Quicksand

After crying my eyes out to my best friend, we had both settled down a bit. Parker was now lying beside me, stroking my hair, which was a habit he knew I loved, and listening to me ramble about nothingness. I was blissfully in the state of sleep deprivation, during which my most inner thoughts came to the surface.
“Park?” I mumbled.
“Mm?”
“What do you reckon would happen if my mother die-,”
“Don’t say that,” Parker grumbled, slowly falling asleep beside me.
“But honestly,” I curled into the crook in his arm. “What would happen?”
Parker inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I guess you would take up permanent residence here,”
It was at that moment that I realised I didn’t quite know where I would prefer to live. While I was here I was with family, the only family I had left, but if I went back, I would be with Parker, my best friend since birth.
As I began to slowly drift into my unconscious state of sleep, I started to mumble incoherent rants that wouldn’t make any sense. However, I did recall mumbling something along the lines of:
“Honestly Park, if I could move Theo and Demitri and my Dad back home, I would be so happy. Not now. I’m a sad fish,”
Parker sighed and kissed the top of my head as my heavy breathing confirmed my sleeping state. He slowly moved me out of his arm and advanced towards the door, determined to find out where Demitri and Theo were in this monstrous house.
After opening three doors that wound up to be a bathroom, what looked like a storage room for busted gym equipment and an empty bedroom, Parker finally happened along Theo’s bedroom, which had shouting and yelling coming from out of the door. With a furrowed brow, Parker slowly turned the doorhandle and found Theo and Demitri, both staring at the television on the wall of his bedroom with controllers in their hands.
Upon seeing Parker, the television made a noise and the game was paused.
“Parker?” Theo said with a frown. “Is everything okay?”
Parker scrunched up his face and flicked his black hair out of his eyes. “I don’t really know how to say this delicately,”
“What’s up?” Demitri queried, getting to his feet.
“I’ve known Beth for four years, I can tell when she’s miserable and, if it weren’t for you guys, she would be absolutely gutted,” Parker ranted.
“Yeah, well, we’re working on that,” Theo shrugged with a wince. “It’s not exactly easy to sympathise with her, we never knew the woman who’s in a coma,”
“It’s not just that,” Parker sat down on Theo’s sofa. “Yeah, she’s miserable about Diana, but she’s afraid of stuff concerning your world and this rich lifestyle,”
Demitri sat down beside Parker curiously. “So, what can we do?”
“Keep her distracted?” Parker suggested. “It’s when she’s alone at night that she feels the most miserable and is most upset,”
Theo and Demitri gave each other a quizzical look. “So we need to stay with her, while she sleeps?”
Parker gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temple. “Is it really that difficult?”
“More awkward,” Theo got to his feet and shifted uncomfortably.
“Well for you, yeah, because she’s your blood, but y’know, Demitri…” Parker trailed off.
Demitri shot his head up and raised his eyebrows at Theo who glared at Demitri. “Parker, if you think I’m letting him sleep in the same bed as my sister, then you’re mad,”
Parker, who was on Theo’s side and was also glaring at Demitri’s optimism, sighed. “Just stay with her until she’s asleep, it’s not that difficult,”
Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “Isn’t keeping her distracted only a temporary thing? Like, wont she, one day, just break down and cry?”
Parker got to his feet, his hands raised in surrender. “Okay, look. I can’t be around Beth 24/7 anymore, but you guys can. I know you think you’re looking out for her, but in actual fact, she’s more miserable than she’s ever been which means you guys aren’t doing your job right-,”
“Wait on,” Theo snapped. “We’re doing the best we damn well can,”
“Which is not good enough,” Parker said in Theo’s face.
Theo narrowed his eyes at Parker who raised an eyebrow, Demitri got to his feet and stepped between the two boys who were glaring daggers at each other.
“Okay, Park, we’ll keep a closer eye on Beth,” he said putting a hand on Parker’s chest.
“Thank you,” Parker said with a sigh. “It’s hard enough not being around her when she’s like this, you guys have to…”
“Have to what?”
“You have to watch out for her for me,”

