Paul's POV
As we pushed the door to Emeraude's home open, I turned to John. "Have you ever, y'know, seen a body before?"
John looked at me as I spoke and bit his lip. "No." He admitted after only a short pause. "You?" I shook a head and he took the lead, going inside.
As we walked through the hallway, into the kitchen and then through into the living and dining rooms, I couldn't help but look around, already in awe at how large my sister's house was in comparison to our's, and how lavishly it was decorated.
When we got into the living room, John and I both stopped at the sight of Emeraude's stepfather on the floor, not breathing, vomit on his face and his chest and a barely eaten slice of buttered bread beside his corpse.
I held back a groan at the scene in front of us.
John winced and I wondered if he was thinking of his mum, as I was of mine. "I guess we've all lost parents now, haven't we?" John asked quietly. "I've lost my mum, your lost your's, and now Emeraude's lost her mum and -"
"Stepdad." I finished for him. I took John's arm and led him away from the body and towards the staircase which we had passed on our way into the kitchen, "but we'll always be around for her. Right up until the end."
John promised, "all the way." It was an uncharacteristically soft and considerate thing for him to say, and I could tell that he meant it because he had spoken so firmly.
In that moment, I felt an odd rush of emotion for my best friend. I was so grateful to him for being protective of Emeraude, my sister, when he had known her for mere days - as long as I had.
"Wow," John let out a low whistle as he looked around Emeraude's room, "she's -"
"Apparently money's easier to come by in California than it is here." I went into the room and grabbed her suitcase, which was sitting on top of her wardrobe. I put it on her bed and unzipped it before I went over to her drawers and began to grab clothes to put into the wardrobe. "John," I said, turning my head to him because he was still standing by the bedroom door, "can you help? The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back toEm." He nodded and came over to the chest of drawers, gesturing for me to go to the wardrobe and he'd finish there.
As I pawed throughEm's clothes in her expensive-looking wardrobe, John said, "s'pose she'll live with you, now." I turned to look at him to reply, but blushed a deep red when I saw him holding up a pair of her panties.
"Get outta there!" I exclaimed at him, hurrying over and swatting his hands from the lacy undergarment.
He laughed, flinging the panties into the suitcase on the bed and then shrugged, "ain't nothing I ain't seen before."
"What?" I asked in surprise and disbelief. I wondered if he was having me on - it'd be just like John Lennon to pretend that he'd got off with my sister in the few days since she'd come home to me and dad and Mike.
"She showed me earlier." John replied, "not very secretive, your sister -"
I sighed, "you better be having me on, Lennon, or I'll sock ye - no taking advantage of my little sister, understand?"
"What if George takes advantage?" John asked.
"Do you really think that lad would even know how?" I asked him. John shrugged and nodded, silently telling me that he agreed George was innocent. "Look," I said, "let's just get out of here and then call the police. Being in this house is giving me -"
John grabbed an armful of her underwear and threw it into the suitcase, and then did the same with every other drawer, finally filling the suitcase to the top with whatever he could fit in from the wardrobe. He zipped the case up and put it on the floor. "Let's go - bizzies'll be 'ere soon."
I nodded and followed him out of the room, and then out of the house.
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