‘Andrew Stanley. What about him?’
Nova turned suddenly to glare over her left shoulder before turning back to Raye. ‘Raye, just be careful, OK? I . . . he was overheard talking on the phone to one of his friends.’
‘So?’
Once again, Nova turned to scowl over her shoulder. What on earth was she doing? ‘Andrew made a bet that you’d kiss him before he left tomorrow,’ she said when she turned back to Raye.
‘He did what?’
‘He wants to kiss you for a bet. I just thought you should know, that’s all,’ said Nova.
‘And you heard him make this bet, did you?’
‘Not exactly. Liam did,’ Nova mumbled.
‘So we’re back to Liam again? This joke you and Liam and Mr Jackman cooked up between you was tired when you tried it yesterday.’
Nova turned her head as if she were listening to something or someone. But if she thought that by acting crazy, Raye was more likely to believe her, then she was way off.
‘It’s not a joke. And Liam’s not lying,’ said Nova urgently. ‘He heard Andrew talking to one of his friends on his mobile. The friend’s name is Kieran. Ask Andrew if you don’t believe me.’
Raye’s eyes narrowed, her expression freezing by degrees. ‘I don’t believe you, Nova. One of the best looking boys to come to this place in months and you immediately try and ruin things between us.’
Nova’s mouth fell open.
‘He likes me and I like him and you’re just jealous,’ said Raye.
‘I’m stopping you from making a fool of yourself,’ said Nova.
‘’Course you are. No wonder you don’t have many friends at school. You’re spiteful, Nova Clibbens.’
Nova tried her best not to look hurt, but she failed miserably. ‘I’m telling you the truth. I was trying to do you a favour.’
‘Out of the goodness of your heart?’
‘Because I’m your sister . . .’
‘Worse luck. Trust me to get saddled with a waste of space like you,’ said Raye.
‘Thanks. Thanks a lot.’ Nova barely got the words out before racing out of the room.
‘Lying toe-rag!’ Raye slammed her bedroom door shut behind Nova.
What’d got into Nova recently? Over the last few months she’d grown very strange – sulky and secretive. What was her problem? She was just jealous because Andrew really liked her. How sad was that?
Someone thudded at her door. Nova! Right, she’d asked for it and this time she was going to get it. Raye wrenched open the door – only to stare at the boy before her. Liam again. Raye’s expression altered at once. ‘Oh, sorry. I thought it was my sister,’ she began uncertainly.
‘Hi, I’m Liam. D’you remember? We met yesterday.’ Liam held out his hand, his expression anxious, almost fearful.
‘Yes, I remember.’ Raye nodded, trying not to stare. Liam really was lush! She shook his hand, wondering why it was so cold.
Liam snatched back his hand. ‘Your sister has just run off in tears,’ he told her.
‘Nova’s crying?’ Raye said, surprised.
‘She’s very upset.’
Raye tutted. ‘She’ll get over it.’ The moment the words were out, she regretted them. Even to her ears they sounded cold and unfeeling.
‘I doubt it,’ said Liam seriously.
Raye looked at him, before lowering her eyes. ‘I . . . we just had a bit of an argument, that’s all.’
‘Nova was telling you the truth about Andrew,’ said Liam.
Raye felt a chill feather its way down her back. ‘How d’you know what we were talking about? Were you listening at my door? And anyway, guests aren’t allowed in this part of the hotel.’
‘No, I wasn’t listening at your door, but I couldn’t help overhearing some of the stuff you said to her and I can guess what the two of you fell out about. But I was the one who encouraged Nova to tell you the truth. If you want to take it out on someone, you should take it out on me, not her.’
Raye wanted to deny that she was taking anything out on anyone but the words died on her lips. She’d only met Liam twice and both times they’d seemed to get off on the wrong foot. Her face begin to glow warm with embarrassment. ‘Nova knows I was just joking when I said those things to her.’
‘Some jokes aren’t funny.’
There was nothing Raye could say to that so she didn’t even try. With each second of the silence that stretched between them, Raye felt worse and worse. ‘I’ll make it up to her,’ she said at last.
