The Girl With Ten Claws (The Adventures of Benedict and Blackwell)

by E. Earle

  “Apologise?” I took a breath then before I launched into attack mode and decided to take the high road. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

  He looked at me, and I could see his mask of control slipping. He tore his eyes from mine and pretended to concentrate on throwing his mucky boots in a nearby cupboard. “It was all you could expect it to be,” he said rather matter-of-factly, still not meeting my gaze. “A man had been washed up; ambulance took him away, end of story.”

  “Was he dead?”

  Brynn looked at me, and it was a look of pity at my naivety. “Yes, Ellena,” he said and then paused with a sigh. “Come on, it’s late, I’m tired- and you look like you’re expecting King Kong to sweep you away. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

  He made a movement with his arms as if I was a goose needed herding and I turned to walk back up the stairs, letting the King Kong comment slide. Not hearing him follow, I looked behind. He was watching me, face drawn and serious. “You’re not coming?” I asked him.

  He shook his head and waved me off. “No, go on up,” he said tiredly. “I’m going to sit down here for a while.”

  My hair fell back around my face as I nodded, not knowing what else to say and continued walking up the steps to bed.

  I could tell despite his no-nonsense nature, he had just had to relive something horrifying.

  I doubted either of us would sleep tonight.

  There was a strange feeling at Craggy’s the next morning. People came in serious and sober, quiet and reserved in their discussion of last night’s events.

  I hadn’t slept. I suffer with awful nightmares, and for some reason dreamt that I was lost out to sea. Shaking my head, I caught a glimpse of myself in the bar mirror. My hair was long, mostly dark except from the highlights from the summer that travelled halfway down the rest. My eyes were grey, set in a pale face with dark circles; the blusher, mascara and natural slick of lipstick only going so far to disguise I was exhausted. The baggy jumper I was wearing did nothing to disguise the fact that I had lost weight since arriving in the Summer. I sneered at my reflection before emptying the washer of glasses. I had been asked out a few times at the pub but as soon as they set eyes on Brynn, they scuttled off.

  Me and Brynn weren’t an item- never had been- and yeah, there had been that one instance when he had drunkenly kissed me last summer, but that didn’t count.

  Did it?

  “Far too early to be thinking like this, Ellena,” I growled to myself.

  Yet people continued to make that assumption seeing that we were now partners running the surf shack, and Brynn did nothing to make them believe otherwise. My protests continued to fall on deaf ears.

  The door opened then and I shivered with the cold air that blew in, reminding me to get the fire going. “Where’s the cat, Ellie?” Jack called coming in from his morning surf. His blonde dreadlocks were still damp.

  “He’ll scratch you if he hears you calling him that,” I sniffed.

  “The cat?”

  “Ben.”

  Jack stood there confused. “Ok, where’s Ben then?” Shaking his head, he stepped in shivering.

  “You must be freezing!” I pulled out two mugs and set about making us both a cup of hot chocolate. Chocolate solved everything. “Ben? He’s gone out hunting.”

  Jack pulled a half smile and upraised eyebrow combo as he sat himself down at the bar. “How do you know he’s gone hunting?”

  I blinked in alarm, forgetting myself. “That’s what cats do isn’t it?” I quickly said. “He’s outside in any case.”

  Nodding, he accepted the hot chocolate I passed to him, grinning at the generous amount of marshmallows I had put on top. “Nice one. Jess ready yet?”

  I frowned. “Jess?”

  “Yeah- I’m taking her out for the day.”

  Alarm bells rang. I pulled out the rota. “What? She’s on for the long shift today with me- it’s going to be busy tonight.”

  “She said she booked it off…” Jack shifted in his seat uncomfortably, worry etched on his face as I frantically ripped through the pages to get to today’s date.

  I slapped my forehead. “Oh, balls!” Shaking my head, I shoved it back under the bar. “God, I’m sorry. My mistake.”

  “Is there anyone to cover?”

  I frowned and put my hand on my hips. “Yep,” I sighed. “But he’s still in bed. And he’s not the happiest of bunnies when woken.”

