Which is why we have old, beat-up Suzuki Vitara’s. Davis has rolled one, but because they’re surprisingly sturdy we just got the tractor and rolled it back over. We did have to add a roll cage to all the others after that and when Beau drove his into a fucking tree, they all got bull-bars.
They’re lucky they’re hard workers, or I think Brent would have shot them.
We catch up on nothing important. I can’t say I miss home or the supposed family I left behind, but I have missed my best friend.
My dad died when I was four. I don’t remember much of him, just stories Mum would tell. That was until she met and married Micheal. Then every little thing about Dad got put in storage or just thrown out and the stories she once told, stopped. With Micheal came Reid, my stepbrother. What a fucking twat.
He’s about a year older than me, and he wouldn’t let that go. Complained about having to move to a small town. Complained that I got picked as the centre forward for the town’s rugby team. Complained that he got the smaller room. So, I had to give up my spot on the team and move to the smaller room.
“This is all for the good of the family.” Mum would say and I have never heard such bullshit in my life, and I said so. I got a lecture of a lifetime followed by a three-month grounding.
I think I was nine when Mum and Micheal announced they were having a daughter together. I was so excited to be a big brother. Penelope was the cutest baby, from what I could see. I was never allowed to hold her much or play with her.Reid twisted everything so I looked like the problem child. So naturally they were weary of me being around her.
Then Reid and I had to share a room, and that was just chaos. We hated each other, so putting us in the same room just wasn’t the best idea. One afternoon when I was about ten, I came home to a photo of my dad and myself torn up laying on my bed. I knew it was Reid. And I acted as any ten-year-old would have. Mum said she was disappointed in me. Michael didn’t say anything, just held the icepack to his son’s eye. While I was getting in trouble, Reid was smirking like he won. Which I guess he did because the day after that, I was told I had to go stay with my Dad’s parents. For the good of the family.
The irony was not lost on me.
Reid couldn't be the one to leave because he didn't have family in town. They couldn't upgrade the house because of finances. I was a handful, and I looked too much like my Dad. Mum was under Micheal's influence.
But it was none of that. Mum had a new family now; one I was no longer a part of.
It wasn’t all bad though. My grandparents were amazing people. And Shane lived a street over from my grandparents, so he was always over. It’s easy to always be somewhere else when your parents don’t actually care about you. And Shane and Morgan’s parents? They also didn’t care.
Morgan would follow Shane, which was annoying, but my Nanna loved having her over. She is the one who taught her to draw after all. While Nanna taught Morgan to draw and bake, my Poppa taught Shane and I how to fix anything with an engine.
I was planning on doing an apprenticeship through Damon Woods, but Shane, the fuckhead, decided to start upan affair with his wife. So, I was lost for a little while. Picking up jobs here and there.
Then right as I turned twenty-two, my grandparents passed. First my grandfather, then soon after my grandmother; they say she died of a broken heart. And I’m inclined to believe that. They were together for decades. I never really believed in love; it has a way of hurting you. But the way my grandparents loved each other gave me some sort of hope.
After they passed, Mum and Michael showed back up. She had the audacity to ask for the house. Penelope was twelve now, and Reid was of course still living at home. They needed more space. Penelope wanted chickens or some shit, and I had the yard for it.
Instead, I privately sold the house and moved to the furthest part of the country. My luck changed when Brent took me on. The old station manager was retiring, so he gave me a chance, showed me the ropes and I haven’t looked back.
Brent, Shelly and Molly became my family. That’s when I learnt what family really is. I leaned on them from time to time and when Shelly passed, Brent leaned on me.
When we make it back, I tell Shane we should go for a quick swim before dinner. The bus would have arrived, so maybe some of the tourists will be by the pool. And by the sounds of it, Shane needs his dick sucked just as much as I do.
Inside the quiet house, I stick my head intoMorgan’s room, but she isn’t here. I notice her sketchpad is open, so I quietly step in to look at it.
In big dark lettering spells out ‘Fuck you Ethan’ and then around in much smaller writing is…. Insults? Is this what he has said to her?
The anger from before comes rushing back.
Fuck this guy.
That’s when I notice the words,You’re so predictable.
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.
Is that what triggered her this morning?
I want to rip out the pages, but I settle for closing the book instead. Not wanting to see the words anymore. Not wanting her to see the words.
Exiting her room, I bump into Shane. “You need to find her ex before I do.”
I should leave this anger to her brother, who is a cop and can get results, the right way.
I don't wait for a reply. I get changed and grab some towels, throwing one at Shane. Making our way to the pool, I hear her before I see her.
