well i guess this is growing up | closed.

Matt huffed and stood up, following her out to the backyard. He climbed up into the treehouse, grabbing her arm and forcing her onto her back. He slapped her across the face. "Don't you ever talk to me like that," he snarled. "Do you fucking understand me? You're such an ungrateful little bitch, you know that? It's a wonder why that kid even liked you."

---

Sparrow frowned when he pushed her away. She shook her head. "Who said I wanted sex?" she asked, sighing heavily as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I'm not using you." She reached up and rubbed her face. "I'm sorry I'm such a bitch, okay? I just . . . Johnny was my best friend. He was all I had, and now he's gone. My parents fled and Gabe fucking hates me. I have nobody left. But I'm sure you don't care. I treat you like shit."

Rae had been prepared to lay there and take Matt's abuse not even flinching when he slapped her. When her brother had mentioned Johnny though sbe lost her temper, managing to rear one of her hands back to slap him. "His name was Johnny and he was everything to me," she exclaimed. "He was my best friend, he loved me, he fucking died for me." She pulled out of her brother's grasp and moved as far away from him as she possibly could. "He knew every little fucked up thing you have ever done to me and he still loved me!"

---

"We all mourn differently," Brian shrugged. "You've just been reminding Jimmy of how badly he fucked up with your brother so he's been drinking and getting high way more than usual. He started his care up, deciding tgat maybe driving around would help them both.

Matt glared at her, crawling towards her and punching her in the jaw. He grabbed her arms and pinned her down, punching her in the stomach and really just releasing all his anger onto her body. He stood up after he punched her a few good times, kicking her in the side. "Fuck you!" he screamed, red hot with rage.

---

Sparrow bit her lip as she thought. "Do you think Jimmy would forgive me at this point?" she asked. "I really pissed him off earlier. I didn't realize he cared about Johnny." She frowned as she looked down, feeling awful now for blaming Brian and Jimmy for Johnny's death. It wasn't anyone's fault but the guy with the gun.

Rae cried out in pain, almost happy she had let everything out even if it meant now instead of utter and complete sadness she felt extreme pain. She knew deep down her brother would lose his temper and beat her if she laid everything out on the table. The brunette secretly hoped he would stop too late and she'd die and be able to see Johnny again.

---

"I'm sure Jimmy has already forgive you," Brian stated. "You and Johnny were two people he could never really be upset with." Brian was honestly surprised that was the case with Sparrow because of some of the shut she used to pull because Johnny would come home upset. She definitely has a bit of a mean streak to her.

Matt glared at her. "Fuck you, Raelyn," he snarled, kicking her one last time before he left the treehouse, stalking inside to eat some pizza and drink himself nearly to death. He knew if he didn't walk away then, that he'd end up killing her. And he couldn't have that. He still needed her. Besides, he couldn't go to jail. And he still did love her. She was his only family left.

---

Sparrow nodded her head. "Can you take me to his place?" she asked, looking up at him and pleading with her eyes. "I want to apologize in person." She was an utter mess right now, and maybe if she apologized to Jimmy in person, he'd explain to her in his own words everything about Johnny that Brian had told her. She wanted to hear it from him. Maybe he wouldn't kick her out and send her ass home like she probably would do if she were him.

With what little energy she had after Matt left she crawled over to the toy chest in the truck house, open in the plastic container and pulled out the sleeping bag, blanket and pillows she had hid inside it. She refused to go back into the house. Thankfully for Rae tomorrow was Saturday so sleeping in the tree house wouldn't be too bad . After an hour she finally got settled, wincing and whimpering as she got comfortable and she finally fell asleep.

---

"He's not home," Brian stated. "Because I would have seen him when I was leaving if he was." Brian lived across the street from Jimmy's family and Jim was technically staying with him at the moment so he knew every single time he was home because the blue eyed boy would make his presence known.

Zacky sighed heavily as he looked up at the house that he would be living in from now on. His parents had recently died in a car accident, so now he was being forced to live with his grandparents and go to a whole new school. He didn't want to move. He could have easily lived on his own, but nope. Stupid Social Services said under the circumstances that it would be best if he moved. So he had to. He walked inside, ignoring his grandparents, which he had really only seen like twice before in his life, and went straight up to the room they gave him, which was small as hell. He laid down on the bed, deciding he'd unpack later, and went to sleep.