  I crept up the stairs, nervous for some reason of approaching Brynn’s door. Jack had agreed to mind the bar whilst I took on the mission of waking a lion.

  Brynn was the grumpiest man alive when woken- he was not a morning person, at all, which was strange considering he had to get up early nearly every single day to do the morning surfing classes. But this morning just seemed worse after last night’s events.

  I had come downstairs to see the brandy considerably lower that what it had been and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

  I stood outside Brynn’s door and pulled my sleeves up. Taking in a deep breath, I raised my hand above the wood, hesitated and then knocked on it a few times.

  Nothing.

  Frowning, I knocked again to be rewarded with silence.

  “Bugger it.” I bit the bullet and opened the door.

  I had been in Brynn’s room once or twice before to give him his laundry on one occasion, and another to give him soup when he was sick. It was large with two bay windows overlooking the sea and the fields of Craggy’s Peak. It had the same décor as mine, except from a couple of paintings his friend had done for him for past birthdays and a mirror Jess had made for him made out of driftwood and seashells. A surfboard was propped up in a corner, a ukulele on top of a huge wooden chest at the foot of his bed, and last night’s clothes on the floor.

  My eyes were then drawn to the large lump wrapped in the covers in the bed.

  “Brynn?”

  A small grumble followed.

  Feeling braver, I stepped forward and poked the duvet mound. It moved slightly and then lay still. This time I shoved it. Hard.

  “Brynn, you need to wake up. I-”

  Suddenly hands snaked out and grabbed my wrists. I just about nearly swallowed my tongue in shock as I lost balance.

  Then I saw his face.

  Pale, sweaty and haggard. Dark shadows were under his bloodshot eyes and his hair was a mess of dried sea salt and last night’s rain.

  His eyes were unfocused at first, and then he looked down at his hands, as if not even realising they were grasping mine so tightly. I winced and pulled them away.

  “I’m sorry,” he gulped, breathing deeply, wildly looking at his surroundings as if to re-establish that he was at Craggy’s. “Must’ve been… a nightmare.”

  Frowning, I stepped back and rubbed my wrists. That had been one hell of a nightmare. “You look awful,” I said.

  “Thanks,” he growled, throwing the covers back over his face.

  “No- none of that,” I snapped, pulling them away. “I need your help downstairs.”

  Brynn rolled over, wrapping himself in the covers even more and muttering obscenities. “Handle it. It’s my day off.”

  I scowled and put my hands on my hips. “Jess has to go out- we double booked her.” I sighed. “Look- I know last night was-”

  “Good God, Ellena, will you just get out?” Brynn’s muffled snarl came from beneath the sheets. “I feel like a badger has clawed my brain to bits- so will you just deal with it and get out?”

  “You’re not going to like the way I deal with it.”

  A pause. “Are you still here?”

  Rage pulsed through me. “Ok.” I turned and walked out and straight into the bathroom. A bucket full of odd surfing shoes was in the corner and I threw them into the bath, filling the bucket with water.

  I had never seen Brynn rise from a bed faster than I had that morning. Amazing what a bucket of water did to awaken the body.

  “What the
hell do you think you’re doing?” Brynn roared, jumping from the bed, staring at me aghast.

  I dropped the now empty bucket at his feet. “Dealing with it,” I said. “I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. And Brynn? Put some clothes on- you’re making me blush.”

  Brynn came downstairs after half an hour- the extra fifteen minutes his way of rebelling I suppose. Looking a bit more like a human now after a shower, deodorant and a good teeth-brushing, he did the first hour of our shift not saying one word to me.

  It was going to be a long 12 till 12 shift, but Donny had agreed to take the bar for a couple of hours at 5pm so Brynn and I could have something to eat and a breather.

  I had just gone down to the cellar to bring up a case of J20’s when Brynn decided to talk to me. He stood barring my exit to the pub, looking like a man near death.

  “You look a bit peaky,” I said with a sweet smile. “Want me to make you a nice greasy bacon batch?”

