The Studs and Steel Series continues...

We were sat in Bailey’s bedroom. His dad’s were totally cool with him having guys in his room, which was completely alien to me. I’d never been allowed to have anyone in my bedroom and neither had Buzz or Darcy. Mum and Dad were kind of old school like that.

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to be up here?” I asked nervously, “Will they keep coming up to check on us?”

Bailey laughed, “No, babe.” He said, “They trust me to make my own judgements now that I’m an adult.”

I nodded, feeling completely stupid. My parents hadn’t seemed to notice that all three of their children were becoming adults. There was only Darcy left to turn eighteen next week... “Right, right.” I stammered, “Course.”

He frowned slightly and looked as if he was going to say something, but he stopped himself and changed the subject, offering for us to play on his games console. Well, I was happy to do that...

We started to play but I could tell that there was something bothering Bailey. I wasn’t in the slightest bit surprised when he brought up my family.

“So uh, Buzz doesn’t live at home then?”

I shook my head, “Uh, no. He uh, left when he was sixteen.”

Bailey blinked, “Sixteen?” he squawked, “Christ, that was young.”

I nodded, “Yeah, he uh, he didn’t get on with Dad...” Fuck. This was getting into dangerous territory. I could feel my armpits beginning to prickle. I hated talking about them, hated it...

Bailey raised an eyebrow, “Oh, right – why is that, then?”

I shrugged, “They, uh, they just never really saw eye to eye. I guess it’s the way with dads and sons sometimes. He’s my step-dad so we’ve never really had the same sort of dramas.” Because I just rolled over and died and did as I was told to keep the peace...

 “Right.” Bailey seemed to accept and carried on playing the game. I bit my lip. It was on the end of my tongue and I could have totally gotten everything off my chest that I wanted to tell him about my shitty double life and my awful situation of pretending to be straight and having to hide everything I did, including my friends and now the most important person of all – him – from my parents. But the moment turned into five minutes and the opportunity was lost. Next time. I’d tell him next time...

Simon... Simon Spellbound, Coming Soon...

I woke up. For a second, just like every morning , I turned over, expecting to see her next to me – for a second I forgot that my life was over...

Then, as it did every single day, it all hit me again. My chest ached with the overwhelming feeling of loss. My skin started to tingle, and I was almost able to feel the burning through my clothes.

I was reliving the car accident. Hearing her screaming again, as loud as if we were right there, going through it all again and then finally the gut-twisting, ominous silence. And even though her screams of pain were quite possibly the most awful sound I’d ever heard in my life, the silence was worse – because that meant she’d gone. And she was never coming back...

Seth... Seth Saved, Coming Soon...