fallout - r.b.

sixteen

I sat through my next class just trying to clear my head and come up with a plan. Was I nervous about Reece coming with me? Yes. But I had to put that aside, like he said, this was bigger than all the drama and tension. I needed to figure out where my parents were, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I needed help.

I'd been thinking about where to even start. Of course I'd swing by my house first to check if either of them had returned, but something told me that was unlikely. 

What I knew was that Mum took off first, presumably after a heated argument considering the state of the house. If that was her just trying to get away for the night, it was a fair guess that she went to a hotel or something, meaning she'd be pretty difficult for me to track.

Dad, on the other hand, left later in the night/early in the morning--sometime while I was at the Bibby's. Hopefully, it was after enough time for him to sober up. Judging from that, he could have gone to look for Mum.

But again, she would be hard to track as there were plenty of hotels around Manchester. So surely, he wouldn't have found her and would have needed somewhere else to go.

I figured the likelihood of my dad checking into a hotel was very low. Did he even have money? If Dad needed somewhere to stay in Manchester, I had a pretty good guess as to where he'd go: Uncle Michael's.

Dad's brother Michael lived closer to the city as we were in Macclesfield, about thirty minutes south. I didn't know my uncle that well, despite him living nearby. He wasn't a very family-oriented type of guy, always a bit aloof, and honestly kind of a mess most of the time, but I knew he'd help out his little brother if he needed it.

My parents and I had stayed with him a few years ago when we went to a Stone Roses show in town. I think that was the only time I'd ever been to his flat. I remember it being not the nicest place. He'd come around ours on the occasional Christmas--if he was sober. That's really all I knew about Uncle Michael.

I just had to hope he wouldn't send me away when I turned up at his door today.

Class finally ended, and I sighed as I approached my locker. The mental preparation hadn't been all that successful, and I was feeling anxious.

I was about to head outside and meet Reece when I bumped into Blake.

"Hey Ren," he smiled, and even though I was worried about everything, his presence cheered me up.

"Hi Blake," I smiled back. "What's up?"

"I just spoke to George, actually. We're both heading to the Bibby's. We figured we can try and smooth things out with Reece. Do you want to join us?"

I internally winced, knowing that I couldn't go with him, and that Reece wouldn't be there either, and I had to come up with an excuse...quick.

"I can't," I frowned. "I promised my parents I'd help them with something after school."

I realised that sounded vague, so I continued before Blake could question it.

"I did talk to Reece, though, during English class. He's still pissed, but I think things will be okay. He said he'd still come to Ryan's party with us tomorrow."

"Really?" Blake's face lit up. "That's great!" I nodded.

"I have to get going, though. See you tomorrow." I gave him a quick smile, but before I could walk off he stopped me. His eyes wandered to the side of my face and his brows drew together.

"Are you alright?" He reached towards me, brushing back a strand of my hair. "You have a mark on your cheek." I felt heat rushing to my face.

"Oh, that. Yeah I'm fine, I walked into a door..." I blurted out the first thing I could think of, mentally facepalming myself. Blake looked at me suspiciously before nodding.