Human Conditioning (20 page)

Brushing her long dark hair
over her shoulder, Kate headed for the living room but was stopped by her
brother, who was refusing to move out of her way. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Where’d you get the money
from for all that?” he asked sternly, his eyes glancing down at the row of bags
lined against the wall.

“It ain’t mine. Jennifer’s dad
gave her fifty quid for her birthday! Generous, ain’t he?” she beamed.

Jennifer snorted. “Yeah, only
when he comes to visit once a year, which happens to always be around my
birthday!” Her dad was a useless prick, but then again, whose father wasn’t?

“At least you’re shot of him
the other 364 days of the year, Jen.” Kate giggled. “I’d opt for that luxury
any day!” Kate attempted to sidestep Aiden once more. “Aiden, get out the way,
will you?” she laughed, taking hold of his muscular arms and squeezing them
gently. “Jeez, Aiden, you’re getting massive!” she added warmly and he finally
moved aside.

When Kate entered the living
room, she halted in surprise. “Gina...”

Gina smiled timidly. Kate
didn’t like her much. She wasn’t quite sure why, but it could only have derived
from the things that others said about her, because she’d never done anything
to upset Kate directly, to her knowledge. But Kate wasn’t a rude person and so
she smiled, though reluctantly, then made her way to the kitchen with Jennifer,
who didn’t look at Gina as she passed her.

Aiden stepped back into the
room and Gina looked up at him warily. It was no surprise to her when he asked
her to leave, but still she felt the usual pang of regret, because she knew she
wouldn’t see him now until
he
decided to see her, and that could be
weeks from now.

She sighed and stood, throwing
her bag over her shoulder. Aiden took her elbow as she past him. “I’ll see you
later...” he said, sounding strangely reassuring, but she knew better.

“’Course you will,” she
replied, deflated.

Then she left.

Kate and Jennifer were making themselves boiled eggs and
soldiers for dinner when Aiden joined them and sat at the kitchen table. He lit
a cigarette and exhaled loudly, watching his sister carefully as she chatted
and laughed with her friend. He wondered what else they’d done today, whether
they’d met anyone else – any lads.
Adam Draper
. The thought of his
sister getting up to mischief and him not knowing about it drove him wild. He’d
always looked out for Kate and the fact that she was keeping secrets was taking
liberties in his book.

“What shops did you go to?” he
asked over their chatter. They weren’t listening to him and this annoyed him
all the more. “Oi! I’m fucking talking to you!” he snapped, looking Kate up and
down. She looked like a woman. Her face was painted, emphasising her prettiness
all the more, her lumps and bumps were well-developed in the right places, and,
despite her age, that’s what the outside world saw her as: a
woman
, ripe
and ready for the picking. Problem was, she did not have the mind of a woman.
She was still the naive little girl he had been protecting all her life.

Kate spun round with a frown
to see him regarding her with a surprising amount of repugnance. “What the hell
is wrong with you, moody arse?”

“I think Jen should go
home...” he replied.

“What?”

“I think Jen should
go home
...”

“
Why?
”

Suddenly Jennifer’s presence
was of no consequence as both brother and sister glared at one another. Kate
finally realised that her brother had a nark on, but she wasn’t going to stand
for it today. Aiden was a temperamental sod, just like their father. It
frightened her that her brother was so much like Duggie. She loved Aiden to the
core, but she hated that he could provoke the same feeling of anger and
trepidation in her as her father did.

 “Actually,” Aiden went on,
standing up to his full height. “
She
can stay and
you can both
explain to me why
she’s
having a party and I know fuck-all about it!”

Kate began to laugh derisively.
“Is
that
what this is all about? You’re seriously having a go because I
didn’t tell you about some fucking house party?”

Aiden glared at her, then at
Jennifer. “When is it, and more importantly
who
and
what
is gonna
be there?” he asked Jennifer directly. Jennifer was gawping at him in utter
shock. Her already pale face was now ashen. She had never before seen Aiden so
incensed. It was petrifying. Suddenly all sexual desire for this beautiful
man-boy with the black hair and piercing blue eyes evaporated, and instead she felt
sick with fear.

