Blue Skin: Book One

Chapter 6

6

Scanning through my Blu-ray collection, I notice Freya flicking through one of my video game magazines on my bed. Good job I don’t have any p**n mags lying around.

“I can’t believe you still read these things,” she says. “They’re all the same.”

“Says you with your fashion magazines. How many times can you read about Beyoncé’s brand new diet?”

Freya closes the magazine and sits up against the wall, her legs across the width of my bed. “Fair point. Have you picked a movie yet? I’m getting bored over here.”

“No. All I have are horror films and sci-fi. Not a chick-flick in sight.”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. I do have other tastes, you know.”

“Like?”

“Urrr…Oh look, just put on a dumb monster movie then. Something with a terrible plot, so I don’t have to think too hard.”

I pull out a Blu-ray case from the middle shelf and show it to her.

“Nazi Shark 3?” she says with disgust. “Really?”

“Hey, you wanted to switch your brain off,” I pull the disk out and slip it into the player, “well, this is the perfect movie.”

“Fine,” she says in defeat. “Anything is better than going home.”

I grab the bowl of salted popcorn from the desk, and then sit next to her on the bed. “Yeah. I bet,” I say, placing the bowl between us.

“Your parents are great,” she says, scooping out a handful of popcorn. “You’re lucky.”

I take a handful, too. “Yeah, I know. They’re embarrassing sometimes, but most of the time they’re okay. I still can’t believe they didn’t ask why you came over.”

“I know,” she says with a mouthful of popcorn. “I bet it was killing your father.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. He wouldn’t ask you, though. My mother would kill him.”

Picking up the remote, I skip the trailers. “So, what was the fight about this time? Something about this morning, I guess.”

Freya doesn’t answer.

Great! Nosey, and a b****y big mouth!

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to snoop.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind telling you. It’s just…my life in that house, living with that arsehole, is one big loop. Like I’m living in Groundhog Day. It’s the same bullshit over and over. Tony wants a kid. Mum gets a miscarriage. Tony gets drunk. Mum gets upset. There’s only so much I can take.”

“Is that what happened today? Has your mother had another miscarriage?”

Freya shakes her head, gathering up more popcorn. “No. The opposite. She’s four-weeks pregnant.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

She shrugs. “No, but it’s hard to get excited for something that probably won’t happen. And even if it does, I’m not sure if she even wants another baby.”

“Really? How come?”

“Because she’s a pushover, that’s how. Whatever he wants, she gets for him. It’s pathetic. She has absolutely zero backbone, and it’s humiliating. And to top things off: the fat prick tried to hit me earlier, and she just stood there and said nothing. Not a word.”

“He tried to hit you again?” I can feel my face begin to harden. “Bastard!”

“Don’t worry. I caught his hand. He’s too much of a weak piss-head to hurt me.”

“Jesus, Frey. The guy must weigh a good seventeen stone.” I glance at her thin arms. Either she’s exaggerating, or I’m living next door to b****y Wonder Woman.

“So? He’s just a lard-arse dickhead. I’m not afraid of him.”

“Do you think your mother is?”

She shrugs again, and then turns to the screen. “God, knows. Probably. But I’m past caring now. I’m done with them. They can both go to Hell as far as I’m concerned.”

There’s a moment of silence as I stare at the movie’s menu. I search for something magical to say, something that I haven’t already said, but nothing comes up.

“Shall we watch the movie now?” I point the remote at the TV.

Freya looks at me with a smile. “Is my sad little life boring you, Sean?”

“A little bit.” I press the play button.

Freya pushes me on the shoulder, knocking over the bowl of popcorn.

“Oh, No!” she cries out in a theatrical voice. “Not the popcorn! Anything but the popcorn!”

Part IV

FREYA LAWSON