Billie Jo (14 page)

Billie sat on the floor playing with Terry Junior. Unable
to contain herself, she excitedly spilt the beans of the
weekend's happenings. Jade sat in silence, listening to her
story. She'd had a bad feeling about this boy Danny, and
if the unprotected sex was anything to go by, it looked
like her instincts were right. Billie finished the story and
waited for Jade's reaction.

'Well, I don't know what to say to you really, Bill. It's
too late now to take the morning-after pill. You'll just
have to wait and see if your period comes and pray that
it does.'

Billie got up off the floor and sat on the sofa. 'You
don't think badly of me do you, Jade? I haven't acted like
a tart or anything, have I?'

Jade went and got a bottle of wine from the fridge. A
drink might help her say the right thing. 'Do you want a
glass of wine with me, Billie?'

Jade didn't normally encourage Billie to drink as she
was still underage, but the girl seemed to be a bundle of
nervous energy. Handing her a glass, Jade sat opposite
her and held both her hands. 'Of course I don't think
badly of you. Wanting to have sex is natural, Billie. I just
wish that you had waited a bit longer and spoken to me
about it first. I could have taken you to a doctor, or a
family planning clinic, to get you some protection. The
thing is, Bill, it's not just getting pregnant that you have
to worry about. There are so many diseases you could
catch that it's not worth taking the risk. From what you've
told me, this Danny sounds pretty experienced. He's a lot
older than you and well, to be honest, you've only known
him five minutes. You don't know how many other girls
he's slept with. You have to be careful, Billie, you know.'

Billie's happy mood had now disappeared. The look on
Jade's face had said it all. Feeling her lip begin to quiver,
she grabbed Jade's hand. 'I've been so stupid, Jade. Can
you imagine if my dad were alive? He'd kill me. Say he's
looking down on me and he knows what I've done?'

Jade hugged Billie tightly as her tears began to flow.
'Now, now, don't cry, you've done nothing to be ashamed
of, you just need to be a bit more responsible, that's all.'
By this time Billie was sobbing so much, she was unable
to talk. 'Oh, Billie, come on, stop crying now. Everything
will be fine, you'll see. I'll tell you what we'll do. Danny
works on Saturdays, doesn't he?'

'Yes.'

'Well look, I've got an idea. I know a private clinic
that opens on Saturday mornings. I'll pick you up early
and take you there to get some contraception. Why don't
you bring Carly along and we'll make a day of it? Sue
next door keeps offering to babysit if I need a break. She's
got a baby herself only a few months older than Terry
Junior. If she's willing to have him, we can go shopping
and have a bite to eat and that.'

Billie wiped her eyes and managed a half-smile. 'That
sounds really good, Jade. I'll speak to Carly tomorrow.
I'm sure she'll come, and thanks, I really mean it, thanks
for everything.'

Billie felt much better after her chat with Jade and
began to look forward instead of backwards. She went
on her date with Danny the following evening. She was
a bit nervous to start with, as it was the first time they'd
been out on their own. She needn't have worried. The
conversation flowed as if they'd known one another for
years.

They met up early evening at Romford station and
went to see a film at the cinema. It was a horror movie
and Danny was mucking about all the way through it,
making her jump out of her skin. They finished the evening
off in the Pizza Hut, where they had a bite to eat and a
few drinks. Billie wanted to contribute towards the bill
but Danny was having none of it.

'Leave it out, Bill. You're having a fucking laugh, ain't
ya? I asked you to come out so I'm gonna pay.'

Billie secretly liked him talking to her in that way. She
found it very manly and it reminded her of her dad. He
would never hear of a woman paying for anything. In fact
she found quite a lot of similarities between Danny and
her dad. The dark hair, the blue eyes, the way they swore
and they could both talk their way out of a paper bag.
Maybe that was part of the attraction for her.

Arriving home in a cab, Danny asked the driver if he
could wait five minutes while he walked Billie to the door
and said goodnight. Just as they were having a kiss,
Michelle and Nathan pulled up on the drive, returning
from a night out.

Billie had told her mum that she'd met someone and
really liked him but that was all she'd told her. She couldn't
talk about anything personal with Chelle, they just didn't
have that kind of relationship.

'Hello, love. Is this your boyfriend? Aren't you going
to introduce us?'

Billie was relieved to see her mother was only merry
and not slaughtered. Since she'd met Nathan, she'd been
a lot better with her drinking. She still went on binges
with her friends from the gym but her new beau seemed
to be having a good effect on her. 'Hello, Mum. This is
Danny, who I told you about. He's got to go now because
the cab's waiting.'

