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I followed anyway, dragged along by Sophie on one arm and Raven on the other. Casey was having a fucking field day, bouncing from one to the other. Least they was all having fun.

“You’ll like this one,” Sophie said. “Promise.”

My stomach lurched. Happy lurched. Being around Soph was too good, too sweet. It made me nervous. Don’t hurt to lose something you never had, but losing something like her scared the shit out of me.

They dragged me all the way down by Haygrove, past the King’s Road maintenance huts and into the garage block. Place was like a ghost town.

“And?” I said. “This party ain’t really digging.”

Sophie put a key in the door to one of the units, springing the catch and lifting it open. Took me a minute to get with the plot.

“Surprise!” they squealed. “Studio Jackson is open for business.”

They had paints, whole fucking racks of them. The ones I liked too, the whole range. Must have cost a fucking fortune. They had big white sheets of canvas, like I’d seen in the art stores. They had a bench, and some brushes, and turps and mixer and a tray full of pencils.

“Shit.” I put my hands in my hair. “What’s all this?”

“For you,” Raven said. “Call it a joint effort. Soph got the garage and I arranged the materials. Christmas is here early, kid. You’re welcome.” She smiled so fucking bright, eyes all shiny.

I looked at Sophie and she looked nervous as she stared at me. I didn’t know where to put myself, didn’t know what to think, what to feel.

“Don’t you like it?” Soph asked. “Have we got the wrong stuff?”

“Got the right stuff,” I said. “It’s fucking mint, like.”

Her eyes searched mine. “What is it, then?”

I was pissing on their parade and I knew it, but I couldn’t help it. “Can’t take this,” I said. “It’s too much.”

“Hey,” Raven said. “Listen up, baby. It’s a gift. Don’t make a pity party out of it. Doesn’t suit you.”

I tried to smile. “Ain’t making a pity party, just can’t fucking take all this shit. Can’t pay it back.”

She took my arm, so hard it fucking pinched. “Look at me,” she said. “This isn’t a loan. It’s not charity, either. It’s a gift, from people who believe in you. From people who give a shit about you and your art, alright? We cool on this?”

I nodded, but my throat felt weird, all thick and swollen. My head was spinning, tears springing up like a fucking pussy boy. I turned away, coughed them back. “Fucking hell,” I said. “Dunno what to fucking say.”

“Thanks is the standard response,” Sophie said. Her smile was so pretty. She was so pretty, prettiest thing in the world.

“Ain’t much good with thanks,” I smiled. “Thanks, though, this is crazy mint. Crazy.”

“Don’t mean to pile the pressure on,” Raven said. “But I’ve got someone waiting to see your art. A dealer, same one who launched me.”

My brain whizzed like a spinning top. “A dealer?! They ain’t gonna like my shit, Raven. Ain’t nothing like as good as yours. Shit, man, they’re gonna laugh me out the fucking park.”

Her smile was like the sun, eyes twinkling again.

“He’s already seen your shit, baby,” she said. “The paint is from him.”

***

I painted and I painted and I painted some more. Lost in time, in space, lost to everything but the colours on the canvas. It was bliss in that place, with Casey at my side and Sophie in my life. It don’t get any fucking sweeter than that.

Case liked it down there, garage door open, catching the sun. When it’d rain she’d come inside, curl up at my feet and snooze without a care in the world.

She’d taken to sleeping on the bed at night, too. Dog didn’t know herself these days. She was still trashing the bins, mind. Tearing the kitchen apart every time we weren’t looking. Soph didn’t seem to care, though, didn’t seem to care about anything apart from getting her ass slapped red and getting a good pounding. Guess that’s what she liked best about me, that’s what I figured. Sure weren’t me talking skills, but I was getting better at that. I was tryin’.

I’d been at Soph’s nearly two weeks when I decided to get some of my shit from Vick’s. I’d been avoiding her, hiding my bruises where she wouldn’t see. She’d only feel bad, and I didn’t want that. They’d taken an age to go, especially the swelling on my eye. My ribs still hurt, but she wouldn’t know that, not now my face didn’t give it away.

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