Come With Us

by Brianna Skylark

‘Me neither,’ lied Emilia. ‘I just-‘.

  ‘It’s fine,’ she said, shaking her head.

  ‘Let me take that,’ said Mark, hefting Emilia’s oversized suitcase into the boot. The suspension complained, groaning audibly as he hefted it in.

  ‘Front or back?’ said Amy, smiling at her friend.

  ‘You’re both welcome to travel in the back if you like? I don’t mind playing chauffeur,’ he shrugged. ‘I do it every day.’

  ‘Shall we?’ said Amy.

  Emilia nodded, thankful for the change in topic.

  Mark held the door open for them both, Amy clambering over to the far seat as Emilia stepped in behind her.

  The car was sleek inside and seemed to have been sculpted into curves and hollows, there was even two touchscreen tablets embedded into the back of the front seats. It was so comfortable that Emilia felt like she was sinking into the moulded recliners. As Mark started the engine, Amy reached across and took hold of her hand, squeezing it tight.

  ‘We’re on holiday together,’ she said, her eyes wide with excitement and happiness. ‘Oh, you could call Alice now?’

  ‘Oh, yes. Do you think my phone will work?’

  ‘Should do,’ said Mark. ‘Same tariff as you get at home.’

  ‘Is it okay if I call her?’

  ‘Please do, it’s important.’

  Emilia pulled her phone out of her carry on bag and tapped to call as they left the underground car park, the bright sunshine making her squint as they rolled out of the lower level.

  After a long moment of silence, a strange single tone rang through her ears. She was busy.

  ‘Don’t put it down, it’s not engaged,’ said Mark, looking at her through the rear view mirror. ‘The dial tone is different here.’

  Emilia nodded, and it kept going. After a while it went to voice mail and Emilia cancelled the call.

  ‘She’s not answering.’

  ‘I’m sure she’s fine,’ said Amy, trying to sound reassuring.

  ‘I could make a call to one of my guys?’ said Mark. ‘Get someone to go and check on her if you like?’

  Emilia blinked. ‘You can do that?’

  He nodded, glancing at her in the rear view mirror.

  ‘No, not yet,’ she said after considering the idea. ‘I don’t want to freak her out.’

  They turned off a small roundabout and began heading down a slip road with Mark accelerating onto the motorway and joining a line of fast moving cars with ease, confidence and precision. He drove like he moved, fast but with a fastidious intensity. Emilia found it exhilarating, and just a little scary.

  She squeezed Amy’s hand tighter as the sleek vehicle shot forward, the speed pressing her back into her seat and making her feel giddy.

  ‘What about Cass?’ said Amy, seemingly unfazed. ‘Would he able to find out what’s wrong?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Emilia unlocked her phone again and tapped on Cassian’s number, listening to the strange dial tone once more, but it just rang and rang and rang.

  She was beginning to worry now. Cassian rarely, if ever, failed to answer his phone. He did so much of his work through it that it barely ever left his face, let alone his side.

  It kept on ringing.

  Something was wrong, but she wasn’t sure what.

  Should she call her mum and dad? Were they okay? Had something happened to one of them? But if she did call and everything was fine, she’d worry them too.

  The dial tone stopped and Emilia held her breath, waiting for Cassian’s voice.

  ‘Did he answer?’ said Amy, quietly.

  She shook her head as his answerphone message began to play.

  *

  As they’d neared the villa, the roads had gradually become more rural and Mark had been forced to slow down as they’d crept along narrow streets running through beautiful historical towns and tight tree lined roads that snaked between old villages.

  Occasional boarded up houses, isolated in the middle of nowhere crawled by as Emilia looked out at them wondering who might once have lived there and why they’d left it abandoned as nature had reclaimed it, breaking the stone walls with the roots of trees and plants as the ceilings collapsed inward from years of seasonal erosion.

