10 April 2010

jacqueline

Jacqueline is well proud of herself. The longest ten blocks she's ever walked -- walked, for chrissake's, not even taking a car service -- and every bit of the way she manages not to cry in public. Trying hard not to think that for the first time in two decades she's living out of a suitcase which has precious few clothes and a lot of photos of Jackson and her as he grew up. She knocks on the door and Eileen, her boss but also her only real friend, answers.
'Jacqueline,' says the woman with a degree of warmth that would alarm anyone else who worked with her. 'How are you, love?'
All the strength Jacqueline mustered vanishes and she answers by bursting out in tears.
'Come in, come in, let's get you some wine,' says Eileen, ushering her inside.
Chardonnay, of course, always chardonnay, even though Eileen hates it it's the sort of thing a woman is expected to drink in their line of work.
Jacqueline sips first, wincing, before taking a big gulp.
'So, what happened, love?'
'I got up this morning and I turned to Robert and told him if I had to wake up next to him one more day, I...I...I told him I wanted to smash his goddamned face in.'
Eileen laughs and refreshes her glass.
'I mean, why, love? You always seemed like such a perfect couple. What happened?'
'Jackson happened,' blurts Jacqueline before she realises what she's just said which starts her crying again. How typical, she thinks, none of this is Jackson's fault but he's an easy target.
'You never told me, how did you and Robert meet?' asks Eileen, careful to evade that last remark.
'It was the nineties, you know, I defied father and moved to London, finding a tiny little apartment with my own money where I could paint and sell paintings to tourists on the sidewalks. And then one night, after a big day of sales, I had too many martinis. This young man struck up a conversation with me and, well, now it sounds stupid, but it was love at first sight.'
'Robert? He's perhaps the least likely man I would expect to have that effect on someone.'
'He wasn't Robert then, he was Robby, I should have known, rich Oxford kid slumming about in London. But those first months were so great, we ate bad takeaway and I painted and we blasted Nirvana and Pearl Jam whilst making love-'
Jacqueline cuts herself short, wondering if that was too much information. But Eileen seems transfixed so she continues.
'And then one day I said "Robby, we're pregnant" and he turned as white as a ghost. I thought he'd be thrilled, a chance for him and I to raise this wonderful child, you know? But then he started pacing about and the first thing out of his mouth was "Right, well, we have to get married at once, get in front of this thing. It's been an appropriate amount of time courting." And I felt as if he'd just slapped me across the face, overnight he changed. It was all about his father's money and approval, you see. Which started me thinking about my own father and the warnings he gave me about running away to the city.'
'So you got married rather quickly, I suppose?'
'A week on from the wedding and we had a nice proper place in Maida Vale, some place his family owned, and not a bit of Nirvana or a paintbrush in sight, but always a Bible on the nightstand. Just in time, he would later say, hopefully not so close that anyone could put two and two together when Jackson was born so soon.'
'That would be scandalous.'
'Yes, Robert was correct, it would have been. I woke in hospital just after Jackson was born and no one was there, so I turned on the telly and the first thing I saw on the news was they'd just found Kurt Cobain dead. I started to cry, but then the nurse brought Jackson in and he was such a beautiful baby that it made me feel better. I think even then I realised despite trying so much to escape, I'd just married my father, and that Jackson was born the day my favourite musician was found dead was too ironic.'
'Does Jackson know about the circumstances around his birth?'
'No, and I don't know if I should tell him. He's found his own someone special, Eileen. Another boy.'
Eileen chokes on her wine.
'Well, he certainly knows how to get you back, doesn't he?' she says and instantly regrets saying that so she adds 'it's not the dark ages, you know. It happens all of the time these days.'
Jacqueline pops open her percosets and washes a couple down with more chardonnay. God she never realised how much she hates chardonnay, it's just one step ahead of servitude to expect this to be a proper woman's drink.
'You're going to kill yourself with those things if you're not careful, love.'
'Maybe that would be for the best, for Jackson's sake.'
'Shush, don't talk like that.'
'Why? He's finally happy, I've been a terrible mum to him and now he finally has someone who makes him happy it seems.'
'Does it bother you that he's queer? Or what is it?'
'No,' she says, and pauses. 'It terrifies me that if I try to get back into his life, their lives, I'll do to him what father and Robert did to me. And he really is just a wonderful boy, so much his own person. You know, I don't believe I ever really told him that, Eileen.'
'I'm sure you did, love. You showed him that, I'm sure.'
'I wonder if...if...because I never picked up that paintbrush again, I made him do it every day in my stead.'
'You yourself just said he's his own person.'
'Do you know what he did that last morning he left? Robert tried to stop him and...and he kicked the little man right in the balls, so hard he tipped right over like a sleeping cow.'
Now she's laughing so hard it's making her cry. Eileen looks at her as if she's gone quite mad for a minute then joins in until they're both laughing hysterically.
'Oh, Christ. Eileen. I'm so scared.'
'Take your time, love, you can take off work if need be and you'll always have a job when you're ready to come back. And you can stay in the guestroom as long as you need to as well.'
'Thank you, Eileen, that means so much to me. Just...'
'Just what, love?'
'What do I do now?'

