✔️Soundtrack to My Youth (18+)

Leaving Home

Bridget and I caught the train to the coast early Saturday morning. I brought my Discman and enough CDs to get me through what I was sure would be a weekend of hell. We sat across from each other, Bridget reading the latest issue of Dolly magazine while I lost myself in my Savage Garden album.

There were 7 stations between ours and the Terrigal Train Station that was located at the end of my Mother's street. It's how we used to travel here before I started driving, we'd pass the time by playing games like eye spy but not today, today we didn't speak a word to each other. The phone reception along the way was sketchy 2G so I couldn't even text Kate.

We arrived just after 9 and made the short walk from the station to the house. I noticed a familiar red Mazda parked out front.

"Great, Aunt Bev and Clara are here" I groaned. Beverly was my Mother's friend, she was also part of her merry band of enablers, lapping up her lies and defending both Mum and Carson's behaviour. Bev's daughter was my age and could do no wrong in my Mother's eyes, little did Mum or Bev know that Clara had a love for party drugs and men twice her age who provided said drugs. 

By the time she was 25 Clara looked like a 40 year old.

I knocked on the front door and waited a good while for my Mother to bother answering it. 

"You're late" She greeted me.

"That probably because I didn't want to come" I answer her, pushing passed her and stepping into the small living room.

"We had to take the train because Veronica got a flat tyre" Bridget explains to Mum and I roll my eyes at her.Why would you tell her anything?

"Well you would buy a car that was a piece of crap" My Mother scoffs at me.

"I ran over a nail, it's not like my bumper fell off. Anyone can run over a nail" I defend myself, she looks at me with that permanent scowl she holds.

"And you think you can teach your sister how to drive? You can't even avoid nails" She says, laughing at me. I've had enough, I walk down to my room and dump my bag on the floor. "Veronica, we have guests, you're not hanging around in your room when Clara is here" Mum bellows down the hall. 

"That sounds E-static" I exclaim, dragging out the E to make my point which I'm sure will be lost on Clara anyway. I enter the dinning room where Bev, Clara and Bridget are all sitting around the round table that fills the whole room. I grab a mug from the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee, taking at seat next to Clara at the table.

Clara had short, brunette hair that she just managed to tuck behind her ears, she was dressed so basic in faded blue jeans and an orange tee, no make up on her face but she did have break outs on her cheeks. We had nothing in common yet for years Bridget and I were forced to hang out with her, that's how I became aware of her lifestyle that she managed to hide from her parents.

"Hey Roni" Clara greeted me, holding out a tray with shortbread biscuits. 

"Hey" I reply, taking a shortbread and dipping it into my coffee while wondering why the enabler and her drugged up daughter were at the house so early in the morning, I was under the impression that vampires slept all day and only came out at night, but here Bev was, sitting up at my Mother's dinning table, drinking coffee.

"It's lovely seeing you girls" Bev says in her forced, fake voice. Yeah lady, I've seen the other side of you, the side that was up screaming in my face after I threatened to take Carson to the police when he threw me against a wall, something that both Bev and Mum claimed never happened though.

"Likewise" I lie, I could be just as fake.

"Bridget" My Mother addresses my sister, taking her by the hand, "I need you to do Mummy a big favour"