by H. M. Irwing
You and I
by
H M Irwing
About the Author
H. M. Irwing is the author of the bestselling The Final Frontier, the first of The Ovion Archives series. Irwing contemplates life and fantasises over the frontiers of space from the great Down Under. With Australia as a base there is no stopping the creative juices of one great fiction writer.
www.hmirwing.com
Chapter 1
"He is the love of my life!"
I stared down with some amusement at Emily, my sixteen year old little sister. Glamorous and full of fun, falling in and out of love was a common occurrence for Emily. With her golden brown long locks and her sparkling blue eyes, Emily was a head turner infatuated with just about every boy who paid her the slightest consideration. But that was not the worst of it, she was convinced every boy she met was similarly affected, even our childhood buddy, Jake Neel.
"Cat! Help me out here," I called out to Emily's identical twin Catherine. Cat was the twin without a backbone. Where Emily was enthusiastic and loud, Cat was a quiet bookish sort bobbing her head to whatever Emily said, and Emily said plenty.
"Em can't help it if she loves him, Lucy," pleaded Cat on Emily's behalf. I could only shake my head at her. She was nothing like her namesake no claws whatsoever, a less cat-like Cat I'd never seen.
"This is beyond me. I'm telling mum," I exclaimed dramatically drawing out my last gun, hoping to put the fear of God into them.
"Yes, let’s go see mum. She will see my side of it for sure," Emily cried out, immediately calling my bluff. She marched out my room door, head held high, and Cat rushed out in her wake. I sighed in resignation. This was not the best start to my holidays. The shit was in the oven from the very start. I can only imagine what the rest of the summer break was going to be like. I needed to get a job. It would keep me out of the twins’ hair and more importantly, them out of mine.
I picked myself reluctantly out from under the toasty warm doona where I had gathered to hibernate throughout the night, and hopefully the week. I usually spent most of my weekends in bed where I devoured book after book. Now, I was eighteen and free from all schooling obligations. My life was finally my own. I had retreated to slumber and dreamland as soon as the school bell faithfully belted out its very last peal before final term break. College applications were something I'd have to look into soon but I was dallying and taking what I felt was a well-deserved time out.
Not that any of that mattered when one was lumped with a pair of twins who did their level best to create a new ruckus every day. Although in all honesty it was just incorrigible Emily who did the damage. But Cat, her shadow, was never far behind, lending her faithful support to no matter what schemes Emily designed. Just like just now.
I went through the morning rituals of picking out my outfit for the day and getting ready to face the world. I decided on a baggy faded t-shirt and my worn-out pair of jeans. Then I braced myself for the inevitable and clambered downstairs to the unwelcoming sounds of Emily crying peals over Cat's faithful support and Mum's annoyed response. Yep, the day would progress as usual.
I only felt a momentary twinge for poor Jake who was as yet unsuspecting of the emotional torpedo coming his way.
"Lucy!" My mum, Meredith Little, rounded on me, as soon as I set foot into the dining room. "Do you know anything about this?"
"Cut her some slack, luv. At least let her have some coffee first." My dad and frequent saviour, winked at me. Mum huffed as she waddled off to do her thing in the kitchen and I grabbed myself a cup of coffee and went over to slump into a chair beside Dad.
"Morning Daddy," I said leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. Dad was my favourite person in the whole wide world. He understood me. Stoic and kindly, he shouldered the emotional baggage of us all and faced the world bravely.
Dad only smirked his usual secretive smile at me before diving back into the papers.
I slapped together two slices of toast with butter and jam before cramming them into my mouth.
"Tsk tsk," Dad clucked at my shoddy manners but I only grinned back unabashedly.
"So she is in love with Jake today, is it?" Dad asked me, wanting clarification.
I could only nod with my mouth stuffed full. I munched slowly hoping to delay any need for a response to none at all.
