The Price of Blood

Chapter 16

Jamie lived quite near me, on Perry Street in an apartment.  His block of flats were pretty recognizable, considering the owner was one of the most controversial landlords in the area. Mr Gray, who owned another few block of flats, had got bored with the grayness and dullness of the high-rise concrete slabs he owned.  Ignoring warnings from the New York State Commission, he had told a group of painters to paint the flats orange.  Now, they clashed horribly with the surroundings.  Passers by gave the block of flats, dubbed by the New York Evening Post as a "Defiant gesture of ignorance against our state", odd, pitying looks, especially to the people that lived there.  However Jamie and his two brothers, one sister, mother and father managed just fine.  Better than fine actually.

However, there was one little thing that had plagued Jamie's families lives, especially regarding his sister Maud.  In her 18th birthday, her and her boyfriend Stuart were walking home from a restaurant where they had a romantic dinner.  Waiting for them was Maud's ex boyfriend Zack and a couple of other men.  They all had guns.  They shot and badly injured her boyfriend.  He died of his injuries in hospital a few hours later.  Maud had never quite been the same again.  The three men had escaped and fled to Montana, however her family were determined to get their own back on him one day, especially Maud's twin brother Jay.  Jay was slightly moody, however he cared for his sister more than anyone else.  He protected her from all the abuse she got and even got into a few fights for her.  Maud was now at college, but she still had to go and get counselling once a week.  The grief that Maud felt was still there, and her birthdays were never quite the same.

"What time do you call this?" Jamie's dad Nick opens the door as Dawn, his wife and Harriet, Jamie and I walk into the apartment.  The car journey had been rather awkward, however Dawn meant well and she was kind and considerate. The apartment  is quite big, with a master bedroom, Maud's room, Jamie and Jay's room and Jackson's (Jamie's ten year old brother) room.  There are two bathrooms, a large kitchen diner and a big living area as well as Nick and Dawn's separate studies.  Beautiful rugs adorn the floor (as Dawn is a textiles specialist at the local craft store) and huge, canvas paintings hang from the walls, like magnificent curtains of color and style.  However, I spy many American Football posters inside Nick's room, and presume at once that he is a fan.                                                           "Leave off Pa." Maud walks through the living room, "It hasn't even started yet.  It's all the crappy build up.  I'm Maud by the way."  She smiles at me and goes back to sitting on the sofa with Jay, who puts a protective arm around her.  He nods his head at me as we walk into the room.                                      "Jackson, off the sofa, let Lauren sit down.  Quickly." Dawn urges.  I blush, embarrassed.                           Jackson sticks his tongue out at his mum and goes to sit on the games chair.  I sit down next to Jay, who is rather attractive with his brooding demeanor.  However, I can see he isn't someone to cross.   

"And now, the game is just about to begin here on Fox.  It's all at stake for the New York Jets and the Washington Redskins.  The Redskins are of course the clear favorites for the title, but still expect a good match.  I now hand you over to our commentary team for the start of the first quarter." 

"Who are we supporting?" I ask Jamie.  Jamie looks at me, incredulous, almost dumbstruck.                     "The Jets of course," Jamie says, "The Jets haven't beaten the Redskins in quite a long time, so we just need a little bit of a miracle to see us through.  Still, Dad's got a bet on with Jim at work."                   Jim was the head of Nick's law firm and was a huge American Football fanatic and supporter of the New York Giants.  He was determined that the Redskins would thrash the Jets, however Nick disagreed, so they bet each other £50 that the Jets would win (in Nick's case) or the Redskins would win (according to Jim).  Jim increase Nick's salary by £50 so he would have some money to pay him.

 "Thank you Stan, a very warm welcome to MetLife stadium, New Jersey for this match, as we get towards the last games of the season for each team.  We expect a solid win from the  Redskins however the Jets may cause an upset.  The referee is Brad Allen, a little inexperienced but he will be making an impact tonight.  And the teams come out and we are ready for the first quarter.  The teams look ready and we are all ready here for a great game.  The whistle goes, the first quarter has begun."

Luckily for Nick, the Redskins lost, 20-32.  The game was exhilarating and breathtaking at the same time.  I grew way more confident around the family during the game and shared the woeful and wonderful play.  Nick rang up Jim and demanded that the £50 should be paid to him immediately, which, admitting defeat, Jim did the very same night.  The house was full of celebration. However, when Jackson went to bed after a takeaway curry from the local Indian, we calmed down.  Maud started to do some work, Jay played on the xBox with Nick and  eventually Harriet, Jamie and I were excused to go to Jamie's bedroom, which he also shared with Jay.  Jay had lots of rock posters up around his bed, which was bigger than Jamie.  Jamie had a bunk bed, because Harriet and him spent a lot of time together, chatting and doing work.  Jay was moving out of the room due to the fact I was here, so I would be sleeping in his bed with Led Zeppelin duvet covers.  Jamie also had a small desk in the corner, as Jay and Maud did their work in the main living space.

"So, what do you think?" Jamie asks me, as I sit down awkwardly on Jay's bed.                                                "Your family are amazing," I say truthfully, "I mean, I can't believe I ever left you guys."  The guilt is still there, and it still washes over me slightly.  Harriet seems to notice, and gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.  We sit there in silence for a few moments, and then Jamie suggests we should play a game, like Poker.  I've never played Poker before in my life, however it is connected to my family a little.  My mother's sister Chardonnay is the National Manhattan Poker Champion and all she does when she comes round our house is play Poker with my mum and dad and beat them every bloody time.  I smile, thinking of these disastrous visits and then explain that I have never played Poker before.               "Oh don't worry," Harriet reassures me, while Jamie deals out the cards, "Read this book, The Essence of Manhattan Poker by Chardonnay Walcock..."  I look at the book in disbelief.                                 "She's my auntie," I explain, when Harriet gives me a strange look, "She's Manhattan Poker Champion," I blush at this exposure of my parent's strange relatives.  Jamie laughs and gets out the cards.  He also reaches behind Jay's bed and pulls out a large tin of Quality Streets.                                        "These are the gambling sweets," he explains, "We've been using them for weeks.  Jay doesn't know." "Jay doesn't know what?" Maud walks into the room, eyeing her younger brother suspiciously, "Don't tell me..." she looks at the obvious purple box half hidden underneath Jamie's duvet, "Poker?"                 "Do you want to play?" asks Jamie, but Maud shakes her head.  She gives her younger brother another withering look and then walks out the room.

The rest of the evening goes by perfectly.  We play on for an hour or two, then get into our beds and chat.  We hear Maud saying goodnight and Dawn and Nick putting on the news as they sit down for their evening relaxation time.  Jamie gets out of his bed and puts his ear to the door.  Harriet and I follow him, a little confused.  What the heck is he doing?

"Welcome to abc news, out top story today- Another murder has taken place in New York.  This time the victim, 18 year old Joanne Watkins, was found bleeding heavily where her corpse had been hidden in a bush.  The suspects left no marks or DNA.  Who are these terrible murderers and what will they do next?  In other news..." 

Well, everything is almost perfect.