Ink

Chapter Six

Scott and Jack woke me up the next morning with a bunch of half-dead carnations, and a box of Milk Tray that was still wielding the remnants of a bright orange discount sticker, but it was the thought that counted. I did have to clutch the duvet to my chest as they barged into my room, though, I don't think they expected me to sleep naked because Scott made a huge show of turning back towards the door with a panic, shouting, "Oh no! My eyes! Fuck, fuck, fuck, this is basically incest!" while Jack just apologised profusely, and put their meagre offerings on the floor, all the while with his face scrunched up to keep his eyes closed, one big hand waving in front of it like a shield, before ducking back into the hall. I couldn't really help but laugh at them affectionately, despite my embarrassment.

It was gone eight am anyway, so I headed into my en suite for a shower, wondering if they'd gone to sleep at all – even though they took it down a few notches when I'd arrived, I'd heard the dulcet tones of Nirvana fading into the early hours of the morning after my chat with Tommy. It never crossed my mind to join them. Tommy and I had chatted for a little while more, finding a level of companionship that we'd never really had before he left, but I still had the lingering suspicions that I didn't know the whole story – I wasn't even really sure I wanted to, though. He'd kept making obscure references to Stix that niggled at me, and I didn't have enough hours in the day to analyse them, even if I wanted to. By the time he said goodnight, I was too drained to do more than curl up against the cushions with a sketch book and pour my conflicted emotions onto the page.

I threw on a black sweater dress and a pair of grey suede over-the-knee boots, pulling my hair into a messy ponytail, and swept on my eyeliner and mascara before heading down to my breakfast, taking my presents down with me. Carnations remind me of funerals, so I didn't really want that kind of bad chi in my bedroom – with Stix in my house I didn't need anything shifting the balance in there!

They all went quiet when I stepped into the kitchen, there were still a few strange faces knocking around – the dreadlock prison break kid, and a short, half-caste guy with soft features and gentle eyes. I suddenly felt quite self-conscious at their avid interest, which always puts me on the defensive.

"What? Did I grow a tail while I was sleeping?"

"Chill out, Chachi," Tommy whispered in my ear from behind me, before kissing my head affectionately and pulling me to sit next to him at the kitchen table.

I did try not to look, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Stix – hard and darkly beautiful as ever – reaching for a cigarette as he sneered at Tommy. I just didn't know what his problem was, Tommy had kept saying the night before that I have to speak with him, and Stix had said something in the same vein in the hallway, but what would be the point? What would that achieve? I could only lose out from letting Stix in again, because I'd pour out my heart and he'd sip it quietly and thoughtfully, and move back on to someone who belonged in his world – someone like the girl he'd fucked the night before.

"Pigs stopped CeeJay," Tommy was saying, pulling the attention of the whole table, "And she's pointed a few things out to me last night. Fun time is up if we're staying, we can't put her through what she went through before without protecting her from the fall-out."

"That's not what I was saying ..." I interrupted him, "I don't need a fucking chaperone! But if I'm having to go about my day getting mauled by Police, I need some degree of assurance that I won't walk in through my front door into a drug den! You don't get it – they will literally be all over this place – all over me – I am not fighting your battles alone while you just think about fighting and fucking like a bunch of schoolboys who found daddy's stash of Viagra! Get a grip of your shit before you fuck it up for all of us! If you want to sit down and talk over the deal with the shop and the Hellraisers, we can do that today, but I need to get in to the club for six, so I can appeal to my boss's better nature, or see if he has one ..."