Diamond in the Rough

The heavy feeling of guilt hasn't moved from the pit of his stomach and all night it has twisted like a knife. He was supposed to have been spending the night with Claire at some Thai restaurant, but after hearing Jem's story, the thought of food made him want to vomit. He had gone for a walk shortly after Jem had broke down and had puked into a trash can. Part of him still can't believe it. Jem had experienced something no one should ever have to go through and he had done it alone. Doug's angry with himself because he should have been there. He should have visited every opportunity he had and maybe the rapes would stop. Even thinking the word "rape" turned his stomach.

*****

"Good morning" she whispers into his ear, watching him as he opens his eyes, those blue jewels staring at her. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a fuckin' baby" he replies, stretching his arms over his head."Think you tired me out"

As she passes him to go to the fridge, he pulls her into his lap and plants wet kisses up her neck.

"Mmm"Fiona moans slightly."I need to go to work"

"What's stopping you?" He laughs, kissing and licking her neck.

"You"

"I ain't stopping ya" he laughs and
kisses her on the lips, her hands tangled in his hair. "Am I?"

"You know you are"

"Why don't you come back to bed?" he wraps his arms tightly around her, not giving her the opportunity to leave.

"Work" she laughs and pulls away from his vice like grasp, but she is soon pinned against the wall by his body.

"When you woking to?" His voice is raspy, needy.

"Six or seven." She replies and buries her hand in the front of his boxers."Think you can wait that long?"

Jem silently nods, a slight moan rumbling from his throat. Fiona retreats and gives him a peck on the lips, leaving him with a bulge in his shorts.

"I'll see you later"

***

Jem drains his beer and throws back the double measure of Jameson's and turns to welcome Gloansy. Jem orders another round and notices the sour look that Gloansy is wearing.

"We need another job and soon. I'm broke. Joanne's been ribbing me about making some money." The big man huffs and gulps down his first beer of the day.

"Dougy's working on it" Jem replies coolly.

"I need a big pay out,man. A real big pay out." Gloansy sighs. "Doug found anything yet?"

Jem shakes his head, slightly angry that Doug's been avoiding him. Normally he wouldn't give a shit if Doug stayed away or hung around, but he keeps thinking it's cause of what happened in Walpole.

"I'll see what's up." Jem replies and swallows down the remainder of his beer."Let's get out of this shithole and play some pool"

*****

Fiona takes a step back to admire the neatness and tidiness of her front room. Finally she has unpacked every last box and tidied everything away in an organised fashion; the books in order of the authors and her CD and DVD collection stacked beside the television. She grabs the cardboard and goes out front, dropping it into the trash can that sits next to the neighbour's. Fiona grabs her briefcase and settles down at the kitchen table to prepare a case for court in a weeks time. On this occasion she will be personally acting as the prosecution and already her mind has gone into overdrive. It's been a while since she last spoke to a jury or questioned the accused in a court room and she can't help but feel excited and scared.

A noise from outside grabs her attention and she assumes a cat or a drunk has fallen into one of the many trash cans that are lining the street, then her doorbell rings.

Fiona opens the door to find one of Jem's friends holding him up, the stranger's thick arm holding Jem around his waist. She shakes her head at how drunk he is and how he can barely stand.

"Sorry" the big guys says, holding onto the metal railing for additional support."Didn't know what to do with him"

Fiona grabs Jem's other arm and instructs the big guy to help her move him to the sofa. Gloansy does as he's asked and drops Jem onto the sofa. He too is drunk, but he's functioning.

"How did he get into this state?" Fiona asks angrily. She isn't blaming the big guy who she doesn't even know, but maybe he will know why Jem got so messed up.

"Never seen him so bad" Gloansy shakes his head, a little sad to see one of his buddy's like this."Kept talking about those days"

It clicks in Fiona's mind that Jem had been trying to drown those feelings and thoughts in the only way he knew, but she's glad the big guy brought him to her.

"Thank you for bringing him over" she says at the door as Gloansy fiddles to light a cigarette.

"Never seen him get so fucked up before"

Fiona sighs heavily and thanks the stranger once again before shutting the door. Loud snores vibrate in the quietness of her home.