"Fine! Go tell him that you love him. Make a fool out of yourself and your sisters for all I care," declared my very flustered mum as she made her way back to the dining room with my sisters in tow. She placed a plate of bacon and eggs on the table and plopped down in her seat.
"Are we expecting someone?" I asked over the waiting plate of breakfast my mouth instantly watered to consume.
"Jake is stopping over to fetch you girls for the long weekend.”
The long weekend was a whole four consecutive days off. I had been looking forward to have a leisurely time of it. I rolled my eyes at Dad and chuckled outright at his look of mock revulsion. Dad loved Jake as if he were his own but even he could see the pitfalls of this visit in light of Emily's new found infatuation for the poor fellow.
I watched as both Emily and Cat squealed with joy. Their enthusiasm was infections. I found myself beaming in anticipation. Time with Jake was always nothing short of fun.
Then the doorbell rang and Emily went rushing over to wring open the door and screeched out Jake's name. I covered both ears with my hands and groaned out loud. I hoped she didn't just blurt out her new found love for him, right there and then. That would be the epitome of awkward.
Then the noise of his arrival was echoing about the kitchen as he swept mum into a bear hug and wrung Dad's hand in an enthusiastic shake. Then he was by my side and reaching out for me. I lifted laughing grey eyes to meet his grinning hazels but oddly enough as soon as our gaze clashed the laughter drained out of me and the most unusual tension sped down my veins.
He leaned in and my breath caught, then his arms were going around me. I couldn't hold back the shudder that raked through me.
"Shhh," he whispered in my ears huskily, as he rubbed his hand down my spine sending a bout of goose bumps down to my core where the strange tingling settled in to remain. My lids grew heavy and my heart beat sluggish.
I dragged in a desperate ragged breath then with another soothing murmur, he abruptly released me to catch the squealing Emily who floundered for his attention by pounding at his back.
Just like that the strange cocooning tension that had entranced me was gone and I tuned back to the boisterous and noisy family we always were.
I moved back a little feeling a strange poignancy and a foreboding of changes to come. My eyes swept over the group and avoided Jake's altogether. But his pull was almost magnetic and I found myself going back, catching his gaze again and again.
We settled back down to breakfast at the table, I munched quietly away at the remains of my toast and watched with avid interest as Jake dug into his plate with relish. Tearing my gaze away, I took note of my Dad, having turned back to his newspapers, while he discussed the economy and then sports with Jake. Jake fielded his questions and responded simultaneously to Emily’s non-stop chatter. Cat sat there quietly, reading off a thick volume of something to do with the anatomy of the human body. Mum had taken her place at the opposite end of the breakfast table only she was chattering too… to no one in particular. I did the dutiful thing expected of the eldest child, I tuned in and out to her comments and muttered a suitable response every now and again, then kept abreast with the conversation flow between my dad and Jake, while monitoring Emily’s chatter for something alarming, like I love you Jake!
“Are you all right?”
I looked into Jake’s concerned gaze and felt my already
flushed skin take on another rosy blush. I couldn’t believe just thinking of that pronouncement would turn me an odd shade of prune.
“I’m fine,” I muttered meekly, then dodged my dad’s searching gaze.
All too soon, breakfast was over and we were being rushed out of the kitchen and hasten off to pack. I got caught up in the twin’s exuberance over our trip to stay with the Neels and through the calming effects of packing I eased back into my usual placid and sensible self so that when I returned down stairs to face Jake, I could do so with a modicum of calm.
We hugged our parents and waved farewell before bundling into Jake’s Range Rover Evoque. Then we were ambling down the slight slope of our short drive and then off across town to where the wealthy resided.
My dad was best friends first and the family accountant, after, to the Neels and we kids have been besties for as long as we could remember. Visiting the Neels in the past had always been an adventure, one that was always new and exciting for Jake was their only child and his parents did their mighty best to spoil him rotten with every imaginable gift they could bestow on him. But their efforts were in vain for Jake had us three to keep him in check and forever grounded in reality.
