The story so far. Harry Oldham is attempting to write about his distant past at Park Hill. With a deadline looming, he sets to work writing about his shady past. He recalls his dealings with a bent copper, his violent days with the Geisha Boys, and a friendship with Paolo, an Italian boy, who is caught up in Harry’s nightmare.
(Parts 1-8 are available to read in the menu)

Part 9

I had to thank Tom for getting me back on track. That meeting near the station opened the floodgates, and I needed a bucket to catch everything in. 

I told him about the night I’d met Paolo which was something I’d never told anyone before. Not even Andy and Jack, who had meant more to me than anything. 

“It’s strange that you bottle everything up,” I’d told him.

We’d sat talking for nearly an hour, two strangers, years apart in age, and with nothing in common.

“You came looking for me?”

“Yeah, I followed you because I wanted to know what you were doing in Sheffield and find out about you.”

“I’m here to write the book that will make me popular again.”

“Do you think that people are really interested in your life story?”

“Probably not, but it’s not about me because it’s a work of fiction.”

“I need to go,” he’d said, “but…”

“But what?”

“I wondered whether I could see you again. Just for a chat like…”

“How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

It had been a long time since someone so young had shown interest in me, and I was flattered. I gave him my number.

“Next time, bring your girlfriend with you.”

I went back to the apartment, opened the laptop, and started writing.

*****

We were on our own with only the city skyline showing that there was life in the city. Headlights darted below and sirens wailed in the dark. Paolo sat on the bench and said nothing. I paced up and down angrily.

“What the fuck was all that about?”

“I thought you’d have guessed by now,” said Paolo in an unmistakable Italian accent, “and I’m sorry.” He sniffed as though he’d been crying.

“What are you sorry for?”

“For kissing you. For everything. It seems that I’ve dragged you into all this.”

“It’s that fucking Frank Smith. I’m not doing anything to help him. I’ll slit his throat.”

“Will you? Really? I don’t think so. Frank has us both in his grips. I’m a puff, and he’ll make out that you are too.”

“What do you mean?”

Paolo looked at me with sorrowful eyes.

“He’ll make you do anything he wants, and he’ll use that photograph to make sure that you do.”

I’d already forgotten about that sneaky photo, and the thought of it made me feel sick.

“What does he want us to do?”

“He’s going to use us. We’re the bait to get rid of people.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“Think about it. We’re the fresh meat that will bring them down.”

“I’m not a fucking queer,” I said.

“That’s not the issue. It doesn’t matter whether you are or not. Frank Smith will make out that you are, and shit sticks.”

“What will I have to do?”

“That’s for you to find out, but I’ve got a good idea.”

I was nervous and out of my depth. That fight in town seemed a long time ago, and I really needed Andy and Jack at my side.

“What has he got on you, Paolo?”

“I’m a bender, that’s what. He caught me with a guy and said he’d make good use of what he saw. He made good that promise.”

“Tell him to fuck off.”

“He’s not a man to be reasoned with. If I don’t do what he says, then he’ll tell my parents and they’ll disown me.”

“But he’s a copper. He can’t do what he’s doing.”

“How are you going to stop him? He’s a nutter, and like he said, plays dirty.”

Paolo wrapped his arms around himself to keep warm. I thought about the walk home to Park Hill and hoped that the guys would be waiting for me.

“I’m sorry for kissing you,” Paolo said.

“Not like you had a choice.”

“Well, I’m sorry because I know you didn’t like it.”

“You don’t know what the fuck I like!” I snapped and immediately regretted it.

“Does that mean that you liked it?”

“Of course, it doesn’t. I just meant that you don’t know anything about me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you say sorry once more, I’m going to…”

“Kiss me?”

“No, I’ll smack you in the face.”

“I’m sorry.”

I punched him hard, and blood poured from his nose. He used his hands to stem the flow and tears welled in his eyes.

I was used to hitting people without having regrets, but this time I felt incredibly sorry for what I’d done. He had frightened but beautiful dark eyes that were locked on my face. I let him go, and he shivered in the cold.

