Emma’s mum had left it until she was in her late forties to try for a baby, and unfortunately she had an early menopause shortly after Emma was born. As having another child was never an option, Emma had been spoilt rotten by her parents. She was their precious little girl, and in their eyes could do no wrong. To make up for her not having a brother or sister they bought her everything: the latest toys, clothes, DVDs and CDs. Kate didn’t recall Emma wanting for anything; if she even so much as looked at something then it was hers. Most people where they lived were poor, so Emma had an awful lot in comparison, and Kate wasn’t always sure Emma appreciated what she had.
Even now Emma was twenty one, her every whim was still pandered to; no matter how old she got she was always their little girl, as they constantly reminded her. Emma’s dad had even bought a flat for her last year, and Emma had rung Kate excitedly to tell her the good news. They were both even more excited when Emma asked Kate to move in with her, as this was something they had talked about the whole time they were growing up. They had spent hours in their own little fantasy land, thinking that they could spend every minute together, there would be no need for jobs or bills or men as they had each other: best friends forever. They wouldn’t have to cook, as they would get takeaways every night, and when they weren’t out shopping and partying they would have friends over all the time; maybe they would even get a puppy.
The day Emma got her keys she had knocked on Kate’s door and they continued their little-girl fantasy once again, but this time they could actually put it into play, they could be real flatmates.
“Just think of the parties we can have, babe,” Emma had squealed.
They thought of colour schemes and planned lots of girlie nights… they were both so excited. Then Kate had told Billy. “No fucking way,” he had said. “She may be your friend, Kate, but she is also a little slapper, I can just imagine the sorts she will have round there, no fucking chance.” It had been embarrassing because Billy had said it in front of Emma, who had tried hard to hide her feelings and shrugged it off afterwards, but Kate knew that Billy’s comments had hurt. Billy had always had a problem with Emma, and Kate had never really known why. Of course she had her issues, but she was a good friend to Kate: the best in fact. He was probably just jealous. Kate had often thought that his friends were hardly the trustworthy type.
Kate’s mum had passed away only two months before Emma had got her flat, so Kate thought that maybe she should stay at home with Billy for a bit. They were both grieving and very much needed each other; she couldn’t leave Billy to fend for himself. Maybe after a few months Billy would change his mind about her sharing the flat with Emma; maybe he would realise that Kate was grown up. He hadn’t changed his mind. Kate had justified it to herself; they would have probably fallen out if they had moved in together, as Emma was a complete slob, and Kate knew that she would have been left to do everything around the place. She liked going over there and staying the odd night, Emma was such a laugh to be around, a tonic, but Kate was always happy to come home to her nice, clean, and when Billy wasn’t home, peaceful house.
Kate reached Emma’s flat and knocked on the door, waiting for her friend to answer. She waited a few moments and then knocked again, this time a little bit louder. Kate looked down at the black rubbish bag by one of her feet; animals had obviously dragged out the contents and there was food and rubbish everywhere. Leftover Chinese takeaway lay scattered along the pavement, and the smell was making Kate feel sick. Mind you, it didn’t take much at the moment. Since being pregnant, every smell had seemed to set Kate off. She had heard of morning sickness but she reckoned she had morning, noon and night sickness; still, it would be more than worth it. She smiled, thinking of the baby growing inside her.
“Hey.” Emma yawned, as she opened the front door to her flat, wearing only her dressing gown. It was clear that she had been in bed, although it was after eleven: nice for some, Kate thought.
“I’ve been up all night, Kate, couldn’t sleep; I’d invite you in, but I’m just going back to bed, I’m absolutely knackered.”
“Oh, okay, Em… I just wanted to talk; the shit has hit the fan at mine.”
Emma looked at Kate’s puffy, red eyes and realised that her friend had been crying.
“Oh shit, Kate, you told him, didn’t you? You’d better come in.”
She led Kate into her lounge, kicking a couple of empty cans on her way and a pushing a pizza box under the sofa. The curtains were still drawn and the air smelt of stale cigarette smoke. Kate felt the urge to vomit at the sight and smell of a half-finished mug of coffee with fag butts floating in it.
“Sorry, babe, let me move that out the way.” Emma picked up the mug and went into the kitchen. “Do you fancy a cuppa?” she called, hoping that Kate wouldn’t: then she would be able to go back to bed.
“Yeah, that would be great.” Kate did not feel like having a cup of tea, but she wanted to chat to her friend; she was so worried about the whole situation between Jay and her brother, and she didn’t want to go home just yet in case Billy came back and started his stupid shit again.
Kate sighed, as she looked around Emma’s flat. She couldn’t believe her friend could be such a slob; the place was one step up from a squat. Emma had trashed the place; it had gleamed when she had first been given the keys.
God, Kate thought, when she and Jay got their own place it was going to be like a palace. She was sure that Jay would let her decorate however she wanted, and she would cook him lovely dinners and run him nice baths when he got home from a long shift. It would be a proper home, clean and tidy, oh and of course there would be a nursery for the baby. Oh, the plans she had, she couldn’t wait. He hadn’t mentioned them moving in together but he would soon, she was sure; after all, they were having a baby.
“There you go, babe,” said Emma, interrupting Kate’s thoughts as she plonked a mug of steaming tea down in front of her.
“Now, tell Aunty Ems all about it,” she cooed, desperate to find out how Billy had taken it all.
“Billy just went mental; I think he’s going to do something really stupid.” Kate started crying, she had almost no energy left in her now. She relayed the whole thing to Emma: how her brother had gone mad, smashing everything up, and how she had spent the rest of the night trying to put the house back together. “The worst thing is, Em, I can’t get hold of Jay. I’ve been trying his mobile all night, but it’s switched off. I’m so scared Billy is going to see him before I do.” Kate was crying harder now, really worried for her boyfriend’s safety.
“Hey, come on… stop crying, Kate, it won’t be good for the baby,” Emma said, stroking Kate’s arm. “He’ll probably be trying to call you any minute now, hun. You know what men are like. If he was working at the club all night he probably went straight home to his mum’s for a kip. He’s probably in bed right now, none the wiser; you know what he’s like.”