fallout - r.b.

nine

sweater weather - the neighbourhood

"Follow me," I instructed again, and he obliged without a word. We headed around the side of the house and into the back garden. I had willed the tears to stop and subtly wiped under my eyes. We approached the large beech tree in the corner, and I pointed upwards to the treehouse my dad had built for me when I was little. I looked at Reece, and he simply nodded and followed me up the ladder.

I spent a lot of my time in the treehouse, so it was equipped with fairy lights which I switched on as we entered. The space was fairly large, enough to fit a few bean bags and an area rug, but it wasn't tall enough for Reece to stand in. Despite the heavy atmosphere, I still found myself almost giggling as he nearly bumped his head on the ceiling. I sat on the rug and patted the space beside me for him to join.

"I've never been up here before," Reece spoke, breaking the silence we'd shared for a while. I appreciated the brief moment that we could pretend this was normal.

"Yeah, it was mine and Shay's hideout. No boys allowed." I half-smiled.

"It's really cool." He looked around the room. He spotted my record player in the corner beside him and reached towards it. I had left I Love You. by The Neighbourhood on the last time I was up here. Reece turned the volume low before starting the track. Soft music filled the room, and he smiled at me.

I noticed him rubbing his hands together, so I reached into the basket beside me and pulled out a blanket. Reece took it and spread it across both our laps, and I smiled at the gesture.

The pack of cigarettes I had taken from my father yesterday was on the floor next to me. I reached for it, taking out a cig and the lighter that I'd slipped into the box.

"Do you want one?" I asked, looking at Reece. His eyes were on me for a moment before he answered.

"Split it?" I nodded, bringing the cigarette to my lips. He took the lighter from my hand and motioned for me to lean in. I did, sticking out the cig for him to light.

I inhaled as he struck the lighter. The flame illuminated our faces. I had just noticed how close we were now that we'd both leaned in. Smoke filled my lungs, and my eyes locked on his. I was starting to think that particular shade of green was the prettiest colour I'd ever seen.

I leaned back as I exhaled the smoke, my throat burning slightly. I passed him the cigarette, and he brought it to his lips.

"I guess I should start explaining," I sighed. Reece blew out a cloud of smoke before speaking.

"You only have to tell me as much as you want to." His voice was sincere. "Even if that's nothing at all." I appreciated how understanding he was being and decided to stop questioning why he was being so nice to me today. If this was the real Reece Bibby, then I was a big fan.

"So, last year, my dad got laid off from work. The business was downsizing or whatever, and they cut him. He's been like this since." I frowned. Reece had passed the cigarette back to me, so I was smoking it as I continued, and he was just letting me talk.

"It wasn't so bad at the start. Mum would pick up some extra shifts to cover costs, and Dad was looking for a new job. He didn't have much luck finding one though, I guess because he's a bit older, and his job is kind of being phased out since it can be done by computers now." Reece nodded along, listening intently.

"Mum and I just watched him getting worse, giving up. He stopped looking for jobs, started drinking a lot... then the fighting started. Over money, typically. It would spiral though, and that was hard to watch. I mean you knew my parents before, you saw it. They were so happy and so in love, then life happened and it all just went to shit." Reece was frowning.