Page 8 of We May Be Fractured

Point Nemo

[Now playing ? You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You)—Waterparks]

T he afternoon went by as they painted over the graffiti-covered walls at the entrance.

Sarah had split them up into two groups of three. Maeve, to her delight, had been paired with Nyle and Cliff to take care of the plants under Muhammad’s supervision. That left Aaron in a team with Ria and Landon.

He was glad to be away from Maeve and Nyle’s constant chatter. Ria and Landon were much quieter, especially Landon. The guy hardly said a word, just the odd grunt here and there. But he did work fast. He was like a machine, clearing off the graffiti at a seriously impressive rate.

Considering their earlier run-in, Aaron was surprised by how focused Landon was. He’d expected him to be trouble, but watching him now, it was clear the guy was committed to the job. It was quite impressive.

“That one’s kinda cool,” Ria commented, pointing to a mural that featured large, dramatic animals rendered in stark black and white. “Street art is so captivating.”

He wished his parents could have heard that.

They’d never seen art in graffiti, let alone his sketches.

Hell, they used to roll their eyes whenever they caught him doodling away.

Every time they passed some street artist, they would make sure to hint that Aaron might end up like them, selling scribbles or tagging walls.

They had these grand dreams of him in a crisp suit, maybe as a doctor or a lawyer—the kind of jobs they could brag about at family gatherings.

And here he was, wiping away the very graffiti they turned their noses up at, thanks to a community sentence and a shiny new criminal record.

They would’ve been so ashamed of him. The irony of the situation brought a wry smile to his face.

But as quickly as it appeared, it faded.

Despite everything, he missed his parents. Or maybe, it was the idea of them.

Aunt Olivia had tried her best to be there for him, to fill the gap they left. She was always supportive, even when he put his drawing on pause after the accident. Maybe he should have been honest with her about his plans to move away.

He swiped his brush over a snippet of art, and his thoughts wandered to the notebook she had gifted him, still tucked away in his bag. Still empty.

As the day wound down, Aaron’s team managed to clear off most of the graffiti, but Maeve and Nyle had done more chatting with Muhammad than plant work.

Sarah clapped her hands together. “Good job today. See you all next week. And Walsh,” she added, making Aaron pause, “don’t be late next time, yeah?”

With a quick nod, he set off. It was still early, so he figured he had some time to kill before finding a place to crash. He whipped out his phone and scrolled through a couch surfing app—his lifeline for the past week. As he was about to message someone for a spot to stay, Nyle sidled up to him.

“Hey, Aaron, fancy joining us for a bonfire tonight?” he asked.

Aaron glanced at Ria, Maeve, and Cliff behind him, surprised to see even Landon in the mix. “Who’s ‘us’?”

“Just us and a few others,” Nyle replied. “Got grub and some bevvies.”

The thought of free food appealed to Aaron, especially since he didn’t have any other plans. And who knew, he might even manage to crash on Nyle’s couch afterwards.

“All right,” he finally said.

Nyle looked pleasantly surprised. “Stunning!”

As they all made their way to the Tube station, Maeve shot him a cheeky wink, Ria offered a kind smile, and Cliff eyeballed him. Landon, though, remained expressionless, but Aaron could have sworn annoyance flickered in his eyes.

*

S pread over three floors with four bedrooms, Nyle’s place was much more than Aaron had imagined.

On the Tube ride over, Nyle had nonchalantly mentioned that he owned the place. Aaron hadn’t questioned it, though he remained sceptical. Owning a house like this, even on the outskirts of North Greenwich, seemed like a stretch for someone so young.

As they stepped inside, a corridor opened up into a spacious living area, with the kitchen off to one side, a sofa on the other, and a large window framing a view of the sprawling back garden.

They dropped the beers they’d picked up onto the kitchen island. Landon and Ria set to work prepping the drinks, while Nyle disappeared into the garden to sort out some wood for the fire pit.

Maeve dove into the fridge and snagged cheese, dips, grapes, carrots, celery sticks, and mince pies to place on the counter. She then dumped bags of crisps into bowls. Aaron clocked how everyone seemed to know their way around, clearly not their first time here.

“Are you a veggie or vegan?” Maeve asked as she fiddled with the food.

“No.”

“Any fancy diet?”

“Not really, no.”

“Would you like a cocktail?” offered Ria.

“Sure.”

Ria mixed a few drinks together, garnishing the result with mint and lime. “Here you go.” She offered the drink to Aaron.

