Page 3 of Meant to Be

“She’s way too good for you.”

I tut. “Yeah, whatever. Want her for yourself or something little cousin?” I ask scoffing.

“No... her friend, I thought if I could get friendly with her then Addison would be a dead cert.” My arm wraps around his head holding him in a headlock as I laugh.

“Do one, man.” Harry steps away from me putting his hair straight and begins to walk. I look back and see the girls have gone out of sight, so I catch up to the lads.

I hadn’t been back to the school since I left here. Let’s say the teachers were glad to see the back of me. Smoking at the back of the sports hall, skiving, detentions, exclusion, you name it - I did it. My mum was at the end of her patience with me; she had call after call from the school because of me. By the time I was in my last year, her drinking had got worse, and she didn’t give a shit about me anyway. When Dad was still here, all they did was argue and fight all the time, he eventually left us when I was thirteen, I was going through puberty and didn’t know where to turn. I got kicked out of school in the final year. I’ve never had the love and support that most kids have - I’ve coasted through adolescence, and I’m no better now.

We walk into the local McDonalds in town, I order a Big Mac meal, get a coke and sit down to wait for the others.

“Harry?” I call out.

“Yeah?”

“Grab me some nuggets.” Harry sighs, but orders them anyway. I pull my phone out and open Facebook. I scroll through, but nothing takes my interest, so I open the bag containing my big mac and fries while I wait for my nuggets.

I’m at the school again, for a week I’ve been here trying to get another glimpse of Shelby Andrews. That girl is fucking hot. Looking back down the path, a crowd of kids walks through the gate, but she’s not there. I remember this well, only I didn’t walk out, I ran out – but those were only the days I decided to turn up. Half the time I couldn’t be arsed. The teachers hated me, and I spent more time in detention or skiving than I actually spent here learning.

Half hour passes, the biggest part of the school have left for the day. Stamping out another cigarette under my foot, I’ve come to the conclusion that she either wasn’t here or she’s gone already. Taking one last look, I turn on my heels and walk back home. I’ll ask Harry, see what he can tell me.

Knocking on the door, I wait for an answer. Harry’s mum opens the door with a not so friendly smile for me.

“Hey.” I smile sarcastically at my aunt. She doesn’t like me much, she's my Dad’s sister, but she thinks I’m just like him, a waste of space dickhead. I’m nothing like him, but she refuses to see that.

“What do we owe the pleasure, Jaxon?”

“I’ve come to see Harry. I mean we are cousins.”

“How are your parents?”

“Why don’t you ring and find out. Is he in?” I have no patience for her false niceties.

She holds the door open for me to walk in. “Just like him. A chip off the old block,” she says as I pass.

“Whatever,” I shout as I run up the stairs to get away from the dragon aunt and knock on Harry’s door.

A voice shouts ‘what?’ from the other side, so I walk in. Harry looks up as I enter. He frowns. “What brings you here?”

“I’ve come to see you.”

“Why?”

“Just because. Is that a problem?” I sit down on his bed and flop back. My hands go behind my head as I stare up at the ceiling.

“No, not at all. Except, it must be important if you’ve dared to face Mum.”

“It’s not my fault she doesn’t like me. She likes my sister and my brother but not me, how does that work?”

“Maybe it’s because they haven’t got the same gene pool, don’t you think?” He tells me with a smug grin. I actually have nothing to do with my half-siblings, they don’t live with us, they’re older and have their own lives, they have nothing to do with my mum.

“Hang on a minute, I’m her blood, she should like me.”

“It’s probably why she doesn’t like you.”

“Cocky shit.”

“Now tell me why you’re really here.” He asks with a smirk. “It doesn’t have something to do with a certain brunette, does it?”

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