Part 30 (1/2)
”No!” Tyler tightened his grip on Corey. ”Leave him alone!”
Deano pried Tyler off Corey, and dragged his son kicking and screaming across the lounge.
”Get in there!” Deano hollered as he tried to push Tyler into the bedroom.
Tyler held onto the door frame, yelling, ”I hate you! I hate you!”
Corey pulled himself up by the couch, the pain unbearable, but his fear of Deano greater. Gritting his teeth, he limped outside, his right thigh hard to walk on. A door slammed inside, followed by Tyler yelling that Corey was his boyfriend. Corey glanced back. Deano was holding the bedroom door shut, and hollering through the wood that Tyler was lying.
Corey staggered towards the neighbour's door and banged on it. When no one answered, he tried the next apartment. The argument in Tyler's apartment continued to flare, the yelling match so loud he could hear every word clearly. He stumbled to the third door, and banged on it, now screaming out for help. Noise came from inside, but the door remained closed. He started banging louder, crying out in frustration and fear when the owner told him to go away.
He turned around, trying to figure out where to go next. A two-storey Art Deco house across the road caught his attention, the little kids out front staring at him, their expressions a mixture of fascination and fear.
Corey snapped his head around as Tyler yelled at his father to stop. Deano was heading out the front door with Tyler hanging off his arm. Corey started half-running, half-limping down the driveway. The kids across the road ran for the front door, squealing for their mother.
Behind Corey a scream split the air, Tyler calling out his name. Corey glanced back, horrified at the sight of Deano charging him. He went for the road, hope catching him in the chest as he saw a man and woman emerge from the house. The woman's eyes widened, then she screamed, ”Watch out!” her words overlapped by the screech of tyres.
Corey turned just as the police car hit him.
26.
Ash Ash jumped out of Corey's car as it slowed down, getting an earful from Juliet in return, his sister yelling at him that he was a dangerous idiot. He turned around and waved at her to leave. She shook her head and drove off with Dante staring out the window at him, his brother's expression almost mournful.
Ash headed onto Tiana's property, eyeing up the white van parked in the driveway, and wondering whether it belonged to the person who'd upset Tiana. He glanced through the lounge window as he pa.s.sed by, hoping to spot the person, but instead got an empty lounge and dining-room in return.
He jumped up the steps and knocked on the front door. When no one answered, he tried the handle, but found it locked. Calling out for Tiana, he knocked again, getting more and more anxious as the seconds ticked by. He jumped down the steps, about to head to the back of the house, when the door finally pulled open. He turned around, surprised to find Aroha looking out at him.
”What're you doin' here?” you vile woman.
”I had to drop off a package for you.”
”You could've given it to Juliet to pa.s.s on.”
”Juliet wuz here when I got it, and I wuz hoping to catch her before she came home. Naf's acting up again, wanting her to move out cos she hit his brother.”
”Sounds like the li'l t.w.a.t deserved it.”
”Yeah, but everyone's protective of Corey, so Juliet's in the dog box.”
”It doesn't matter, she's coming to live with me, and if Naf even looks at her funny tell him I'll be paying him a visit.”
”Naf won't touch her, so you keep away from him.”
”Nuthin' you can do about it, so get lost.” Ash walked up the stairs, annoyed when she didn't move.
”If you're after Tiana, she popped out to drop off Angelo to a neighbour's. She got really scared when some rough skinhead visited, asking questions 'bout you.”
Ash straightened. ”A skinhead?”
”Yeah, a Pkeh fella with ACDC tattooed across his knuckles.”
Ash's hands clenched. ”Deano f.u.c.kin' Jones. How the h.e.l.l did he know where she lives?”
”Dunno. I came just as he wuz leaving. He didn't hurt her, but Tiana still got spooked.” Aroha stepped aside. ”Anyway, come on in, she said she'll be back any minute.”
Ash entered, heading for the lounge. A mug and a cup of tea were on the small table, along with a filter of coffee. Ash walked into the kitchen, dying for a wake me up, because he felt b.l.o.o.d.y exhausted. He opened the cupboard, looking for a mug, but only got plates.
Aroha came up behind him and removed a mug from the cupboard on his left. ”Do ya want me to heat up some coffee for you?”
”No.” He s.n.a.t.c.hed the mug out of her hand and headed into the lounge. He poured himself some coffee then took a sip, satisfied it was warm enough. He sat down on the couch as Aroha walked past with a cup of tea, her shaking hands making the teacup rattle against the saucer.
”What's wrong with you?” he said. ”Not enough booze in your system?”
”No! You're scaring me.”
He barked out a laugh. ”That's stupid, I've never hurt you.”
She placed the cup and saucer on the coffee table. ”Both you and Dante are always mean to me.”
”What do you expect when you hang round teenage boys? What's the age difference between you and Naf?”
”Naf's legal,” she said, moving further away from him.
”Barely. And weren't you after Tama before him? You should stick to people your own age and leave the boys alone.” Hating even looking at her, he downed half the coffee, then s.h.i.+fted his attention to the picture of Angelo above the TV. ”If my boy wuz eighteen and I found out some old bird wuz sleazing round him, I'd make d.a.m.n sure it stopped instantly.”
”I'm not doin' anything wrong, and Naf asked me out.”
”He's young enough to be your son.” Ash downed the rest of his coffee and stood, agitated even talking to her. ”Where's that package you mentioned?”
She got to her feet, looking like she wanted to flay him alive. ”You have no right to judge me.”
”I have every right, you sleazy perverted freak.”
”You are too!”
He sneered at her. ”And you're as juvenile as a teenager. Maybe that's why you hang out with them, cos adults are above your comprehension.”
”You're an arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d who deserves to be taken down.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. ”And you're a whisper away from being a paedo, so keep your f.u.c.kin' mouth shut.”
”You sell drugs, beat up people, including your own brother to the point that he had to be hospitalised, and you're judging me? The world would be better without people like you.”
”d.a.m.n right, but you're included in that lot, cos you don't have a thing to contribute either.” He shook out his hand as a tingle ran through it, the feeling reminding him of pins and needles.
”You can't cla.s.s me in the same group as you and Dante, and Sledge is just as bad, only Juliet is of any worth outta your d.a.m.n family. You're a bunch of lying b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who hurt innocent people.”