Angel 7 (after the music stops)

Kimmie’s hand on her friend’s shoulder grounded Angel, brought her back to herself, but she moaned loudly, dry retching. Her muscles rippled along her arms and legs and she couldn’t stop gulping as if she’d swallowed moths and they were laying eggs in her stomach. The electric light was on above her head, hurting her eyes and exposing her nakedness. She covered her breasts with one hand, bending over reaching for her knickers she tried to swallow back the sickness in her throat, but clutching her stomach threw up watery bile on the table.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, turning to Kimmie, who held her close, made cooing noises and patted her on the shoulder.

Billy was over at his mate, his hand beneath his bloody head. ‘Yeh, fuckin nutter,’ he said. ‘I think you’ve killed him.’ He jumped up and slapped Angel hard across the face. ‘Whit the fuck did yeh dae that for, yah slut?’

Kimmie shoved him on the stomach, and he stumbled backwards. ‘Here you,’ she said. ‘Leave her alone. She must had good reason. Dae something useful and get tae a phonebox. Get an ambulance and shut up.’  She looked down at the body. ‘It’s probably worse than it look.’ She shook her head. ‘I mean it’s probably no as bad as it looks.’

By the time she’d finished speaking Billy had pulled his shoes on and was scrambling out the door.  

The cat peeked its head in the bottom of the door and its whiskers quivered, when the front door banged shut, before arching its back and slinking back into the dimness of the lobby.

Angel hen-toed picked up her clothes and held them close to her stomach as if she’d come out of a swimming pool, her nakedness unbuttoned, and wasn’t sure what to do next. She gazed at Ped and then Kimmie for the answer. Then across at the racket coming from the telly.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ Kimmie knelt down beside Ped. She made an examination of his wound but made no attempt to touch him.

‘Phew, that’s fuckin crazy.’ She looked at the bloody tampon beside her knees and stared again at his bloody head and then up at Angel. ‘Whit happened?’

‘He tried to rape me.’ Angel put her clothes down on the floor and lifting her bra, put it on and stepped her long legs into her pants. She dressed quickly.

Kimmie stepped around the body and turned the telly off. ‘Aye, but you didnae, need to dae that? Shouldn’t we try and resuscitate him, or something?’

‘I’m no touching him.’ Angel shook her head and picked up her bag, searching through it for her cigarettes. She pulled out a twenty carton of Benson and Hedges. But her hands shook so much she had to use both hands to put the cigarette in her mouth.

‘I’m no touching him either. He’s a fuckin rapist.’ Kimmie sat on the edge of the couch and prodded his leg with bare feet and bright red toenails. ‘But we need to get our stories right.’

‘Whit do you mean?’ Angel took the cigarette out of her mouth. ‘You got a light?

‘Well, we’ll no be using that lighter anyway.’ Kimmie nodded in the direction of the cigarette lighter shaped like a dove lying beside his head. ‘I’ve got matches in my bag, but it’s in the room. And to be honest, that cunt was fuckin useless in bed. But we need to get our stories right before the ambulance and police come.’

The cigarette fell from Angel’s mouth and she caught it, and dropped it into her handbag. ‘Whit would the police come fer?’

‘Jesus, Christ,’ said Kimmie. ‘Because you near killed the stupid cunt. That’s why. Whit planet are you on?’  

‘Oh, aye,’ said Angel, staring at her and frowning, as if making her mind up. ‘But he tried to rape me. He got whit he deserved.’

Kimmie puffed her cheeks up and let out a long sigh. She pointed at Angel. ‘Listen, I know that and you know that, but I don’t want my maw thinking I’m a bit of a slapper. When the police come just tell them I was just kissing Billy. I wasnae daeing anything else. Got it? It will be our word against his.’

‘Aye, if you like,’ Angel perched on the armrest of the armchair. ‘I don’t really care.’

‘Hi, whit’s the matter with you?’ Kimmie leaned across the table. ‘You’ve got to care. If you don’t care, you’re guilty that’s the way it works. And it doesnae help that there’s nae marks on you. No even a scratch mark. You look as if you’ve just come off a film set. You’re damp hair even looks as if it’s been done.  Maybe I should punch you in the face a few times.’

‘But whit dae I need marks for? All the pains on the inside.’ Angel tilted her head, as if listening. ‘And it rots you from the inside and all you want to dae is hide away and scream.’

‘Whit the fuck are you talking about? screeched Kimmie.  ‘Get real. You knocked fuck out of him, before he even laid a glove on you. You need to think about that. I’ll say he was hitting on you all night, subtle like, and trying to grope you. And when I went into the room, with my boyfriend, I heard you screaming and we rushed through. And you were so upset, you couldnae speak.’    

‘But that’s true,’ said Angel.

The klaxon of a siren could be heard.

‘Naebody gies a fuck, whit’s true,’ said Kimmie. ‘It’s just how it looks that matters wae these bully boys. The police are gonnae ask you a lot of questions. Just stick to the story. And try and add a few tears.’ She held a finger up. ‘And mind I was only kissing that arsehole and nothing else.’ She shook her head and looked at the spew on the glass table. ‘And if we stick to our story, we should be alright.’

‘Fuck, I need a fag as well,’ said Kimmie. ‘I’ll go and get my bag.’ She stood up but sat down again and pinned Angel with her gaze. ‘Or we could just fuck off. That roster doesnae even know who I’m ur. If you put me in an identity parade, he cannae even pick his nose. So he’s nae chance.  And the playboy there.’ She pointed at Ped on the floor and sneered. ‘He’ll no be daeing any talking for a while.’

‘Get your stuff and we’ll head before they even get here,’ added Kimmie.

‘I’ve already got everything I need,’ said Angel, tapping the leather strap on her bag. ‘Let’s go.’