The next morning I awoke with a huge smile on my face, looking beside me I saw Parker sleeping softly, wearing a daggy t-shirt and track suit pants. With a grin, I straddled his lower body to wake him up.
“Parker James Shepard!” I sang as his face scrunched up.
“Beth,” he whined. “If the sun is up, it’s too early,”
I grinned as he knocked me off his body and got to his feet, stretching his arms up to expose his stomach. Almost immediately, he grabbed his deck of cigarettes and sauntered over to this window and lit up.
“All those cigarettes are going to catch up to you one day,” I taunted, making my way to the bathroom.
Parker rolled his eyes and blew smoke out of his nose. “Just another decade I don’t have to live this life anymore,”
I stuck my head out of the bathroom. “Don’t you forget, as soon as you die, I’m close behind,”
“I’ll ignore you in the afterlife if you do that,” Parker warned. “Besides, I’ll be too busy whoring myself out to Heath Ledger’s ghost to pay much attention to you, anyway,”
“Love you too,” I muttered with a smirk as I started the shower in my en suite.
After my shower, I wrapped my towel around my body, not particularly modest in front of Parker who would sooner eye my body than wear a denim jean jacket with sneakers.
However, I was not expecting to see my brother lying on my bed, while Demitri stood, leaning against my dresser chatting with Parker. My face went beet red and I quickly leapt back into the bathroom, swearing fluently.
“Oh Bethy,” Parker called. “Would you like some clothes?”
I swore Parker to the fiery pits of hell. “Yes please,” I said through my teeth.
I heard the sound of laughter and chuckling and moments after Parker entered the bathroom with a bundle of my clothing in his hands.
“Here you are, darling,” he said with a grin.
I smacked Parker upside the head as he poked his tongue out at me. Although I was glad two aspects of my life were coming together in a positive way, I didn’t like the way they teamed up against me.
Pulling on the shorts and t-shirt Parker had provided me, I walked out to see Theo and Demitri.
“So what’s the plan for today?” I asked, trying to mask my embarrassment.
Theo, who was toying with one of the stuffed animals I had on my bed, sighed. “There’s a fair down the road if you guys are up for it?”
Demitri shrugged, playing with his impressive cell phone.
“A fair?” Parker spluttered. “What are we, nine?”
Theo threw the stuffed animal he was playing with at Parker’s head. “Well what do you propose we do then, Parker?”
“You guys practically have a miniature golf course in here, why do we have to go out?”
“Oh, so a fair is immature but a mini golf course is-,”
“Guys!” Demitri cut them off before turning to me. “God, you guys are acting like you’re nine years old. I need to go home for a minute or two, my lovely mother dearest is requesting for me,”
Parker, Theo and I glanced around at each other.
“Will you three live until I get back?” he asked, slipping his cell phone in his pocket. “Beth, I’m leaving you in charge,”
I grinned as Demitri waved and left the room, leaving Theo, Parker and I alone.
“So how about the fair?” I questioned as Parker rolled his eyes.
“Fine, whatever you want,” Parker smacked my ass with a wink. Theo narrowed his eyes and got to his feet.
“Come on, I’m driving,” Theo said with a grin in my direction.
“Wait, you guys drive?” I questioned. “Don’t you have drivers to drive you everywhere?”
Theo gave me a look of confusion. “Of course I drive,”
“Yeah, you just choose from the sixteen different cars,” Parker muttered sarcastically.
I gave Parker a warning glare who shrugged impishly. Turning towards Theo, I was grateful that he didn’t hear what Parker had just said, once at that garage Theo sauntered past many expensive cars including Ferrari’s and Limousines, before stopping at a sleek, black Porsche.
“Good God, what have I entered into,” Parker mumbled before getting into the car.

Once arriving at the fair, I noticed a fair more grand and exquisite fair than I had ever seen in my entire life. If it weren’t for the three hundred foot Ferris wheel, it was the modern merry-go-round and large rink of bumper cars. After wandering around for a few minutes, Theo withdrew some alcohol he had managed to smuggle from Nicholas’ alcohol closet.
Two hours and a bottle of tequila later Theo, Parker and I were lying on our backs, staring up at the Ferris wheel as it spun around. Parker was holding my hand and Theo was on the phone to Kathryn. The sounds of children screaming and various carnival music were ringing in our ears and I started to feel the alcohol take effect on me.
Theo had won me a large pink stuffed elephant, which I was cradling under my right arm while Theo cooed on the phone and Parker smoked his eighteenth cigarette of the day.
“No baby, you should come over tonight,” Theo slurred. “I promise Demitri won’t walk in again,”
Parker closed his eyes and grinned and I poked his belly. “Wake up Park-sickle. We should go on the teacup ride!” I squealed excitedly.
“I will vomit all over everybody,” Parker slurred, combining majority of his words into one due to the large consumption of alcohol.
“But we’re at the fair,” I whined. “Nobody will go on any of the rides with me,”
At that point, my new cell phone gave a trill. I fumbled to answer it seeing the name Demitri on my home screen.
“Hello Demi,” I sang down the phone line, feeling quite tipsy and giggly.
I heard Demitri chuckle. “You’ve been drinking,” he stated confidently.
“I have not,” I said boldly.
“Is Theo phone sex-ing Kathryn?” Demitri asked.
At that point I turned to Theo who had his eyes closed and was grinning. “No baby, I can’t say that in public,” he giggled.
“Gross,” I spat. “Where are youuuuuuuuu? Nobody will go on the rides with me,”
“I’m around the corner, darling, sit tight,” Demitri said. “And try not to get into any trouble before I get there,”
Demitri hung up the phone and I rushed over to where Parker and Theo were still lying on the grass, looking content and drunk. Parker was holding onto the pink elephant Theo had won me and was looking like he could fall asleep where he lay, despite the fact that it was two in the afternoon.
Parker grinned. “You wanna sleep with Demitri,” he sang childishly. “You wanna get laaaaaaaaaid,”
I punched Parker’s chest. “Shuddup, I do not,”
“You’re such a liar,” Parker said, cuddling himself into the pink elephant and closing his eyes.
I glanced over at Theo who had given up on talking to Kathryn and was now walking over to us. When he came to us, he was looking slightly grey in the face and not that well.
“I want to go home,” Theo mumbled. “Can we go home?”
I slammed my foot on the ground. “I don’t want to go home, nobody has been on the rides with me!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaand cue Demitri,” I heard a voice behind me, I turned around to see the boy himself sauntering towards us. “You three are drunk,”
“Are not,” we all mumbled in unison.
Demitri rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. “Theodore, if you want to go home, you can take my driver back, I’ll drive your car,”
Theo nodded and I pushed Parker in his general direction. Parker made a face at having to leave with my brother, but did so knowing that if he stayed he would probably vomit. With my brother and Parker safely in a car, Demitri grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the fairground.
It was going to be a hell of a night.