Jacqui Rose - Disobey

Franny swung open the living room door, coming face to face with Chloe who had heard every word of the conversation.

‘Get your stuff, Chloe, you can come and stay with me.’

The surprise on Chloe-Jane’s face mirrored that of Alfie’s. Chloe looked first to her uncle, then to Franny and back again. ‘You mean it?’

‘Of course.’

‘No she don’t. This is about me.’ Alfie’s voice was loud and although she ignored it, Franny could sense some hurt in his voice. She swivelled round to look at Alfie.

‘I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, Alfie, but the world does not revolve around you. Contrary to what you think, this isn’t about you. This is about Chloe, your niece. Remember?’

Alfie began to panic, this was the last thing he’d expected. ‘You walk out of here and you won’t be walking back in. You hear me?’ The moment the words came tumbling out, Alfie immediately regretted them, especially saying them to someone as fiery and stubborn as Franny Doyle.

Although Franny knew that Alfie didn’t really mean what he’d just said, her eyes flashed with anger. He was behaving like a spoilt child. ‘Is that what you really want, Alfie?’

It was the question Alfie Jennings hoped that Franny wouldn’t ask. Either way, the answer would make him look like a cunt. If he answered it with the truth – which was, of course he didn’t want her not to come back, in fact he didn’t want her to go – he’d look a soft cunt and he’d be open to any sort of female manipulation in the future. The other way he could answer it was with a lie, which would be to tell Fran that, yes he meant it and she could piss off out of his face. If he told her that he’d not only look a cunt, for the first time in his life he knew his heart would break, so instead, Alfie Jennings did what he’d done whenever he got nicked. He stayed silent. After all, it was his right.

Franny glared at him. ‘Fine, well if you haven’t got anything to say, Alf, Chloe and I will get off. You know where we are when and if you decide to wind your neck in.’ And with that Franny marched out of the room, with an excited-looking Chloe next to her.

The front door banged and Alfie rushed across to the window, watching as they walked down the street. He wondered if Franny could feel him watching. There was a huge part of him that wanted to call her back, but his stubbornness and male pride wouldn’t allow it.

He’d been right about Chloe, she was trouble, and now the thought began to creep in that Franny was too. But then show him a woman that wasn’t trouble, and he’d show them a man. Alfie sighed. Maybe it was better like this. Yes, he’d make Franny sweat for a couple of days, bring her back to her senses and have her scratching down the door to come back. It’d also give him time to concentrate and sort out all this mess with the triads.

As Alfie continued to gaze out of the window, he caught a glimpse of someone looking up. He couldn’t make out who it was but he was certain of one thing. Like everything else in his life at the moment, it probably meant only one thing. Trouble.

‘Uncle Alfie! Uncle Alfie! Open the bleedin’ door will ya!’ Chloe-Jane banged hard on the side entrance of Whispers nightclub. Two days had passed since the last time she’d seen her uncle. And although no doubt he’d been in a huff, getting his bollocks in a twist, as arguments went, it was nothing. She was used to having stand-up rows, followed by fisticuffs. Broken bottles and drunken slurs thrown about by her mother and her boyfriends; that had been Chloe-Jane’s life, so a few choice words were no reason to harbour a grudge. As well as this, she wanted something from Alfie.

About to bang on the door again, it was swung open by a startled-looking Alfie, something which didn’t go unnoticed by Chloe-Jane.

‘Alright mate!’ She grinned, trying to peer over Alfie’s shoulder. ‘Up to no good, are ya?’

Alfie scowled. ‘Has anyone ever told you you’ve got too much chat? Anyway what are you doing here? I thought you’d be somewhere else causing trouble.’

‘Ain’t me causing trouble. What’s going on in there, ’cos whatever it is I bet Franny don’t know nothing about it?’

Alfie stepped out into the alleyway, making sure the side door of the club was closed behind him. He shoved her gently on her shoulder. ‘Piss off, will you. I don’t need you buzzing around here like a fly on a pig’s arse. So do one.’

Chloe-Jane looked nonplussed. ‘Can’t understand what Franny sees in you.’

‘Well it’s a good job it ain’t nothing to do with you, ain’t it?… What is it you want anyway? Oh don’t tell me, money …’ Alfie went in his pocket and took out a roll of twenty-pound notes. ‘Go on then, how much do you want? How much will it cost me for you to go on your merry way?’

Chloe-Jane looked affronted. ‘I don’t want yer money!’

‘No?’

‘No.’

‘Then what?’

Chloe-Jane folded her arms, reminding Alfie of his ex. ‘I want a job.’

Alfie roared with laughter. ‘A job, in my club?’

‘Yeah, what’s wrong with that?’

‘Now I know you’re taking the piss. For a start, my club is a classy joint and the way you dress it’d make it look like it was a knocking shop for misfits and secondly, giving you a job would mean I’d have to trust you and I don’t, not one tiny bit.’

Having developed a thick skin over the years to survive, Chloe-Jane was not put off. ‘Oh please Uncle Alfie, I won’t let you down, I promise. I’ll work really hard, just give me a chance.’

‘I gave you a chance and what have I got to show for it? I’ll tell you. Me missus up and left, and now I’m in the dog house and you’re like the cat that’s got the cream.’

‘Look, all I want to do is pay my way.’

‘And there’s me thinking you’re a freeloader.’

‘I ain’t, and I know Franny said I didn’t have to pay, but people get fed up don’t they?’

‘That’s the first sensible thing that’s come out of your mouth. Ain’t nothing for nothing in this world, you need to learn that, Chloe-Jane.’

Chloe’s tone was laced with a bitterness far surpassing her age. ‘You think I don’t know that? From the time I was thirteen I was having to pay my way at home, and if I didn’t, me mum would chuck me out or call social services to come and get me.’

A flash of shame briefly crossed Alfie’s face, thinking about Chloe-Jane’s life. He’d half suspected his sister had neglected her but he’d done nothing about it. But then, it wasn’t his fault was it? He’d had his own problems and there was no point in beating himself up about it now.

‘So that’s why I want a job, ’cos I reckon if I pay Franny, she can’t say anything and won’t get rid of me.’

Alfie leant forward. ‘And that’s why I ain’t giving you a job. Because the sooner Franny comes to her senses the better, and we can all get back to normal. So like I said, do one, ’cos you’re not going to make me feel bad about it because it ain’t my fault you’ve got nowhere to go.’

Never one to be able to keep her mouth shut, no matter how hard she tried, Chloe-Jane retaliated, sticking her two fingers up as she turned away. ‘And it ain’t my fault you’re a prick.’

Alfie watched the ball on the roulette table go round and round. The place was packed and all thoughts of Franny and the annoying Chloe-Jane began to fade. He had been supposed to meet Mr Lee, to sort things out, but he’d cancelled so until Alfie heard from him, why not keep pushing ahead with his venture? The damage had been done anyway, so what harm would a few more quid in his pocket make?