[COMPLETED BUT WONT LET ME PRESS THE COMPLETED BUTTON AHAHHA]
Aurora Lockheart was once the sunshine girl-bright, kind, and full of life. But one night changed everything, leaving her a shadow of who she used to be.
A year later, just as she's be...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The two-hour feast of Chinese food had been completely devoured, leaving behind a graveyard of empty containers, scattered napkins, and discarded chopsticks. Along with the remnants of food, half the contents of Sadhbh's prized sideboard—her sacred Christmas stash—had vanished without a trace. The sideboard, tucked away in the front room and usually kept under lock and key, had once held an impressive collection of alcohol, biscuits, and sweets, all lovingly saved for the festive season. But to her misfortune, Gibsie and Hughie had long since mastered the art of sneakily pilfering the goods.
Over the years, they'd slyly extracted just enough to enjoy tipsy nights of indulgence without raising suspicion. They'd taken only small amounts at a time, ensuring that Sadhbh wouldn't notice, while getting merry on whiskey and gin, paired with a healthy helping of Cadbury's and biscuits.
Now, with sherry swirling in a fancy crystal glass, Gibsie was reaching the height of frustration. He glared at his cards before slapping the last one down on the coffee table. "How am I supposed to keep up when you keep changing the rules?" he exclaimed, pulling a dramatic face as he downed another sip of sherry, pinky finger raised in exaggerated elegance. "Fuck the pair of you," he muttered.
Katie giggled from her spot on the floor, leaning back against Hughie's knees. "It's Snap, Gibs," she laughed. "You can't cheat in Snap."
"Snap!" Katie shrieked as she slammed her hand onto the growing pile of cards, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Again!"
Gibsie gestured wildly at the mountain of cards stacked in front of Hughie and Katie. "Fucking cheaters, both of you!" he declared, his eyebrows shooting up in exasperation.
Katie grinned, throwing a teasing look his way. "Don't hate the player, Gibs," she taunted, leaning further into Hughie's legs. "Hate the game."
Distracted from the chaos at the table, I glanced down at my phone, reading the latest message from Shannon. "Nope, Johnny and Shan definitely aren't coming over," I announced with a sigh. "Sorry, guys. They're calling it an early night. See you at the coffee shop tomorrow. X. X. X."
"Aww," Katie pouted, nudging Hugh's beer bottle out of his hand and taking a long sip."Bet they're doing something romantic," she murmured dreamily, staring off into space.
"With candles," I added wistfully, reaching for my bowl of ice cream, which had been laced with a generous splash of Baileys Irish Cream.
"And romantic music," Katie sighed, taking another sip of Hugh's beer.
"Yeah, I bet they're fucking," Gibsie interjected, breaking the mood with a loud snort.
"Gibsie! That's my sister you're talking about ye eejit!" I gasped.
But Gibsie was unfazed. "I'm just saying," he shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a wicked grin. "It sounds like Cap's doing more than just bulldozing Shannon's life."
