𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘, 𝐍𝐎 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 - kiara carrera²

𝒙𝒊. 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒆𝒔

"ALL RIGHT. HOW MANY HOT DOGS DO YOU WANT?"

Tatum had finally woken up, but her mood didn't change in the slightest. Her face was frozen, her eyes were baggy and the only noise she'd made so far was a grunt. At the mention of food, John B and Sarah thought she would've spoken up or gotten even just a little excited. But she didn't; she stayed seated on the burning, stone sidewalk, rocking her baby brother to sleep whilst feeding him the can of stella they were sharing.

"Not hungry," she mumbled, resting her head back on someone's car.

"We haven't eaten in days," John B pointed out, squatting down in front of her with a frown. He took one of her hands, forcing her to look up at him. "Tate, I know it's hard for you right now, but I'm not going to sit here and let destroy yourself."

"You used to."

John B's lips parted, his mouth went dry and he swallowed a thick bubble of the guilt that would never disappear. All those years, all those months, all those days - he hated being reminded of the way he and the others used to treat Tatum. Because it really made him hate himself. He was better now, he was a much better friend, a much better brother. But that didn't mean the past didn't still hurt. Because it did hurt, and Tatum had the scars to prove it.

"Not anymore," he said softly, because it was the only thing he could say right now. When she dropped eye contact with him again, her face not showing any sense of emotion, he squeezed her arm. "Now, how many hot dogs to you want?"

"I already told you, I'm not hungry," she grumbled again, taking the alcohol away from the newborn so she could have a sip.

"We'll get you a hundred," said Sarah happily from behind them, trying to remain as upbeat as possible in hopes that it would bring Tatum back into smiles again. She handed her teenage husband the money and began filling up the two plastic gas tanks for the boat.

Tatum moaned tiredly, squinting through the sunlight and trying to keep TJ asleep for as long as he could. Ever since he pulled that waiter down, he had made it his lifelong mission to grab and throw away any stranger they walked past. Some found it cute and funny, some slut-shamed Sarah because obviously it looked like he was her baby, since Tatum was too busy sleeping over JB's shoulder, which also looked really bad.

Speaking of the waiter they pulled down, Tatum briefly moved her eyes up from her brother's sleepy face to find the man who they stained with red wine.

"Shit," muttered Sarah, hiding behind the same car as Tatum and TJ.

Then, of course, John B had to come out and ruin it all. His mouth stuffed with sausage and bun, he smiled at the girls. "They ran out of the real deal."

"Shh," Sarah hissed, pointing to the right, where the man and his wife were walking towards them.

"They're vegan," the boy went on anyway, his mouth full of food. When he finally noticed his partner's strange behaviour, he furrowed his brows. "What?"

"He's right there!" Sarah whispered loudly. "He's literally right -"

"Hey! You!"

Too late.

"Come here! Thieves! You stole my money! Come here!"

Tatum rolled her eyes and groaned when Sarah and John B instantly began panicking and collecting all their stuff up. She wasn't going to run. She could not run. Even if she tried, she simply couldn't.

The man began chasing them and she slowly stood up, the sleeping baby still in her arms, who she was extremely jealous of right now, while John B and Sarah took off ahead.