Two Fish

twenty eight || elver

Elver glanced over his shoulder and smiled. He could see Alaska reaching for a drink through the window, her mother smiling and chatting.

Before he ended up looking like stalker, Elver sank down onto the leather seat of his car. As he looked around he felt a sudden wave of sadness for his old car. He thought of the people who had bought it. They had probably vamped it up and ripped off his dirty seat covers. But it was his. Well, it isn’t any more, he thought with a start. Elver told himself to stop dwelling on it and he started up the engine.

When he pulled up in his drive, he could see the glow of the television in the sitting room beaming through the curtains and knew Cathy was up. As he walked through the door, the smell of illness wafted into his nostrils and his stomach lurched. Cathy was back in the sitting room, curled up in a ball in the corner of the sofa.

“Hi,” she said as Elver entered.

“Cath, have you ever heard of this thing called air freshener?” Elver said, furkling around in the cupboards for a can to spray. Cathy looked taken aback. Elver sat next to her and turned her head to face him.

“Look, I’m sorry, it just really stinks in here. Now, tell me if you think Alaska likes me,” Elver said, grinning. He knew how to get her interested. She immediately perked up.

“Elver, she’s obsessed with you. I can tell she really fancies you,” Cathy said with a wry smile.

“You’re not just saying that to make me smile, are you? You really think so?” Elver said hopefully.

“I know so.” Cathy couldn’t keep it up for long, though. She lay back on the sofa, her eyes closed to the mute television.

“It’s later than I thought,” Elver said, just wanting to make conversation. Cathy grunted. When Elver really couldn’t take the smell any longer, he grabbed his keys and told Cathy he was popping to the shop. She barely responded, her eyes shut and her mouth hanging open.

He scurried down the aisles of the late-night corner shop where he had helped Alaska to put Hannah in her place. Elver grabbed the cheapest air freshener he could and waited in the surprisingly long queue, behind an old woman with an overflowing basket. He could have sworn that his heart stopped when he glanced over his shoulder and saw what was happening behind him. Liam and a boy he didn’t recognize, with smirks on their faces, were smuggling everything in sight into two massive rucksacks. Elver felt that sick, churning feeling in his stomach and turned on his heel. He gripped Liam’s arm and fixed him with an intense stare.

“Put it back,” Elver said gruffly. Liam stared in disbelief at the contents in his rucksack.

“Oh, boohoo, goody-two-shoes Elver. Why should I do what you say?” He nudged his friend and they both burst out laughing.

“Shut it,” Elver snapped. Liam looked shocked. Elver began to twist the skin on Liam’s arm.

“Dude, get off. What’re you doing?”

“Take the stuff out of your bag.” Elver tightened his grip even more until he was scared he’d break the skin. Liam gave a little yelp and leapt backwards. After quickly composing himself with a sudden snigger, to keep his cool in front of his new friend, he dropped the bags and they ran out. Elver was left alone with several smashed beer bottles and lots of chocolate. The shop owner rushed to his side from nowhere, a woman in her forties wearing a look of utter disbelief.

“Please, it’s not how it looks,” Elver said desperately. To his relief, she smiled.

“It’s ok, I saw what those boys did. I was about to stop them but you stepped in. Thank you,” she said, starting to pick up the mess they had left behind, carefully scooping the glass into the bags. Elver automatically crouched to help, but she shook her head.

“It’s fine, I’ll manage. You’ve already helped enough. You know what, take that.” she nodded towards the air freshener and the bar of chocolate Elver hadn’t been able to resist. “It’s on me, for your trouble.”

“Are you sure? I can pay,” he said. “Especially after what they did.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright,” the woman said.

“Thank you so much,” Elver said gratefully. He rushed out of the shop without looking back, feeling just as guilty as Liam should. When he got to his car, he was shaking and it was a couple of minutes before he could bring his key to the ignition. He drove slowly, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. Of all the things Liam did, he had never expected he would turn to theft.

When he got home, the first thing he did was spray every room with the air freshener, making himself choke on the sharp fumes. The stench roused Cathy from her slumber and she wrinkled her nose. She was paler than Elver had ever seen her before, her cheeks tinged with an unhealthy green. He flumped onto the sofa and told his little sister what had happened. She pulled a disgusted face.

“Oh my God, he’s such a jerk. I mean, I knew he was an idiot, but I didn’t realise he was into theft,” Cathy spat.

“Me neither.” Elver sighed and sank down further, rubbing his tired eyes. Cathy suddenly groaned and rolled off the sofa.

“I feel sick,” she said. It had come to a point that she no longer raced to the loo but pulled over a plastic bucket and hurled into it. Elver recoiled.

“Can’t you do that in the loo?” he asked. Cathy wiped her mouth and lay on the floor. She didn’t say anything. “Fine, I’ll clear it up. What is this, anyway? Some sort of bug?”

She groaned and allowed Elver to take the bucket. He held it as far from himself as possible and tipped it down the loo, washing it out before tipping again. A little water splashed onto his foot and he jumped a mile. When he returned to Cathy, she was crying on the floor.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I hate feeling ill. And I miss Mum and Dad,” she said.

“Oh, Cath. They’ll be back in the morning. You need to go to bed.”

“I can’t,” she said.

“Why?”

“I can’t move or I’ll throw up,” she said, her words muffled by her hair and the carpet. Elver nudged her with his foot and she rolled over. Her hair was stuck to her wet cheeks. After a few seconds, she pushed herself to her feet and Elver helped her upstairs.

“Sleep well,” he said, making sure there was a towel on her floor, under the bucket. He turned out the light, leaving her lamp on, and decided to call it a night.