09 April 2010

jackson

It's breakfast time now and f my head is killing me. Auntie tells me mum is going to be a few more days as she has things to sort out.
'Did you tell her?'
'She's my sister, Jackson.'
Tommy wanders into the room, looking well dazed and jumps when he sees me, checking behind him as if he expected I'd been following him from the room. I just smile at him.
I decide not to ask anymore details of Aunty. I'm hungry as f and busy with our breakfast. Auntie is having hers in a cup that smells like tea mixed with gasoline. Tommy's stomach is growling so I make him a plate with eggs and bacon and toast. He blinks at me in surprise.
'You made....' he starts and I'm just 'yeah, I know how to cook a bit' almost at the same time Tommy asks 'you can cook?' then 'did your mum teach you?'
Auntie chokes on her toxic tea and Tommy looks a bit annoyed for a second, I guess I get why, I mean there's part of him I guess wishes he'd had a mum around even if she was shit like mine. If only he knew. I guess he likes that I made him breakfast, can't quite tell from his expression, I hope so cos there's a lot of good surprises about me for him to learn as we start our lives together.
'Learning to cook was self-defense,' I say to break the ice, which gets a laugh out of Auntie and a half-smile from Tommy, that cute flash he gives sometimes when I catch him off guard.
'Tommy, I trust you've never had Jacky's cooking. She's my sister and I love her, but she never even sorted out how to make toast and tea.'
'Don't tell her,' I say before I realise it. Somehow I want this to be a secret from her, not entirely sure why but it's one of the few things about me she never knew about or got the chance to try and 'fix'.
Seems like that's the key to surviving, the secrets. When I was fourteen me and an older boy got caught, fortunately only with a pint of vodka as we'd tried the other thing already (not with much luck), and I got read to from some 'successful parenting' pamphlet for days about the dangers of alcohol. A few weeks on, my pen quit on me so I went rummaging in her office to find one. 'Why are there two huge aspirin bottles in the house' I remember thinking so I took a look inside and it wasn't aspirin. Whatever it was, I tried one and f if that didn't put me down like a horse with a broken leg for six hours, had to fake I was coming down with a cold. Next night I snuck out to where I could watch her 'working late' -- always with the headphones, f, no one for two flats on either side could think or sleep with pops snoring unless they grew up next to an RAF base in the second world war.
She was drinking and popping those pills like candy. I thought I heard her crying soft which freaked me a bit, so I just went back into my room and put on my own headphones. A valuable lesson, Jackson, secrets keep you safe, and I figured out how to sneak in my WKD red or blue so they never noticed. Almost got caught with it, but I'm quick like that, I pretended to be revising so mum just assumed it was an energy drink, or maybe she didn't notice the giant bottle at all.
The only problem with secrets is the safer they make you I guess the more you need to feel safe. Special breakfasts my pops claimed he'd made for mum from time to time that I'd just made for myself and he basic'ly took away mine to give to her. Then on I always 'overslept' when really I just lay awake til the last minute so I could avoid trying to choke down her awful cooking and grab McD's instead, mum worried as I never seemed to eat much. No, doctors said I was healthy though, mysteries abound, he's a teenager became the explanation.
The night before the big row I thought I heard something and peeked around the corner into the office. Pills, check, glass of alcohol, check, headphones on the floor, but no mum. Their bathroom door was shut so I got brave and snuck closer. I heard mum in there, sounded like she was crying and maybe puking a bit. I had to retreat to my room fast cos it made me laugh. Pretended to be asleep with my phones on though f I forgot to turn off my desklamp. She stuck her head in and asked 'Jackson?' all quiet. I kept faking sleep. She started towards my bed like she thought for a minute about giving me a goodnight kiss like when I was little, then thank f changed her mind, shut off my lamp and left me alone.
Secrets, they always keep Jackson safe.
For the first time, with Tommy, I feel okay about sharing my secrets, I know it's a bit of a switch-up for him and I gotta explain to him somehow why I seem so different now. Living in that house under their guard was like...like in the zoo where they got the animals behind glass and they tell you not to bang on it cos the sound is a million times louder to the poor thing trapped in there than you could ever imagine. I'm sure once he gets used to not having to play babysitter like he did with his old man he'll sort out that it's not a bad thing, it's just a huge f'ing relief.

