The Story of Me (Carnage #2)(66)
“Look at ya, you sexy suntanned whorebag. You look like a f*cking super model all brown and skinny. I wanna snog the face off ya. I’ve missed ya so much, ya bitch.” She gives me a big wet sloppy kiss. “Do not ever leave us again.”
I shake my head. “I don’t plan to.” Although with all that’s just happened in the car, that’s probably not entirely the truth. I turn and look at my brother. I can see his eyes shining with tears. I shake my head. It’s the sob that’s trying to escape that I’m saying no to, but it doesn’t listen as I step into his waiting arms.
“Little sister Georgia, you’ve made me cry, you cow.” I laugh.
“Big brother Marley, you’ve made me cry, you wanker.”
“Language, Georgia, honestly, I hope you didn’t swear like that in front of Kathy and John.” I turn and look at my mum.
“When was the last time you visited Aus, Mum? Every other word is f*ck this and f*ck that. They even say shit and wanker on the radio.”
“Well, regardless, I don’t want the rest of the family thinking you wasn’t brought up the right way.” I smile and give my mum a one-armed cuddle; the other is around Marley, who doesn’t seem to want to let me go.
“I’ve missed ya, Mum. I’ve missed all of ya so much. It’s good to be home.”
We all make our way into the front room and drink tea and eat chocolate biscuits and have a general catch up. Len, Ash and Jimmie head off around three to collect their kids from school; before he leaves, Lennon tells me he’s done what he can, but an Australian paper has printed pictures of Cam and I together taken in the club and has run with a story that we left together to go back to my hotel room, from where we didn’t emerge until the next morning. The story then turns into complete bullshit by saying we then flew back to England together on my private jet. The problem I now have is explaining to my parents and my brothers what I was doing with Cam on Saturday night before the story makes the papers over here tomorrow morning.
Bailey arrives just after Lennon leaves and as I have the members of my family who this story is going to piss of the most all together. I decide now is as good a time as any to try and explain it.
My dad and brothers are all drinking bourbon and my mum has poured me and her a wine. I really don’t feel like a drink, but I take a long sip from the glass and instantly feel my head spin. I’ve had no food of any substance since the half a burger I ate Saturday night. If I was still in Australia it would be late Monday night by now, meaning I’ve not eaten for two days. My mum’s in the kitchen clanging about as she unloads the dishwasher so I call her in to sit down.
“I need to tell you all something and I don’t want any of you getting pissed off or jumping to conclusions.” I look at each of the members of my family in turn. My mum crosses her legs, probably expecting the worse, my brothers all simultaneously sit back in their chairs and look at me over the top of their glasses. I smile at their likeness.
“Saturday night I went to the opening of the club that Jodie has been working on in Sydney. I didn’t want to but Jax and Brooke refused to let me stay home on my own and curl up in bed and cry like I wanted to.” I take a sip of my wine, my eyes darting between my dad and Marley as it’s the reactions from these two that concerns me the most. “Turns out that Cameron King is part owner of the club and I bumped into him there.” My dad’s eyes widen, Marley’s narrow as he sits forward in his seat.
“Cameron King’s got a club in Sydney now? Fucking hell, he’s gone up in the world, still, fair play to the boy; he’s always worked hard and tried to keep his nose clean.” Bailey rolls his eyes and then meets mine square on. My dad still treats me like I’m five years old when it comes to his business dealings, and he has no idea that I know exactly how his money has been made. Most of his dealings may be legit nowadays, but they most certainly weren’t in the past.
“Why are you telling us this, George?” Marley asks. I wipe the sweaty palm of my left hand over the knee of my tracksuit bottoms. I look at the velour and the way the colour changes as it’s brushed forward and back. I look up and meet Marley’s eyes.
“I was a bit of a mess Saturday night. It was not the best of days for me, and anyway, I was a bit drunk by the time I bumped into Cam. He realised this and he also knew that there were a few photographers about so we left the club.” I look at each of them, trying to gauge what they’re thinking. “Cam managed to get us out of a back exit and had his driver pick us up without being seen. I had a car picking me up at six Sunday morning to take me to the airport so I just wanted to go home. Like I say, I was a bit of a teary mess by the time we got back to my hotel and Cam didn’t want to leave me on my own so he came up to my room with me.”
“Hang on, hang on,” my dad interrupts. “I didn’t know that you even knew Cameron King that well. Why the f*ck were you taking him up to your hotel room? I mean, he’s an all right sort of bloke these days, but I’m under no illusion that he’s still as f*cking dangerous as he’s always been.”
“Frank, language, really.”
“Fuck the language, Bern. I wanna hear where this is going. Carry on, Georgia please.” God, how do my parents have the ability to make me feel like a bloody teenager again. I’m thirty-two years old. I’ll spend nights in hotels with whomever I choose. I just don’t want them to think badly of me for doing it on the anniversary of Sean’s death.