Looking back, I could tell we had been terrible bullies as kids. The pranks the twins played on Jake had been many and not altogether nice. I had often wondered why he put up with us at all. Why he never ratted us out to our parents or even to his. The twins always did their level best to prank him at every turn and I...I was guilty of standing by the twins every time he came to me with a complaint. Until today I didn't know why I did what I did. I knew full well the twins were as guilty as sin each and every time. Well Emily was. Cat being her shadow was guilty by association. But despite that I still took their side against Jake's every time. I hated recalling the look of sadness that would come across his face each time I turned away and favoured the twins over him. I felt that same sick twinge of guilt over my actions bit into me just as they always did when those memories came back to haunt me.
"We’re not going to your home?" I asked from the back seat as he went past the turning that would have taken us to his home.
"Nope we are going to the beach house. Mum and Dad are already there. They’ll be there with us for the first two days. After which we’ll have the beach house to ourselves," he said before lifting his twinkling eyes to meet mine in the rear view mirror. I tore mine away with effort and rubbed away the heaviness in my chest.
Emily had fallen sleep in the front seat. It was a strange affliction she had to fall asleep in a moving car. Her maximum awake time had been recorded faithfully by Cat at 40 minutes. The turnoff to Jakes was about that long from our home. She would remain asleep for most of the journey giving Cat a chance to talk and share ideas that are her own. I always made appoint to draw her out at such moments to have her talk and be herself. Not overshadowed by Emily as usual. But today that effort seemed too great. I felt a strange reluctance to talk at all. I found myself ignoring Cat's solemn staring at the changing landscape instead I seemed to have only one interest and that was to stare at the back of Jake's head with rapt fascination the whole way.
The beach house was tiny. We have been here many times in the past and each time it had grown smaller in size. Now it looked practically rustic a two bedroom cottage and there will 6 people sharing it. It will be a tight squeeze now that we were all older. Jake alone will have us all squashed into a corner. At over six feet and loaded with the muscles and brawns needed to play a very rough game of rugby, he looked like every girls dream come true. His brownish blond locks were overly longish and unkempt and his hazel green eyes was as warm and as inviting as his wide smile that bared his milky white teeth courtesy of a very expensive dentist.
"You girls head on in I'll bring in your bags," Jake said with a cute smile. I got my belongings out of the car and chastised my sisters for bickering before moving back to the trunk to help Jake empty the load. I reached out to grab at Emily's duffel knowing it would be the heaviest and wanting to spare Jake the trouble of hefting it.
A large warm hand settled over my own I looked up into the whisky colour Jake's grinning eyes were now reflecting before he leaned in to whisper in my ears," I said I got it."
The strange sensation rippled through me again and I found myself in retreat mode as I hastily drew back and rushed into the house without another word.
Chapter 2
"Lucy my dear, how are you?"
Greeted Mrs Neel as she plodded her way to the front door to greet me. Jake and us, had that in common, warm and chubby mums who made cuddling into an addiction. I sank my slender form into her embrace and was sure I touched nirvana. The bright light instantly dimmed as she pulled me out of her warm hug but then I was thrust into Jake's dad's bear hug that was as always bone crushing and almost suffocating.
"Lucy my dear, have you grown any bigger?" Mr Neel boomed out at me before he thumped my back mightily sending the last breath out of my lungs in a wisp so that I had to croak out my response, "Great to see you Mr Neel."
Then I was being tugged out of the bear hug and into a gentler version only this one created that strange yearning sensations again that was equally effective in stealing my breath.
"Dad," murmured the husky voice as Jake breathed over me ruffling tousled strands of my hair," you were squashing her," said my rescuer Jake before he too released me with a grin.
I drew in a ragged breath and was spared from having to respond at all with Emily's outburst," I'm starving is there anything to eat?"
We all laughed at that, I more so than usual releasing the strange tension that seemed to grow within me each time I was in Jake's vicinity. I drew in a relieved breath which got caught in my throat as I made the mistake of catching Jake's knowing grin.
