𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐓 / / 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

CHAPTER 5

"And that was how I nearly got arrested for scuba diving naked."

Stella, Barry and the rest of his crew stared at Richy in disbelief, his story that he had reeled off whilst pissed up and high had caught them all by surprise. "Richy, what the fuck?" Her brother scrunched his face up in disgust. "My little sister is here."

"Pfft," Danny took a sip of his beer. "Let's face it, ain't nothing she hasn't heard before."

"He's got a point, Baz." The blonde girl shrugged. "Can't argue with the truth."

Barry scoffed. "Whatever, want a line?"

"Sure."

Danny threw his hands up. "I rest my case!"

It wasn't often that Stella did hard drugs, and there where two reasons for that. The first was because she wouldn't go to anyone other than Barry, she trusted him with the stuff he dealt and so knew it was good quality. So, if she was doing it often, her brother would know about it. The second was because that shit was expensive, especially coke. As much as a buzz as good ole Charlie was, the high never really lasted long enough for her. She preferred MDMA or E's, whichever was readily available really. Yeah, life in the Cut was fucked when all you really had was drugs and booze to entertain yourself with, especially when there was no power, which is why the Swayer's and co found themselves in the backyard surrounding the fire pit. Plus, she needed to blow off some steam, and what better way to do so then to get, well, steaming?

After leaving the chateau she had gone straight to see Queenie at her store and bought a litre bottle of spiced rum, a crate for Barry and his pal's, a pack of cigarettes and two bottles of cola. Knowing she wouldn't be able to walk all the way home with her purchases by herself, Queenie got her husband to drive Stella back to her house.

Barry didn't ask where she had gotten the money from. Instead, he smirked knowingly at her and pushed Danny out the the deckchair besides his own, giving it to his sister instead. He inquired why she wasn't with her own friends that night, but she snorted and took a shot of rum instead, not wanting to talk about what had gone on. Plus, if she told Barry what Kie had said, he'd never sell to her again.

Stella tied her hair up as Barry passed her the silver plate, a slug of fine white powder trailed across it. Picking up the rolled $20 bill next to it, she placed it up her nostril and sniffed as hard as she could. Closing her eyes, she frantically rubbed her nose to rid the burning sensation. Her eyes welled up slightly as she turned to her brother. "That's good shit."

"Hell yeah it is," he grinned. "New stuff, just got it in."

"What? Am I you're guinea pig now or something?" She raised a brow in question.

"Nah sis, you know I wouldn't give you whack stuff." Barry reassured her. "I get these dumb sons of bitches to try it first."

"Hey, we may be dumb," Danny pointed his bottle of beer towards the Swayer siblings. "But we're fucked up and damn glad about it."

The statement caused the group to chuckle and Stella gave him a lopsided grin. It was still early doors, around about 8pm. The sun was still in the sky, though blue began to darken and she could feel the slightest of breezes in the air, nightfall was upon them. That would never stop Barry and his friends, though, they where known to carry on till the early hours of the morning thanks to the party favours the elder sibling supplied. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night, turns out she didn't know just how long.

"Ey, Stella." Jez piped up. "Ain't that your boy?"

Following Jez's gaze, Stella and the other guys turned to look behind them where the sound of footsteps approached. There, sure enough, was JJ Maybank. She could tell he was being cautious, besides, Barry and his friends could be intimidating. They where older, bigger, wiser and even though JJ could handle himself he knew he was outnumbered and outskilled. Then, of course, there was the matter of how protective they all where over the baby of the Swayer family. They always had been, especially since they where constantly around her since the passing of Fiona. When Barry would be managing to pawn shop, Danny would be making her breakfast and lunch and teaching her tricks on a skateboard. Richy always drove her to and from school, and anywhere else she wanted to be. Jez, well, Jez was Jez but he did offer some good advice even though he came across a bit of a prick. The reality of it was, Stella didn't have one older brother, she had four.