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I scoffed. “I don’t need help,” I told him as Steve and Jake burst into song ahead of us.
“You can get help, man. It’s not weak.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s weak. I think it’s fucking pointless.”
“You like being this way?”
I looked at him. “What’s not to like?”
He gave a rough laugh as he looked up at the sky. “Sure, the chicks are fine. Getting into some real laughs with your mates, great.” He rubbed the back of his fingers over his jaw. “But we could have more.”
“Are you talking about relationships or jobs?”
“Fucking life, man! I get Rocco fucked you over, but you’ve already lost Bar–”
I grabbed the front of Rio’s shirt and pushed him against the fence beside us. “You leave her out of it,” I told him.
“Just admit you love her, and I’ll never mention it again.”
I knew him. He’d mention it whenever and as often as he wanted regardless of what I did now. “So, what if I do?”
He blinked. “You actually…” he breathed.
I shoved him further into the fence and stepped away from him. I grunted in frustration and laced my hands on my head. “I actually do, yeah,” I huffed sarcastically.
He said nothing the rest of the way to the servo until he had to tell me what he wanted. I didn’t often appreciate my mates – my issue, not theirs – but I appreciated him now.
“Oi, Trix!” Steve called as she walked past the servo. “Trix!” He jogged out after her, and of course Jake was in tow.
“I’m on it,” Rio muttered, and he followed to make sure they didn’t get themselves up to too much shit.
It wasn’t like they were less than me and Rio. More like they were more. Rio and I were the ones lacking and we did what we could to protect them from becoming too much like us.
I paid for the smokes, flashing the attendant my driver’s license. It was handy now I was eighteen. I could legally buy our booze. I could legally buy our smokes We didn’t need to ration between visits to Jimbo anymore. We could drink what we liked. We could smoke what we liked instead of his filterless rollies. I was reckless with my life, but I didn’t have that much of a death wish.
Outside the servo, I tried to remember which way they’d gone. I wandered in the vague direction of Steve’s terrible singing as I lit up a smoke and put the rest of the shit in my pockets. For some reason, they were heading down Main Street.
“Jake’ll be fucking after ice cream again,” I muttered and something came over me.
My arms prickled and the hairs on the back of my neck ruffled.
That was the moment I knew fate really had it out for me. It wasn’t good enough that it had dealt me a swift and powerful blow right to the nads, but now it was kicking me while I was down.
Following the others took me pastLacey’s. They were literally standing on the other side of the place from me. Rio, Steve, Jake, Trix and a couple of her girls I recognised. It was like they were in on with fate and they could all get fucked.
Fuck Mason.
Fuck Piper.
Fuck my so-called friends who were too drunk to notice she was sitting right fucking there.
And fuckLacey’s.
I swore to all that was fucking holy. If I never set foot in there again, it’d be too fucking soon.
I had the sudden urge to burn the whole place to the fucking ground.
Because there she was. Sitting in pride of place and holding Mister Popular Jerkwad’s hand as they made goo-goo eyes at each other. I felt like I was going to be sick, and it wouldn’t have been the alcohol to blame this time.