I took my tee-shirt off and held it to his nose. He was scared and vulnerable and I’d made his situation worse. He held the shirt to his face, like he was trying to get the smell of it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I’m angry, and I took it out on you.”

I could see that he was looking at my bare chest.

“You have a nice body, Harry.”

“Fuck, Paolo. Don’t you ever stop?”

“Tell me something. What did it feel like to kiss a boy?”

I laughed, not because the question was funny, but because I was nervous.

“To be honest, it felt strange. I’ve never done it before. I guess that if I had to, then I’m glad it had to be with you.”

“That’s kind of you.”

I sat beside him and could feel him trembling. Blood stained the front of his shirt, and his curly hair was dishevelled.

“I’ve only kissed girls,” I said, “and I suppose there’s not a lot of difference.”

“You have blood on your face too,” he said. “Have you been fighting?”

“Yeah, we have. The boys that is.”

“Who are the boys?”

“Andy and Jack. They’re my best friends.”

“Were they the boys that got chased away?”

“That’s right. Some help they turned out to be.”

“I don’t have any friends,” he said.

“Fuck, Paolo. How come you don’t have any friends?”

“Because they know I’m queer and think I fancy them, even when I don’t.”

“You’re cold. Where do you live?”

“Hillsborough.”

“How are you going to get home?”

“For a rough boy, you have a caring side.”

“Don’t think that I’m like this all the time.”

“Can I ask you a favour?”

“If you want money for a taxi, then you’re out of luck because I’m broke.”

“It’s not that. I was going to ask you to hold me.”

What the fuck? This wasn’t doing my reputation any good. But he was afraid, and I felt deeply sorry for hitting him. I put my arm across his shoulder, and he rested his head against it.

“I hope that nobody sees me,” I said.

“Things are going to get messy, and we’ll need to stick together. I hope that you’ll be my friend.”

“If you like,” I said. “But tell nobody!”

“I think that you have a feminine side, Harry.”

*****

Paolo had insisted that he walk home, and I watched his slender frame disappear down the hill, convinced that he had no idea where he was going.

I put my blood-stained shirt across my shoulders and walked towards Park Hill, the cold air hitting my bare chest, but I wanted to look hard and threatening. A dog walker stared. “What the fuck are you looking at?” He skulked into the shadows where there were rats, broken glass, and glue-impregnated carrier bags.

I hated myself. 

I had hit a defenceless kid who hadn’t deserved it, but it was the thought of kissing a guy for the first time that alarmed me most. I had meant it when I told Paolo that I was glad it was him, and that was what concerned me most.

I should have told him that I was disgusted and would never do it again, but I didn’t want to upset him anymore than I already had. If I was honest, I didn’t trust myself not to kiss another guy, and if I was going to, which according to Frank Smith was inevitable, I hoped that it would be like kissing Paolo.

Andy and Jack were sitting on the steps when I turned the corner. They were tired and concerned, also covered in dry blood.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Thanks for nothing,” I said, “so much for mates helping one another out.”

“That guy was a bastard,” said Jack, “he’d have beaten the shit out of us.”

”Who were they?” Andy eyed me with suspicion, and flinched, holding his side where there was a tear in his dirty shirt. 

I had to think quickly. “Somebody we’ve upset,” I lied, “they wanted to teach us a lesson, but it’s sorted now. I guess I was the unlucky one.”  

“What did we do to them?”

“Remember those nicked fags? They’re pissed off because they sell cheap fags too, but I told them that they’d all gone.”

“They came on a bit heavy,” said Jack, throwing an empty beer bottle that smashed against the wall. “Shit! There were three of us and only two of them. We should have helped Harry.”

“Fuck! Don’t you think I don’t know that.”

Andy put his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder. “I’m sorry mate, we let you down, and if we see those bastards again, we’ll kick the shit out of them.” He held me tight, and I brushed my cheek against his unkempt hair.

