𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕤 𝕦𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘

Chapter One

Sophie was comfortably positioned in the corner of the L-Shaped sofa in the sitting room, sporting a fluffy baby-blue coloured house coat matched with a pair of white slippers as she indulged in a tub of Ben and Jerrys phish food ice cream. Warren and his two mates sat in the kitchen, using outdoor voices as they play Fifa 20 on the playstation he had brought downstairs from his room to use the bigger telly in the kitchen. Sophies eyes rolled in annoyance as she grabbed the remote, increasing the volume on the sitting room telly, attempting to drown their voices out with a episode of Gossip Girl. It didn't work. Sophie sighed, scrolling through her phone. She didn't even try to yell at Warren to shut up, because he had his friends to help him rip into her.

Now that it was summer, Sophie and Warren didn't get to see much of Mam and Dad because they were in work. To be honest, they never really saw much of their parents at all. Mary Dunne worked as a carer for the elderly in the old peoples home in the village of Palmerstown, and Jerry Dunne worked as a solicitor, spending most of his hours in his office working late on his clients cases. Sophie didn't really mind, she never really got along with her family. The only person Sophie could feel connected to was her grandmother, Nancy, who had died of lung cancer not short of a year ago. The death was hard on Sophie, she lost her only real friend the day her grandmother died. Now that it's summer, she has more time to spend by herself and enjoy her own company, especially when Warren was out of the house. Sophie turned the telly off as she gave up trying to watch it.

The kitchen and living room were separated by a glass, sliding door. Warren's head snapped to the living rooms direction, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. ''Stop tryna listen into me conversations you little freak.'' He barked, getting a laugh of agreement from Chris. At this point the three of the boys were stood up as if they were about to go somewhere, switching the telly off. ''I'm not. I'm not interested in what you all have to say.'' Sophie shrugged, still scrolling through the news feed on Facebook, not caring enough to look up at her brother. Warren opened the sliding door as Chris and Josh followed behind him. 'I lost my key, lock the door after me.''

''Where are you going?''

''Out.'' Warren looked at Josh, giving him a questioning look. ''Are ye sure you want to stay here?'' he muttered under his breath. Josh nodded, ''Me nanny will kill me if she sees me.'' He said quietly so Sophie couldn't hear, but she could. Sophie was well aware about what Warren and his mates were involved with, she thought about telling Mam and Dad about Warrens drug use as some sort of approval from them or authority of her brother, but decided against it. She didn't actually care that much.

''Right.'' Warren said almost disappointedly. ''Josh is staying here til I get back. Don't be fucking weird for once Sophie.'' And with that, Warren headed straight for the hall door followed by Chris who waddled behind them. Sophie followed after them, tying her house coat tighter after the boys slammed the door after them. Sophie reached up on her tippy toes to get her key from the key holder, locking the door. She walked back into the sitting room as her eyes awkwardly locked with Josh's for a few seconds, before she sat down back where she was beforehand. Josh had his hands dug into the pockets of his tracksuit joggers, as he boredly stared out at the wall. Josh was probably the tallest people Sophie had ever been around, his legs uncomfortably stretched as the coffee table was in his way. Sophie grabbed the remote control, flicking through Netflix until she found Step Brothers, a movie anyone could tolerate, to ease the deafening silence between them.

''Ah, I love that film.'' Josh let out quietly, as he sat up in his seat.

Sophies heart stopped, not really knowing how to respond. She never really ever talked to Josh. She didn't really mind him, either. He didn't really do much, all she knew about him was that he's in her year and hangs out with Warren and Chris. She felt shocked that he even tried conversation with her, as he was always quiet. He's also Warrens close mates, and she wasn't exactly liked by his group of friends. She nodded in agreement, giving him a small smile. Which he returned.

They continued to not talk and act as if they weren't in the same room whilst they used their phones to distract them from each other, their attention being spent on the film when it got interesting. The scene of where Brennan and Dale are arguing over Brennan touching the drum set was playing, and the both of them giggled to themselves. Sophie turns her head to Josh, she completely forgot he was even there. By Josh's facial expression, he must've too. He folded his arms, looking down at his feet as the tension filled back into the room.

''Have ye been up to much this summer?'' he attempts small talk. There wasn't much use ignoring each other when Warren was going to be gone this long.

Sophie scoffed to herself quietly, thinking of what to say for a few minutes before she responded. She found it funny he would think she had a social life. ''No, just been sitting in all day watching telly.''

''Do you not go out to your mates?''

Sophie paused. She knew she should probably just respond with no and leave it be at that, but for some reason she felt she could speak in confidence to Josh. He wasn't like Chris, who would gawk at her to impress Warren. He just kind of kept to himself, she noticed over the past few years of knowing him. ''I would if I had any.'' She shrugged.

''Oh. Sorry.''

''Why?''

''Uh, I dunno. Just felt bad.''

Their heads both faced the telly again, not really knowing what to say to eachother.

''I heard you got a car.''

''Yeah, just got it last week. What bout you, you driving?''

''I'd like to. Just haven't gotten around to doing me theory.''

''Ye, it's a pain. Took me three times.''

''Must be hard so.''

''Suppose, I'm not really the smartest so.. I'd say you'd be grand.''

''What makes ye think that?''

Josh shrugged. He done that a lot. ''Dunno, you're smart aren't ye?''

Sophie smiled, amused by his question. Yes, Sophie was bright in school, but that's what everyone said about her when she's looked at in school. She's quiet, so she must be smart. ''Just cause I get a few H2's doesn't mean I should be trusted on the road.''

Josh chuckled, shaking his head. ''You'll be grand.''

They returned to being quiet, and after another half hour the knocker on the front door banged three times. Sophie got up and openeded the door for Warren, who shoved her aside as he strolled through the hall into the sitting room. ''Ready?'' he asked Josh. Josh nodded and got up from the sofa. They both walked out the door, Warren ignoring Sophie and Josh giving her that small polite smile he always does. Sophie locked the door again, thanking whatever celestial being their was for giving her some free space to herself. She switched back on where she left off on Gossip Girl, getting herself a cup of tea and a Malteaser bar to indulge in.