by C.J Duggan
Chapter Fifteen
Adam stood at the top of the embankment under the sweeping verandas of the Onslow Hotel.
We charged forward, running as best we could in our flip flops and wet bathers as we passed Sean and Toby. Sprinting in a direct line, we smashed into Adam, giving him a dual, fierce, bear hug.
"So I guess you're pleased to see me, then," he laughed.
It seemed like an eternity since I had seen him, but really it had only been a few weeks. We were finally all together, where it all began. Even if the circumstances had changed, it mattered little; it was the perfect ending to a pretty freakin' perfect day.
The look Adam gave me as he stood back from our hug made me glance down to check I didn't have anything hanging out that shouldn't have been.
Nope, all in place.
Adam took a subtle step back and chose to strike up a conversation with Ellie. My excitement ebbed. Was that a look of disapproval? All of a sudden I wanted to run and grab my clothes. I felt naked, exposed; Adam had made me feel stupid just by one look.
We sat down on one of the picnic tables. I was across from him and glad of the barrier it provided between us.
I had gone quiet, I couldn't help it. It wasn't like Adam to judge; it was the only way you could survive a friendship that involved Ellie. We had agreed the three of us would always be a judgment-free circle, and it had always been so ? until now. He had put a damper on our reunion.
Toby and Sean brought out a tray of drinks and then remembered Adam's presence.
"Sorry, mate, did you want something?" Sean pointed to the bar.
"Ah, no thanks." Adam seemed edgy.
You know the old saying 'two's company, three's a crowd'? Well, the same applies for four's company, five is excruciatingly awkward.
If Adam hadn't turned up, the day would have probably ended with Ellie, Sean, Toby and I having drinks at the Onslow, reliving the day's events with further verbal sparring and razzing. I wouldn't feel ashamed by what I was wearing, and I most certainly wouldn't be sitting here in uncomfortable silence tracing the condensation on my pot glass, trying to stem the tide of anger at Adam that was building up inside me.
I had been so excited to see him. I had no idea he was going to be home this soon, perhaps he hadn't known either, or maybe he'd wanted it to be a surprise. Oh, it was a surprise alright, though it seemed more so for him.
I was itching to punch him in the ribs and ask, "what was that look for?", but while we sat with Toby and Sean, I kept quiet.
Sean glanced awkwardly between us and started up a conversation with Adam in an attempt to diffuse the tension. He asked him how things were in the big smoke and how his arm was healing. Oh crap, his arm. I snapped out of my daze.
"How is your arm?" I managed.
They both looked at me. Adam was about to reply when Ellie cocked her head.
"What's that scribed on your cast, some city chick's phone number?"
"Pfft, I wish." He twisted his cast so it was readable to us all. Scrawled on the inside arm of his cast in big, black, permanent texta was:
You're GROUNDED! Mum xox
"Kind of a buzz kill for the opposite sex, don't ya think?" He smiled.
I smiled to myself. Typical Adam.
Ellie shrugged. "I think casts are cute."
"Hey, there's Stan," Sean said. We all swiveled around and sure enough, there was Stan through the window at the bar, talking to Chris. Ellie sat up straight; her expression may have been one of disinterest, but her body language gave her away entirely.
"So it is," Ellie said. She pretended not to care but, oh, she cared alright.
"It was nice of him to lend us his boat for the day." I subtly kicked Ellie under the table.
Adam picked at the frayed edge of a beer coaster.
"Now there's a man who burns easily." Sean took a swig of his beer and looked pointedly at Ellie. I didn't get it. Was he saying Stan got sunburnt easily or ? I don't know. Was he being metaphorical and saying Stan was a sensitive soul who got burned in love easily? Either way it was directed at Ellie, and by the look on her face, she couldn't decipher what he meant either.
Matching my silence, (in fact trumping it), Toby sat next to Adam, playing with his mobile, intently scowling at the screen.
"What's up, Tobias?" Sean said. "Trouble in paradise?"
"Hmm? Oh ? yeah, something like that," Toby said, climbing to his feet. "I'll be back in a sec." He walked off without even looking up, only noticing Stan coming out with Chris as he dodged them.
"What's up with him?" Stan said with a frown.
"Woman trouble."
Stan and Chris groaned as they made themselves at home on the picnic table bench.