“Stop acting like a queer,” I told him, and he laughed. He let go, put his arm around my waist, and squeezed. I liked the attention, and the fact that they believed I’d taken one for the team.

“That was a fucking good fight in town.”

“The coppers have been cruising the area,” said Jack, “we’ve been lying low.”

“That cunt won’t mess with us again,” I quipped.

“We look like shit, let’s go up to mine.”

Jack’s parents were away for the weekend, but it turned out that he’d lost his door key, probably on the floor of Crazy Daisy. He knocked loudly and the door was answered by his sister, Louise. “What shit have you been up to now?”

“You should’ve seen the other guy,” Andy joked.

The flat was warm and smelt of fish and chips, the remains of which were on the kitchen table.

“We’re going to get cleaned up,” said Jack.

Louise looked at me. “Look at you. Showing all your body off!” I offered the bloody tee-shirt as way of an explanation. Jack took Andy to the bathroom, but she held me by the arm. “Let me sort you out.”

She ran a hand towel under hot water and rubbed me down. “Cat got your tongue?” I didn’t know what to say as she wiped my face like my mother used to.

“We had a fight in town.”

“If you ask me, you all want locking up.”

Jack shouted from the bathroom. “Are you coming?”

Everybody fancied Louise. She wasn’t bad looking and was one of the few people that I felt awkward around.

“Thank you,” I said. “I think I’m wanted.”

“Before you go. Aren’t you going to ask me out?”

“What?”

“You’re a div Harry.”

“Are you asking me to go out with you?”

“If I waited for you to ask, then we wouldn’t get anywhere.”

“I don’t know. Yes, I suppose. Where do you want to go?”

“You’re too young for the pub, so you can take me to the pictures instead.”

“What do you want to see?”

“I want to see An Officer and a Gentleman.”

“Fuck me,” I said, “Isn’t that a girlie film?”

“Are you bailing on me already?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not telling Jack and Andy because they’ll take the piss.”

“Get in touch with your feminine side Harry Oldham, you might find that you like it.”

I froze. It was the second time that this had been said to me tonight. It felt like Louise knew about my kiss with Paolo and that two separate worlds were about to crash into each other.

I started to leave but Louise pulled me back again.

“Are you forgetting something?”

“What?”

“A kiss maybe? For making you look handsome again.”

I stuck my tongue in her mouth, and we kissed for a few minutes. It was sloppy and tasted of vinegar. I thought I’d better put my arms around her, and she wrapped her own arms around my naked back. I could feel her sharp fingernails making circles against my flesh.

I tried to compare it to the kiss I’d had with Paolo, and hoped that it would be better, but I was mindful that this had also been forced upon me. I imagined what people would say when they discovered that I was going out with her. The lads on Park Hill would be envious, and that gave me satisfaction, but at the same time I felt uneasy.

The boys were sitting on Jack’s bed when I entered the bedroom. It wasn’t a place I’d seen very often, and I was intrigued. 

It looked like any other teenage boys’ room, with posters of Kevin Keegan, Steve Coppell, and Trevor Francis, posted alongside one of Michelle Pfeiffer, and a topless blonde with big tits, who’d been torn out of The Sun. 

It was untidy, with Jack’s clothes strewn across the floor, and his bed was still unmade from the previous night. Football trophies sat on top of a cheap dressing table, and I noticed his dirty football kit piled on a chair in the corner.

They were listening to Radio Hallam and were singing along to Rock the Casbah that had become a favourite. They looked almost presentable, whereas I was still stripped to the waist and feeling conspicuous. Jack didn’t object when I grabbed one of his soiled Adidas tops and put it on. It was far too small, and smelt of him, but I didn’t care.

Andy reached under the bed and pulled out several cans of Long Life beer that Jack kept stashed. We opened them believing that warm beer was the best thing in the world.

“I got that guy in the head,” Andy boasted. “He’ll be feeling that punch for a while.”

