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VERA doesn't live too far from me, only but a few blocks away. Her house is an old brick one with overgrown vines that go all along the sides reaching to the gutters which dry up when it gets cold. Her parents don't quite care for yard work all that much either, then again no one in the neighborhood really does besides occasionally cutting the lawn. As we pass by various houses, dogs bark at us and I can hear police sirens a few houses away.
When we reach her house she checks the mail box; it's overflowing with what I assume to be bills and such. She grabs the stack as we make our way over to her porch which is covered in snow and a few crushed beer cans. A stray cat approaches us, Vera coos at the animal with a wide smile.
"Hi there Inky" I say in a soft voice, familiar with the stray that circled the neighborhood often.
I kick the snow off my converse before entering her home, Vera lifts up the mangy cat and brings it inside with us. She drops the mail at the table, then leans against the edge of the round surface.
"My parents went out tonight" Vera tells me, petting the black fur of the cat.
Not that it matters much, they let us do whatever we want, when or when they're not home. Just as long as the police don't show and we don't bring them to the door, we're fine. I rub under Inky's chin before Vera places him on the floor.
I nod, "So, where is everyone?" I ask referring to her brother and his friends.
"The basement" she tells me as she leads us down the wooden stairs.
I can faintly smell vodka and oranges and soon enough I can see an open bottle of svedka and peels laying all around a coffee table, two empty and two full. Vera's brother, Dmitri is on the carpeted floor playing a game. While two boys sit on the torn brown couch messing around with each other. One has black curls and the other with short red hair.
We approach them, the redhead immediately catches Vera's eye.
"Dmitri, what're your friend's names?" she asks with a smile.
"Uh this is Eric" he lazily points behind him to the redhead "and Luca" Dmitri informs, a game boy controller in hand not taking his eyes off the T.V.
"Eric, ah" Vera repeats and nods.
"Hey" Eric grins, waving to the two of us.
"What's up?" Luca greets.
I sit next to Luca, the couch is kinda crowed so it's a little awkward but that's alright.
"They cool Dmitri?" Luca questions the boy.
"It's my sister and her friend, what do you think?" Dmitri bores out.
"Just making sure" Luca shrugs before digging into his pocket and retrieving a little baggy filled with white powder.
