The Player

The Player-6

The Player

Chapter 6  

"Birthday druggie"

"Oi! Get outta bed, birthday boy!" 

I groaned, pushing myself further into the mouth of my bed and sighing in content. Ash grabbed the covers off me and threw them aside, opening up the blinds and grinning idiotically, like the twat he was. 

"What?" I said, rudely, squinting my eyes against the sunlight entering via the window of my room. I wasn't much of a morning person, at all. 

He lifted his arms up in mock surrender. 

"Fine. If that's the way you treat people who stay up all night figuring out how to wrap up your birthday gift, then I guess I should go..." he trailed off. 

Before he could leave my room , I grabbed him by the wrist and wrapped my fingers around them tightly. 

"MY birthday gift?" 

He raised a brow playfully, his infamous smirk, displayed across his masculine features. 

"Yeah! Maybe." 

I squealed, sitting up abruptly in bed like an excited kid on christmas. 

"Come on then, hand it over" I begged. 

He snorted. 

"I have to go get it from my room first" he said in a playful manner. 

"Oh, come on!" I continued, "you're doing this on purpose!" 

"Just wait," he ordered, holding up his hands as if they would stop me from following and exited the room. 

A few later he returned, a shiny small parcel between the tips of his fingers. 

"Here you go." 

My insides started to scream with excitement as I watched the gift with extreme interest. 

What if it was a bomb? 

Ha! I wouldn't put it past him to do that. 

"Open it," he urged, "you're killing me," he said, placing a hand over his heart. 

I ignored him and went back to examining it. 

The gift was held within a very narrow package. Almost too narrow. The gift wrapping had obviously taken time and effort. I wanted to grin. Now there's one thing that Ash wasn't so good at.

I couldn't take it much longer. I ripped apart the beautiful sparkly wrapping paper and... found a... frame? 

Huh?

It was a photo of Ash and I, from two summers ago, when we took a trip to Cornwall at a surfing resort. I was only twelve back then and Ash sixteen. We both looked like we were having a laugh at a private joke, but now that I remember we were laughing at Mum's expense as she was a sucker at surfing.

"What'd you think Dan?" He was grinning like a fool now too.

"You're going Uni in September," I started, "not dying on me." 

His face immediately fell and a hurtful look flashed across his now angry eyes. Never thought I would live to see the day when Ash Miller would get all serious on me. 

"Never kid about somthing like that," he growled menancingly, 

I scrunched up my face. 

"What?!" 

"Leave it," he said angrily, turning his back on me for the final time.

That evening my parents had held a party for my fifteenth. Not that being fifteen was anything special, my parents just enjoyed holding meaningless events. They where standing in the centre of the living room, chatting to one of my classmates about school, while All Time Low 'Damned if I do ya, Damned if I don't' blasted through the speakers.

I waited to spot Liam. He had called a while before asking to see me in my bedroom. Of course I had to keep a low profile and not demand any attention.

I made my way up the stairs and slipped into my bedroom. The lights were dimmed, allowing me to only see the silhouettes of the objects in my room. However I knew the room was empty.

I sat there, waiting for a few seconds, counting down the minutes for Liam to arrive. Just then there was a knock at the door.  

"Come in," I whispered, not sure of who it was yet, but I'm pretty sure I had a clue. 

The door opened and Liam stepped into the room, lightly closing the door behind him. 

"You got any of it left?" 

I nodded, opening up my wardrobe and searching for a shoebox. Once I had found it, I spilt the contents within onto my bed. A stash of marijuana lay there, untouched. 

"Anyone know you got it?" 

I shook my head, everyone dowstairs was oblivious towards the drug present. 

Liam smiled, ripping a tiny hole into the transparent plastic with his teeth. 

He lit it ablaze and started smoking it, offering some to me too. 

"We should open the window" I said, watching him turn around and do exactly that.

"What's going on here?" 

"Ash!" I threw the burned cigar out the window, "ever heard of knocking?" 

Ash snarled. 

"What? So that I couldn't walk in on you doing this?" 

He was right. I wanted to do exactly that this minute. 

'Leave!" he ordered Liam. 

Liam just stood, glaring back. 

"Dan, tell him to leave before I tell Mum and Dad." 

"You wouldn't do that" 

"Oh yeah" he raised a brow questioningly. 

I shot Liam a look and he left. A few seconds later I left too, bumping my shoulder aggressively against Ash's on the way out.

Outside, I watched the party inside. I was angry with myself for getting caught. But mostly with Ash for getting involved with my business. Who did he think he was? Telling me what to do and then threatening me on telling our parents. 

"Dan?" 

"Go away" I snapped.

"No can do" he shot back defiantly, reaching out a hand to touch my shoulder. I flinched backing away, frowning at his outstretched hand.

"Don't be like that,"

"Be like what?" I challenged, holding back tears of anger, " I don't get what your problem is, butting into my business, this has nothing to do with you" I bellowed causing him draw away.

"I'm your older brother," he stated, obviously.

I walked past him and stood at the front of the garden porch, my back to him.

"Well let's get this straight, yeah. I HATE YOU! I hate you so much that I can't wait to see you go in September, if it has to get you off my back,"

"You don't mean that?"

"Yes, Yes I do!"

There was an awkward silence. Nothing was being said. I guess that shut him up. There was a soft thump on the ground. I circled around and came to find Ash lying motionless on the ground"

"Ash? ASH!"