GHOST TOWN - JJ Maybank

34 | FIRE

Kooks or Pogues?

The question always lingered, unspoken, as if it had become part of the air around Kildare. Two tribes, one island. It was the unshakable divide, the invisible line drawn in the sand, and no one in the town dared to imagine that the two could ever truly coexist.

But Avery and Sarah, with their hearts open and naïve optimism, had thought otherwise. They had believed, for a moment, that there might be a way for the chaos to quieten, that people might find a way to bridge the gap.

Turns out, they were in over their heads.

Avery sat on her bed, the soft, worn fabric of the duvet tangled around her legs as she stared up at the ceiling, her gaze unfocused. The pale morning light filtered through the half-drawn curtains, casting a muted glow across the room. Her thoughts were sluggish, still thick from the haze of a restless night. The events of yesterday felt like a weight on her chest. Her head throbbed in protest as she tried to push away the frustration that had been bubbling up since the moment she stepped foot in her house last night.

Beside her, Kie sat cross-legged, her fingers absentmindedly toying with the edge of a stray pillow. Avery felt her friend's quiet energy—eager yet cautious—as Sarah rifled through the pile of clothes she had pilfered from Avery's closet.

The smell of last night's spilled beer still clung to  her, mixing with the faint scent of sunscreen. Avery half-wished the room could hold something more pleasant, but the tension that still crackled in the air was too much. The silence between the three girls was comfortable enough, but underneath it, Avery could feel the pulse of unspoken thoughts.

Sarah's voice broke the quiet, pulling Avery back from her spiraling thoughts. "I mean, like... even after he was down, John B was still hitting him." Her words tumbled out more shakily than she'd intended, and she paused to swallow, trying to regain some composure. "It was... It was bad, Avery. And I feel bad about it, they were fighting over me."

Avery clenched her jaw at Sarah's words. She hadn't even had the chance to piece together what had happened after she stumbled home—alone, to an empty house. That whole night, she had missed it all. What she knew was that, somehow, Sarah was stuck in the middle of it, unsure of where to land.

"Yeah, I've never seen him like that." Kie muttered, her voice thick with disbelief. "You actually think he's gonna get arrested?"

Avery shook her head slowly, her hand running over her forehead. She felt another wave of that pounding ache creeping in, and the last thing she wanted was to get wrapped up in this mess. "He can't get arrested. Not now." Sarah snapped, her tone sharp with desperation. She turned back to her bag, rummaging through it as if she could find an answer at the bottom of her purse. "If he's locked up, he can't help his dad. I have to fix this. Can either of you give me a ride to Topper's? Please."

Avery exhaled a tired breath. Her fingers tightened around the duvet beneath her. She was so tired, physically and emotionally, but the weight of Sarah's pleading gaze made it harder to retreat. "I'm not going anywhere," she muttered, her voice a mix of exhaustion and reluctant frustration. "And I don't support this plan."