Like Real People Do - Jill Roord

But Then I Heard The Sirens

TW: abuse, suicide, mental health, drugs, alcohol

Hunter's POV

set in the past

I walked through the arrivals gate, dragging my suitcase behind me and reminding myself to take deep breaths. It was the peak of summer in Spain, yet it somehow still felt dark, walking through these doors was like walking into the zone of death but I continued anyway.

I saw Mateo and Andres, one of the boys in Mateo's group, waiting on a bench, both of them slumped over with a cigarette in hand.

"Hey guys," I walked towards them, plucking up the courage to paste that smile onto my face.

Mateo looked up at me, I missed when the blue of his eyes held warmth, "You're late."

I gulped, "The plane was delayed. I'm sorry."

Andres stood up, patting me on the back which made me startle, "Don't be so hard on her Mateo, she travels far to be with you."

"She wouldn't need to if she just moved," Mateo stared daggers at me, standing up and resting his arm around my shoulders, "You're driving Andres."

He threw Andres the keys as we walked out to the car. I looked at the rusty green pile of metal, I was surprised it still worked to be honest.

Mateo leaned into me, I almost cowered under his weight, smelling the whisky on his breath, "You're drunk," I muttered.

"Don't get on my back," He opened the car door, pushing me inside, "It's been a long day."

"It's ten-thirty," I told him.

Mateo huffed, looking out the window and resting his arm around my shoulders again, almost pushing me down, "Leave it Hunts."

I just nodded, keeping quiet until we pulled up to the apartment block which wasn't too far from the airport.
We pulled up to the flat and I stepped out of the car, sent into a small daze by the coldness of the apartment block; every time I visited, the light seemed to drain a little more. When the boys had first moved in, it was a place of fun and parties, full of color and life, but now the windows had stained brown, the paintwork faded and carpark desolate.

Mateo gave me a slight shove, meaning I tripped forward, so he could get out of the car. Without even thinking, I whipped my head around and glared but then remembered who I was dealing with and quickly looked at the floor. My heart sped up, the knots, that never left, tightened in my stomach and I thanked the lucky stars that he hadn't been looking at me. Instead he'd been too busy searching his pockets for a lighter which Andres eventually admitted to stealing: see, he and his friends could mess about and all was fine, though I'd put a toe out of line and be lucky to escape untouched.

"Everyone's excited for your visit," Mateo grinned at me, sometimes I fooled myself into thinking the old him was back.

"Really?" I looked up at him.

He nodded, "we've all been counting down the days."

I couldn't help but smile, those teenage like butterflies taking flight in my stomach as I tried to believe the softer parts of Mateo's heart had yet to freeze over. When I was around the boys, I felt like an adult, I loved that they'd never treated me like a child.

Andres unlocked the door, it took a kick at the bottom of the wood then two twists of the handle but we eventually gained entry into the flat.
I stepped inside, holding my breath and hoping to see the apparently excited faces of my friends. I prayed that maybe they'd all cleaned up slightly,  realized this was no way to live and they needed to sort themselves out; though not everyone had the blessing of Alexia being their elder sister.