  She’d watched a documentary last year about all of the abandoned holiday homes across Europe, particularly in Spain. Homes purchased as retirement properties for elderly ex-pats, leaving the houses to their children who would then cease to maintain or visit them. Some of them were simply lost, with inheritors not having records of addresses or deeds. Perhaps some of these properties had suffered the same fate? Lost to apathy.

  Their holiday villa was bordered by an eight foot tall wall and a proximity gate with a sensor linked to the keys that Mark had collected from the travel agent in Oxford. The driveway alone was longer than Emilia and Cassian’s entire street and it was lined with trees which created a canopy of shadow over the gravel track. Above the walls Emilia could see palm trees and bamboo plants swaying in the gentle breeze.

  It looked like a private paradise.

  She looked again at her phone, her excitement tempered by worry.

  Neither her sister, nor Cassian had got back to her still.

  As they approached the gate it opened slowly and Mark rolled the powerful car through, the soft sound of the gravel beneath the tires felt soothing somehow as he slowed to a halt in front of the main entrance.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ said Amy.

  Mark flashed a smile and turned off the engine, gesturing both arms out theatrically.

  ‘Bienvenue, to your home away from home.’

  ‘You speak French?’ said Emilia, leaning forward.

  ‘Of course he does,’ said Amy, as she clicked open the side door. ‘And German, Spanish, Cantonese and Japanese. Over-achieving little shit.’

  ‘I speak French and Spanish fluently,’ he said, correcting his wife as he unclipped his seatbelt. ‘The others are passable. I’m still learning.’

  ‘That’s amazing,’ said Emilia as Amy pushed open her door and stepped out onto the driveway. She could feel the heat of the sun immediately, like the inside of an oven.

  ‘It’s gorgeous out here,’ she said, beckoning to them both. ‘Come on.’

  Mark stepped out and Emilia followed, feeling the full force of the sun’s heat the moment she alighted.

  ‘Gosh,’ she said.

  ‘Bit warm?’ laughed Amy.

  Mark walked to the rear of the car and popped open the boot, smiling as it rose softly and eased to a halt. He picked up the girl’s bags first, leaving his own, and then headed towards the front door.

  ‘I’m hoping the air conditioning is on a timer,’ he said as he pushed the key into the lock and turned it. There was a soft click and the door unlocked, gently opening as he picked up the bags again, then smiling as cool air drifted out and over him.

  ‘Thank goodness for that.’

  It was dark inside as the external shutters were all closed to keep the heat out, and as Mark had hoped, the air conditioning was on a timer keeping the place at an even temperature even in the height of summer.

  Emilia stepped across the threshold, holding Amy’s hand and peering a little nervously into the darkness. The acoustics were hollow from the tiled floors and the stone walls and her eyes were still adjusting from the bright sunlight outside so she felt quite disoriented as she followed the couple in.

  ‘Which room would you and Cassian like?’ called Mark from up ahead in the darkness.

  Amy found a light switch. She tapped it and low level floor lights faded up, lining the corridor and revealing Mark rather theatrically.

  ‘I don’t mind,’ she called back, smiling as she looked around.

  Amy approached her and slipped her arms around her waist, standing on tip toes to kiss her.

  ‘We’re here,’ she said. ‘I’m so pleased you came.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Emilia, grinning back and then looking down at the floor, worry creasing he
r brow.

  ‘They’ll be fine,’ said Amy, placing one palm on her cheek. ‘Maybe it’s just something simple like a phone tower has gone down.’

  ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ she said, looking up and smiling weakly. ‘I hope it’s something like that.’

  ‘Let’s leave our bags here and go take a look around shall we?’ she reached out and took ahold of Emilia’s free hand.

  ‘Ok,’ she said, nodding. She stood her luggage upright and laughed as Amy tugged her along excitedly and through a curved archway into another darkened but larger space.

  The lights came on as they entered, fading up gently and revealing a beautiful lounge and dining area. In the centre there were two couches facing each other, long enough to seat four people on each. Perpendicular at either end were two more arm chairs. In the centre was a huge glass coffee table, above which was a stunning crystal chandelier attached to a thick wooden beamed ceiling.