Chelle put her key in the lock. 'Cancel the cab and
bring him in. Do you fancy having a nightcap, Danny?
Come in and meet me and Nathan, properly, eh?'

Danny didn't need asking twice. This was his chance
to impress and take his first steps towards getting his feet
under the table. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Keane,'
he said, flashing his killer smile. 'I'd love to come in and
have a drink with you and Nathan.'

Billie was mortified. She wasn't ready for him to meet
her mother yet; she'd rather have introduced him to Jade.
Say her mother started knocking them back and got into
one of her states, it might put Danny off her and things
had been going so well up to now. Billie needn't have
worried however. Within half an hour, the O'Leary charm
had worked wonders and Danny had her mother and
Nathan eating out of his hand.

Michelle was bowled over by him. 'You've picked a
good 'un there, Bill,' she said, filling up her wine glass.

Billie sat there quiet, but secretly as proud as a peacock.
She was quite happy to let Danny do all the talking,
making everybody laugh with his stories. At one o'clock,
Billie felt it was time to wrap things up. She was enjoying
herself but couldn't stop yawning and had to be up at
seven. 'I'm going to have to go to bed in a minute, Danny.
I'm so tired and I've got to be up early for work.'

'No problem, babe,' Danny replied, downing the rest
of his beer. 'Can you call me a cab?'

Before Billie had a chance to reply, Michelle piped up.
'You can stay in one of the spare rooms if you want,
Danny. We've got plenty of room here.'

Danny put on his surprised expression. 'Oh, I couldn't
do that, Mrs Keane. I don't want to take liberties, but
thanks for the offer.'

Chelle was insistent. 'You're not taking liberties, is he,
Nathan?' Nathan shook his head dumbly. 'You're more
than welcome to stay here and for Christ's sake stop
calling me Mrs Keane. The name's Michelle, so use it.'

Danny laughed. 'Well, only if you're sure you don't
mind. Thanks, the spare room sounds great.'

Chelle grabbed Nathan by the arm. 'Come on, muscles,
we'll go to bed and let these two lovebirds say goodnight.
You can show Danny the spare room, Bill. Put him in the
bigger one out of the two.'

'OK, Mum.'

Danny got up off the sofa, shook hands with Nathan,
kissed Chelle on the cheek and thanked the pair of them
for their hospitality. Grabbing Billie by her arms he
dragged her towards the sofa and kissed her passionately.
'I thought your mum was all right, babe, and Nathan, but
I'm glad they've gone to bed. I want a bit of time on my
own with you. Let's have a bit of fun now, eh?'

Billie knew exactly what he meant by fun, but the
thought of her mother being in the house made her freeze.
Her chat with Jade was fresh in her memory and fun was
the last thing she felt like. 'Not tonight, Dan. I'm really
tired and I must go to bed soon.'

Danny wasn't one to take no for an answer and began
to feel slightly agitated by her lack of interest in him.
'Oh come on, Bill. I really fancy you and I thought you
liked me. What's the matter with you, eh?'

'I just don't feel all that well, Danny, and my mum
and Nathan are upstairs. Say they come down and catch
us doing things?'

Danny laughed and carried on groping Billie as if she
hadn't even spoken. A self-confessed stud, he wasn't used
to rejection. Determined to get his wicked way, Danny
unzipped his trousers and released his prize asset. 'Look,
Bill, you're my girlfriend now and I've got needs. You've
got me all excited, so you're gonna have to sort me out.'
Without waiting for a reply and overcome by lust, Danny
pushed Billie's head down and held it firmly with both
hands.

Billie gagged. This was disgusting. She felt uncomfortable
and didn't like what he was forcing her to do.
Frightened of upsetting him, she did as he asked. As the
gooey stuff spurted into her mouth, she thought she was
going to be violently sick. 'Swallow it,' Danny demanded.

Half choking, Billie did as she was told.

'There's a good girl,' Danny said, stroking her head.

Billie said goodnight and showed Danny to the spare
room. Outwardly, she pretended everything was fine;
inwardly she was repelled. As soon as Danny shut the
bedroom door, Billie shot into the bathroom and scrubbed
her teeth until her gums bled. Tossing and turning in bed,
she found she was unable to sleep. His behaviour tonight
had unnerved her and she really didn't like what he'd
made her do.

Danny lay in the spare room admiring its opulence.
The room was bigger than his mother's living room. He
was annoyed with himself for the way the evening had
ended. Things had been going so well. Wining and dining
Billie, winning over the mother and potential stepfather,
now he'd probably gone and fucked things up for himself.
He should never have forced her to go down on him, he
knew she hadn't wanted to. When it came to sex, he knew
he had problems, he was like a man possessed. He liked
it kinky. The bigger the slag, the better the orgasm. Billie
wasn't gonna be up for the kind of stuff that he liked. He
had to try and calm himself down.

