Chapters (48)
- Cover
- THEFEUD
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
Annoyed by his sister’s naivety, Joey stood up. The quicker he went and got this bloody test, the better. ‘I’ll tell you something, Frankie, Jed will have more than an itchy cory to worry about if the test’s positive. Can you imagine Dad finding out that him and Jimmy O’Hara are about to become family? There’ll be murders, Frankie, fucking murders and I hope, for your sake, it’s a false alarm, I really do.’
As Eddie knocked back drink after drink, Jessica vacced up the broken glass. The photograph of Frankie was ruined and she had slung it in the bin. ‘I know this is hard for you, Eddie, but you won’t find your answers in the bottom of a glass. Who told you all this, anyway? It wasn’t Ronny again, was it?’
‘No, it wasn’t fucking Ronny. I haven’t heard from him or Paulie since that day in the Flag when I found out our son likes taking it up the arse. What have we done so wrong, Jess, tell me? We’ve got two kids, one gay and the other screwing pikeys. They’ve had a privileged upbringing and this is how they repay us. Well, not any more, Jess. I’m putting my fucking foot down from now on and if they don’t do as I say, I want the pair of them out of this house immediately.’
Jessica didn’t know what to do for the best. There was no reasoning with Eddie when he was in this kind of mood and she was afraid what he might do when the kids came home.
‘So, who told you then?’ she asked solemnly.
‘Jimmy fucking O’Hara. I got it straight from the horse’s mouth. I’ll kill that boy of his, on our baby’s life, if he’s touched our Frankie. I’ll fucking kill him, Jess.’
Frightened by Ed’s demeanour, Jessica tried to hug him, but he pushed her away. ‘Please don’t talk like that, Eddie. You’re scaring me. I’ll have a chat with Frankie when she gets home. For all we know, it might not even be true.’
Eddie stood up and snatched at his keys that were on the table. ‘Frankie needs a good hiding, not one of your little chats. All this is your fault, Jess. You’ve been so fucking lenient with ’em, they’ve ended up with no morals whatsoever. I’m off out and don’t expect me home tonight. I’m sick of the sight of this house and I’m sick of the sight of everyone that lives in it.’
As Eddie slammed the front door, Jessica and the glass both shuddered.
* * *
Frankie did the pregnancy test in the pub toilets. Too nervous to get the result for herself, she came out and thrust the stick into Joey’s hands.