39

After school, Adam had errands to run for his older brother, though lately, the term "older brother" seemed more of a habit than a reflection of reality. He still thought of Mike that way—his role model, his mentor, the guy who’d shown him the ropes. But in truth, Mike was less involved with the operation now than he used to be. The days of late-night deals and running errands had slowly trickled into a faint memory. Mike was too wrapped up in his “real job” as an electrician, often traveling to London or working overtime at the local company to meet deadlines.

Adam found himself picking up the slack. He was the one getting the texts and phone calls. He was the one arranging the shady meetings in dark alleys, dealing with the kind of people that made his stomach churn. Mike rarely answered his phone these days, always saying he was too busy with his NVQ courses at night school.

‘Mum would be proud of at least one of us,’ Adam thought bitterly as he walked down the street.

Mike had been on his case lately about college, practically begging Adam to apply.

“You would love it. I know you would. You could do a mechanic course, or plumbing, or even be an electrician like me. Once we’re qualified, we can get a van and work for ourselves,” Mike had been saying, his voice full of hope. But as the conversation dragged on, Mike’s enthusiasm began to sound more like whining. “Come on, you have a few weeks left to apply. If we start the form now, we can make it.”

“I ain't in the mood to talk about this,” Adam had grunted, already frustrated.

That was putting it mildly. The anger inside him was growing, a gnawing rage that seemed to seep into every part of him. He wanted to punch something—anything. He wanted to hit someone until the fury had bled out of him. God help the crackheads today if they said the wrong thing, or worse, if they looked at him funny.

‘Fucking Dave,’ he seethed to himself.

It wasn’t just Dave. The betrayal had run deeper than that. Alice—sweet, manipulative Alice—had used him. Pretended to like him, made him fall for her, and then tossed him aside like he was nothing.

He wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Not this time.

Adam grabbed the dog, its little tail wagging eagerly as he headed toward the park, Gary trailing behind him.

“Are we calling on Ste?” Gary asked, a vague but hopeful note in his voice.

Adam paused, glancing toward Ste’s house. The idea of calling on him hadn’t even crossed his mind. He hadn’t considered Gary’s feelings at all when he made the decision to let Jamie take Ste’s place. It had been a choice driven by a mixture of bitterness toward Ste and an intense desire for Alice. The fact that Alice had now betrayed him only added fuel to the fire. Jamie, innocent Jamie, had become the easiest target. It wasn’t fair, but Adam didn’t care.

Gary had always been the quiet one in their trio, never really talking about his emotions, and so it was easy for Adam to forget how much he might have cared about Ste. Their friendship, the bond they had since primary school, was something Adam had always taken for granted. It meant more to Gary than Adam had ever realized, and it probably meant more to Ste as well.

“Yeah, whatever,” Adam muttered, trying to brush off the uncomfortable feeling in his gut. “At least Ste’s mum will have cigarettes and beer.”

Gary kicked at a stray stone on the pavement, lost in his own thoughts. Neither of them said anything more as they walked, the tension between them hanging in the air.

When they finally reached Ste’s house, the dog shot toward the kitchen, tail wagging furiously as if it had missed its old friend. Ste appeared moments later, looking confused and wary.

“Wanna kick about at the park?” Gary asked, his tone casual but still carrying the weight of a question.

Ste hesitated, his brow furrowing as he glanced between Adam and Gary. “Lemme get a drink first,” he said, his voice laced with uncertainty. He disappeared into the kitchen, and Adam heard the sound of a can opening—probably a beer, because that’s all Ste seemed to keep in the fridge these days.

Adam grabbed his own beer from the fridge and took a swig. He noticed the way Ste had asked about Jamie, his gaze darting toward the door as though expecting Jamie to appear at any moment. The relationship between Ste and Jamie had become strained, awkward, and Adam wondered if Ste was hoping that Jamie was simply running late.

“The others busy?” Ste asked, the question hanging in the air.

“Those guys are busy,” Adam said flatly.

“Are you alright?” Ste asked, his tone suddenly softer. He seemed to study Adam for a second, and Adam couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable under the weight of Ste’s concern.

Adam glanced at Ste, his jaw tightening. There was no way he was going to admit what was really bothering him—not when the truth was so complicated, so fucked up.

“Just…” Adam shrugged, the words catching in his throat. He didn’t know what to say. “Women trouble.”

Gary, as always, jumped in with his unsolicited commentary. “I got ninety-nine problems but a bitch ain’t one,” he quipped, the words coming out with the same flat, emotionless delivery that Adam had come to expect from him.

Adam half-smiled, the tension in his shoulders easing a fraction, but Ste seemed to take the moment more seriously than intended.

“I hear that,” Ste said, nodding thoughtfully. His expression was serious, and for a moment, Adam could have sworn there was a flicker of understanding in his eyes.

For a moment, everything felt normal again—like old times when they could joke around and forget the mess of everything else. But Adam knew it was just a fleeting moment. The reality of the situation was that everything was changing, and it was hard to escape the truth of what was happening in his life.

Ste might not have known it, but the cracks in their friendship were starting to show, and Adam couldn’t help but feel responsible for some of it. He just didn’t know how to fix it.