The Truth about Tomorrow

CHAPTER 2-2

* * *

The following day was quiet. Kyle spent most of the day up in his room watching TV. He didn’t want to see people, not that they took the hint. Cassie came up twice, Rob tried once. Ciara left him alone, except bringing him a sandwich halfway through the day. Everybody kept asking if he’d taken his injections, like he would suddenly forget after five years. They were silently blaming him for everything. Well, maybe not Ciara. She wasn’t the type to carry a grudge.

Rob cooked the dinner that night. Roast chicken with mash, broccoli and pepper sauce. Kyle hated broccoli but knew that Cassie would give out to him for breaking out of his healthy diet and being rude to Rob, who had only tried his best. The chicken was slightly burned and crispy on top. Kyle missed his mother’s succulent roast chicken. It was never had with mash either, but with vegetables and spuds cooked in the tray with the chicken.

After dinner Cassie and Rob suggested that they order a film on Box Office and watch it together. Kyle was getting ready to protest, but Ciara got there first, saying that she was going out to see a friend. Cassie interjected, saying it wasn’t a good idea under the circumstances. They should all stay together.

“You’re worried about a nervous breakdown in public, aren’t you?” Kyle remarked, lifting his feet up onto the couch. Ciara looked shocked first, but then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

“I think we’ve spent too much time together. I just want to get out.”

“I’m not taking you into town,” Cassie said, raising her glass of white wine. Rob looked on in silence, the outsider that he was.

“I’m getting a lift.”

“And how do you plan on getting home?”

“I’ve got friends to stay with.”

“Can I go with you?” Kyle jumped in before Cassie came up with more excuses. “Into town, I mean.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Ciara groaned.

“Not that Kyle would be much good at it anyway,” Cassie sighed.

“I’ve no interest in babysitting anyone, I just want a lift.”

“Sure. He’ll be here at eight.” Ciara turned on her heels and left the room.

“He? Has she got a boyfriend?” Cassie turned towards Kyle.

He shrugged. He didn’t keep tabs on his little sister’s comings and goings, and it wasn’t like Cassie hadn’t already had boyfriends at her age.

Kyle made his way upstairs, had a shower and got changed. It felt like ages since he had dressed in anything normal, like jeans and a T-shirt. He still hated looking at himself in the mirror, so he didn’t. He picked a jacket with a hood instead, though, not wanting people staring at his bandages while he was outside.

Ciara’s friend was very punctual. He beeped the horn at eight o’clock on the dot. Ciara ran out to the car, not waiting for Kyle to follow. He sat down in the backseat and was faced with a suspicious look from the driver.

“Yeah, I forgot to say. This is my brother Kyle. He just wants a lift into town. Is that OK?”

“Yeah.” The driver turned around in the front seat and offered his hand.

“Ronan.”

He was probably just about 18, with short, dark hair. He had one of those faces that one won’t remember the day after.

Ciara and Ronan seemed to get on like a house on fire and were chatting happily all the way into town, a bit too happily all things considered. Kyle was glad that Cassie wasn’t there. She had started to fancy herself as their new mother, despite being only five years older than Kyle and eight years older than Ciara.

“We’re going to the cinema; can I drop you off here?” Ronan said, pulling up at the parking lot behind the cinema.

“Grand,” Kyle said, getting out of the car. Ronan carried on into the back of the car park, and Kyle turned his back on his old piece-of-s**t of a car and started heading towards Juice. It was their usual spot on a Saturday night, except, of course, the Saturday before.

Although it was early, there was a good crowd inside the pub. Kyle spotted Donal straight away but didn’t go over. Donal was not in his good books right now; besides, he seemed to be having a great time chatting up some blonde at the big table at the back. He thought the longhaired fella with him was Tony but wasn’t too sure. He had never met Tony properly, and now he didn’t want to meet his rival bassist.

He went up to the bar, got his cider and was making his way towards a couple of guys he’d gone to school with when he was stopped by a girly shriek. It was Mel. Again. Was no place safe from her?

“Oh, Kyle, I didn’t think we’d see you out so soon,” she purred into his ear to block out the music that seemed to be blasting particularly loud that night.

She looked well; there was no doubt about that. She was wearing her trademark sky-high red heels, paired with a matching red mini dress so short that he was relieved she was wearing leggings underneath.

“Yeah, well, I can’t be stuck at home forever,” he said, pushing his hood off his head. The girl let out an infatuated giggle, as if he’d said something hilarious. She was not the brightest star in the sky.

“Come on, come join us over there. It’s Eliza’s birthday.” She grabbed his arm, the sore one, but he didn’t want to cry out in pain and risk being taken for a wimp.

Eliza was a chubby, slightly red-haired girl celebrating her 21st. It didn’t surprise Kyle – Melanie came across as the kind of person who only selected friends who were less good-looking than her, so that she could remain the centre of attention at all times.