Tommy

Shit but it was good to wake up in a warm, dry bed instead of under a bridge or on a beach, freezing cold and worried about the cops coming along. This Aunty seems a nice sort and obviously cares about Jackson and she seemed ok with him introducing me as his boyfriend. I'm not too sure about meeting Jackson's Mum though, I'm a bit worried that she'll see me as the bad guy who stole her little boy away from her. Good to hear that she's dumped that loser of a husband though, he was most of what was fucking Jackson up.

Jackson's changed since we got here, it's like he wants to be in control and I'm not too happy about that. He wouldn't even be here if I hadn't got everything organised and looked after him every step of the way. When his Mum arrives I'm going to be the outsider, what's she going  to think of me? He totally took me by surprise during the night wanting to fuck me and all, he's never done anything like that before. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it after I got over the pain bit but it was just so unlike him to want to be in control like that. If we end up getting a place together one of us is going to have to be in control to make sure things get done and I'm the one to do that, I organised everything at home right up to the end, the old man couldn't have survived without me.

It's nice here though, sitting out here in just a pair of boxers having a fag and looking at the sea, all shiny like in the pictures, nothing like the big waves we were getting knocked around by  when we slept on the beach. Oh well, I can smell breakfast and that's the best idea going just now, I'm bloody starving. Got to think about this whole new situation with Jackson though, we've got to sort it out and quick or everything could fall apart and I don't think he can handle that. Whatever hhinks he still needs Tommy to take care of things for him.

07 April 2010

jackson

I wake up in the middle of night, dying of thirst, f I'm not use to liquor really but I know enough that if I don't find water well quick the next day is gonna be horrible pain on top of dealing with mum. I gulp down three glasses, cursing the tiny little paper cups people always stick in their WC's, I mean who the f drinks that little of anything except liquor without wanting more?
F, I feel like a swallowed a cotton plant. I juggle three small cups from the WC back to the bed, narrowly avoiding falling all over my muddy kicks, and position them careful on the small table next to my side before I notice that there's a giant bottle of water sitting there.
'Fucking genious, Jackson,' I mutter. There's a nice cool breeze coming through the half-open door to a little porch, kinda sparkling with salt, and the surf is crashing away, f it's like I've been transported back to last time when I was here, what was I, like six, seven? It seems like forever and I never was told why mum and pops never took me back. I find the leftover Johnny and the bottle, cracking open both and taking a big gulp of the water before realizing I didn't even check to see if it had gas or was still.
It's nice out here, a little cool, just naked in the dark listening to the sea. I always did this when I was little, afraid of getting caught but the seabreeze just feels so good against my skin.
Tommy's got to be nervous, I guess, f, I'm nervous, wondering if mum is coming down cos she implanted some sort of GPS on me or if she reads my mind or maybe what Auntie said bout her and dad is true. I mean I don't have any brothers or sisters but I can figure that she would want to see her sister if pops and her really did split, Auntie's such a sweet woman.
But if that's the reason she's wandering right into the most awkward f'ing situation just like me and well I'd rather spend two days at the dentist. The other thing going through my head is why she quit him, I mean, if it's my fault I do feel bad. Even after that massive row...she's still my mum.
Bad thoughts are creeping into my mind now, I mean the only special thing that time was me getting in the middle of their fight, they'd fought way worse plenty of times before.
It's a question that makes me wonder if there was more going on than I could see through my thick head.
More Johnny. I'm so not looking forward to tomorrow. Slow down, Jackson, if you think it's gonna be shit wait til what happens if you're obvious shitfaced.
Nothing she can say is gonna change my mind, to be sure, I don't have doubts at all about me and Tommy except exactly how we're gonna manage for the first bits til we get shit sorted.
My eyes are starting to shut now so I take a big gulp of each bottle and stumble inside, pleasantly calm and warm for now. Tommy is sleeping on his back like always, no f'ing clue how he can walk after sleeping like that. I curl up on top of his naked chest and let the soft breeze of his breath carry me off to sleep.