From tomorrow, he would behave like the perfect gent.
He would be attentive, loving and make things up to
her. He really liked her and didn't want to lose her.

Her upbringing was different from the birds that he
usually hung out with. He was used to complete and utter
sluts. He'd had tons of women and visited enough whorehouses
in his time to know that Billie wasn't that type.
Danny adored having his cock sucked, but from the shellshocked
look on Billie's face, it looked as if his favourite
choice of entertainment was a no-go.

What he had to do now was use his loaf. He'd have to
go elsewhere for all his sexual perversions and treat Billie
with respect. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her and
if he was having good sex elsewhere, he could treat her
with kid gloves. Danny had it all worked out. He'd buy
her a present tomorrow; he wouldn't mention tonight's
events, she'd soon forget about that. He'd only have to
say he loved her a couple of times and give her a bit of
the old chat and she'd be smitten all over again. Pleased
with his plan, Danny smiled to himself.

He was desperate for a taste of the good life. Slowly
and steadily, he had begun to climb life's ladder. Thieving
as a kid had put him on the first rung. His market job,
the second. Billie Jo would definitely be the third.

Ambition kept Danny alive. Reaching the top was his
dream, his goal. And if anyone ever had the audacity to
get in his way, God help 'em!

The next week passed quietly without incident until
Michelle woke up on the following Saturday with a sore
head and only patchy memories of the night before. A
mate of hers, Cindy, who she trained with down the gym,
had held a big fortieth birthday bash in a hall on the
outskirts of Romford, which she'd gone to with Nathan.

It had started off as a really good evening. The hall was
lovely, the drink was free and flowing, the food exquisite
and everything had been going so well, until Chelle had
spotted Davey Mullins. Sauntering into the hall with some
new dolly bird on his arm, Dave had strolled up to the bar
as if he owned the gaff. Chelle hadn't had any dealings
with or spoken to Dave since the day of Terry's funeral.
The sight of him larging it had made her blood boil.

She'd been hearing lots of rumours about old Davey
Boy through the grapevine. Apparently he'd come into a
lot of money and was flashing it about like there was no
tomorrow. By all accounts, he'd bought a brand-new four-wheel
drive of some kind, been on a cruise and moved
out of his shithole flat into some new property, although
no one seemed sure exactly where he was living.

Now Chelle might be a lot of things, but stupid wasn't
one of them. There was no way the piece of shit had
started a thriving business or won the fucking lottery.
Chelle was one hundred per cent certain that the money
the no-good robbing bastard was chucking about was her
dead husband's and by rights should have been hers. It
was just too convenient that Dave had become rich immediately
after Terry's funeral for there to be any other
explanation. Although she had been left financially
laughing all the way to the bank, it had been down to
Terry's life insurance policy, a couple of houses he'd
owned and the car lot. She'd thought it really strange at
the time that he'd had hardly any cash in the bank, and
although she'd had a result with the safe, she knew there
was far more stashed away than that.

When the truth had unfolded about her dead husband's
relationship with Jade, things had clicked into place for
Michelle. With a new baby on the way, she'd guessed that
he'd been planning on leaving her and had hidden his
money elsewhere. A week later, Davey Mullins had started
his spending spree, leaving Chelle in no doubt where the
rest of Terry's money had gone. It hardly took a genius
to work it out, did it now?

Watching Mullins at the party was like a red rag to
a bull for Michelle. The more he stood up at the bar
giving it large with the slag on his arm, who looked
like a twenty-year-old porn star, the more she wanted
to go over there and rip his head off. His ex-bird, Lisa,
was sitting at Chelle's table, egging her on to go and
confront him and Chelle found herself knocking the
wine back like there was no tomorrow to try and calm
herself down. Nathan was getting on her nerves, he
never backed her up and sat there with no opinion whatsoever.
To look at Nathan, you'd think he was a right
handful. He was built like a brick shithouse thanks to
his obsession with steroids and weight training, but deep
down he was a very weak person and hated confrontation
of any kind.

'Come on, Michelle, let's just go home, shall we? We
don't want no trouble, do we?' he'd said to her.

'Fuck off, Nathan, you go home if you want to, but
I'm staying here.' He might be young and good-looking,
but one thing Chelle couldn't stand was cowardly men
and she decided there and then that unless he pulled his
socks up, she would be dumping him very shortly. Men
were a waste of space in Chelle's eyes. Hurt and bitter,
she had had a gutful of them. She'd already gone from
womaniser to wanker. What the fuck would she pick next?
Probably a tranny, knowing her luck.

