A Month To Live - Extras

The Retreat (3/3)

‘Want me to keep walking so you don’t have to talk to me?’ Tommy asked with an amused look as I once more crossed paths with him when I was leaving for work.

‘Don’t be stupid,’ I scowled. ‘I’m not going to avoid you.’

‘Hmm... I didn’t think you’d get over it so easily,’ he mused. ‘You sort of overthink miniscule things,’ he added, sitting down on his top step. ‘You look less unhappy so I’m assuming Bradley’s back today,’ he added after a long moment. ‘That’s the only explanation.’

He was right. It was finally Friday and I may have woken up slightly earlier than usual from excitement at Bradley’s return. And also, the garbage truck was especially loud this morning.

Thursday somehow had gone by at a reasonable pace. I think because I actually had a lot of work to get on with. Cole was pretty subdued too. He spent the better half of the morning giving Jessica's car a service – which was definitely the most thorough I’ve ever seen him be – and went back to fixing up Henry the Mustang after.

‘Yeah, he's back,’ I replied, realising I’d zoned out for a moment. ‘Finally. You know, I’m going to miss driving his car.’

‘You need a new car, yours is older than even mine,’ Tommy snorted. ‘You should be ashamed, working at a garage and driving around in that rusty thing.’

‘Quit it,’ I complained. ‘Bradley’s making me get rid of it soon anyway.'

‘At least one of you still has a brain - good to know,’ Tommy yawned. ‘See ya, bed time for me.’

‘Work time for me.’

It was nice to know nothing was different. I could have messed things up really by asking him about it but it’s not like we were middle schoolers who couldn’t talk properly. I’d rather know what was going on with my friends than beat around the bush. Now I knew he had no lingering feelings and we could go on as normal.

*   *   *

‘Are you going to sit there and stare all day? Where are your usual insults and annoying questions?’ Cole asked, glaring over his shoulder once more from the front seat of Henry where he was busy installing a new radio.

‘I’ve ran out for the week,’ I replied.

I wasn’t really in the mood to tease him. Actually, I’d eaten a big lunch and was feeling pretty sleepy. I could get away with a lot during this job but I was pretty sure if Jojo caught me napping, he’d kick my ass.

Anyway, Cole didn’t seem like he was in the mood to be teased. It was easier to read his moods after getting used to him for months. He seemed to only have one mood when you first knew him – anti social and rude – but he did in fact have a handful of other emotions from time to time. Right now, he seemed distracted.

‘I didn’t think you ever ran out of shit to talk about,’ he muttered.

‘I was just thinking about calling my mom and then I thought hmm, do I really want to be on the phone with her for an hour? Probably not. She likes to talk a lot. She goes off on a tangent every five seconds.’

‘That’s where you get it from then,’ Cole nodded knowingly. ‘You should call your mom anyway,’ he added after a few seconds. ‘Don’t you always call her on Fridays?’

‘Wow,’ I said, widening my eyes at him in surprise. ‘You actually remembered something about me. I think this means that finally, after many painful hours spent together, we’re becoming friends.’

‘Nah, you’re still the garage slave,’ Cole disagreed. ‘We will never be friends.’

‘Ouch,’ I tutted. ‘And to think, I was actually going to ask for your friendly advice on which car I should get.’