---

Sparrow frowned deeply, suddenly becoming worried about the tall boy. "Will you make sure he's okay? For me?" she asked. "Like, text him or something? He left pretty mad." She didn't know why she suddenly cared so much, but she would feel awful if something happened to Jimmy after the way she treated him.

Rae slept in her treehouse all night, frowning when the sunlight began to shine through the wooden structure. She got out of her makeshift bed, folding everything back up and put it back in the toy chest. She struggled a bit but managed to get out of the treehouse before she walked inside and went into the bathroom to shower, hoping it would soothe her sore body.

---

Jimmy answered his after it only ringing once because he knew Sparrow had probably talked some shit to Brian now. He got that she was morning but she was being a real bitch lately and he did know how much more of it he could deal with. "I'm fine," he stated. "Sparrow was being a bitch again so I'm just driving around."

Zacky woke up the next morning, groaning softly when his grandmother came barging in, telling him he needed to unpack before they went to brunch. He rolled his eyes, groaning as he rolled onto his back, rubbing his face. He sat up and watched her leave, huffing when she left the door open. He got up and walked over, slamming the door shut before he started unpacking his shit.

---

Sparrow bit her lip as she looked at Brian. "Ask him if he'll meet me somewhere," she said, biting her lip anxiously. "Please? Tell him I promise not to bitch him out. Scout's honor." She grinned sheepishly as she raised her fingers and crossed them to show she meant what she was saying.

Rae finished showering and went into her room to change. She wanted to be out and far away from her brother's house at the moment. She pulled on some shoes, not caring if she'd get punished. She wanted to go out and just live a little for once. She wanted to try and be happy for Johnny even though that would probably never happen.

---

Brian told Jimmy that Sparrow wanted to meet so Jimmy told Brian to put his phone on speaker phone. Brian did just as he asked and told Jimmy he was on speakerphone. "Sparrow I don't care about your apology," Jimmy stated. "Mourn the way you want to mourn but do it away from me," he stated before he hung up.

Zacky unpacked most of his stuff within an hour before he changed his clothes and left the house. He began wandering around, hoping they wouldn't realize he was gone. But then he remembered they were supposed to be having lunch somewhere. Maybe he could get far enough away that they'd just give up on looking for him and go without him.

---

Sparrow frowned, sighing softly. She didn't say anything, just rested her head against the window and stared out of it. Right now, she really just wished that Brian would crash his car so she could die and just be over with everything. She could see Johnny again and she wouldn't have to keep ruining people's lives.

Rae managed to sneak out of the house, the fear of getting caught long since gone. She honestly hoped Matt would just beat her to death in a rage so she would see Johnny again. The brunette decided until then she was going to try and live for Johnny. She unlocked her car door, noticing the house next door looked like someone was finally moved into it. She bit her lip, wondering if the new family had a kid her age.

---

Brian sighed softly, setting his phone down in his car's cup holder, he found somewhere to park and made Sawyer look at him. "Jimmy needs space right now," he stated. "It's nothing against you. Johnny is just a sensitive topic for him. He even lashes out at me about your brother sometimes."

Zacky shut the door quietly behind himself and walked down the driveway to the sidewalk, looking over and seeing the girl from the house beside him looking. He bit his lip and walked down the sidewalk, towards her. "Hey," he said, forcing a small smile. He didn't normally just talk to random people, but the girl looked like she could use a friend.

---

Sparrow looked at Brian, frowning. "What, did he like Johnny or something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She had honestly never thought about it that way before, but what if that had been the case? And maybe that was why Jimmy teased him, because he really liked the shorter boy but never said anything about it. She wasn't entirely sure, but if anyone knew, it had to be Brian.

"You need to get away too," Rae questioned. She knew the look of someone who wanted to run and hide. She had that look on her body every day of her life since she had been forced to live with her brother. "I'm going for a drive if you want to get away." She knew the boy would probably think she was a weirdo for offering to give him a getaway vehicle but depending on who he lived with he'd possibly agree.

---

Brian bit down on the inside of his cheek and shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me," Brian mumbled. "A few times I thought him, your brother and Rae were having threesomes," he admitted. "Felt kind of abandoned at times because they'd go off doing there own thing." Brian knew Rae had some dark secrets and only Johnng and probably Jimmy knew them at all. "Do you wanna drive around for a little while more?"

