Page 24 of Begin Again Again

The kitchen door slammed, and he was gone. Byron added two sugars to his coffee, then another half. Fuck it. Not like he was in training. Not like he was headed to boxing, then a two-hour massage and eighteen holes with the boys. Not even close.

Byron put his AirPods in, but the music didn’t restart. Suddenly, stupidly, he pulled them both out and pegged them at the door Derek had slammed. They hit it with a crack, tumbling onto the floor. Eyes burning, Byron picked them up. When he lifted them, he almost laughed. They’d started playing Bach again.

Chapter 5

Fifteen minutes later Byron was dressed, packed, and on his way to pick up his dad and Kevin. The Hilux was low on petrol, but he didn’t have time to stop and fill it. His old man lost his shit whenever he was late these days. He’d always been prickly but in the last few months, he’d aged a decade, his mood deteriorating alongside his body. Little things pissed him off and the big things… Well, that wasn’t worth thinking about. Not this early in the morning.

His dad was waiting out the front of Byron’s old home. His work shirt was missing a button, and his eyes were red. Byron pulled up and leaned over to open the passenger side door. “Morning.”

“You called your sister?” his dad said by way of hello. “She’s being… just call her.”

Byron knew better than to push for an actual greeting. And he knew way better than to say‘Dad, it’s “they.”’

“I’ll ring them after we get Kevin.”

His dad climbed into the ute with a groan. “Don’t worry about Kevin. His girlfriend gave him a lift.”

Pig’s hole she did. Byron would have bet his mortgage Kevin rideshared to the site to avoid getting busted driving with blood that was more beer than blood. His drinking made Byron’s look downright respectable, which he appreciated—it kept his dad off his back.

“Speaking of girlfriends…” His dad settled into the seat. “Your mum says Audrey’s headed back to Melbourne.”

Byron bit back a groan. “It’s nothing solid. And she’s not my girlfriend anymore.”

“For now.” His old man pulled out his thermos. “She’ll be back as soon as this bloody virus packs it in.”

There were a million things Byron could have said in response, but he said nothing, just pushed down the handbrake and drove back onto the street. His dad poured himself a coffee from his thermos. He didn’t offer Byron one. Didn’t ask to change the station from Triple J to talkback either—just leaned forward and did it. Byron’s fingers tightened on the wheel. He released them with conscious effort. He needed his dad in a good mood today. They had a fuckload to get through at Elsternwick and his old man and the foreman were already on shaky ground after an argument about parking permits. They got to the site after six and found Kevin waiting on the curb, looking as seedy as Byron felt.

“Hi,” Kevin said, standing up. “How’s your night, BT? You see that chick?”

Byron gave him his best‘shut the fuck up’look. “No chick.”

“But you said—”

Byron’s dad slammed the Hilux door. “Kev, get inside, you dickhead. Byron, call your sister.”

“You sure you don’t want me to—”

“Call your sister. Get us an iced coffee while you’re at it.”

For a second Byron considered telling his dad to get fucked, then he turned and headed down the leafy street.

Sal picked up on the second ring. “Hiiiiii, brother!”

“Hi.”

“What’s the fuckin’ deal, dude? How you been?”

Byron rubbed his forehead. Sal was too much. In the morning. In the evening. All the time. “Dad asked me to call, what’s up with you?”

“Fuck, whatisn’tup with me?” He heard a springy mattress noise and guessed they’d thrown themselves onto their bed.

“Can you make this fast, Sal? I’m at a job.”

“Oh, you’re at ajob,are you? You know, I saw your Insta was active at 2am last night. Why were you up so late?”

“Sal…”

They sighed. “Okay, fine. I cut my hair and Mum and Dad flipped their shit. Dad, mostly. You know how he is about me having long hair. Also, I shaved the sides. And I might bleach it.”

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