by Matt Hilton
‘No. I heard you yappin’ to yourself as I walked up. You looked pissed off, kicking at the grass like that. It’s why I stopped and waited til you noticed me.’ Dom again checked the woods, now wondering what had prompted Leah’s actions.
‘So you weren’t out there in the trees?’ Her question was rhetoric. Even if he had been the one watching her from the forest, he was hardly going to admit it.
‘You saw somebody?’
Now it was Leah’s mouth that twisted up at one side.
‘Wasn’t me,’ Dom said. ‘I just came up from camp.’
‘Are any of your friends taking a walk?’
‘Nah. Not that I know of.’ He looked back the way he’d come. ‘They’re busy settin’ up camp, gettin’ the grub goin’ and stuff. It’s another reason why I came up here,’ he gave that shrug of his again, ‘to see if you’d changed your mind and decided to join us.’
Leah had fully intended returning to the bay, but not for the purpose of joining the group in a campfire buffet. She’d turned down the offer earlier, but that was when she only wanted them gone. Now, she wasn’t as eager to see the back of the group, not while there seemed to be someone else out there, and with no good intent. What kind of person sneaked inside her cabin to steal an old bracelet, unplug things, and God only knew what else? The more she thought about it, the more she believed that the same person had been spying on her while she showered. What kind of thoughts had gone through his mind when seeing her naked and vulnerable? That the mysterious lurker was male she had no doubt. The figure she’d spotted in the trees a few minutes ago was easily as sturdily built as Dom or Cooper, and the general shape had said ‘man’ in her mind. Unless, of course, she was mistaken, and the silhouetted figure she’d spotted was indeed only a figment of her imagination. When she thought about it now, the figure had practically dissolved among the trees, and she’d heard no hint of him making off through the bracken and fallen branches. Either he was incredibly nimble and light on his feet or he possessed the skills of an experienced woodsman.
‘I was just on my way to your camp,’ she said.
‘Great,’ said Dom.
‘Not really, I was just going to check that you’d all left.’
Dom was largely immune to pointed sarcasm, if his response was anything to go by. ‘We have alcohol,’ he said, and wiggled his eyebrows.
‘Most of those kids are too young to drink.’
‘Don’t be a party pooper. What happens on Shattered Rock stays on Shattered Rock.’
‘Great,’ Leah said hollowly. Not only was the group staying, they were also going to grow noisy.
Dom surprised her, reaching out and taking her left hand. He tugged her forward and she had to plant her feet to avoid staggering. ‘What’re you waitin’ for?’ he asked. ‘C’mon, the meat’s already on the barbie.’
Leah extricated her hand from his. ‘I don’t need my hand held,’ she said frostily.
‘Are you sure? You don’t want me to protect you from the big bad monster in the woods?’
Leah scowled.
“There’s nothing out there,’ Dom said, and exhaled noisily through his nostrils. ‘You’re not from round here, right? City girl, huh? This is all alien to you? Plays havoc with the imagination first time you’re out in the woods. Listen!’ He held up a finger. ‘There! Do you hear that?’
There was a creaking, scratching sound from somewhere to their left.
‘Branches rubbing together,’ Dom explained. ‘And that?’
There was a soft thud, which to Leah could have been the footstep of a person on hard-packed dirt.
‘That was just a pinecone fallin’. When you’re in an unfamiliar place, even the mundane takes on sinister meaning. There’s nothin’ there, nobody to worry about.’
‘Thanks for the expert opinion, Bear Grylls,’ Leah said.
Dom grinned, again missing the sarcasm, and possibly taking her barb as a compliment. Perhaps he fancied himself as a celebrity survival expert. He nodded, and set off down the path, confident that she would follow.
Leah paused, again peering briefly into the woods. Dom, for all he was an arse, was probably right. But she didn’t fall in step behind him.
‘Hey,’ she called.
Dom turned around, both palms held open at his sides. ‘What’re you waitin’ for?’
‘I’ll join you guys in a while, there’s something I have to do first.’ She didn’t have a thing to do, but she wasn’t about to follow Dom through the woods like a lost sheep, the way she’d been expected to do by Pete. Anyway, if she was going to go to the camp, she should at least freshen up and brush her hair first.
