few steps so that he and Keith could talk to Martin and Hughesy. I hung back on the bonnet of the car, hugging my knee to my chest for warmth. I watched Jack suspiciously, he was texting someone. It made me nervous. He kept glancing over to where I sat, I couldn't make out his facial expression though. I had a bad feeling about his phone being in his hand. He moved to walk towards me, his phone lighting up a smirk that spread across his face.
"Take one more step in that direction, Kinane, and I will break every bone in your fucking body."
Diego was watching him too, apparently. Jack was not impressed with the way he was being spoken to. His smirk faded a little.
"She wants me, Didi," he said with a wink.
Diego went to move at him, but Keith held him back. This is when I had to step in. I stood up, walking over to where Diego stood. I put his arm around me, partly to keep warm, partly to show where my loyalty lay. He seemed to relax a little, so I smiled at him; one eye kept on Jack at all times.
The screeching of brakes could be heard before the headlights appeared on the hill. Diego pushed me behind him, but I ran at Jack from his other side.
"Who the fuck is that?" I roared at him, breaking my silence.
He laughed at me, knowing that he had once again made me react before it was necessary. Diego had Martin on the ground in seconds.
"What the fuck is this, Kinane? What happened to just talking?"
"That's all we're doing, if you call off the bitch we can work this out amicably."
"Fuck you, Jack," I spat at him, backing off a little, "and no that isn't an invitation."
Diego stepped so as that he was between me and Jack. He looked nervous as Mairead's car pulled up alongside the Lexus. Fuck. Paula was in the car which meant I had to deal with her too. The bitch needs to just fucking die at this stage, I thought to myself. She always seems to know when to get in the way. We didn't stand a chance now. Jack would have the run of us so long as she was there. Dermo jumped out from the back seat and walked up to Jack. They were talking too quietly for me to hear them, but I saw Jack laugh and take something from him.
We were truly fucked. I looked at Diego and knew that he was watching them too. By the look on his face, I am guessing he heard what they were saying.
"Get in the car, babe, please?" He pleaded with me.
I gave him a look that screamed "fuck off", but I eased back to the car, resting once again on the bonnet of the car. How could we have been so fucking stupid as to have trusted that all this was going to be was a conversation. Diego knew what Jack was trying to do, and the look he had given me made me nervous. I felt physically sick at the memories of the last time I had met Jack alone. I was shaking. I tried to hold my composure - impossible considering a I was having a fucking seizure on the bonnet of the car. They were all talking, but I heard nothing. Keith had stepped in. He was trying to calm things down; trying to make a deal.
Mairead was staring at me from her car. I hate her. Every time I see her I want to dance on her head and this time was no different. Paula, the fat fuck, was sitting beside her - if you can even call it that. She was squashed into the seat, the seatbelt very visibly being eaten by one of her chins. I should have been thankful that she hadn't gotten out of the car, but I wanted her to, more than ever. The rage was starting to bubble up in my chest. I was no longer sitting on the car, but watching myself get up and move towards them. Diego was calling at me to stop and Jack was flashing that dangerously gorgeous grin of his. He had me in the palm of his hand. Diego pulled me back, throwing me against the Lexus. Paula squeezed herself out of the car she was sitting in and limped to Jack's side. She was watching me, pull myself up to try and calm myself down.
"What are you looking at, fat fuck?" I spat, "I'm not edible."
Everyone laughed except Paula and Diego. She had something in her hand which he must have spotted.
"C'mon now, Kers, don't be such a bitch," Jack laughed.
"I thought you liked me most when I'm a bitch? It must run in the family"
I shot Martin a glance. If I was going down, I was taking Ug with me. He looked petrified. His arse was filthy from where Diego had pushed him to the ground.
Dermo was leaning in the window talking to Mairead while Keith kept trying to talk Jack down. Diego came over to me. He was speaking quietly.
"Listen, Ker, this isn't looking good..."
"No shit.. we're going to have to fight."
"Yeah.. I know. Reckon you can handle Paula if we try to get the rest of them? I'm guessing Hughie is reluctant to get involved, he just got his badge, and Mairead won't want to break a nail."
"What about Jack?"
"He will go straight for me, so if you can catch him with one, while I get Martin out of the way, we'll be sorted. Paula can't move that fast."