“You ain’t my dad!” Kate
intervened.

Aiden’s burning glare went to
his sister once more and Jennifer let out the breath she was holding. “I’ve
looked after you more than him all your fucking life,” he retorted. “
So
fucking tell me what I wanna know
!”

Kate finally lost it and
bellowed back at him, as loud as she could, “
Or what
? You gonna ground
me,
Dad
? Do you know how fucking pathetic you sound? So, I’m going to a
fucking party? What details do you want, eh? Do you
want
to know that a
load of blokes have been invited? Do you
want
to know that drugs will be
there, that I know
exactly
what you do for Reggie Driscoll and that I’ve
used some of the shit you sold to Curtis Mahar only two days ago!”

Aiden was in front of Kate in
two long strides and his large hand struck her right cheek. She cried out and
fell against the fridge, sending Duggie’s cans of cider within flying. Jennifer
gasped, her legs immediately turning to the consistency of jelly. She felt as
if she could wet herself! Kate used the fridge to pull herself up straight. She
placed her palm over her cheek and tears pricked her eyes, but the glare she
gave her brother was one of unadulterated revulsion.

Aiden stepped back, and for a
split second he seemed afflicted by what he had done, but he quickly composed
himself and his indignant and stubborn demeanour reared its ugly head once more.
Taking a cigarette box out of his jeans, he pulled one out and lit it up. He
longed for a joint right now, but a cigarette would have to do to calm his
nerves.

Kate was now sobbing, and Jennifer
had her in a protective embrace. After a loaded silence, Aiden loudly exhaled a
puff of smoke. His sister might be distraught, and he might feel like a total
wanker, but he wasn’t quite finished yet. He needed to know more; he wanted
all
the information. “Are you still seeing that Adam bloke, and will he be
there?” he asked steadily.

Jennifer’s eyes shot to his
face. She couldn’t believe the quarrel wasn’t over, and she had the
overwhelming urge to flee. Kate sniffled and growled, “Like I’d tell you now. Whether
I’m seeing him still or not, I wouldn’t want to have to visit him in hospital!”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. “Have
you been seeing Curtis Mahar too?”

“No!” This came from Jennifer.

Aiden glanced at her then back
to his sister. “But he thought it was a good idea to give you drugs? What did
you take?” he pressed.

Kate gulped, suddenly aware
that she had put Curtis in a lot of danger. Aiden wouldn’t let this go. He
would catch up with Curtis soon enough then it would be
Curtis
who’d be visiting
the hospital. 

Curtis Mahar was the estate’s renowned
fuck-up. Born and bred in Barnsbury, London, his Asian father and Caucasian
mother had moved the family to the flat twelve doors down from the Fosters two
years ago. Out of all the low-lifes that Aiden had to deal with on a daily
basis,
he
was the worst. Aged twenty five and mildly good-looking, Curtis
had knocked up at least five young girls on the estate since his arrival. Still
living with his parents, he lived off the council, drank profusely, used drugs
to excess, and was notorious for luring young white girls back to his flat with
the promise of free drugs and a good time. It was this tactic that had got him
laid over and over. Stupid little girls with no common sense and no respect for
themselves were his usual prey and it outraged Aiden that his little sister
would even give him the time of day, let alone accept his advances.

“Don’t do anything, Aiden. He doesn’t
know how old I am...” Kate pleaded suddenly, wiping her wet cheeks with the
cuff of her blouse.

“What did you take?” Aiden pressed
in a low voice.

Kate sighed. She looked at
Jennifer, who was now staring at her with wide, beseeching eyes. Kate was
disclosing all their secrets! Her mother would go absolutely ballistic if she
ever found out what they had been getting up to, and she had the feeling her
father might visit a few more times this year if
he
ever found out!

“Acid,” Kate whispered.

Aiden took a drag of his
cigarette. “How much?”

“A couple of tabs...”

“You double-dropped on your
first time?” he growled. Both girls witnessed the redness creep back to the
surface of Aiden’s skin. He assumed it was her first time and neither Kate nor
Jennifer was about to tell him otherwise. “And where were you?” he persisted.
He knew where, or at least he was pretty damn certain, but he wanted his sister
to confirm it. 

