Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Fliss

I sat with my head leaning against Van's shoulder drifting in and out of the documentary they had on. We had been watching star wars but after the others had left katie had put david Attenborough on again and the three of us were giving the different fish names, a quaint attempt at entertainment whilst we waited for Benji to return from the takeaway with dinner.

"Reckon his names freddie," I yawned, "freddie alfonzo" Van let out a laugh and Katie shot me a toothy grin. She was finally starting to look healthy, they'd taken her drips out, her wrists all bandaged up, healing slowly.
The doctors had been in just before Benji had left, they'd smiled and talked us through her latest test results, told us what it was they thought she'd had, told her she needed to take care of herself and that if her bloods came back healthy they'd send her home with medication that night. Benji had smiled when she had but I'd seen the wary look he'd had and knew that like me, he could tell they were just desperate to give her bed to someone else.

"I want to call that one weaselbee cause hes a ginger,"

"How dya know its a he?"

"Cause its on top!" Giggled Katie just as Benji opened the doors a little wide eyed and confused.

"Hashtag no context Katie," I smirked shifting slightly and wining when the phone rang disturbing the peace and tranquility of Vans embrace. We'd barely moved all day, even when the other seats had emptied and spaces had been made, I'd remained sitting with my legs over his lap and my temple resting his shoulder, my breath on his neck. Closer than we should have been perhaps, certainly closer than I'd expected to be.

I thought about not answering but when I saw that it was Alice I decided I ought to push myself from Van's side and press the phone to my ear ready to listen.

"Hey tweedledee," she said her voice half a song and half a sorry excuse for feigned positivity.

"Sup tweedledum?" I yawned feeling Van shake a little beneath me as he laughed at us.

"Don't react okay, I don't want anything to upset Kitty," she sighed and I could picture things falling a part on her end of the line. "Saff didn't say anything earlier but Rhys was round when she went back to the house this morning, he's trashed the place,"

"Uhu," I said though my mind was racing, my gut twisting, jaw tensing despite my efforts to hide the rush of emotions bombarding my neurons.

"Theres a kitchen knife in the door frame, smashed a shit tone of mugs an that... bondys run down ikea for plates and glasses cause the cupboards are totally empty, he really lost it this time..."

"Yeah?" I asked counting the seconds of my inhale, looking between Katie and Van and the door, desperate for an escape so as I could ask as many questions as I liked, so as I might at least try and wrap my head around it.

"Yeah, you know whats worse though, poor saffy doesn't even remember half of it, says she knew about the mug and katies little rabbit toy..."

"Wait what?" I snapped forgetting myself for a moment, Katie's cuddly toy rabbit had been a birthday present to her from her older sister. She'd bought it to the hospital for her the day she'd been born, now more than ever Katie treasured that little toy more than anything she owned, she didn't sleep without it, took it everywhere with her. It was one of those hone comforts you never know how to let go of and never want to anyway.

"Yeah," Alice swallowed, I could picture the awkward way she licks her lips, "he cut it open, pulled all the stuffing out, I'm stitching it up now, trying to fix him up a bit but we'll have to tell her what happened... not now though okay Fliss somet like this will absolutely devastate her..." she said her warning tone setting in like she knew I was about to fly off the handle. Mindless cruelty was the quickest way to send me spare.