"YEAH, THAT'S 'CAUSE SHE'S A WHALE," I shouted while shooting Paula a look.
"Was that really necessary?" He was laughing.
He took me by the hand and brought me over to Keith. He would catch on as soon as everything went down. I was trying to calm down my nerves while more words were being exchanged. Martin was getting rowdy and kept coming at Diego. Fucking eejit. He didn't stand a chance.
Martin is a 5'5 ugly midget with small man syndrome. His muscles would have been impressive if he didn't look like his mother spat him out instead of giving birth to him. I stand at least three inches taller than him, barefooted, and I had a suspicion that he wore heightened shoes. Seriously, he actually thought he had a chance with me, poor fucker.
I wasn't listening to anything being said, but I could feel the tension in the air building around me. Diego was right beside me, and I was waiting for his move to let me know when I should move. Martin was going to be the one to kick things off. I could feel Jack's eyes burn into me. I felt dirty and ready all at once. We all knew he would be apprehensive to use weapons on me. He had only once before, and it was a mistake. He could take me without them.
Martin moved. He was squaring up to Diego and it was all about to kick off. I waited until Diego punched him and ran. I rugby tackled Jack, taking a blow to the ribs on my way down. His fist crushing my breath in one go. I fell to the floor in a heap on top of Jack and he merely threw me off and launched himself at Diego. I didn't have time to worry about him though, Paula was waddling towards me with a hungry look in her eye. I soldiered through the pain in my side and kicked out at her leg. She fell on top of me with an earth shattering thud.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! GET THE FUCK OFF ME.. I CAN'T BREATHE!!"
I could hear Jack laugh just as I could feel the sharp burn of something ripping into my leg. Bitch had stabbed me. OH fuck no. I shimmied out from under the fat bastard as quickly as I could and let loose on her. The details escape me; I wasn't me. The anger had gotten the better of me and I had little or no control over what I was doing. Jack was puling me off of her though, and he was winning that tug of war. My body bounced off the gravel and I lay gasping for breath. I felt almost unconscious, but I knew I couldn't be. I could see the sky. The stars were winking at me. I sat up to see what damage had been done. My leg was bleeding quite heavily but it was only a flesh wound. I'd survive.
Diego was laying on the ground; he wasn't moving. I panicked. All of the pain hit me at once and I was crippled, but I still managed to make it halfway to my feet when I felt a solid blow to the side of my head. Gone. When I came to, Keith was huddling over me, calling my name. He told me to get up and run to the car. I couldn't move. I couldn't focus my vision and I couldn't speak. I heard sirens in the distance. FUCK.
I mustered every ounce of my strength and hobbled to the car, just falling into the back seat. The other two cars were gone. Diego was in the passenger seat, slouched against the window. His face was bleeding pretty badly. I don't remember much after this except I was limping into Diego's house and Maria was standing at the door. She looked like she was crying. We must have looked a fucking state walking in. The clothes I had on me were caked in blood and dirt. I'm not sure it was all of my blood though. I needed new clothes, this was fucking sick. I started to strip off in the kitchen until Maria led me up to Diego's room. I stole some tracksuit bottoms, boxers and a hoody.I washed myself off, wincing at the massive bruise that was forming on my hairline. Maria put some paper stitches on my leg and body. The bleeding eventually stopped. Diego was laying on the couch in a bad way. I went to him, helping to undress him. I washed him slowly.
He was laughing then.
"Jesus Ker, who died?"
"Asshole"
We were all laughing then. I think we all realised how lucky we were to get away from them alive. Keith, being the only one able to walk, went to the off licence and bought two bottles of Vodka and a bottle of Rum. We sat and we drank - I cried laughing as Keith gave an impression of me shimmying out from underneath Paula.
"I was trying to hold off Jack while laughing at you screaming when she fell on you. Fat fuck could have killed you."
"Yeah, no shit, dick. Thanks for the help by the way."
I threw a cushion at him. When we had been filled in on all of the details, Diego called for a taxi to take me home. I must have looked like a lunatic stumbling out of his house; baggy clothes and bruises. The taxi driver took one look;
"You have a good night, love?"
"Yeah, it was pretty good actually," I smiled.