By the time the clock ticked ten-thirty, Michelle was
pissed and stewing. The scales were finally tipped when
Hazel and Suzie returned from the toilets and informed
Chelle that Dave's new bird had been out there repairing
her make-up, whilst telling some girl that she'd just had
a boob job in Harley Street costing thousands, and that
Dave had paid for it. Chelle could almost feel smoke
coming out of her nostrils with the unfairness of it all.

'You mean to tell me that I've paid for that old slapper's
tits? Right, that's it, I'm going over there to have my say.
You coming with me, Nathan?'

'Look, Chelle, I don't want no grief. You go over there,
I'm going home. I'll ring you tomorrow.'

Although Chelle was pissed, she managed to walk in
a straight line as she headed over to the bar. Davey Mullins'
face fell when he saw her. The party had been so packed,
he hadn't even realised that Chelle was there and now here
she was, pissed, with her Rottweiler expression, heading
his way. Ignoring him, Chelle spoke directly to his bird.

'All right, love? Nice tits. Best you give me the receipt,
eh, seeing as I fucking paid for them.'

Dave nudged his startled girlfriend. 'Go to the ladies,
babe. I'll deal with this.'

Obeying his orders and desperate to get away from the
mad drunken woman, Honey tried to weave her way
through the packed crowd at the bar. Chelle dragged her
back by the arm.

'Don't go. I've paid for your fucking knockers, so the
least you can do is stay here and talk to me. You can learn
a few things from me, love, like what a robbing-no-good-fucking-shit-cunt
your new boyfriend is.'

Dave stood there wishing the ground would open up
and Chelle would fall into it. He wouldn't have given a
toss about her creating if he'd been there on his own, but
for the first time in ages, Dave had found the woman
he wanted to grow old with and he really didn't need
Chelle fucking up his new-found happiness.

He'd met Honey a few months ago in a club up the
West End. She'd been a lap dancer at the time and Dave
had spent the evening mesmerised by her. He'd given her
a fortune that evening, but it had been worth it when, at
the end of the night, she'd agreed to give him her mobile
number. The rest was history and she moved in with him
a fortnight later, quitting her job at the same time.

When Terry died, Dave had been devastated. Right up
until his funeral he hadn't given a second thought to
the money that he was stashing for him. It was after the
funeral, when Michelle had once again shown her true
colours, that he'd started dipping into it and, in all honesty,
he didn't really feel that bad about keeping it and spending
it. What the hell was he meant to do with the cash now
that Terry didn't need it? Give it to Chelle to piss up the
wall! Dave knew without a doubt that Terry wouldn't have
wanted Michelle to get her hands on his money. He
reasoned to himself that as long as he kept some stashed
away in case Jade or Billie Jo needed financial help, then
he wasn't doing anything wrong. He and Terry had been
like brothers at the end of the day, so why should he feel
guilty?

'Go away, Chelle. You're drunk and making a show of
yourself. Give it a rest, eh, girl.'

Chelle stood her ground, hands on hips. 'I'll go away
when you give me the money back that's rightfully mine,
you thieving bastard.'

Dave took a sip of his drink and smirked. 'What money?
I don't know what you're on about.'

People started looking as Chelle raised her voice. 'You
know exactly what money I'm talking about, Dave. Just
like you knew about Jade, the baby and my husband's
secret fucking life. You are one lying bastard and I want
the money back that you've got of Terry's.'

Dave took a step forward, his face now so close to
Michelle's that their noses were almost touching. 'I'll say
this once, Chelle, and once only. I haven't got any money
of yours or Terry's, so leave me be. To be honest, even
if I did have his dough, you'd be the last person he'd want
to have it. He hated you with a passion and he couldn't
wait to get away from you, so why don't you go away
and crawl back under the stone you came from and leave
me alone?'

Chelle snatched a full pint off the bar. Her face was
twitching with anger as she poured the contents all over
Davey Mullins' head. Who the fuck did he think he was
talking to? He was no more than a gofer, Terry's lackey
boy.

Dave was seething. He was itching to punch the fat
cunt straight in the teeth, but seeing Honey returning from
the ladies made him decide against it. Giving Michelle a
gentle shove was enough to send her flying. Embarrassed
at the fiasco, Dave grabbed Honey by the arm and led
her towards the exit.

'Come on, babe, we don't need this shit,' he said, as
he stormed out of the building. That was the last bit of
the evening Chelle could remember. She'd passed out
shortly after and was carried out of the hall by her friends.

