Overlap

Van

🌼 2012🌼

Bondys living room spun as I stood up, pushing my way through stoned teenagers, drunk lads I recognised from the gig we'd played not two hours before.

"Fuckin hell lad, you invite the whole town or what?!" I grinned clapping my friend on the back when I found him amid the rigmarole. He jerked around with a dozy smile, shooting me a sloppy grin when he recognized me.

"Aight its most the gig int it," he said straining his neck to look past me as if he was looking for someone else, "ey Van..." he started throwing his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side, "yous seen me little sister anywhere?"

"Eh?" I asked screwing my face up a little confused. I'd never heard him mention a little sister before, I'd definitely never met her, but the frown on his face told me that he was being serious. "Uhh no mate, why? Is she here?"

"Yeah?" He spun around again, eyes glazed, I couldn't help but laugh a little, grinning at his glazed expression.

"God you're fucked aren't you mate," I laughed.

"Yeah," he frowned again speaking ever so slowly as he carried on straining his neck. "I mean she was..." he said a look of panicked confusion in his eyes, "ahh for crying out loud me mam will kill me if owt happens to her..." he groaned raking his hands through his hair as he pushed through the crowd to the kitchen grabbing another beer from from the fridge and cracking it open on the side.

"Whats happened?" Asked Benji as he and Bob walked through the back door, hands in their pockets, cigarette smoke in their hair.

"Bondys lost his sister?" I looked back at them blankly, they looked back at me blankly.

"Sister?" Said Larry emerging from the garage with a bottle of vodka and a water gun.

"Yeah..." said Bondy looking round at us as if we were all mad, his bleary eyes blinking as he struggled to stay tuned to reality, "yeah Eponine my little sister..." he looked at me as if I ought to understand but all I could do was shake my head slowly.

"Mate you've never mentioned a sister before..." I started slowly, "are you... sure you've got one?" I smirked unsure myself whether or not that was a ridiculous question.

"Van?!" He gasped almost choking on his beer.

"Alright alright!" I laughed shaking me head, "sorry mate I'll, I'll go have a look for her... she look like you yeah?" I couldnt help but continue to snigger as I walked away and pushed my way back through his living room and upstairs in the hopes that she might just be lurking in an emptier room.

"Eponine?" I asked knocking on a bedroom door, I got no answer but when I pushed it open I almost froze with the shock of what I saw, "oh for fuck sake," I groaned jumping back when I saw two teenagers copping off, half undressed and hanging out. I slammed the door shut and shook my head as if to shake the image burned into my retinas.

I stumbled a little futher down the hall, hesitating outside the next door before knocking.

"Eponine?" I asked again, pushing the door to. I smiled a little when I saw that it was empty, the window open slightly.

At first I thought it was just an empty room, but when I reached for the light switch and flicked it on, I saw a grey flatcap poking up just beyond the edge of the bed, and when I closed the door behind me and trod carefully inside, I heard soft sniffling and the occasional sob.

"Are you alright love?" I asked running over to her side.

I'd been worried I might make her jump, but she barely even noticed me.
When she looked up at me her pupils were bruised and all around her irises seemed to leak red. They were swollen and puffy and they seemed to look right through me.