Stoneybrook Ayr

Marty was so sure his mother was going to leave on Christmas that he didn't know why he was surprised when he got the note less than a week after New Years. It was on the table. Written in her swirly cursive and scented of lavender. Even as he picked the piece of notebook paper up, he was thinking how cliche it was that it smelled like lavender. He knew his dad hadn't seen the note yet, so he put it back on the table and rooted around in his pocket for his phone.

Instinctively, he started to text Sheila, but changed his mind quickly.

clarissa is gone, he texted Robert. the b!tch left

She hadn't specified if she took Rachel with her, but Marty suspected Rachel would have told him, and he saw her pink sneakers still standing by the kitchen door. That cheered him up, but not enough to refrain from digging around in the fridge looking for a beer.

When he couldn't find any, he texted Robert again, even though he hadn't responded to his previous text yet.

heading to o'tooles

The only seedy bar in town had the blindest bartender. He believed every single fake I.D. he ever looked at. It was the perfect place.

Marty was at Sheila's house in a flash. He didn't even remember walking there, he just remembered being at the park one minute and standing on her doorstep the next.

He tried the door, but it was locked. He pounded on it twice before giving up and going to the side the house where Sheila's bedroom was.

"Sheila!" he bellowed, not caring how late it was or if he woke anyone up.

Sheila had told Marty she wanted to talk, but he had hoped she'd forgotten about it. However, when he got the text asking him to come over, he went to her house and stood on her doorstep for a full 10 minutes before he knocked.

You never knew what Sheila had up her sleeve.