Today, Chelle felt like shit. Deciding to have a shower to
liven herself up, she got dressed, put her slap on and rang
Hazel. An hour later she was perched on a bar stool in a
pub in Romford, with her friend sitting alongside. After
discussing dumping Nathan and how she was going to
get her own back on Davey Mullins, Chelle realised she
was starving. Placing an order for two pasta dishes, garlic
bread and another bottle of wine, Chelle and Hazel moved
to a table next to the window so they could eat in comfort.
Chelle's weekend took an almighty turn for the worse
about an hour later.

Hazel had gone to the toilet and Chelle was quite
happily sipping her wine, looking out of the window
watching the world go by, when she happened to catch
sight of Billie Jo amongst the crowd of shoppers. Craning
her neck to get a clearer look, Chelle was surprised to
see Billie pushing a buggy. Hazel returned and sat down
at the table.

'What's up, Chelle? What are you looking at?'

'I'm looking at Billie Jo. She's standing outside a shop
opposite, with a buggy. I was wondering who she was
with. I didn't know she knew anyone who had kids.'

Chelle didn't have to wait long for the answer and
could hardly believe her eyes as she saw Jade approach
her daughter, link arms like they were the best of friends
and walk off down the road, laughing and joking. Chelle
leapt up from her seat as though someone had stuck a
firework up her arse and, with Hazel in close pursuit, ran
out of the pub and across the road to confront her daughter.

Billie stood rooted to the spot as soon as she heard
her mother's voice calling her. She was done for now, that
was for sure. Her life wouldn't be worth living at home,
her mother would give her a dog's life. Jade shook with
fear as Michelle approached them. She hadn't seen her
since the day she'd been beaten up by her outside her flat
and she was petrified, especially as she had Terry Junior
with her.

Chelle looked at Billie with hatred. 'This is very cosy,
Bill. Having a nice shopping trip, are we?'

Billie could feel herself reddening as she faced her
mother. 'I'm sorry, Mum. I was going to tell you, but I
knew you'd kick off. It wasn't planned, all this. I bumped
into Jade and when I saw my little brother, I fell in love
with him. I need to have contact with him, Mum. At the
end of the day, he's all I have left of my dad.'

Chelle stared at the baby in the buggy. The thing was
the spitting image of Terry and the sight of it made her
feel sick. Turning her attention back to Billie, Chelle gave
her a hard, cold stare. 'Bill, I want you out of my life
from today. I'll pack your clothes and stuff into bin bags
and you can come and pick them up whenever.' Nodding
towards Jade and the buggy, Chelle continued, 'You're
obviously happy spending your time with the whore and
the brat, so do yourself a favour, Bill, move in with them.
As from today, I don't want to see your face or have
anything to do with you ever again. Have you got your
front-door key on you?'

Billie could feel the tears forming in her eyes as she
fished through her handbag for her keys. She expected
her mother to shout and scream, but not this. She knew
that Chelle had never had any time for her, but now she
realised it was more than that. She actually hated her.
Handing Chelle the key, Billie broke down.

'Please, Mum, don't chuck me out. We can sort things
out, I know we can. Please, Mum, let me come home and
talk to you. I'll explain everything to you, I promise.
Please, Mum, please.'

Chelle snatched the key. 'I'll leave all your stuff in the
garage. It'll be unlocked so you can pick it up. That's all
I've got to say to you, Bill. You're just like your father,
an untrustworthy, lying, two-faced piece of shit and I want
you out of my life. Without you, I can sort myself out.
Goodbye and good riddance, Billie Jo.'

Billie stood on the pavement sobbing her little heart
out as she watched her mother head back to the pub.
'What am I going to do, Jade, where will I go?'

Jade hugged her tightly. Taking a tissue out of her
handbag she wiped her tears away. 'Come on, Bill, let's
go back to mine. You can come and stay with me for a
while. You'll be OK. I'll look after you.'

Billie was distraught. 'How can my own mother not
want me, Jade?'

Reaching the car park, Jade paid for the ticket, put
Terry Junior in the baby seat and helped a devastated
Billie into the car. 'Look, Bill, I'm sorry to have to say
this but in my eyes your mother's a monster. When your
dad used to tell me what a terrible mother she was, I
didn't know whether to believe him or not. Now I know
he was telling the truth. Listen, love, you've got me, you've
got your friends and you have Danny. We're all here for
you. Things will sort themselves out and everything will
be fine, I promise you.'

Billie looked at her with pleading eyes. 'Will you take
me to pick my stuff up tomorrow?'

Jade smiled. 'Of course I will, darling. Now do yourself
a favour, ring Danny and cancel your date for tonight. Tell
him what's happened and me and you will have a bottle
of wine and a takeaway. We'll sort things out, honest we
will.'