Liam regarded her, then smiled. ‘I’m sure you will. And I didn’t mean to interfere in your business. It’s just that I hurt some one very close to me once, and I’ve always regretted it. And every day now I have to pay for it.’
‘But Nova knows I don’t mean anything by it,’ Raye tried again.
‘No, she doesn’t,’ Liam countered at once. ‘She looks up to you and wants to be like you and every time you put her down, it knocks her confidence just that little bit more.’
‘And she told you this, did she?’ Raye frowned.
‘She didn’t have to,’ said Liam. ‘When I caught her deliberately making herself sick after breakfast this morning so she could look more like you, I got the message.’
‘She did what?’
‘And it wasn’t the first time either.’
‘I don’t believe it. Nova’s got more sense than that.’ Raye shook her head.
‘There are some things stronger than sense. Like the way Nova feels about you, and the way you make her feel when she’s around you.’
‘But . . .’ Raye floundered to a bewildered stop. She couldn’t take it in.
‘You or someone in your family ought to know what’s going on,’ Liam said carefully. ‘Nova’s making herself ill by throwing up every time she eats anything bigger than a full stop.’
‘How come you know all this and we don’t?’
‘I just happened to be around when she was doing it.’
‘But . . . but why didn’t she say something?’ said Raye, dazed.
‘You’ll have to take that up with her. Anyway, like I said, I didn’t mean to stick my nose into your business.’
At the sound of her perfume bottle thudding to the floor, Raye’s head whipped round. ‘It’s just my . . .’ she began as she turned back.
But Liam had gone. Raye stepped out onto the landing looking left and right, but he was nowhere in sight.
33. Nova
Nova kicked at the sand beneath her feet. It arced up like a peacock’s feathers before falling, some of it into her trainers. But it didn’t stop her from kicking at the sand over and over again. She must’ve been mad to think that Raye might actually be grateful. At home, at school, it was always the same. Need someone to make fun of, look no further than Nova. Need someone to knock, to mock, to put down – Nova was available. It was like everyone looked at her and what they saw was someone dumpy, small, swotty, spotty – and that was all. Was everyone else right? Nova was desperate to change her image so that others would see her the way she truly wanted to be.
‘You OK, Nova?’
Nova jumped, then snapped out, ‘I wish I could just appear and disappear the way you do all the time!’
‘No, you don’t.’ Liam shook his head.
Nova thought about it and decided he was right. ‘I did what you asked me to do so please go away and leave me alone.’
‘Your sister’s really sorry for what she said,’ Liam told her.
‘Of course she is,’ Nova said sarcastically.
‘You should go back and talk to her. She’s looking for you.’
‘Why? So she can make me look like an even bigger fool?’ asked Nova. ‘Well, no thank you.’
‘Nova, Raye really is sorry. I had a word with her and—’
‘You did what?’
‘I had a word with her and —’
‘Who asked you to?’ Nova said furiously. ‘Why did you show yourself to her in the first place?’
‘Bec
ause what she did to you annoyed me.’ Liam frowned.
‘But it’s none of your business, is it? Just like you and Mr Jackman are none of my business . . .’
Liam got the point. ‘Well, I’m sticking my nose in whether you like it or not.’
‘Because you’re burning to help me?’
‘I want to help – yes!’ Liam blustered.
‘Why don’t you be truthful for once?’ Nova said scornfully. ‘My sister’s the one you’re interested in, not me.’
Liam opened his mouth, only to snap it shut without saying a word. Nova took a deep breath, then a deeper one, but her blood was still boiling. ‘Liam, please go away and leave me alone.’
Liam regarded Nova, perplexed frustration adding extra creases to his face. He slowly faded out, his expression, the way he was standing, everything about him letting Nova know that it was against his will. Only when he’d gone completely did Nova carry on walking along the beach, her head bent, her thoughts curling and coiling inside her head. Why did she want to be like Raye when her sister was so mean? Not to mention shallow. If Raye were a swimming pool, Nova would be able to walk from one side of her to the other without getting her toenails wet.