  His face baulked at the thought and pointed a slightly shaking finger at me. “I promise you Ellena Blackwell- you’re going to regret this morning.”

  “Oh please,” I smacked his finger away and deftly sidled past him. “You needed a shower anyway.”

  As Brynn started muttering something even Ben would meow in shock at, I started noisily putting the bottles into the fridges, not successfully hiding my smirk.

  My smile soon died away when the police arrived.

  “Sorry about this, young Brynn,” the officer said as he came to the bar. “But I’m going to have to ask you a few questions about last night.”

  The police officer was in his sixties, with a beautiful curled up moustache that twitched when he wasn’t saying anything at all. Bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks made me want to demand for presents and look for his red suit. But the usual mirth was gone and the officer, who seemed to know Brynn, looked incredibly sad.

  A strange look passed over Brynn’s face as his jaw clenched and he simply nodded.

  I didn’t even realise what I was doing until my hand was on his arm. “Hey-”

  He turned and looked at me in surprise, scowl gone and replaced by something much more vulnerable. It was gone within an instant and I saw a wall come down before he exposed too much.

  I swallowed. “Do you want me to sit with you?”

  He just shook his head- the smallest of movements. “Just look after the bar.”

  I removed my hand stiffly and nodded.

  An uneasy feeling twisted my stomach as he sat in the furthest corner of the pub and discussed last night’s events. I wanted him to tell me about it, but getting Brynn to talk about things he didn’t want to was like wrestling catnip from Ben.

  Impossible- unless you wanted to get scratched.

  When Brynn returned, looking paler, I told him to lie down, go for a walk- do anything but stay in Craggy’s. “It’s not even busy,” I said, knowing that I was nigh on lying. In an hour it would be, but I knew I could cope.

  He shook his head. “No, I’ll stay.”

  “But-”

  “I need to be busy, Ellena,” he snapped.

  I stopped arguing and just shrugged my shoulders. “Ok.”

  A few more hours passed and Donny soon came to relieve us for a couple of hours. We decided to eat in the porch at the front of the pub that was barely used. Donny sat in there to play dominos with his girlfriend if the pub became too rowdy and had shoved a couple of cushy seats in there with a steel patio table in the centre.

  We both had huge plates of lasagne with garlic bread and I was glad to see some colour going into Brynn’s face as he got something down him.

  “You need to tell me what happened,” I said, mid chew.

  Brynn threw his garlic bread down in disgust. “Now? I’m eating.”

  “Well when are you doing to tell me?”

  “What is there to know?” He fixed me with dark eyes, tone becoming mocking. “There was a body washed up on the beach, black and blue. Paramedics couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, because it’d been in the sea too long. Anything else?”

  I swallowed my lasagne with difficulty. “Ok, maybe we should talk about it another time.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  I rolled my eyes at his foul mood, but I would rather him be annoyed at me than miserable about last night. I lifted my knife and fork in defeat. “Sorry I asked!”

  He ate in silence for the rest of the meal whilst I tried talking about the museum renovation. I made suggestions, made jokes and spilled out ideas to which all he grunted at.

  We had reached a mutual calm as we finished our meals and I bought him a pint of larger as apology for the soaking I had given him earlier.

  “Call it hair of the dog,” I said, passing it to him.

  He raised an eyebrow in distaste but drank it anyway.

  I was soon to wish that I had never gone back to my shift when I looked up.

  It was her.

  Model-Girl.

  Holding back a hiss, I fixed the usual smile on my face as I watched her take in her surroundings. Model-Girl had been here in the summer for the Goldcoast Festival- tall, super slim and with waist length dark brown shimmering hair. Huge brown eyes peered out from a crafted olive face and she smiled as she caught sight of Brynn.

  I busied myself as she came forward in her skinny jeans and pale pink jumper that came over one shoulder. She was gorgeous in every sense of the word, and I couldn’t help but hate her for it.

  “Brynn!” she cried, making him jump as skipped across. “How are you?”

  Brynn looked ultimately confused for a moment and then recognition dawned on his face. “Olivia, it’s nice to see you again,” he said politely.