A spike of jealousy ran through me as I pictured Toby speaking to Angela on the phone at that exact moment. She would ask him what he had been up to, and he would shrug and say nothing, and that every waking moment without her was torture and please come home soon. Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be exactly like that, but my imagination was my nemesis so I zoned out in a cloud of misery.
I caught Adam staring at me, that quizzical frown back in place as he studied me. Seriously, what was his problem today?
"So!" Stan began. "Seeing as though I busted my rump today helping my old man, he agreed that we could have the shed tonight for some extra-curricular festivities." Stan addressed us all, but his lasting gaze was on Ellie, checking her reaction.
"Are you actually going to show up at this event?" she said icily.
He tipped his drink to her. "Yes, ma'am. Gonna crank up some tunes and dust off the old pool table."
"Shweeeeet!" Sean sing-songed.
"Ladies?" Stan asked.
Ellie replied enthusiastically on our behalf, but my inner conscience was thinking about what my mum and dad would think about going to a twenty-two-year-old's party until all hours. I had been out all day and the details of my whereabouts had already been sketchy at best. I hadn't mentioned the Onslow Boys to my parents; I didn't think they'd understand. To them, boys (aside from Adam) were all after one thing: to deflower daughters, get us pregnant and ruin our lives. My parents had nothing to worry about in that area. Seeing as though I was still most likely the last living virgin in Onslow and surrounding regions, I was pretty safe.
But I really wanted to go to this party.
After a while, my heart sank as I realised Toby wasn't returning to the table. I didn't want it to end on such an anti-climactic note. It had been the perfect day. I thought dreamily about the way his hands had glided over my skin, how he held my wrists with such gentle strength, or of when he placed his hand against mine, smiling at the difference. He had been so animated, so lively, more so than I had ever seen him. Maybe that was the way he was with his mates? I rarely saw him uninhibited. I doubt it was due to anything I did; sure, he gave me a look over when he saw me in my bikini, but so had Sean. They were guys and that's what they do; it didn't mean anything.
But Toby wasn't like the other boys; he seemed reserved, quiet and respectful - aside from throwing me overboard, but I liked that side of him, his playful side. And then I envisioned him throwing Angela overboard, and all of a sudden I didn't like that side to him nearly as much.
The Onslow Boys said their goodbyes and said they would see us tonight.
"Hey, Ellie," Stan said as the boys headed towards the door, "can I talk to you for a sec?"
She sighed deeply, but I knew she was secretly delighted.
This left me and Adam, who sat directly opposite me, giving me a strained smile. Oh, no you don't, I thought; there was something underneath that facade that bothered me, and I had to clear the air.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" His eyebrows shot up, like he was genuinely surprised.
"As if there's food on my face and it turns your stomach."
"Wouldn't it be easier to say a look of disgust?"
"Is that what it is? I disgust you?" My voice ro
se.
"Oh God, Tess, no ? Jesus, keep your voice down," he said, glancing around. "No, that's not it at all." He looked forlorn.
"Then what is it?" I demanded.
"It's nothing, you're just paranoid."
"Don't give me that, I know you well enough to know every single one of your looks, and I have never seen that one before, so spill."
By now the coaster in Adam's hands was shredded into a million tiny pieces, and he was staring at his little pile of cardboard when he offered a low, casual, one-shouldered shrug.
"You look different, you seem different."
I was taken aback, was he serious? I straightened.
"I'm not!"
"Yeah, you're right, okay, good, I'm getting a drink."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, "back it up, buddy, don't think you can bail on this. What do you mean I've changed? We've barely spoken to each other, how can you gather that?" Had the city pollution warped his brain?
He brushed bits of coaster off his hands.
"Don't mind me, I'm just tired. I only got back this morning and I'm beat."
"So, guess you won't be going to the party, then?"
He scoffed. "Party? You're a real party goer now," he said sarcastically.
He was really starting to tick me off.
"Well, how's about you go and take a nap and wake up on the right side of the bed before you come and see me again." I got up to leave, but he followed me.
"Tess, come back, don't be mad."
I swung around to face him "Don't! God, Adam, this the first time I've seen you in ages and this is how you act?"
He stared me down. Yeah, this wasn't going anywhere.
"You know, I was actually looking forward to you coming home, but I didn't think you would make me feel ?" I broke off looking out at the lake.
"Feel what?"
God, wouldn't he take the hint and leave me alone? I cut him a dark look.
"Make me feel bad about myself."
His brows rose as if I had dished out a physical blow. Good.
I turned, chin held high, and strode away.