“We need to lie low,” Jack chipped in, “the coppers know it was us.”

“They can’t get us here,” I said.

“You said those guys sold cigarettes?” Andy had returned to the subject of my eventful night.

“Yeah, they were pissed off, but like I said, I told them that they’d all gone.”

“I know where we can get some more,” Andy continued.

“Where?”

“There’s a shop near the market that sells loads of ciggies, and I reckon we could rob some from there.”

“I told them that we wouldn’t be selling any more.”

Jack slurped from his can. “How do you suggest we get them?”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Andy contemplated, “and I reckon that if three of us went in there when it was quiet, then we could take them.”

“But they’re going to see us.”

“Of course they’re going to see us,” said Andy, “but there’s only a woman working behind the counter, and she isn’t going to stop three lads, is she?”

You’re talking about holding it up?”

“Why not? All we need to do is cover our faces so that nobody recognises us, steal the fags, and disappear into the market where it’s crowded.”

“Fuck me!” I cried. “This is a whole new ball game.”

“I’m not sure,” said Jack. “What happens if we get caught?”

“We’re only sixteen and will get away with it,” Andy reassured us, “but who says we’re going to get caught?”

“I don’t know. Stealing a cigarette machine is one thing, but holding up a woman in a shop is something else.”

“Are you getting chicken, Harry?”

“No,” I said defiantly, “but what if she gets hurt?”

“Nobody’s going to get hurt. We’ll walk in, tell her not to be stupid, and steal the fags.”

“Like they do in films?” asked Jack.

“If you like, but with loads of fags to sell, we’re going to make lots of money, and Harry’s weird friends can get fucked.”

I looked at Jack but didn’t say anything else.

“That’s agreed then,” said Andy. “Leave everything to me and we’ll sort something for next week.”

“Make sure it’s not Wednesday,” Jack said, “because I have football in the afternoon.”

When the beer had gone, Jack nicked a bottle of sherry from the sideboard, and passed the bottle around. It had been an eventful night, and we were brave and pleasantly drunk by the time we were ready to leave.

On the way out, Louise appeared from her bedroom and gave me a scheming look. I said goodnight to her, but Andy had noticed something, and outside issued a word of warning.

“Never mess with a mate’s sister.”

*****

On Wednesday I went to the newsagents in the precinct to buy a can of Coke and nicked a Mars Bar at the same time. On the way out, I was stopped by a man who I thought worked in the shop. I clenched my fist ready to hit him, but he held up an apologetic arm anticipating what I was going to do.

“Harry Oldham?” he asked.

“Who’s asking?”

“I’d like a little chat.”

The man didn’t live around here because he was too well-dressed for Park Hill. He took me by the arm and led me to a wall near the flower beds.

“I understand that you’re working for us.”

“What?”

“Don’t bullshit me, Harry.”

“I don’t know what you’re on about.” 

“Of course, you do.”

He sat me down and held out two envelopes, one in each hand.

“Envelope number one,” and he held it up for me to see. “This contains the details of your first job. Tomorrow as it happens. The address is in there, and you’ll need to be there for nine.”

“Fuck off!”

“Envelope number two,” and he put it inside his coat pocket. “This contains a photograph that will interest a lot of people around here. Do you want to know what the photograph is?”

I already knew what it was.

“If you don’t turn up tomorrow night, then this will be seen by everyone that knows you, and they’ll know that you’re a fucking faggot.”

The man gave me the first envelope and began to walk away. I stared at it not wanting to know what might be inside.

“Oh, by the way,” he said stopping, “there’s also fifty quid in there, money up front as they say.”

“Fifty quid?”

“And don’t even think about pocketing it and not turning up because that photo will still appear, and you’ll also end up at the bottom of the canal. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

I thought about the next day when I was going to rob a newsagent with Andy and Jack whilst also joining a world that looked dark and sinister. I wanted to talk to the boys, and ask for their help, but I knew that I couldn’t, and would never be able to. I didn’t sleep at all that night.

*****