Zacky glanced back at his grandparents' house, back at her, and nodded his head. "Yeah," he mumbled. "That would be great." He knew he'd probably get in trouble for this, but he honestly didn't care at this point. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to be back at home where his parents had raised him, where it was cold all the time and he didn't have to worry about dying from heat stroke. He'd always hated the idea of living in California, because he preferred the cold weather from Wisconsin, not the heat. He missed the snow already, and he'd only been gone for two days.

---

Sparrow frowned. She knew exactly how he felt. Ever since Johnny and Rae had sort of "gotten together," she'd felt abandoned. Johnny had been her best friend for years, and then he met this chick and just straight up forgot about her. Or, at least, that's what it had felt like. She looked at Brian and nodded her head. "Yeah, sure," she mumbled, resting her head against the window again and staring out of it.

Rae unlocked her car, waiting for the boy to get in her car before she started driving off. "What's your name," she asked him. "My name is Rae." She turned onto the main road, turning on her Metallica CD the volume set to low so they could talk to each other if he wanted to. She doubt he really would want to talk but she figured she'd give him a chance if he wanted to.

---

"From what Johnny accidentally let slip once when we drank Rae's brother is a bastard," Brian stated. "Your brother was the only thing that kept her sane." Brian knew Sparrow didn't know how intense things had been between Johnny and Rae. "Jimmy started wondering if her brother raped her too." Brian drove to his place and parked his car. "Do you wanna come in or do you want me to take you home?"

Zacky looked down at the radio, surprised at her taste in music. He looked up at her and shrugged slightly. "Zack," he mumbled. "My friends used to call me Zacky, though. I don't care either way." He looked out of the window, biting his lip. He was glad to be getting away from his grandparents, even if it was with some stranger. They lived their lives totally different than his parents had, and now he understood why they rarely let him visit, and he was thankful for that.

---

Sparrow frowned. "I didn't know," she mumbled. "Johnny never said anything about that. He just said that he was really falling for Raelyn. I've kind of hated her ever since. I guess I was just jealous that he was paying all of his attention to someone else. And I really had nobody else like he did." She'd always been kind of off-putting, so she never really made any friends. She looked up at his house. "I'll come in." She climbed out of the car and grabbed her bag out of the backseat before she started heading for the front door.

"I have a treehouse in my backyard," Rae stated. "If you ever need to get away you're more than welcome to hide there." She knew what is what like to hate being stuck at home with people you hate. "So who are living with," Rae asked. "Grandparents or an older sibling?" She pulled her cigarette pack of Marlboro Reds she had hidden in her car and offered Zack the pack in case he smoked.

---

Brian lead Sparrow into his house, going into the fridge and offered her a Coke. "You hated her because she took all of his time," he stated. "Maybe you two should try and interact more again." He opened his soda and drank some of it. "Maybe you two should mourn together. You were his sister and anyone could see they loved each other."

Zacky glanced at her, reaching over and taking the pack from her. "Grandparents," he said. "Mom and Dad died two months ago." He knew he said it so casually like the whole thing had been just another day, but it was because it hadn't fully sunken in yet. "I wanted to live on my own, but the fuckin' social worker said it would be best if I moved in with my grandparents. They fuckin' suck." He lit the cigarette and took a drag, shaking his head.

---

Sparrow nodded her head. "I guess I could reach out to her," she mumbled. She kind of didn't want to, but she had to figure, this girl loved Johnny too. She took the Coke and opened it, taking a sip and sighing contently. She looked up at him. "I don't have any friends. I guess I'm not very friendly." She forced a small smile and reached her hand out to him. "Can we start over?"

Rae scoffed as she took a cigarette of her own and lit it. "Social workers are fucking useless pieces of shit. After my parents died they made me stay with my brother and let's just say he's a piece of shit." She exhaled the cigarette smoke, deciding to drive towards the beach. "Where did you live before here," she asked. "Somewhere up north from how pale you are," she noted. "I've tried to stay fair and it's a pain in the ass to manage."

---

Brian nodded. "Yeah I'd like that." He finished drinking his soda and tossed the can in his recycle in. "What do you want to? I have a bunch of movies we could watch." He had always wanted to get along with Sparrow and now he finally could.