  My eyes trailed down to her lovely brand new Ugg boots and my heart made a twist of jealously. Not even a stain on them.

  “My friends went walking, but I didn’t fancy it,” she said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “It’s freezing outside! Do you have any hot drinks?”

  Brynn glanced at me quickly. “We have tea, coffee, hot chocolate-”

  “Hot chocolate! I’d love one!” she gasped clenching her hands. “Could I have one of those, please?”

  Now she was looking at me, an expectant look on her face.

  My eyebrows twitched as I fought to hide my true emotions. “Of course,” I said with a sickly smile. “Would you like squirty cream?”

  “Oh, yes please.”

  I hesitated, wondering if Brynn would go and do the order, and then still seeing her eyes fixed on mine, as if wondering why I wasn’t moving faster, I quickly walked into the kitchen.

  Why on earth had she come back to Craggy’s?

  My skin crawled as I heard her high pitched laughter as I boiled the kettle. I pondered this thought further as I violently shook the squirty cream in my hand. The last time I had seen her was at the festival flirting with Brynn.

  “Well I don’t care,” I muttered as I mixed in a too generous portion of chocolate powder into a mug, spilling it everywhere. “He can do what he wants. He’s a free man. If he wants to go with miss prissy pants then he can. I.don’t.care!”

  “Who’s miss prissy pants?”

  I jumped and launched the cream into the air as Ben tottered into the kitchen. “You scared the bejesus out of me!”

  He sat down and swished his tail in amusement, his coat slightly damp from the fog outside. “What on earth are you doing?”

  I watched him sniff at the fallen squirty cream in interest as my heart calmed down. Scowling at the mess I had made, I slammed the can down next to the hot chocolate.

  “Nothing,” I grumbled. “I’ll tell you later.”

  When I came back out, I was an image of smiles and welcome, my Mr Hyde now sulking somewhere inside my gut as she cooed over the marshmallows haphazardly clinging to the whipped cream. I was glad Ben didn’t make an appearance. I don’t know what I would have done if she tried to make him like her too.

  Luckily, Ben was loyal.
/>   “Enjoy.”

  I patted Brynn on the back a bit too hard as I passed him, picking up a cloth. I needed to clean- anything to vent out this anger in more productive means.

  The relief that Ben wasn’t around died fast. Suddenly, I felt like I needed the support he constantly gave me. My life wouldn’t be the same without him. I wanted to put a collar on him, but he simply refused. I warned him if he went seducing any more lady cats then I would have him snipped, but he simply hissed at me.

  “At least let me microchip you,” I had complained to him one evening. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Ellena, you don’t understand,” he purred. “I will always know where you are. You will never lose me.”

  Sometimes when he had dumped yet another dead mouse on my bed, it seemed like a threat.

  Olivia stayed at the bar for the next few hours. She ordered some lasagne and talked about doing a surf lesson with Brynn.

  It was freezing outside so I was surprised she would even suggest it. Brynn and Jack still went out, taking advanced classes with them, but it made me sick to the stomach in going out in such poor conditions.

  “How about you, Kelly?”

  I looked up At Olivia as I shoved the multi-purpose cleaner behind the bar.

  “Do you surf?”

  I glanced at Brynn in question and then realised, yes indeed, she really had just called me Kelly. “My name’s Ellie,” I said, making sure I smiled to show it hadn’t bothered me (which of course it had). “And not really.”

  “Not really?” she said cocking her head to one side. “Have you done it before?”

  “Yeah, of course,” I lied. I had years ago with my mates- but being pissed out of my face and simply clinging to a board didn’t really count as surfing.

  “Why don’t you come with us tomorrow morning?” she said, picking the marshmallows from the top of her drink.

  My inner Mr Hyde scrambled to be released.

  “Ellena doesn’t really like icy conditions,” Brynn said, throwing a knowing look at me.

  My gunshot wound always ached with the cold- I had told him nonchalantly, forgetting that casually discussing the effects of attempted murder probably wasn’t suitable for every day conversation.