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𝐝𝐨 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝐢𝐭?
𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐕𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 on the roof of the peterson home in perfect silence, an almost-empty bottle of gin settled beautifully between them. this was how they wanted summer to be, drinking heavy liquor in each other's company with the sunlight on their faces.
but it was already mid-afternoon, and john propped himself up on his elbow, plucking his cigarette from his lips. "ivy," he murmured, their faces barely an inch apart. "i need to get home."
although ivy was buzzed, john was in worse shape. she rolled her eyes slowly and said, "you're going to fall off the god damn roof if you try getting down by yourself. i'll go first." john didn't object, watching as she swung from the roof to the ground in one fluid motion, stumbling slightly on the landing. "i'll catch you, come on." ivy held her weak arms out and motioned for him to jump down. clearly out of it, he tumbled downward, and though she didn't catch him, she ended up breaking his fall.
they paused to grumble out their expressed pain, then burst out laughing. he yelled dramatically that she was a weak bitch and in turn, she screamed out flimsy bastard! they wheezed their laughter once again before she finally pushed him away, telling him to call later, knowing he wouldn't.
ivy watched john stumble home, worrying slightly for him, and then walked the dozen feet to paul's house. she pushed through the unlocked door and froze as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. paul sat on the couch as she expected him to, watching the television. ivy rubbed her tired eyes and closed the front door, walking over to him.
paul tore his eyes from the film on the small screen to take in her disheveled appearance. he chuckled, "god, you're plastered. do you know how long i've been waiting?"
she ignored him, smiling at the sight of kenneth's house laid on the couch. her heart nearly skipped at the sight of them together, and she asked, "you were watching television with kenneth?" she plopped down heavily onto the couch, the little house remaining between them.
"yes." they locked eyes, ivy grinning dreamily. paul turned back to the screen, "we're watching night of the demon, and he loves it."
ivy gasped loudly. her gaze brushed over him, his gray t-shirt, his hands, the grass ring tied around his ring finger. "paul! kenneth is too innocent for this, he's.. young, he can't.." ivy's words trailed off, she kept staring at his hands. she stood suddenly and kneeled in front of paul, making him flinch back. he started speaking but she smacked his leg, examining the backs of his palms carefully. "paul.. did he bite you?" she asked, looking up from the numerous red marks that covered his hands.
he cast a tentative glance toward kenneth, "i wanted to try holding him like you did, but he got mad.." ivy pulled him up despite his complaints of wanting to finish night of the demon, and brought him to the bathroom, shoving his hands under the sink.
"rat bites can be easily infected," ivy explained, and pushed paul so he sat on the counter, leaning over the sink. "fuck, i can't believe he would do this! what are we gonna do!" ivy cried out, throwing her arms around paul's neck.
he patted her back as she mumbled incredulously into his shoulder. the water from the sink brushed over his hands and once he washed them with soap, he reached over, shutting it off. ivy backed away from him, remembering what she was doing, and started rummaged through the bathroom cabinet in order to find the right ointment. paul was silent while ivy ran the antibiotic over his fingers, standing quietly between his legs. they must have had the same thought running through their heads, because she was saddening at an increasing rate.
"ivy, brace yourself, okay?" paul asked cautiously, "i think it's time to release kenneth back into the wild. it's where he belongs." she bit her lip, noticeably teary-eyed. paul helped her cover his hands in band aids and then held his arms out. he knew how she was feeling, he was starting to like kenneth, too.
she gave in to the hug easily, feeling him lean his head on top of hers. "i can't believe.." she started, but she was lying, wasn't she? she could believe that kenneth would bite paul, he was a wild rat, after all. ivy stepped back out of his arms, "i'm gonna head home. i'll call you so we can plan the service. i'm thinking tomorrow, one o'clock?"
ivy disappeared from the bathroom before paul had the chance to ask what exactly she meant by service. he heard the front door close and so he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, waiting for her call.