‘Suit yourself.’ Dom sniffed.
Leah nodded and turned, certain that Dom was watching her walk off, his eyes on her backside. It was strange how the thought sullied her, whereas she’d enjoyed it when Rob Cooper had similarly watched her walk away earlier. This time she didn’t glance back, for fear she’d catch Dom leering. Peeping Tom’s at bathroom windows were no less sleazy to her than those who openly did it.
16
‘You’re not going, Leah, and that’s the bloody end of it.’
Leah recalled Pete Langston’s words, and how bitter, but ultimately pitiful they’d sounded as he confronted her in her home office in their shared flat on Bouverie Road, Stoke Newington. They’d lived in the expensive setting overlooking antique shops and quirky cafes for almost four years by then, but lately her home office had felt like a gilded cage to Leah.
‘I’ve already booked my stay, and I leave in a couple of days,’ she said. ‘I need to get out of here.’
‘So we’ll go away together. I can take some time off, maybe take a trip up north, see your parents again, maybe book a weekend in the Lakes.’
‘I’m not going to the Lake District; I’m going to Scotland. And I’m going on my own, Pete. That’s the whole idea: to get time on my own to work on my book.’
Forcing his way alongside her desk chair he’d peered at the open webpage on the screen. ‘Are you joking: a bloody cabin on an island? You think I’m going to let you go to a bloody log cabin on your own? There’s no way, Leah. No fucking way!’
‘I’m not asking your permission, Pete. Don’t you get it? The reason I’ve booked it is so I am alone.’
Pete stabbed a finger at the screen. ‘It says here it sleeps up to six people. Do you think I’m bloody stupid or something?’
Leah craned up at him. Her scalp tingled as the blood rushed to her brain. It grew to a point where it stung. ‘What do you mean?’
‘What do you bloody think I mean? Who’s going with you?’
Leah stood slowly. Pete didn’t move, his eyes as hard as marbles as he chewed his bottom lip. ‘So we’re back to this nonsense again?’ she sighed, with barely the energy to be annoyed.
‘So it is Jerry Redmond?’
‘Pete, how stupid are you? Jerry is gay; he’s in a relationship, about to be married. For God’s sake…’
‘Yeah, right! I’ve heard it all before. Gay or not it doesn’t mean he won’t take advantage given the chance. He’s still a man with a man’s urges, however camp he acts.’
‘What century are you living in, Pete?’ Leah pushed the chair back with her thighs and twisted away to get from under him. Pete grasped the chair and shoved it aside to follow.
‘Huh! You haven’t denied he’s going with you. What is it they say about girl’s who have gay male friends? Friends with benefits, isn’t it?’
Leah spun on her heel so abruptly that Pete walked into her. Her hands came up and he grasped her by both wrists.
‘Get off me, Pete.’
‘No,’ he said, ‘I want to know what the fuck is going on.’
She pulled down. Pete didn’t let go. ‘This! This is what’s going on. Don’t you get it, Pete? Can’t you see what you’re doing? Now let go of me.’
Pete shook his head, a petulant child. If anything his grip tightened.
‘I said get of
f me, Pete.’
‘Not until I learn the truth,’ he said, and his face pinched sourly.
‘The truth? You want the bloody truth?’ Leah averted her face, unable to look at his any longer. ‘The truth is you’re paranoid. It’s ridiculous, Pete, and it’s almost as ridiculous that you can’t see it.’
‘So now this is all my fault, is it? You’re the one who’s given me reason to be suspicious. You’re the one who’s always running up and down the country, staying in hotels with him. You’re the one who’s sneaking off to some fucking deserted island you know nothing about. And you expect me to believe you’re going there alone?’
‘Believe what you want, Pete,’ she said, her voice rising in pitch and volume. ‘It doesn’t matter what I say, it won’t make a bloody difference.’
‘So prove it. Let me come with you.’
‘No. No, Pete. The idea is to get away, to get some work done. I sure as hell can’t get a thing done with you acting like this. Jesus, Pete, you’re bloody smothering me.’
‘If I’m not going, you’re not going.’