04 April 2010

Tommy

We've made it to his Auntie's house so Jackson introduces me but the first thing she says is that Jackson's Mum called and she's worried. It's like he hasn't heard her 'cos he just ploughs on
"Aunty, this isn't just my friend"
"Oh"
Not much of an answer but perhaps his parents have been so tied up with their own problems it never occurred to them to mention the boy that used to sleep over with Jackson all the time
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Thomas"
"Tommy"
Let's get it straight right now, I'm Tommy and nothing else. The only person who called me Thomas won't be doing it any  more.
"You look worn out"
"It's keeping up with him"
I'm completely shagged and practically asleep on my feet, it's been the longest few days ever what with all the running, sleeping rough and worrying about what'll happen to Jackson if this goes wrong. Jackson asks if he can put me to bed which sounds like the best idea ever, a warm bed is just what I need so I strip down to my boxers, climb in and that's it, I'm out. Next thing I know I'm waking up with Jackson kissing me awake and he's brought whisky with him, so I light up a fag and have a drink. Then he tells me that his Mum's left his Dad and she's coming here.
"Shit, d'you think she'll go for this?"
I mean us, is she going to handle her one and only being gay and how's she going to deal with meeting the boy friend, the one he ran away with? He's like
"Tommy, I love you and if she can't doesn't then fuck it"
Only two hits on the whisky bottle which is Johnny Walker, good stuff, and I'm gone again. When I wake up I'm naked and Jackson's fucking me. He's never done that before, never even askedd me if could but I've got to admit it feels good and all I can think of is
"I love you, it hurts"
He comes inside me which feels good as well, we don't bother with rubbers and after he's just hugging me but with his cock still inside me. It's like he's trying to take control of things and I'm not sure I'm going to let that happen so I might have to think up a way of keeping him in his place. I've got a couple of ideas about that and he might even enjoy it.

03 April 2010

jackson

'Hey' is all I can say 'this Tommy,uhm'
'Jacky called me, she was scared for you.'
'Don't tell he-'
'It's better I do. She's worried and, well-'
'Auntie, this isn't just my friend.'
'Oh.'
'Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Thomas/' and he corrects her 'Tommy'
'You look worn out,' she says 'it's well keeping up with him' he means me and jumps a bit when I try to kiss him but then I guess it's okay. We're safe here and I ask if it's okay to put him to bed, she's sweet so says sure and f he almost drops but he looks so cute when he's sleeping like a kid. She pets my hair and says 'rigth let's do this proper' which I don't know what that means but I sort it soon.
She has the Johnny Walker out and makes me drink a huge thing which almost makes me puke but it's kinda warm.
'Cheers,' she says and I'm like 'what' and she's like 'You finally got Jacky to leave that bastard' and now I'm like 'Mum left dad?'
Which I think is best but now what.
"Does he treat you well?'
Tommy? Better than they ever did' and I just say it 'the fucking is incredible' before I know what I'm saying and she chokes on her drink.
We both drain our glasses and need more, she does't even blink when I kill one more.
'Shit at least you didnt make Jacky's mistake, first big cock and bam a wedding.'
'How do I know if it's real?' I ask and we got one more drink.
'Does it feel right?'
'Better than,-'
'Then go curl up with him and tell him you mean it.'
'No more booze?'
'God no, your mum is gonna be here tomorrow and I don't want this to be a mess, I want a proper introduction. She's worried Jackson, do you blame her. At least with this boy you'll take a lot off her mind.'
She lied, I stole bit more of it and brought Tommy some well okay she fell asleep so I brought the whole thing.
I woke him with aa kiss and have to tell the news anyway so he's just smoking and downing the Johnny faster as I tell him and he's like 'do you think your mum will go for this' and I'm like 'Tommy, I love you, if shee doesnt then fuck it' and I guessed that worked cos only two hits and he's back asleep. I pull his boxers off cos he won't mind and smoke while he sleeps, f he's just so beautiful like this, how did I stumble onto him. Kid would do anything for me and just maybe I can do something for him. Like introdice him proper to my mmum, and if he's okay make it official cos I know how I feel and that won't quit.
He grunts a bit like he's pretending to be still asleep but f I love feeling me inside him and cum like three times, No rubbers, we don't use them as this is It. And he likes it just when I cum he's like 'okay i love you, it hurts' and curl up next to him and he flops on top of me, this it, now. He's never let me fuck him before and honest I never felt like it but it's taking everything to pull out and I try and he says stay in so I'm just hugging him now basically. Just my cock is in him. And he likes that.
Tommy isn't in control for once and I'm horny fuck so yeah I gve it to him again and when wake up maybe more.
                                                                                                                

jackson

I smoke a fag and it's cold out so I can't help but shake.

When Tommy does me it feels so right, so real, but every other it's like we're brothers. i can't explain, he got us WKD so I'm sucking it down, copper did yell at me but I made up some shit and all he ended up doing was give me a pat on the back. It's so f'ing freezing and people just stay the f away from me, I just wanna get some place warm for us. Maybe Spain or Florida in the US but if we go there we cant get married.

Tommy woke and he's not good at mornings so he just steals my WKD and asks 'now what' and ffs I wish I knew the answer I just wanna sleep and wake next to him warm where we're safe,I am so freaked here cos this is the first place they'll look for me. Damn stupid Jackson. I talked Tommy into this and he's older so he's gonna get in way more shit.

'Are you serious?' I ask.
'About what?'
'Us.'
And f if he doesn't just say 'ya of course' and now things get complicated.