The Video

Tie-Dye and Gin

A week after Rafferty's eighteenth birthday, he got ready to leave for Eden's house. Eden lived in a large house a few streets down from him, and, being the last day of school, was throwing a large party to celebrate. Rafferty pulled on a plain white shirt and a pair of light denim jeans. He looked at his staring face in the mirror in the hall. His black strangely hair rested just above his shoulders, and his dark, almost black eyes looked blank. Something in the reflection caught his eye, and he turned to see his mother stood behind him.

"You look so gorgeous, my darling" she said, tears brimming in her eyes. She reached out to hug him, and swayed a little whilst doing so. It wasn't surprising to Rafferty that his mother was incredibly drunk; it had become a habit now. Rafferty's eyes glanced over his mother's shoulder to where his father was sat, asleep in his armchair. A mixture of sadness and anger filled his thoughts. Almost more than hating his father for committing his crime, he hated his father for what he had done to his mother. Mrs Wood taught art at the local primary school, and was such a fun and vibrant woman. She used to encourage Rafferty and his friends to draw on the walls when they were little children, and she always wore bright, tie-dyed clothes. Ever since her husband got into trouble, however, Mrs Wood had changed completely. It was as if the happiness had been sucked out of her; her bright clothes were replaced by bland, unwashed ones, and her constant chatter and laughter had been replaced by silence. Every evening after arriving home from school, she would drink gin in her studio in the garden until it was time to leave for school the next morning, refusing to look at her husband as she encountered him. It was a wonder she hadn't been fired, but Rafferty knew it was only a matter of time before she would. "Where are you off to this evening?" She asked, disturbing Rafferty from his thoughts.

"Just to Eden's," he replied "she's having an end of school party".

"Oh, I'm so glad you and Edie have stayed so close after all these years" Mrs Wood said, having adored Eden since the first time she had met her. Eden's parents used to be close with Rafferty's, however, after the incident they had distanced themselves. Mrs Wood didn't seem to hold it against them though, she just shrugged it off and said "well what did you expect?". Personally, Rafferty didn't see this as being much of a loss as Eden's parents were very straight-laced; they were the sort of people who stuck to a weekly meal plan and thought that the word "bum" was a swear word. Rafferty could tell that they didn't know about Eden's party tonight-they both travelled a lot for work and left Eden and her sister home alone. Despite the change in her parents' attitude towards Rafferty's, Eden and he stayed close for a long time afterwards, Rafferty loving her even more for not judging him for what his father had done.

"Everyone was invited" Rafferty replied bluntly, although he felt disappointment in the pit of his stomach. "Eden and I haven't been that close for a few years mum, you know that". As upsetting as it was, it was the truth. After Eden 'erasing' kissing Rafferty from her PDR, he was angry for a while, ignoring her and her apologies. However, he soon started to miss his best friend and reached out to her again. But it was too late; she had formed a tight-knit group of girlfriends and she didn't need him anymore. As much as he hated her superficial ways, Rafferty hoped that the old Eden was still there somewhere, and ached for her to be in his life again. She was the only girl he had ever loved, and he was sure he'd loved her for ten long years.

Rafferty grabbed his coat from the rack and planted a kiss on his mothers' cheek.
"See you later mum, love you," he said as he walked out the house, shutting the door and his home life with one push of the arm.