Liam Brighton

THAWUMP!!!

The two boys woke up in the middle of the night from the sound of a horrible crash. Loud yelling was coming from the other room, though the boys couldn’t understand what was being said through the walls. Another crash came through the wall.
“You stay here Liam,” said the older of the two boys as he crept out of his bed and to the door. “I mean it”.
“But I wanna see what’s going on, Will! You aint the boss of me!”
“I’ll brain you good if you get out of that bed!” Willam scolded with hushed, but harsh tones.
Will moved to the door and opened it very quietly, as not to draw attention from whatever was going on outside. Moving through the door and down the hall the voices were much clearer. It seemed “Uncle Mike” had come over, and was yelling at Dad about money. Will was not sure what ‘meth’ was, but he figured he would just ask his dad later. Another crash made him jump as he peeked around the corner.
Scooting up behind the couch to get a closer look, he could see his dad on his knees begging Uncle Mike to just give him one more week. One more week for what, Willam wasn’t sure. Again, he’d have to ask his dad later. He was seven now, almost a man. He should be told more things.
Just then Will heard his dad shout, “Liam!”
Turning around Will could see his brother standing in the middle of the dining room, with a blank stare on his face. He was looking on the floor ten feet to Will’s left. Turning his eyes to the same place, Will knew what caused that empty look on Liam’s face. Their mother was on the ground, blood gushing from her head.
“Liam, go to your room! Now!” shouted Dad. “Please Mike, one more week!”
“Sure, sure. ONE week!” emphasized Uncle Mike as he left the house.

**

“WILLAM!”
“Whatcha need, Da?”
“I’m heading out to get smokes. Watch your brother while I’m out, ok?”
“What do you mean ‘Watch him’? He’s 13 now! He can take care of himself!” Will yelled back in typical teenager fashion.
“13? He acts like he’s 10. Just watch him.” And with that, he was gone. That was the last time the Brighton brothers ever saw their dad. He just went out for cigarettes and he was never heard from again. Liam always sort of figured it was due to some drug debt or something, and he had been tossed into the Thames with lead lining his shoes.

**

“Sit down, Liam, I have to talk to you”.
“What’s up, eh?” Liam said as he sat down on the couch.
“Well, you’re no longer in school. You’re 16 and you have something like a job. You SEEM to be able to hold your own out there. I…I’ve been accepted into the Royal Navy. I think I’m going to go, and I want to make sure you’ll be okay by yourself.”
The blank stare on Liam’s face told Willam nothing.
“We’ll see ya around then, bro.”
Without another word, Liam got up and walked out of the door.

**

“Liam, Wake up, you git!”
A kick to the ribs emphasized the voice’s want for Liam to wake up. The three people who stood over Liam took up most of the one room apartment that Liam stayed in. Somewhat because it was a small room, but mostly because two of them were very large men.
“Ugh, what do you lot want? I had a very late night last night. What time is it?” groaned Liam.
“Shut it. Mr. Chamberlin sent us. He…”
“Ted, I know who you are you, you bleedin’ nancy! I know who you work for. I think you enjoy these house calls far too much! You think you’re some bloody mobster from some flaming movie. What the…! It’s Ten Thirty! Why the fuck would you come over before Noon, you prat!”
“God damn, I hate you,” sighed Ted. “Look, mate, you owe 100k after last night, and you haven’t paid on the previous balance in two weeks. Now we all know that even the best gamblers go through some slumps, so I have something here to try to help you with your luck.”
THUMP! A full kick caught Liam in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him and waking him up in a very quick way.
“Your brother isn’t in town to keep you out of trouble any more, nor is he here to pay off your debts, you wanker! Get a job, rob a bank…I don’t care. Just get the money. You have four days. FOUR DAYS! If you don’t pay up by then, we’re gonna break your legs. How’s that for movie gangster?”
Another kick to the ribs and Ted and his two huge thugs left the room.
“Yeah. Get out of here, you twit,” Liam muttered under his breath.
Liam went to the sink, got a bowl out and made himself some breakfast. He flipped on the tele and sat down in his chair to try and wake up. He promptly fell back asleep.
Hours later, Liam woke up to see another figure standing over him. Boots, uniform, gun…
“Oh, shit!” Liam cursed as he tried to make a break for the door. A rough hand grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tossed him back down in his chair.
“What the fuck are you doing, you little prat? Calm down. Bloody little…”
Willam.
“Uh…what are you doing here?”
“I have some news. I got offered a job up on Clarke Memorial with FORS. I’ll be leaving tonight, I just wanted to stop by and let you know. Also, I figured you’ve probably accrued a few debts you’ve been slow to pay off, so here. Take this.” Will tossed a roll of cash onto the bed next to Liam. “It’s my signing bonus.”
“Tonight, eh? It’s a good job, then? Tea?” Liam asked absentmindedly as he started to count the wad of money.
“No, actually, I have to be going. I have to go report in ASAP, and yes, its quite a good job. I’ll try to send some more money once I get settled. It’s good to see you, little bro. Try to keep safe.”
“Yeah, so, maybe we’ll see you when you get some vacation time”, Liam said while fingering the wad of cash, a mischevious grin growing on his face.
“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t” a pained look grew on Willam “just use that to pay on some of your debts and stay the fuck out of trouble, don’t try to ‘grow your fortune’, that’s how you got in trouble in the first place. Keep your bloody nose clean!”
“Yeah, I promise I wont use this money to bet more. By the light of the Queen” the grin still there.
“Uh…ok. Well, see you around then.”

**

“One ticket for Clarke Station, please,” Liam asked the Lady behind the counter with the beehive hairdo. With no luggage to check, Liam got straight into the line that was boarding the shuttle. Behind him he heard some marching, the security detail that was making their way up to Clarke Station.
“What the bloody-…I swear to god, I’m going to kill you, Liam,” came a harsh but hushed voice from the middle of the security force.
With a chuckle and a wink in his brother’s direction, Liam handed the steward his ticket and boarded the passenger ship to start his new life, and to give his brother as hard of a time as possible.