I set aside the niggling thoughts that were trying to be heard and joined in the camaraderie and laughter that the twin’s antics never failed to produce.
We progressed on to lunch and I went to help out in the kitchen setting Emily and Cat tasks to help Mrs Neel out. I caught Emily drooling dreamily over Jake who having discarded his shirt was lounging out back on the deck chairs facing the pool. The kitchen had a clear view. I shook my head at her reprovingly and knew I would have to talk her out of her infatuation before she did something she regretted.
Jake was fine and lovely as a friend but he was simply beyond us as anything more. He was too rich and too smart. The sooner she realised what she was intending was hopeless the easier it will be to bear.
It was a long day in all. Emily had successfully enticed us all into a game of bluff where we all indulged shamelessly in hilarious lies. Jake and Emily was a tie in their deviousness. But I had a good time off it as did Cat.
Later we put on our bathing suits grabbed our beach towels and trudged down the winding path that led down cliff edge to our own private alcove. It was paradise. This was the reason why the Neels bought the little cottage and why the put up with its tiny frame. I threw on my hat and shades and swept up my favourite novel, the very latest of my favourite author, H M Irwing and sank myself tooth, nail and soul into the very depths of The Final Frontier. The afternoon wore on as the tale spun on drawing me deeper and deeper into its clasps then a deep warm and inviting voice sounded in my ear calling me back to present. Emerging out of the downward spiral into the depths of fantasy and science fiction back into the real world would have been sluggish at most but the hot well placed hand on my backless swimsuit. The electrifying tingles that swept to my core from had me surging out into reality at warp speed.
"Jake!" I gasped.
"Why? Who were you expecting?" Jake asked peering over my shoulder to pick a name from the open pages of my book,"Xion?"
I blushed beet red and he laughed.
"We should head back in," Jake sobered up enough to say then he glanced pensively back at Emily who was looking unusually quiet for her nature. "Talk to Em, will you. She needs you," Jake said before he moved off to gather up
our scattered belongings. I stifled a groan realising that this was it. Emily had confessed her feelings for Jake and naturally he had rejected her. Jake was five years older than her. At twenty one he was to all intents and purposes a man while she was still a child in the eyes of the law.
I picked up my things and moved to join Emily who was lagging behind instead of running ahead as was usual.
"Em? Are you okay?"
And just like that the dam burst and Emily flung her arms about me and wept her heart out. My own heart constricted with her pain and I felt my own eyes well up in tears.
"My poor beautiful little sister. Tell me what's wrong," I said knowing full well what it was all about.
"J..Ja..Jake doesn't want me...," she hiccupped but got it out.
"Shh..that's okay. He is too old anyway. Positively ancient," I said merrily hoping to cheer her out of it. She gave me a pathetic watery smile that wrung my heart.
"It'll get better love. You'll see. In time you'll meet the person who was meant to love you. This is just part of the journey. Everyone gets rejected at some point," I started off well but then finished off blithely having run out of things to say.
"Have you been rejected," asked Emily.
"Sure lots of times," I lied not having the nerve to tell her I have never been interested in anyone in the first place let alone approach anyone for a rejection to actually happen. Well except that one person but that was in the past and it wasn’t really….
"Okay I feel better now," she threw me a brave but watery grin and skipped down the path that led to the house. I needed to think so I turned the opposite way and went back to the beach.
I had just sat back down on the sand when I heard," That's a wonderful thing you did for Em. But I'm not that old."
I watched as his long frame lumbered up to me before folding to settle down onto the soft sand by my side. We sat quietly for a while as I stared up at Jake and him out at the sea. Then I turned away to look at the wild ocean swells and surging waves breaking onto the shore. The skies had turned a dusky grey hue matching the wild furies of the rough sea. I watched as the wave rose high before slamming against the rocky surface of the cliffs. It was relatively milder closer to the white sandy beach where it broke gently to soak up the sand not too far from where we sat.
