𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙄𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 | 𝙅𝙅 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙠

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦

     THE AIR was stuffy the next morning as I sat on my porch, breathing in and out slowly. My head felt heavy and my brain was pounding against my skull. I'd barely gotten enough rest to sleep the drink and weed I consumed off and I was having a hard time deciphering if I was still in fact a tad drunk or if I was just that tired I was losing it. Regardless I cradled my head and sighed long and heavy. I heard tyres riding across the dirt ground and looked up to see the Sheriff's car driving past, Peterkin looking at me out of her open window as she passed.

She pulled up in front of John B's house and I saw because I lived next door to him.

Behind me I heard the door open but I didn't look back and the person sat next to me, "So do you wanna tell me why JJ is sleeping on your bedroom floor?" My dad asked me. I sighed, closing my eyes, "And why your mom visited me at the docks this morning asking me why you were high last night?"

"I wasn't high last night." I muttered softly, my eyes still closed, "Topper's bullshitting."

"You know I can't help you unless you tell me what's going on Mally." My dad said to me and I nodded slowly, "Besides, I can smell it on you."

I turned to him, "You can?"

He nodded, "And the alcohol, your room reeks of it."

"Fantastic." I mumbled, leaning my arms on my legs.

"Listen." My dad said to me and I looked at him, "I know what it's like to be your age living on the Cut in the summer. It's probably the best time of your life, getting into trouble, going out fishing, drinking down at the boneyard—" I arched my brow at my dad. Since when did he know where we drank? "Do you honestly think you and your friends found the boneyard?" He asked me, "Damn, me and my pals found that shithole years ago and started drinking there."

"You used to drink at the boneyard?" I asked.

"Where else do you think we smoked and got drunk?" He asked me with a chuckle, "Hell I remember when Ward Cameron set his shorts on fire at the boneyard when he was drunk."

I shook my head while laughing. It was hard for me to imagine Ward Cameron — arguably the richest man on Kildare Island — and my dad friends, living the Pogue life together.

"I just want you to be honest with me Mal." My dad told me, looping his arm around my shoulders, "I don't mind."

I nodded, "So maybe I smoke the occasional joint." I said to him, "I don't do it all the time."

"It's alright." He smiled, "I'm just not thrilled I had to find out through your mother. That woman is the bane of my life."

I nodded, "Wait until I get my hands on Topper—"

"—Nah, he's not worth it." My dad told me, nudging me gently. I nodded in agreement with him and he looked at me again, "So now we're being honest do you want to tell me why JJ is sleeping on your bedroom floor?" 

I pressed my lips together and met my dads eyes before cracking a smile.

• • •

When John B shouted me over an hour later JJ and I made the short journey together and while he went into John B's chateau to try and salvage some clean-ish clothes I took a seat round the back of the chateau with John B in his shed. The first thing I noticed about him was his purple eye and boy did it look sore, Topper had really done a number on him last night.

"Hey, what was going on with you two last night?" He asked me.

I shrugged. JJ always confused me but then again he always kept me on my toes. I found him attractive and maybe I liked him — just a little — but we would always first and foremost be friends. We had a habit of flirting but last night was a new level for us, we'd never gone that far before as in holding hands and sneaking off to get high together.