Haze Bois

Chapter 6

Urrrg,” Katie groaned. Her mouth felt as though it was full of sand. She rolled to the edge of her bed and dangled off the side, searching underneath for the carton of apple juice she prayed was still there.

It wasn’t.

Typical.

With a sigh, Katie sat up and rubbed her temple.

‘How much did I drink?’

She remembered an awkward goodbye with Jamie, running upstairs, downing a bottle of cheap rose and confronting Caleb. Her exact words wouldn’t resurface, but her memory bank did contain hazy flashes of a physical confrontation.

Katie massaged her bruised knuckles.

“Crap.”

Katie rolled back over and fell back asleep until Haley dropped onto the bed and woke her.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Haley greeted. She was grinning ear to ear.

Katie groaned and rolled over, burying her head in the pillow.

“Don’t be a grump, I have news,” Haley said. Even though Katie wasn’t looking at her she could hear the smile in her voice.

“Shitty ex wants you back?” Katie asked.

“He’s not shitty.” Haley’s smile morphed into a frown for a fraction of a second. “And yes, he wants to have a relationship. I can’t believe it. Whatever Cal said to him worked.”

“Oh, crap... Cal,” Katie muttered as the memory of punching him resurfaced.

“What did you do?” Haley frowned.

“I may have punched him in the face a little bit,” Katie admitted with a wince.

“Why?”

“He’s been telling guys to stay away from me.”

Haley shrugged. “He’s been doing that for years. You only just realised? I thought you knew.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Remember that guy Ed Myers? He used to walk behind us on the way home from school and talk about how one day he was going to shag you one day? Massive pervert—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Katie interrupted with a shiver and a cringe. “What about him?”

“Cal overheard him and well... let’s just say he quickly found someone else to perv on.”

“Oh my god. I know Cal is like a brother to me but it is weird, right?” Katie asked.

“Not really. My brothers are the same way. They want to murder Greg and probably would have killed Steve too if he wasn’t so damn nice all the time.”

Katie remembered the day Cal had fought with Ed and shuddered.

‘Cal literally stomped on that guy's head... because of me?’

“I’m sure he won’t be opposed to you dating his new friend,” Haley said with a smile. “Come on. Let’s go bother him.”

Haley loved to bother people. It was her thing. If she wasn’t pestering or annoying someone about something, she wasn’t happy.

Katie’s head swam as Haley pulled her from the comfort and warmth of her bed. After a handful of painkillers and an entire pint of milk, Katie was ready to face Caleb. Sort of.

When they let themselves into next door he was stood by the table. Not doing anything. Just standing there. Still and silent, face blank.

Katie frowned. “What are you doing?”

Caleb screwed up his nose. “What does it look like?”

“Like you’re just… standing there?”

Caleb considered that for a moment and shrugged. “I was thinking.”

Katie felt more than saw Haley make a face.

“You both look like you want something,” he accurately assessed. “So... spill?”

“I’m sorry for punching you,” Katie said.

“You didn’t. You punched the wall.”

“Oh, I—”

“You were aiming for me.” Caleb smacked his lips together. “You were very drunk. Do you remember what you said to me?”

Katie had a very vague recollection, but judging by his face it was worse than her memory was letting on.

“I’m sorry,” Katie whispered, looking down at her feet.

“Do you remember,” Caleb repeated, “or do you want me to remind you?”

“I was really drunk and pissed,” Katie explained. “Pissed in the other sense of the word. You can’t decide who I can and can’t date.”

“I don’t. I decide who my friends can’t date,” Cal said.

“Ed Myers wasn’t your friend,” Haley pointed out quietly. Haley always had her back. She loved this girl.

“He had a big mouth.”

“Why though? Why can I not date someone just because he’s your friend? You only just met him for heaven's sake.”

“Jamie,” Cal said with a grin.

“Well, duh,” Katie said. She thought he already knew this was about Jamie.

“It’s up to him to choose, isn’t it?” Cal shrugged.

“And if he chooses me?” Katie asked, though she could guess the answer.

“He won't,” Cal stated. Simple as that. As though he knew for certain.

‘We’ll see,’ Katie thought. She daren’t say out loud but she was confident she could prove him wrong. Jamie liked her. He’d said as much, but it was more than that. She felt it.

“Anyway,” Katie continued, “I came to apologise.”

“You’re doing a fantastic job,” Cal sneered.

Biting her tongue, Katie told him how sorry she was. How she didn’t mean any of the horrible accusations she had flung about. She spun out all of the excuses in the book, even throwing in premenstrual stress for good measure. Eventually, when his face changed from blank to mildly disgusted, Katie gave up.

“So? Will you forgive me?” Katie asked, pressing her palms together.

“Whatever… what difference does it make?” Cal huffed. “It’s not like I was going to punch your face in or anything.”

Haley was set to pester Cal about her own boyfriend troubles when Jay stormed into the kitchen. He took a glass from the cupboard and slammed it down so hard Katie was surprised it didn’t shatter. The next victim was the bottle of cola. It fizzed as he opened it and spilt over the edge of the glass.

“f**k. f*****g s**t,” he grumbled. He turned and tripped over a bag of washing, swearing again as he spilt more of the drink.

“Hey... Jay,” Haley greeted him while giving Katie a sideways glance.

Jay ignored her. He turned to Cal, raised his fists as though he was going to punch him but eventually let them drop to his sides.

“Now she’s bitching at me,” Jay complained. He messed with his phone, hands visibly shaking, and dropped it onto the hard floor tiles.

“f**k,” Jay cried, gathering up the pieces of the broken Samsung and clumsily attempting to reassemble it. Eventually, he gave up and just sat on the floor, head in his hands.

“What happened?” Haley asked, but got no reply.

“Are you okay, Jay?” Katie asked. She looked to Caleb, hoping he would comfort his brother, but he just shrugged as though this behavior was normal.

“What did I tell you?” Caleb asked.

The tone of their conversation made Katie uncomfortable, as though she was intruding on something private. Part of her wanted to make some excuse to leave, but she also wanted to be nosy. What could they possibly have to argue about?

Haley lightly brushed her finger and mouthed words she couldn’t decipher. She was whispering something.

“Jade,” Haley leaned in and whispered a little louder.

“Ah,” Katie whispered back.

“Jade doesn’t do the whole boyfriend thing. She’s a free spirit—” Katie butted in, trying to help.

“Slag. When she says free spirit, she means slag. Easy. w***e. Slut,” Caleb cut her off. “You think you’re going to be the guy to sweep her off her feet and change her ways? You aren’t.”

“Why? Why couldn’t it be me?” Jay whispered.

“Because she only wants to use you,” Cal said. He turned to Katie and Haley. “No, I’m not telling you how I convinced Greg, and No, I’m not telling Jamie he can be your boyfriend.”

Cal rolled his eyes and walked off, leaving the others in stunned silence.

“Well,” Haley intoned. “That told us.”