Leah tugged one wrist free, but Pete clung to the other. She tried to twist away, but he was relentless, forcing her arm to one side. She strained against him, but he only dug in. His fingers sank deep between the tendons in her wrists, the pain scorching up the nerve endings to her elbow.
‘You’re hurting me!’
‘You’re fucking breaking my heart!’
‘No, Pete, I’m just bursting your self-important bubble. Now get off!’
She wrenched down with her trapped hand. Pete twisted her arm, pushing her hand down and behind her hip. He bore in, his breath hot and damp on her face. ‘You’re not going anywhere!’
‘You can’t stop me.’
‘Can’t I?’ Something changed in his features. His marble eyes had grown seething hot, and his teeth clenched. He raised a fist. ‘Just fucking try me!’
As his hot spittle sprayed her face Leah’s opposite hand cracked like a whip against his cheek.
17
Now, as Leah stood at the top of the steps, peering down at the makeshift camp above the tideline on Shattered Rock, she again pictured the total shock her slap had left on Pete’s face. It was almost comical now, how he’d gone from would-be assailant to victim of domestic violence in that instant. His mouth had fallen open and tears started from his eyes, though it would never be a laughing matter to her. He had been a split-second away from beating her, and only instinct had saved Leah, the stinging slap enough to halt him in his tracks. Oh, it had been shocking to him, enough that it might very well have knocked some sense into him too. He’d released his grip on her wrist, but only so he could place his hand on the burning spot in his cheek, and perhaps to hide his tears from her. She took no joy in her recollections, in fact she hated that their relationship had ended with physical assault, and she couldn’t even find solace, because at the end it was she who’d done the hitting. Some people would argue that Pete got exactly what he deserved, but Leah couldn’t help feeling guilt. He was insecure, and announcing she was going off, deliberately leaving him behind, was possibly tantamount to his own personal nightmare: that was probably why he’d reacted the way he had, he was afraid he was going to be left behind for good. Sadly, his actions had engineered the very situation he wanted to avoid when she threw her engagement ring at him, so in effect Leah shouldn’t feel guilty, or sorry for him in the least. But she couldn’t help it.
Pete was wrongly terrified that she was seeing another man, and that she’d arranged to meet him here at Shattered Rock. What would he think if he saw her here now, speaking to a guy like Rob Cooper? He’d be insane with jealousy, she assumed, so nothing new there. She scowled down at the bruise on her wrist. It had partially faded, but the individual points where Pete’s fingertips had dug into her flesh were still vivid. She shoved her hands in her coat pockets, out of sight and mind.
‘Good riddance to old rubbish,’ she whispered to herself, and climbed down the steps.
The group had pulled their kayaks aside, clearing a patch of beach for their makeshift campsite. They’d erected tents just above the pebbles on a strip of coarse turf. Someone had got a fire burning, and already silver foil trays were heaped with cooking food, primarily burgers and sausages. Arriving on the island, their boats stocked with meat, and as Dom had mentioned, alcohol, Leah doubted now that the sea conditions were the genuine reason that the group had put ashore. Supposedly, paddling out here to visit the seal colony had only been part of their itinerary, and a beach party had probably always been on the cards. Leah didn’t appreciate being lied to, but neither was she about to make an issue of it. What exactly could she complain about if she was eating their food and drinking their beer: and, she had to admit, the company wasn’t as unwelcome as she’d originally made out.
Some of the group spotted her descending the stairs. One of them, a stockily built young woman with spiky raven hair, held up a bottle of beer and toasted Leah. Her announcement brought around the group, and as she approached Leah nodded as others made greetings. Dom, standing with his arms folded across his chest, grinned at her, but it wasn’t so much in welcome as it was he felt he’d won some kind of victory. Rob Cooper had been in conversation with the woman he’d introduced earlier as Effie, and when he finally spotted Leah approaching she couldn’t miss the fleeting guilt on his face, because it was apparent to all he’d lied to her. But the guilt was replaced by a look that said he was happy to have lied, because it meant he’d got the opportunity to see her again. His little white fib could be forgiven.