  The rear wall was made of sliding patio doors, with external wooden shutters lining the other side. Amy let go of her hand and rushed over to open them, unlocking and then sliding the partition back. Emilia began to do the same on the other side, and together they opened the first shutter letting the sunlight flood in.

  The overhead lights turned off automatically but the girls barely noticed as they stared out with wide eyes into the courtyard of the villa. Before them lay a large wooden deck complete with an outdoor covered dining area and a number of deck chairs and loungers.

  Amy stepped out onto the decking, taking hold of Emilia’s hand again.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ she said. ‘Look at that.’

  Beyond the decking was a small tropical garden area, with palm trees, beautiful bright flowers, white stepping stones and a border of potted plants and carefully shaped bushes that had been carved into little dome shapes. But next to that, was the pool.

  Amy laughed as she took it all in. The still water on the surface glistened and sparkled, inviting them to leap in and they both had to hold themselves back from doing so.

  The end nearest to them was curved with small steps leading down into a shallow area which quickly appeared to deepen in the middle. At the far end was a stepped area which led up to a submerged platform with curved sides where you could sit together, just beneath the water and stay cool in the heat of the day.

  ‘This is incredible,’ said Emilia looking around, glancing up at the palm trees swaying in the light breeze.

  Mark appeared behind them and slipped his arm around Amy.

  ‘What do you think?’ he said.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ she turned around and wrapped her arms around him, then glanced across at Emilia as she pressed her cheek into his chest and swayed.

  ‘I’m going to get unpacked and then shall we have something to eat?’ he said, to both of them.

  ‘Yes, definitely,’ said Amy. ‘I’m starving. Plane food is stingy.’

  Emilia nodded happily and smiled as Mark peeled away, turning back and stepping in through the glass partition and back into the shadows of the villa.

  The two girls looked at each other, with Amy grinning wildly and then looking down with a sudden shyness, hesitantly licking her lips as she walked over slowly and nervously.

  ‘Listen,’ said Amy, sliding her arms up and around Emilia’s neck. As she spoke, she started to blush. ‘I was hoping, that maybe, if you want to, you could come and stay with us tonight… in our bed?’

  Emilia felt butterflies flood into her tummy again and her neck started to radiate heat as she blushed too. ‘I’d really like that,’ she said quietly, smiling. ‘But I should ask Cass first.’

  Amy nodded enthusiastically. ‘Of course you should, it’s only fair. Mark is very excited, and, he said he would be happy to return the favour and leave us alone for a night with Cassian if you’d like that?’

  ‘I’d really like that too,’ she grinned and breathed in deeply. The two of them kissed again, holding each other tight.

  ‘I love you, you know?’ said Emilia into Amy’s ear.

  ‘You’ve mentioned it once or twice.’

  ‘Thank you for this.’

  ‘Thank you for coming. Now go unpack and take your mind of Cass and Alice,’ she said, stepping back as Emilia smiled softly.

  ‘Ok, I will,’ she said as she crossed the threshold of the glass doors, following the noise of Mark unpacking and opening shutters further inside.

  ‘Emilia?’ said Amy, calling after her.

  She stopped and looked back at the redhead, silhouetted in the bright sunlight of the open door.

  ‘I love you too.’

  *

  The evening air was still warm as Emilia stood in the little tropical garden and stretched her legs. Even the grass beneath her feet seemed baked, trapped by the intense heat of the Mediterranean sun.

  It was already getting late. Instead of unpacking she’d decided to lay down on the large king size bed in the room she had chosen for herself and Cassian and she had quickly fallen asleep, dozing in the warmth of the afternoon.

  By the time she’d woken up the sun was setting and she’d wandered out to the garden to watch the golden hues fade to orange and then blue.

  The world around her was alive and teeming with life, and yet they were so isolated here that she could already see more stars above her than she had ever seen before.

