“Ah yeah, sorry, I get it man,” I reply. He’s right. I need to stop saying the wrong thing all the time.
We begin walking, but my eyes scan the artwork again and I see part of the display is covered with another artwork that simply reads: The Bronze family. There’s a small picture next to it that looks like a hand grabbing a diamond. Kai spots the graffiti in the corner and mutters under his breath, “Assholes.”
“What’s that doing there?”
Kai makes a disgusted sound and says “They’re assholes. All they do is steal shit from small businesses and cause mayhem. They’re a nuisance,” Kai says, kicking a stone under their shoes.
Something within me bubbles up. Anger? Resentment? I’m not sure. I’m opening up my mouth before I even know what I’m going to say. “Have they ever killed people?”
“Killed?” Kai asks, surprised. “No. They’re not that kind of group. They’re just annoying at best - well worse I suppose.”
“Just wanted to make sure.”
“Crime families like the Bronze Family don’t do a lot of damage to normal people like you and me unless you own a business, I guess,” Kai explains, rubbing his temple with a sigh. My brain thinks back to the day my mother died. Could it have been the bronze family? A robbery turned deadly?
“What about Mum? It was people in masks stealing from the jewellery shop that murdered her. Could it have been the bronze family?” I ask, my voice shaky. Just talking about it makes me want to throw up.
“I’m going to be honest with you, it was probably them. The police have tried tracking them down for years but not a single soul knows who they are. It could literally be anyone in this stupid town,” he explains, his posture stiff. He crosses his arms as we continue looking at the graffiti. It begins to make my stomach turn.
We drop the conversation and head into Harry’s shop. His shop feels like home. I remember us doing homework while their parents worked. We used to take the piss out of Harry whenhe was first trying to learn the business. His voice used to crack a lot as he hit puberty, so when he spoke to customers we couldn’t help but laugh at him. But then our voices began to change too.
The walls are lined with colourful surfboards and wetsuits. It’s a sight to behold and one I’ve missed. I can’t help but smile. My heart aches at the thought that my Mum isn’t here, though. She should be here. This isn’t fair. This isn’t?—
“You alright Noah?” Harry asks, his face warm and welcoming. It’s a face that makes you want to break down and spill all your feelings onto the counter. Honestly though, if I started, I don’t think I would be able to stop. Part of me doesn’t want to. I just want to lie down and tell him everything that’s happened.
I don’t want to put all that on them. It’s a vicious cycle. And I’m sick of it.
“Yeah, man, I’m okay,” I say, smiling at him. I’m good at lying to people. It makes my mouth dry, like it’s trying to stop me from lying, but I do it anyway. I think it’s easier to lie than to say how youreallyfeel.
“You’re sure?”
No.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I reply with such enthusiasm it makes me want to die.
I browse the boards and wetsuits. I see a red board with a black and red wetsuit to match. That’s the one I pick.
“You know the drill, man.” He stops as I begin to take my wallet out. “Mate, put your wallet away.”
“But I?—”
“No. I’m not taking any money off you. When you get a job, then we can talk. I want you to find your feet first, okay?” He said with a serious look on his face.
“Thanks, Harry. I really appreciate it,” I say, putting my wallet back in my pocket. “Do you have any jobs going?”
“I can’t even afford to light the place, never mind pay someone else. You’re better off looking elsewhere, trust me,” he says, his eyes trailing off.
“That bad, huh? I had no idea,” I say, my heart beating faster. This place was Kai’s families’ dream. They spoke about it a lot when we were growing up. My Mum actually gave them a donation to help open the place when the opportunity finally came. I had my first sip of alcohol to celebrate when they bought the place - Kai and I stole it when they all went to bed. It was a bottle of red wine that was a quarter full. We took a couple of sips and passed it back to each other. We stayed up all night whispering about what we wanted to do with our lives. What we wanted to be when we grew up. I had no idea back then how hard life would be.
Innocently, we dream of being older, but when it arrives, it just makes you want to kill yourself.
“I’m waiting for the summer to be honest with you. We make up the majority of our income from June and July alone,” he explains, while Kai eats some jellybeans he found. He’s chewing away until Harry and I stop to stare at him.
“What?” He says with his mouth full.
“You do realise they were for customers, right?” Harry tells him calmly. His brother continues finishing what’s in his mouth, giving two fingers up to signal us to wait.
“Uh, did you forget about the pandemic? This is not very sanitary,” Kai says, waving a hand at the small bowl of jellybeans.
