5
Sun was shining across James’ bare chest. And directly into my eyes.
Doorbell rang, I don’t know how much later. And it rang again. And again and again. I groaned and turned over. James turned too and slung his arm over me.
No one answered the door.
I fell asleep again for what seemed liked an hour. When I looked at the clock it told me it was ten minutes.
I heard the sound of someone jumping over the back fence. And swearing. And then the sound of someone trying to climb up a wall and the rustling of a hedge.
‘Fuck. Fucking hell. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.’
Eva heaved the window open and fell onto James’ knees.
‘Ow!’ James moaned.
‘Sorry.’
I opened one eye. Eva pulled herself up and detangled herself from my curtain. ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!’ She screamed lifting her arms into the air and throwing herself on top of me.
‘No… help…’ tried to pull the covers over my head but James’ sat up, laughing and tried to pull the covers away.
I tried to punch him in the face but my wrists were weak from sleep and he just put his hand over my face until I felt like I was going to suffocate.
Eventually they stopped being dickheads and Eva settled down on the other side of James, leaning her head on her arms on James’ chest.
‘So what’s the plan, birthday slut.’ Eva said. She looked about twelve. No make up. Hair tied on top of her head. She was wearing a grey t-shirt that was too small and a pair of tatty old denim shorts that had a dirty arse and a ripped back pocket that drooped off. And her maroon doc martens that I bought her for her sixteenth. I made her take them off.
James was playing about with the bun on the top of her head. Wiggling it about distractingly.
‘Beth says we’re going camping.’ James said.
I looked at Eva. Her eyes brightened and she went, ‘Yes! I told mum I was staying at yours until Saturday just in case we were doing something like this!’
I laughed. Of course she had. ‘James is going to drive us. I’ve bought four massive bottles of vodka. And a twenty five pound tent from ASDA.’
James clapped his hands together and started bouncing up and down on the bed. Eva started giggling and turned her head on the pillow to look at me.
I stuffed some stuff in my denim rucksack. I hadn’t brushed my hair in a while and it was straggly at the bottom but it was clean and that would do. It was sunny outside again. No more April showers. Thank god.
I rooted around under the bed for the flimsy supermarket tent and got Eva to pile the bottles of vodka into the sack.
I was still in just my underwear. James nipped through to his bedroom to get some stuff but when he came back he was still in his boxers.
Daisy came up to see what all the thumping and the noise was.
She looked about six years younger. Wearing old zebra printed pyjamas and her hair all fluffed up. She swung the door open and rubbed her eyes, ‘What’s going on Beth?’
‘Shhh,’ I said, ‘Don’t wake mum.’
‘Wha -’
‘Shhhh! Go back to bed, I’ll wake you later to say goodbye.’
