all mine | ft. michael clifford

six;

note; i suggest you play the music video a few times while you read this, just for effect. or you could just play it where the song is mentioned in the chapter. up to you. x

STEP FOUR: FIND SOME ID.

The Monday of my second week was fast approaching and that meant two things: one, I would need money to pay Eddie for my stay and two, I would need ID to show Eddie and also show the lady who was willing to give me a job at Dough Boys Doughnuts.

I had my Australian ID with me, the one that said I was Charlotte. But I'd already told Eddie that my name was Mali, so I would need something to certify that. At the time it had seemed like a good idea to lie about my birth name but now the whole thing was just complicated and secretive and I wasn't sure it was worth it. Still, I had no other choice but to somehow find a way to get an ID card without a birth certificate or anything else. I was going to have to ask around and find a loophole.

"Hey, girls," I said with a smile, wandering into Marcy's with three hot, steaming coffees in a cup tray in my hands. I'd found that buying them coffee in the morning was kind of like me thanking them for accepting me into their friendship group. It was a tiny offering but it was all they'd accept.

They smiled at me and Liv blew me kiss. "You're an angel," she told me on a sigh.

I laughed. "I know."

"What're you up to today, slacker?" Mel asked, taking her cappuccino from me and having a small sip.

I shrugged and told her that I'd lost my ID and needed to find a way to get another one.

Olivia slumped down into a salon chair, no customers having arrived yet. "Can you somehow get someone from home to send over your birth certificate?"

I shook my head. "No, I wish it were that easy."

Not a lie. I did wish it were that easy. They didn't pry and I was grateful that I wouldn't have to straight out lie to their faces after they'd been so hospitable to me.

"I might know someone, if you're desperate enough to get illegal," Liv told me, sending me a sly smile and a wink.

My brows rose and I nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

She stood and came to the counter, scribbling down an address and a name on a piece of notebook paper before handing it to me. "It's about a half hour drive, I can organise you a lift."

"I can take a cab, lovely," I told her, overwhelmingly grateful for her helpfulness.

She shook her head though. "You should go with someone, this guy's good at what he does but he's also a fucking creep. Besides, a cab would cost you a bomb."

I nodded. "In that case, a lift would be really great, thank you."

Olivia just smiled. "I wouldn't do any of this if I didn't like you, Mals."

I grinned. "You're both the greatest."

She sent off a text to someone that she said I'd get along with on the long-ish car ride and we waited for a response. I was kind of eager to meet another friend but at the same time I'd wished that I could have gone with Olivia or Mel. I was fairly tired and didn't feel real up to forcing conversation in a quiet car with someone I didn't know. But I sure as hell wasn't going to complain. If this worked out, I'd have an ID before Monday and would be able to continue staying at Hollowed-Inn and nail down that job.

Things were falling together and I couldn't have been more content.

"Alright, he'll be here in five," Liv told me, checking her phone as it buzzed with a new message.