She said when her dad found out there’d be hell to pay. He’d spit bullets or wasps and be all thunder and blast. Fuck, she said, he’d probably kill them both. And she said what was he going to do about it.
Davey wasn’t sure it was his and he wasn’t sure that it wasn’t. They hadn’t always been careful. Not when they were both drunk and making out in the back of Cooper’s bar, up against the toilet door, and all breathless and moaning and trying not to be heard.
‘Course it’s fucking yours. What do you take me for? Carol said.
But hadn’t she also been with Nicky Paterson? Three weeks back. And they’d done it in the park and it was night and they were on the swings and that was the story that Nicky told, all flying and fucking at the same time, and his fingers smelled of her through three unwashed days and that was his proof.
Davey was in Carol’s bed and in the next room her dad was sleeping and they’d made out again, quieter than in the toilets of Cooper’s bar, and they’d done it twice it was so good. And then she said about being late and she started swearing and crying, both at the same time.
He can fucking kill you with a look or a word, she hissed.
Davey said it’d be alright. He said he thought he knew what to do, which he didn’t. He said she was not to worry and he’d sort it. She’d see.
Davey’s got a sister. She’s twenty-three and with a kid of her own and he reckoned she might know. She called him a darned fool when he told her, and when she heard who it was that was late, she laughed and she called Carol a bike and she said Davey’d probably need testing for STDs.
Davey took Carol to the clinic like he was told to do. They were both wearing black glasses and their coat collars turned up and looking over their shoulders in case they were seen. The doctor talked them through what was to be done. It was just a couple of pills, but Carol would need supported through the next days and the next months. That’s what he said. And yes, everything was completely confidential.
It was messy and Carol kept crying and she called Davey a cunt and he tried to kiss her and she bit his lip so it bled. Davey’s sister said he was a cunt, a daft cunt, and she said Carol was just hormonal and he had to stand by her.
That was months back, and she was near back to normal now. She still cried sometimes and she cradled her arms as if she was holding a baby and there was nothing in her arms. And she looked at Davey as though he was to blame. They’d don’t it just the once since the clinic, and Davey thought it wasn’t like before.
Carol said she loved him and he winced inside.
Davey borrowed some money from his sister. A couple of hundred that he promised to pay back. And he bought a ticket to the coast and he told no one. One way, he said to the man behind the counter. And he’d packed all his things into a small bag that no one would notice, and he just left. His sister would say it was just like running away. He could hear her scolding him and calling him for all things. Davey shrugged; he knew it was like running away.
April 26, 2014: It was like running away.
Patricia Ann McNair 
She said when her dad found out there’d be hell to pay. He’d spit bullets or wasps and be all thunder and blast. Fuck, she said, he’d probably kill them both. And she said what was he going to do about it.
Davey wasn’t sure it was his and he wasn’t sure that it wasn’t. They hadn’t always been careful. Not when they were both drunk and making out in the back of Cooper’s bar, up against the toilet door, and all breathless and moaning and trying not to be heard.
‘Course it’s fucking yours. What do you take me for? Carol said.
But hadn’t she also been with Nicky Paterson? Three weeks back. And they’d done it in the park and it was night and they were on the swings and that was the story that Nicky told, all flying and fucking at the same time, and his fingers smelled of her through three unwashed days and that was his proof.
Davey was in Carol’s bed and in the next room her dad was sleeping and they’d made out again, quieter than in the toilets of Cooper’s bar, and they’d done it twice it was so good. And then she said about being late and she started swearing and crying, both at the same time.
He can fucking kill you with a look or a word, she hissed.
Davey said it’d be alright. He said he thought he knew what to do, which he didn’t. He said she was not to worry and he’d sort it. She’d see.
Davey’s got a sister. She’s twenty-three and with a kid of her own and he reckoned she might know. She called him a darned fool when he told her, and when she heard who it was that was late, she laughed and she called Carol a bike and she said Davey’d probably need testing for STDs.
Davey took Carol to the clinic like he was told to do. They were both wearing black glasses and their coat collars turned up and looking over their shoulders in case they were seen. The doctor talked them through what was to be done. It was just a couple of pills, but Carol would need supported through the next days and the next months. That’s what he said. And yes, everything was completely confidential.
It was messy and Carol kept crying and she called Davey a cunt and he tried to kiss her and she bit his lip so it bled. Davey’s sister said he was a cunt, a daft cunt, and she said Carol was just hormonal and he had to stand by her.
That was months back, and she was near back to normal now. She still cried sometimes and she cradled her arms as if she was holding a baby and there was nothing in her arms. And she looked at Davey as though he was to blame. They’d don’t it just the once since the clinic, and Davey thought it wasn’t like before.
Carol said she loved him and he winced inside.
Davey borrowed some money from his sister. A couple of hundred that he promised to pay back. And he bought a ticket to the coast and he told no one. One way, he said to the man behind the counter. And he’d packed all his things into a small bag that no one would notice, and he just left. His sister would say it was just like running away. He could hear her scolding him and calling him for all things. Davey shrugged; he knew it was like running away.