The Devil You Know

Chapter 22: Time Flies

The days seemed to fly by, and before we knew it we were both turning eighteen and it was the summer before we went into grade twelve and it was astonishing how different we were now.
Jade was on OxyContin regularly, and as for me, I developed a drinking problem, we got all these bad habits but didn't bother stopping each other, we loved to party and drink and smoke, you name it, me and Jade were doing it.

Paddy had got a bit better, he was going to AA meetings, but he did it before, and all of us were waiting for him to crack again. Jade spent a lot of time at my house now, since she was old enough now to do what she wanted, she was at the house almost every night. Ma was doing better took her and Pop were actually on somewhat good terms, she was taking her kids out again and she was smiling, and her and Grandma became good friends. Joel was 20 now and out of school, he was working at a construction site and making money there, but I knew he still sold his drugs, and now I didn't really bother him about it.

Brendan was still with Tess, they were getting serious, and I was so happy for him! You could tell the way they looked at Each other that they were so in love, and I had a feeling he had met the woman he was going to marry.  He was training a lot lately, and from the way he was going, he had a big shot at getting into UFC. But his backup plan was teachers college, to teach physics to High school students.

Tommy on the other hand, wasn't with anyone, he was out doing his own thing, girls came in and out of his life, he hung out with Jade and I a lot, smoking and drinking with us. He worked at a warehouse, packaging and piling boxes for money, which was good for him. That on top of the wrestling helped him gain a lot of muscle, and he was still training with pop, going to Fitzys gym frequently.

Jade had been over at my house all summer, and today we sat on the floor of the living room. Grandma was out playing bingo with Ma, they did that frequently. Joel was out with his friends so it was just me and her. I sat against the wall, rolling a joint and watching Jade play games.

"You're gonna share that right?" She asked, chuckling. I smiled at her and nodded, grabbing the half empty whiskey bottle beside me and taking generous gulps. Jade sat up, pausing the game and turning to face me. I pushed the bottle towards her and she drank some of it.

"We need to get out of the house" I groaned, pulling the joint to my lips and lighting it, taking a few pulls before passing it to Jade. She thought for a moment, taking her pulls as well and then passing it back.

"Joes having a party next week, we could go" come grade eleven, he started to hang out with us a lot. It was obvious he liked Jade, but she always brushed it off. She took out her pill bottle and put a few in her hand, she took two and she passed me two and we took them, washing them down with whiskey.

"Yeaaaaaaaah" I laughed "we're going." She smiled and we continued playing games together. An hour or two passed and we were interrupted when the door was opened and in walked Tommy and Joel, but they were both drunk. Brendan wasn't with them, he was spending slot of his time with Tess lately and less time with us, it was kind of upsetting, but understandable. I stood up and walked to Joel, hugging him and stumbling around as we held each other because we were drunk. I pulled away and faced Tommy, who's now defined face gave me butterflies. I didn't understand why, but I brushed it off. "Hey Tommy" I smiled.

He smirked, nodding towards me as a greeting and we walked into the living room. Tommy's hand scruffed Jades hair and she laughed. "Hey kid, how you doin'?" He asked, plopping down next to me on the couch, Joel was in the kitchen rummaging through the fridge, groaning  because he couldn't find what he wanted. Jade out on a movie and sat on the other couch.

"Where's Brendan?" Jade asked curiously. Tommy kissed his teeth, pissed off at the thought of their brother.

"Where do you think?" He scoffed "with Tess" I leaned my head back onto the couch and Tommy turned to look at me, his eyes examining me. When Joel walked in he snapped his head back to the t.v. Joel held a huge bowl of popcorn and sat next to Jade, they shared it, laughing hard at a movie what wasn't even that funny, but we were all drunk, and everything was funny.

"You guys hear about that party?" Jade spoke, leaning her head on Joel's shoulder. Joel wasn't paying attention, he was laughing at the movie.

"Yeaaaah" Tommy laughed "you goin'?" Jade threw some popcorn at him.

"Course"

"Guess we're all going together, Brendan is too but he's bringing Tess" he sneered a little, but then looked at me. "Look at you, you were so innocent when I met you" he laughed, turning his face to mine, we stared at each other for a moment.

"You're still an asshole" I laughed, punching him in his arm, Jade was laughing hard, covering her face with her hands. Joel slung his arm around her and they laughed drunkenly together.

"Aww, come on." He smiled "don't be like that" I rolled my eyes and he smiled at me. "Best asshole you've ever met" he slurred.

"WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE WEED" Joel suddenly yelled, sniffing the air. Everyone went silent for a moment, then we all burst out laughing. "STOP SMOKING IN THE HOUSE BEFORE GRANDMA BLAMES ME"

"Blame you for what, dear?" Her sweet voice spoke as she walked into the living room. We just smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Getting into trouble Tommy?" She asked, touching his cut eyebrow with her gently finger.

"That was Brendans fault" she laughed and made her way upstairs. I flipped through channels, trying to find something that we all could watch. Cartoons, stupid reality shows, nothing caught our eye, but all of us let out a happy cheer when it flipped onto UFC. We all leaned back and watched it together, their family was so close to ours now, there was not a day where we didn't see each other. I was glad they came into our lives, we needed them just as much as they needed us.