When Nick and Ashlea first meet, they're just two drunk seventeen year olds at a house party. He's a binge-drinking redneck; she's a wild party girl. And every weekend in a country town like Geraldton is an alcoholic's dream.
It's a perfect match until it isn't.
When tragedy strikes, Ashlea grows up fast. But Nick can't pull himself away from the booze or the ghosts of his childhood that echo through every part of his life.
With Nick's addiction threatening to destroy their young love, Ashlea delivers an ultimatum but it has deadly consequences.
THE BLACK FLOWER is a raw, emotional portrait of two teenagers trapped in the chaos of anger, vulnerability and trauma. This story was originally published in the Melbourne-based anthology Page Seventeen.