  She’d never appreciated just how much light pollution there was above the skies of Oxford, and the absence was dizzying. As her eyes adjusted she could just make out the faint edges of the milky way. Here the stars seemed to flash, some with a hint of red, others blue and some seemed to move gently in the sky as though they were drifting in an infinite ocean.

  The surrounding fields were filled with the sound of crickets, a cacophony of noise that seemed to rise and fall like a murmur of birds. She’d never heard anything like it before. She was so used to the background noise of traffic and trains that she had no idea nature could be so loud.

  The only light aside from the stars came from the small solar powered lanterns which lined the edge of the pool, casting a golden sparkling shimmer on the waters gently rippling surface.

  It was humbling.

  She stifled a grin, and tried to quell a sudden surge of arousal, placing her fingers on her lips as she looked down at the floor and crossed her legs, squeezing herself tight.

  Amy was in the shower.

  She could hear the sound of the pump, vibrating through the walls. She could hear Mark too, preparing them something which smelled amazing for dinner.

  She missed Cassian.

  She felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket and reached for it, hoping to see his name, but it was blank, her eyes struggling to adjust to the brightness of the screen.

  A phantom ring. She’d been getting them more and more recently. She wondered if it was a sign of addiction or a muscle issue, either way it was a nuisance and a source of frequent disappointment.

  She still hadn’t heard from him or Alice. Nothing since they’d taken off, and she was more than a little worried now

  What if he’d had an accident? What if he was hurt? And why hadn’t Alice called back?

  She should call him again.

  Besides, she wanted to ask him about tonight. It was only fair if she asked. But she was worried that she might not like the answer.

  But what if he didn’t pickup? She chewed her lip and took a deep breath, then hit dial.

  After a few seconds, the call connected. For a moment she thought the line was busy again as the dialling tone was so different to the one she was used to, but then she remembered and settled and waited.

  Something flapped through the air above her, and she instinctively ducked, listening as it disappeared into the night.

  Bats.

  She didn’t want to go inside, she wanted to talk to Cass privately, but the idea of standing out in the open as bats flapped around just feet above her head was too much. She looked around and then walked quickly to
wards a little metal table with a parasol near the far end the pool.

  The phone stopped ringing.

  ‘Hi, you’ve reached the mailbox of Cassian Black, please leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.’

  ‘Shit,’ she said aloud. ‘Where is he?’

  She pressed the screen and then opened up the Find Your Family app. Cass had installed it for her so she could track his journey home to stop her worrying about whether he was okay.

  She tapped on his name and waited, watching the little circle whirl.

  Nothing.

  Then her phone rang.

  With relief she read his name and answered.

  ‘Hey,’ she said.

  ‘Hey beautiful,’ said Cassian, a slight delay on the line. ‘Made it there safe?’

  ‘I was well looked after,’ she smiled, nodding, thankful to hear his voice at last. ‘I’ve been really worried about you.’

  ‘Are you at the villa?’

  ‘Yes, it’s beautiful,’ she looked around. ‘The pool is gorgeous, it’s all lit up with solar lamps, and oh my goodness it’s so hot here, but there is air-con. Are you okay? What’s been going on?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m good, listen, your sister’s here,’ said Cassian.

  Emilia’s stomach tightened and she sat up straight.

  ‘What? Why? Is she okay?’

  ‘Yeah, she’s okay, she didn’t realise you were away. She’s pretty upset, something happened at work, but I’ll let her explain.’

  ‘Can I talk to her?’

  ‘She’s upstairs at the moment,’ said Cassian, then there was a long pause. ‘She’s getting a shower.’

  ‘She’s a getting a shower?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said.

  ‘And you’re downstairs?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said, firmly.

  There was another long pause, and then Emilia started to laugh. She bent forward on her chair as she continued to giggle down the phone.

  ‘Oh my goodness, your wife is in another country and her incredibly hot, promiscuous sister, who has a massive crush on you, is upstairs, wet, naked and vulnerable right now. How are you even coping?’