Kate gulped. There was no
point in lying now. Aiden being Aiden, he would find out in time. “Curtis’s
flat...” she croaked.

He nodded, staring down at the
floor and sucking on his cigarette with conviction. The girls’ eyes were glued
to him, waiting anxiously for his next move. When his blue eyes met Jennifer’s
first, she nearly did wet herself. “Time you left,” he spat with a flick of his
head towards the door.

Jennifer hesitated, looking to
her friend for permission to leave. Kate nodded and, with another moment’s
hesitation, Jennifer scurried out of the room, relieved to be getting out of
there. Both Aiden and Kate listened to the rustling of bags as she gathered up
her purchases of the day, then the front door opened and closed and there was
silence.

Kate’s wide blue eyes focused
back on her brother, who was stubbing out his cigarette in the sink. He then
stared back at her blankly. This was not good news. Kate had seen the same
stare when their father had pushed her brother to the brink of his very limited
temper. A
glare
from Aiden meant he was still in focus, still in control
of his emotions. But a
blank stare
meant that he had allowed his rage to
get the better of him; the red mist of his renowned temper had taken over; he
had left the planet, lost the plot.

Aiden strode over to Kate and
gripped the back of her neck. Squeezing hard, he escorted her out of the flat,
despite her desperate protests, where he proceeded to march her to flat number forty-six
– twelve doors down. Now standing at the front door of the flat, Aiden released
Kate’s neck and gripped her arm to prevent her from fleeing. 

“Aiden don’t do this,
please
!”
Kate pleaded, but to no avail.

When Curtis Mahar opened the
door, Aiden immediately slammed his foot into his crotch. Curtis keeled over
and Aiden barged his way into the flat, keeping his hold on Kate. Pushing Curtis
further down his hallway, Aiden kicked the door shut and threw his sister to
one side. An upper cut sent Curtis crashing into the wall, and he toppled
sideways onto the stairs going up to the first floor.

 “This, Kate, is what happens
to people who think it is okay to give drugs to Aiden Foster’s little sister!”
he sang, as if he was enjoying every moment of his tyranny.

Kate screamed and cried for
her brother to stop, but she knew her cries were of no consequence to Aiden
now. Curtis instinctively tried to scramble up the stairs to get away, but
Aiden grabbed hold of his ankles and dragged him back down again. Turning him
over, he mounted him and proceeded to punch hard blows to his face: a right
swing then a left swing, thick and fast, over and over, until Curtis’s face was
a bloodied mass of cuts and bruises. 

“Aiden, stop,
please
!”
Kate screamed again, but he continued until Curtis stopped struggling beneath
him.  

He held himself briefly on top of Curtis’s body whilst he
caught his breath, then he dismounted and turned to his sister. Kate’s eyes
grew wide when she took in the amount of blood splattered over his t-shirt and
she sobbed, out of her mind with shock and fear. Still catching his breath,
Aiden pointed a stiff finger at her and said, “If you
ever
talk to this
man again, I’ll kill him, do you understand?”

Kate sobbed and nodded
frantically.

Aiden then opened the front
door and escorted his sister home.

************

It was 12:30am before Duggie and Vivien bundled into the
flat. Kate could hear her mother making shushing sounds and laughing as her
father shouted out drunken obscenities, insensitive to her and the neighbours. 

Luckily, Aiden wasn’t home. After
escorting her back to the flat earlier that day, he’d climbed the stairs, got
showered, changed and left without saying a word. Kate had been in her room
ever since. She had iced her cheek to take the swelling down, but there was already
a purple bruise where Aiden had struck her. She had wept for most of the
evening, utterly devastated that her brother would raise his hand to her, that
he’d stoop to their father’s level in order to control her.

She felt like a possession, both
men fighting to keep her in line with the audacity to say it was because they
loved
her. Her father wasn’t capable of love. She’d known that most of her life.
But she had never thought the day would come where she would say the same about
Aiden. It was clear now where she stood in their relationship. He wanted to be
in command of her, just like Duggie did.