Though her assumption that they’d always intended staying on the island overnight meant that another lie was made to her earlier, this time by Dom. Why had he come in search of a working phone, and gone through the charade of hoping to alert someone on the mainland they wouldn’t be home as planned? She’d thought it was simply his way of making an initial approach until he could again invite her to the party, but in hindsight there might be something else behind his visit, something more sinister. How long did it take to paddle from the mainland to Shattered Rock? Could Dom have already made the journey over yesterday, before returning to Machrihanish to join the other kayakers before they all set off this morning? The timings were feasible, if not his motivation. Unless, and this was worrying, Dom had been the one in her cabin, the same person who’d spied on her while she was showering. She glanced over at the young man, and again noted he was watching her with an unhealthy fascination. As their eyes met, he winked, and Leah inhaled deeply. She should challenge him, but what if she were wrong? She’d sound a complete fruitcake in front of all these strangers. Not a good way to introduce herself.
It was best to ignore him, or at the very least not give him any reason to think she was interested. If she remained aloof to his nods and winks, then sooner or later he’d get the message to get stuffed. She walked towards Rob and Effie, and something about the way the woman’s mouth pinched gave her pause. Effie moved a few inches closer to Rob, their hips almost touching. Did Effie have designs on the hunky team leader, and recognised Leah as a competitor? She felt a prickle of unease go through her: there she was entertaining romantic notions about Rob and he might already be spoken for. She felt awkward, and allowed the smile she was about to offer to slip from her mouth.
‘So you decided you’re staying the night, eh?’ Leah sounded more annoyed than she genuinely felt.
Rob swiped a hand through his hair, his shoulders rising and falling, reminding her of a bashful child. On the other hand, Effie took a long step forward and reached. She’d short, blunt fingers, the nails cropped to the quick. ‘We weren’t properly introduced earlier,’ she said in a Scottish brogue. ‘I’m Elizabeth Spelling. “Effie” to my friends. Poor Rob’s a bit embarrassed about what’s happened, but if anyone’s to blame for us sticking around it’s me. I hope you’re okay with that, Leah?’
‘Well, you’re here now,’ Leah said as if there was no possible alternative. �
��So I might as well make the most of it.’
‘Great,’ said Effie, as Leah finally took her hands from her pockets and accepted the handshake.
Effie’s hands were strong, almost to a point Leah believed her slim writers’ fingers might be crushed in the manly grip. There was no hint of competition from Effie though, who only shook warmly, then released Leah. Rob was quick to clasp her hand before she could retreat, and he too shook it, though gently. Earlier his fingers were icy, but now they were warm and left Leah’s tingling after he released her. She glanced at his chocolate eyes, and he met her gaze with no sign of bashfulness this time, then equally as quickly Leah wondered if Effie noticed, and looked away. If the woman had spotted the brief connection they’d made she didn’t show a hint of envy.
Perhaps Effie suspected Leah had a reason to feel uncomfortable that had nothing to do with them invading her privacy, because in the next second she waved over the woman who’d toasted Leah into camp. ‘Hey, Leah, you should meet my girlfriend.’ To the stocky, black-haired woman she said, ‘Don’t be shy, Becks. Come on over here and say hi.’
Becks fully introduced herself as Rebecca Howell, and tipped her beer bottle in salute. Up close, Leah watched a gold stud twinkle in Becks’ nose piercing. There was another gold stud in her tongue, and she’d a number of Celtic tattoos banding her arms, and an inordinate amount of coloured rubber bracelets on her wrists, some symbolic of her sexuality. By “girlfriend” Leah understood that Effie was being literal. In one fell swoop she was judging Leah’s reaction to their same sex relationship, while at the same time clearing any concern that Leah need remain guarded around Rob. Leah had no hang-ups regarding anybody’s sexual preference, and with being around Jerry Redmond lately had met a number of his friends from all sides of the London gay scene.
‘Hi,’ Leah said, offering a smile.
‘You’ve met Dom already,’ Effie went on, and shared a conspiratorial grimace with her. ‘The others will likely introduce themselves as you go.’ She thumbed at Rob. ‘If they don’t, Rob’ll keep you right, or if you prefer you can ask me.’