Nova sighed, knowing full well that it wasn’t the way Raye was inside that she wanted to copy. It was what she looked like outside that counted. Raye made people’s heads turn. And she knew it, but she couldn’t care less, which made it even worse. And Nova had to admit, Raye wasn’t mean to her all the time. Sometimes, she was asleep! But to be fair, she did stand up for Nova at school when one of the older girls had started picking on her. Raye had soon sorted that one out. And Nova had been so proud of her sister then. Until the resentment had set in that, once again, it was Raye riding to the rescue. And, once again, Nova was nowhere.
‘Hi, Nova. I was hoping I’d see you down here.’
Nova’s head snapped up. Joshua Jackman, Liam’s brother, was standing in front of her and she was so lost in her own world, she hadn’t even heard him approach. ‘Mr Jackman! I thought you’d gone,’ she said, relieved to see him.
‘My dad is Mr Jackman. Call me Joshua.’
Nova wasn’t sure about that. She wasn’t used to calling old people in their twenties by their first names. She felt slightly uncomfortable about doing it. But he did say she could! ‘OK.’ She looked around. ‘Does . . . anyone know you’re here?’
‘No. I dumped my stuff back at my dad’s house and then headed straight back here,’ said Joshua.
‘I’m sorry Dad asked you to leave. That wasn’t fair.’
‘I’d have done exactly the same thing if I were him. I had no business being down in the cellar at that time of night.’
‘And nothing . . . strange has happened to you while you’ve been on this beach, has it?’
‘Strange like what?’
Nova shrugged.
Joshua regarded her speculatively. ‘Liam wants me to go, doesn’t he?’
Nova nodded.
‘Is he here now?’ asked Joshua.
Nova looked around. ‘No. He was, but I told him to go. He . . . he won’t be happy to see you’re still here. He thinks you’re wasting your time and your life searching for him.’
Joshua considered this for a few moments, deep creases furrowing the lines between his eyebrows. ‘This is madness,’ he said at last. ‘I’ve been searching for my brother for so long. All over the country. Then I see him here, in a hotel dining room – and he’s a ghost! I keep telling myself that I’ll wake up in a minute and realize that I want to see him so much that I’m just imagining things.’
‘I’ve seen him too, lots of times,’ said Nova.
‘But maybe you’re part of my dream too. Or maybe I’m just losing my marbles.’
Nova wasn’t sure what to say to that.
‘He’s really here, isn’t he? At the hotel?’ asked Joshua uncertainly.
Nova nodded. They stood in silence for a few moments. ‘Do you have any other brothers or sisters?’ asked Nova at last.
‘No,’ Joshua replied sombrely. ‘Just Liam and me.’
‘And your mum?’
‘She died over fifteen years ago,’ said Joshua.
Unsure what to say, unable to meet Joshua’s gaze, Nova glanced out across the sea. Why was it so hard to talk about death and dying? What happened before and after death were easier to handle. Nova had listened to her parents and their friends discuss who was getting married or divorced or having a baby or moving house until their conversations rang in her ears for hours afterwards. Life stuff. All the everyday stuff that she and her friends and all the grown-ups around chatted about. And everyone loved to talk about ghosts and ghouls and things that went bump in the night. Nova suspected it was because not many people believed in actual ghosts – but they liked the thrill of being scared in a way that they could dismiss afterwards as not real.
But the subject of death, that was something else again.
Something to sweep under the carpet. Very taboo. Very hush-hush. Not pleasant to talk about. Not polite. Not nice. And look where it had got Liam and his brother. What had happened in their lives to make Liam a ghost stuck at Phoenix Manor and Joshua a slave to finding him? What was it that neither of them could let go?
‘Where’s your dad now, if you don’t mind me asking?’ said Nova.
‘Where he’s always been.’ Joshua was unable to mask the bitterness narrowing his eyes and hardening his expression. ‘At this time of day he’s probably fast asleep. But his eyes will open at the same time as the local pub doors.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘The same place he’s always lived. About half an hour away. Why?’
Nova was surprised. She had no idea Liam and Joshuas dad still lived so close. ‘I just wondered. It was something Liam said.’
‘What?’
‘About two wasted lives in your family, which is why he doesn’t want you to waste yours.’
Joshua turned away, but not before Nova saw the liquid sheen in his eyes. ‘I need to find my brother,’ he said forcefully. ‘And I’m not leaving here until I do.’
