Page 123 of Broken Rock

Each time he throws up the spiked ball in his skull rattles around his head sending more waves of nausea through him. When there’s nothing left in his stomach, he flops onto his back and stares up at the ceiling.

He’s having another nightmare. There’s no other explanation. He’s asleep in his parents’ house and he’ll wake up any second.

But when the door leading from the hallway opens, Tate’s memory comes back with a wallop.

‘Dara?’

‘How are you feeling?’ His cousin grimaces when he spots the mess on the floor. ‘Seriously, Tate?’ He grabs a dustsheet from the pile in the corner and drops it on the floor beside the bed, covering the vomit. ‘I suppose that’s my fault. I think I might have given you a little too much. You’re a big guy. I wanted to make sure you were well and truly knocked out.’

‘Dara? What the fuck?’ It’s not a question that is going to give him any definite answers but it’s all he can come out with.

‘Don’t worry. The sedative I put in your coffee will make you feel a little disoriented for a bit, but it should ease.’ He pulls up a weathered green plastic deckchair and sits down in front of him. ‘You really do look like shit. Have you been pushing yourself too hard?’

‘What the fuck are you doing?’

‘That was a whole sentence that time. Good for you. What am I doing? To be honest, I haven’t got an end game in mind just yet. When I followed you from your parents’ house, I wasn’t expecting to do this. I thought I’d get a few more weeks of fun out of you, but when I saw your face, I knew I’d probably pushed you enough.’

The words take a ridiculously long time to register. ‘You? This has been you? You’ve been fucking with me?’

Dara nods, looking extremely pleased with himself. ‘I thought you would have figured it out by now, but I guess that’s down to the excessive drug use. I’ve heard long-term use can mess with your head.’ He leans forward and clasps his hands together. ‘You know, when I gave you that old family photo at Christmas, I never thought you’d react so spectacularly. I mean, I couldn’t have planned it better myself. I just wanted to throw you off your guard a little. Mess with your head. But then Dad rings me at work and tells me you’re in a coma after a heroin overdose.’ Dara claps his hand together as he laughs. ‘I mean, wow. Never saw that coming. Then again, I should have guessed you’d have gone down the clichéd drink and drugs route, but you kept that side of yourself secret. Couldn’t have you tarnishing your image. That was one impressive fall from grace, Tate. Well done.’

‘Did you put drugs in my car?’

‘Guilty as charged. Sorry, that was a little cruel considering what you’re facing. But yes. That was me. I tried to get my hands on enough so you’d be done for intent to supply, but I couldn’t risk being caught myself.’

‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’

The smile disappears as Dara pulls his chair closer to the bed. Tate barely recognises the person in front of him. There’s so much hatred, so much rage. And that makes Tate seriously worried.

‘I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me. You, Tate. You’re my problem. You know, I remember being introduced to you for the first time. I remember being excited. Having a new cousin who was the same age as me. Someone I could play with. Be friends with. Shame it didn’t work out that way.’

‘But we were friends.’

‘Give me a fucking break. We were never friends. We were rivals. It was always ‘be kind to Tate. Don’t upset Tate. Make sure you let him play with whatever he wants. I had to walk on eggshells around you. Everyone did. If you kicked a fucking ball and it went in a straight line there was praise all round. Nan and Pops were the worst. You’d swear you were the only grandchild they had. You practically lived here. Pops even gave you a fucking horse. It was non-stop with the attention.’

‘They were trying to make me feel welcome.’

‘Oh I know that. The problem is it didn’t stop. The sun shone out of your arse. That door was always open to you,’ he says, pointing at the back door.

Dara closes his eyes and takes a long breath. He’s known Dara for nearly three decades. He’s never seen him like this before. Never seen him this manic.

Dara opens his eyes and smiles at him as he gets to his feet. He runs his hand over the worn wallpaper and sighs loudly.

‘So, what do you think of the old place? Dad is trying to renovate it, but it’s taking time and too much money. Think he’s losing interest in it. I’ve tried to tell him just to call it quits. Sell it as it is, but he won’t give it up. He’s got this emotional attachment to it, I guess. You probably feel the same. You spent so long here I wouldn’t be surprised. Were you tempted to buy it yourself?’

Of course he was but he’s not going there with Dara. He knew Eric wanted the house so he didn’t get in his way. Up until he woke up chained to the bed, Tate had nothing but great memories of the house. Now... well, Dara’s just fucked that up for him too.

‘That was a fucking question, Tate. This will go a lot easier for you if you answer me.’

‘No.’

‘Strange. But I suppose you had just done some major spending around the same time. I hear you paid off the mortgage on your parents’ farm and bought them a sizable chunk of additional farmland next to it. You paid a hefty price from what I can see online. But you did owe them. They had to put up with a serious amount of shit from you over the years. You were hardly the model son now, were you.

‘Then you get yourself that swanky pad in town. Again, impressive price you paid for that. Add the over-the-top truck and the bike to the mix and I doubt you would have had much left to get this place too. Bet you could afford it now though. Having a few more number one songs under your belt can’t have hurt your bank balance. All in all, I’d say you’ve done pretty well for yourself considering what you came from.’

‘What do you want, Dara? Or is your plan to get back at me by droning on, because it’s working. You’re boring the fuck out of me.’

Tate knows the blow is coming, but it still hurts when Dara’s fist ploughs into his gut. He coughs and tries to ease some of the pressure from this stomach but the chains won’t give.

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