He sniffed it, catching mainly mint. “What’s this?”

“Just try it,” Nyle suggested, coming back into the room. “Ria and Landon used to be bartenders.”

Aaron took a tentative sip and found he liked it.

Not long after, Nyle’s friends, a cheerful couple, came in.

They did the rounds of hellos, then launched into a lively discussion about movies and TV shows.

Aaron caught snippets about their shared frustration with the change of main actor in their latest favourite series, strong feelings about another getting axed after only two seasons, and buzz around some new superhero movie coming out.

Another guy stepped in, proudly showing off artsy beer cans he’d brought, some craft brew he seemed keen on sharing.

He appeared older than the others, likely in his thirties, and had a distinctive hairstyle with shaved sides and a lone tuft of hair in the centre.

But Aaron found his T-shirt to be the most interesting thing about him.

It sported the unmistakable silhouette of the Mandalorian helmet.

A fan of the series himself, Aaron silently approved.

The atmosphere grew cosier and cosier by the minute.

Chatting, laughing, and the mingling scents of mint, lemon, and beer filled the room.

Aaron drifted between groups, eavesdropping here and there, quietly soaking in the overlapping dialogues without adding his two cents. He preferred being an observer.

Needing a break and some fresh air, Aaron headed outside.

He found himself pulled towards the bonfire, like a moth drawn to a light.

Standing there, he lost himself in the flames as they leaped and swayed.

Even when he blinked, the dance of the fire lingered, painting bright patterns on the inside of his eyelids.

The fire’s warmth contrasted greatly with the chilly evening air.

But even that warmth couldn’t stop a shiver as memories of a similar fire at his parent’s house when his mum had burned his drawings, calling them “dirty old paper.” He’d tried to save them, but all he got were the gnarly burns on his knuckles.

Nyle’s booming voice from the living room snapped Aaron back to the present.

“Luz, you made it!”

A blonde girl had just arrived, and everyone was all over her with cheerful heys, hugs, and kisses. A tall, skinny guy trailed behind her, who didn’t get the same enthusiastic reception.

When he introduced himself, it became obvious he was as much a stranger to the group as to Aaron. The way he said his name—Jean or Jacques?—had a French ring to it, making Aaron guess where he might be from.

“And who’s this?” the girl asked, zeroing in on Aaron as she marched over. “Another one of your dates ?”

Before Aaron could get a word in, she stood right in front of him, pointing a finger at him. “If you so much as hurt my brother, you’ll wish you never met him. Understand?”

Brother? That made Aaron do a double take. Nyle and the girl had the same blond hair and similar eyes—were they blue? Green?—but unlike Nyle’s loud style, she wore a simple white dress.

“No, I—” Aaron began.

“So, what is it? A one-night-stand thing?”

“Luzanne!” Nyle cut in, sounding strained. He hurried over to them. “He’s not like that. He’s from my… other job .”

The way Nyle stressed the last words led Aaron to believe he perhaps didn’t intend to reveal too many details in front of her date.

“Oh.” Luzanne seemed to understand. “The other job .”

“What other job?” French guy piped in. “Luz said you work at the science museum. Do you do something else?”

“Volunteering,” Nyle said too quickly, as if he wasn’t comfortable with the lie.

“Ah, magnifique ,” French guy said, impressed. “Are they all from your volunteering?”

Nyle hurriedly introduced everyone and then steered his sister’s date towards the kitchen. Landon didn’t seem too keen on interacting with the new guy, even brushing off a question he asked.

After more time spent chatting and enjoying snacks, Nyle motioned for everyone to gather around the fire. One by one, they sat on cushions and blankets Ria had laid out on the grass. Aaron ended up not so randomly sandwiched between Nyle and Maeve.

Off to the side, Landon kept to himself, his back against the fence, cigarette in hand.

He seemed even more annoyed than he’d been all day, his eyes frequently darting to Luzanne.

Each time she shared a kiss or a whisper with the French guy, Landon’s expression soured more, as if he’d tasted something bitter.

“Get a room, you two,” Nyle joked when their kiss lingered a little too long. “Between movies and series, I see enough straight stuff. I don’t need a live demo.”

“Hey, no heterophobic comments allowed,” Luzanne shot back with a grin.

“Well, as the only gay person here, I’m in the minority.”

“Hey,” French Guy called out, raising a hand, “I’m bisexual.”

“Of course you are.” Nyle gritted his teeth. “It’s a French thing to appreciate both the baguette and the brioche , right?”