‘But how d’you intend to do that? The tunnels are blocked,’ said Nova.
Joshua’s eyes gleamed. ‘Not necessarily. I’ve found another entrance, right here in the cliff wall.’
‘How did you find it? I’ve been up and down this beach a hundred times and I’ve never seen an entrance to a tunnel.’
‘I bet you’ve never been swimming in the sea around here, have you?’ Joshua replied.
‘No. Only paddling. The currents around here are too strong for me.’
‘Well, I went for an early morning swim and I saw the entrance from about a kilo-metre out. Of course, with Miss Eve’s help, I knew what to look for.’
‘Oh, I see.’
‘Liam’s in one of those tunnels, I know he is,’ said Joshua. ‘I’m close. I can feel it. And no one, not even Liam, is going to stop me this time.’
34. Andrew and Raye
Raye checked both Andrew’s room and the dining room. Dad said he hadn’t left the hotel, so there was only one other place he could be. Raye stood in the doorway of the hotel lounge. Andrew was seated at a far table, his mobile phone pressed to his ear, his expression serious.
‘Hi, Andrew.’ Raye’s voice was cool as she walked towards him.
Andrew immediately stood up. ‘Kieran, I’ll phone you back,’ he said into his phone before pressing a button to disconnect the call. ‘Hi, Raye. I was hoping I’d see you.’
‘Well, here I am,’ said Raye lightly. ‘Were you just talking to someone called Kieran?’
‘Yes, that’s right. He’s my best friend.’
‘I see.’
‘D’you want to join me?’ Andrew indicated the seat next to his own. ‘I need to talk to you.’
‘OK.’ Raye sat down; Andrew sat next to her and she shifted away from him slightly. It didn’t go unnoticed.
‘Is . . . is everything OK?’ Andrew asked.<
br />
Raye looked at him, waiting for the right words to make it past the antagonism and disillusionment that churned inside her.
‘Raye . . .?’
‘Did you bet Kieran that you’d get to kiss me before you left tomorrow?’ Raye said at last.
Andrew’s mouth dropped open as he stared at her.
‘Well? Is it true?’ Raye persisted, unwilling to read the answer in Andrew’s expression.
‘Look, I can explain . . .’
‘So it is true.’ Raye couldn’t remember when she’d felt so . . . so disappointed, not to mention disillusioned. Andrew was just being nice to her for a stupid bet and when Liam tried to warn her, she’d bitten his head off. And Nova . . . Raye groaned inwardly when she remembered all the things she’d said to her sister. She stood up.
Andrew jumped to his feet. ‘Raye, I was just on the phone telling Kieran that the bet was off,’ he rushed out.
‘Of course you were,’ said Raye, chips of ice flying from every word.
‘It’s true. I decided to call the whole thing off. It was a stupid thing to do anyway.’
‘And I’m meant to believe that, am I?’
‘It’s true.’
Raye looked away, not wanting Andrew to see just how much he’d upset her. Her gaze fell onto the opposite seat, where her birthday present to him had been placed upright against a cushion. Raye’s pencil drawing of Andrew’s face.
Half the night spent working on it and agonizing over it and for what?
So Andrew could win his stupid bet. It took less than two strides to scoop up the picture and less than three seconds to dismantle the simple wooden frame she’d placed around it.
‘Raye, no . . .’
‘The drawing means something to you, does it?’
‘Yes. Please don’t,’ Andrew pleaded.
‘Keep it then. Keep it as a trophy to show your friends. D’you want me to write a message on the back, saying that I did kiss you? ’Cos I will. How much detail d’you want? Shall I say how long the kiss lasted and who had their eyes closed and who didn’t? Anything to improve your sad, sorry little life.’
‘Raye, I’m sorry.’
‘Yeah, so am I.’ Without another word, Raye turned and walked out of the room, leaving by the French windows which led straight out into the hotel gardens. She wanted to get away from Andrew and the hotel and her family and everyone and just be alone for a while. For a long while. She had to fight to keep her hands at her sides. She longed to wipe the tears from her eyes, but she wasn’t going to give Andrew the satisfaction of knowing that he’d made her cry.
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