Kyle sat down on the couch, sandwiched between a girl he wasn’t introduced to and the all-too-keen Mel. Across the table sat another girl, presumably beside her boyfriend, whose hand she was holding onto despite him being deep in conversation with the only other male in the party.

“I can’t believe you got your hair all shaved off! It looks so weird,” Mel said, running her hand across his scalp.

“Going for the rough look, are ya?” the girl on his other side grinned.

“I don’t mind a bit of rough tough,” Melanie cooed.

“Is it bad? Underneath those things,” the other one said with a vague wave towards the bandages on his head.

Kyle shrugged. He seemed to have lost his will to talk.

“Is your hair gonna grow back? I loved those highlights you had,” Mel carried on. Kyle started to feel slightly claustrophobic with no way away from the table.

“Yeah. In time.” He took a sip of his drink.

A lot of girly chat followed. Kyle couldn’t get into a conversation with the other two lads because he couldn’t hear what they were talking about. In any case, they didn’t seem a bit interested in talking to him.

A couple of drinks later, Mel left the table to go and “powder her nose”, and Kyle was left alone with the girl who still had not been introduced to him.

“So, was your mum really a psychic?” she asked, leaning towards him.

“A clairvoyant,” Kyle corrected.

“Yeah, same thing.” She waved him off and was going to carry on.

“She read tarot cards, that kind of thing,” Kyle explained, but his words fell on deaf ears.

“How come she didn’t know then?”

Kyle froze in his seat.

“Didn’t know what?”

“That it was gonna happen?” The girl seemed insistent in the way people were when they’d had too many drinks. Kyle couldn’t even bring himself to look at her.

“It’s not how it works,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, but she can tell the future, right?”

“There was no future to tell. Excuse me.” Kyle squeezed himself out from behind the table and went up to the bar.

“You not talking to me then?”

Kyle swirled around to face Donal.

“You kicked me out of the band,” he reminded him, grabbing his bag of crisps and pint of cider off the bar.

“For one last time,” Donal sighed, “we didn’t kick you out of the band. I just think you need some time to get your head together.”

“Maybe all I need to keep my head together is to do normal things, like play in the band,” Kyle retorted.

“Look, Kyle, you’re a good bass player, and you’re welcome back anytime you want. Just take a break for a while.” Donal slammed him on the shoulder in what he must have thought was an encouraging gesture.

“Now, if you want to do something normal,” Donal said, lowering his voice and leaning in, “that chick fancies the pants off you, she does. It would be a shame not to nab her.”

Kyle didn’t need to ask who he meant.

“Come over when you’re ready,” Donal said with a wink and walked back towards his corner.

Kyle returned to the table, where Mel was eagerly awaiting his return.

“You hungry?” she asked enthusiastically when Kyle ripped open the bag of crisps.

“No,” he said, stuffing a handful of cheese and onion crisps into his mouth.

“Ugh, cheese and onion,” said the anonymous one who had annoyed Kyle only a few minutes earlier. It hadn’t crossed his mind – cheese and onion crisps could stink the place out and were never much good for a fresh breath. Still, they were the only thing available.

For better or worse, the crisps didn’t seem to put Mel off.

“If the boy’s hungry, he must eat,” she said with a flirty look in his direction.

Kyle found himself wolfing down the bag of crisps and trying to drown the aftertaste with his drink. Everything started to seem a bit blurry around him, kind of like an out-of-body experience. He was half-aware of Mel sitting practically in his lap and that he had a great view of her chest, but he didn’t care. He stumbled into the toilets and back. He didn’t feel right at all, not even when he sat back down. He was distantly aware that Mel was trying to say something into his ear. Next thing he felt a tap on his shoulder, and Donal was handing him a glass of orange juice. Everybody around seemed amused by it. When he had finished his OJ, Donal pulled him up, again by the sore arm, and started to lead him outside.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, Cassie was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. She was cross. He pulled himself up on the bed. The wall clock was pointing at around 10. The window was open, and chilly air was streaming in. It was a stormy day.

“What happened?” He squinted up at Cassie. The last thing he could remember was being dragged out of the pub.

“You drank too much, that’s what happened. Again.”

That made sense. His head was sore, and he didn’t feel great. That was normal, though, nowadays.

“Your friend Donal called me to come and get you. You remember what happened the week before?” Cassie was seriously pissed off.

“It wasn’t the same. I had been eating…”

“Yeah, well, the last time Donal called when you needed a lift, do you remember what happened?” She was downright screaming now. He wasn’t listening though. He needed to get up and run to the toilet…

Cassie didn’t move from the doorway while Kyle was examining the insides of the toilet. When he returned, feeling even more miserable, she swirled around to head back downstairs.

“I have sausage rolls and tea downstairs for you. Will you be OK?” Despite her sarcasm, there was a note of concern in her voice too.