Gaz was exhausted. The coke he’d done at Joey’s had worn off and now he felt like shit. In fact, everyone at the party was generally feeling like shit. When he’d finally left, people had been puking all over the place or lying on the floor with a bad case of the sniffles.
Gaz had a headache and a sharp pain in his chest. His vision was also a little blurry. The thing he wanted now more than anything else in the world was his bed. But getting there might not be so easy.
At the back door to his house, Gaz checked the time on his phone: 06:00. The sun was just rising. He used his key to unlock the door and gently clasped the handle to go inside. When he stepped through into the kitchen, his mother was there waiting for him.
“Where the hell have you been?” she demanded.
He rolled his eyes and let the door close behind him. “At a friend’s.”
“All night long? Doing what?”
“Nothing. Just watching movies.”
She stood in front of him and stared into his eyes. “You’ve been doing drugs, haven’t you?”
“Mom, just give it a rest. What’s your problem?”
“My problem,” her voice began to break into sobs, “is that my fifteen year old son is out all night doing God knows what. I can’t cope with you anymore. You’re going to have to go live with your dad.”
Gaz went to the fridge and pulled out a pint of milk. “I’d rather live on the street.”
“Then do that, then. You can’t stay here if you’re not going to do what I tell you.”
Gaz swigged the milk and enjoyed the way it felt against his sore throat. It did nothing for his aching stomach, though.
“Look, mom, I-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said, covering her mouth and starting to cry. “Just go to bed.”
Gaz nodded. He was too tired to argue with her. She never gave up with the nagging.
Annoying cow.
Gaz left his mother crying in the kitchen and headed upstairs. He took the milk with him. If he didn’t get at least twelve hours sleep then he was going to be absolutely lagging. The only way to get through the down effects of coke and booze was to sleep through them and that was exactly what he intended to do.
He stomped up the stairs feeling heavier and heavier as he ascended. For a moment, he wondered if he could even make it to the top. He had to heave and push himself just to keep his knees working.
The light on the landing was switched on and the first door on the left was ajar; a black rectangle of shadow between the door and the frame. A small white face peered out at Gaz.
“Jordan, what are you doing up?”
Gaz’s little brother had a sleepy glaze over his eyes but seemed happy to see him. “Where have you been?”
“Not you, too,” Gaz said. “Why is everybody so interested in my life?”
“Sorry.”
Gaz gave his brother a pat on the head. “I’ve just been at Joey’s. I’m going to bed now. You should get another couple hours as well or you’ll be tired at school.”
Jordan nodded his head dreamily. “Okay.”
Gaz patted his little brother on the head again and headed to his own room. Before he got there, Jordan called out to him.
“Hey, can I have the rest of that milk, Gaz? I’m thirsty.”
Gaz turned around. He took one short swig and then handed the rest of the milk over. “Sure thing, bro. Drink it and then go back to bed. Have a good day at school.”
“I will,” said Jordan, swigging from the milk and gasping. “See you later.”
But he never would see his brother again.
THE CIRCLE OF DEATH