Chapter Seventeen
He didn’t know whether he fell asleep or passed out. But when he came to, he became aware that that music had changed to something old, something from his father’s generation, even before. Something that invoked the feel of the beach and the surf. The music teased his consciousness as his sluggish brain tried to identify it. It was the Beach Boys and a song called ‘Good Vibrations’. He’d heard it so long ago on one of his father’s CDs back when he was a boy. He opened his eyes to say something to Gina but found that she wasn’t next to him. Then he remembered that she had gone somewhere else in the house, promising that she wouldn’t be long.
He sat up and rubbed his face, trying to rid himself of the lethargy. He looked around the room carefully, but he couldn’t see Gina. A stranger sat beside him, kissing a girl.
“Hey,” he asked the person next to him, elbowing him in the back. “Have you seen Gina?”
“Who’s Gina?” the man asked, looking at him angrily.
“Um … long blonde hair, blue eyes, pixie face,” Josh said, unsure now in the face of the man’s anger.
“Doesn’t she hang out with Bevan?” he asked.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“They went that way,” the man said, pointing down the passage towards the front door.
“They went together?” he asked. “Bevan and Gina?”
“Bevan and a chick with long blonde hair, just like you said. Now piss off, I’m busy here.” He resumed kissing the girl and his hand went to her breast.
Josh stood up and the room spun around him. He reached for the wall to steady himself and waited for the room to stop spinning. Sound came to him in waves, the music changed now from the Beach Boys to something slow. He hung his head and closed his eyes, waiting for equilibrium to return.
When he thought he could, he moved off, although he still held onto the wall for support, moving out of the room and into the passage. He couldn’t move fast, his feet felt like they were encased in stone and his neck muscles couldn’t hold up his head. How much beer had he drunk? His fingers reached the jutting edge of a doorjamb. The door was closed. As he moved his hand over it he heard Gina giggle. He stopped, trying to locate the source of the sound. Again he heard her giggle, muffled, coming from the other side of the door. He listened again. Had he imagined it? Was it coming from this room?
“Bevan – no.”
It was clearly her voice coming from behind the closed door.
He struggled to turn the handle, his hands uncoordinated but finally the door swung open. Bevan and Gina were in the bedroom and he was taking her top off. She wasn’t wearing a bra.
“Take your hands off her,” Josh cried as he came into the room. He reached out to push Bevan aside but missed him, falling against him instead. Bevan released Gina and pushed Josh away. Gina backed towards the bed with a smile on her face as she pulled her top back down.
“Don’t touch her, she’s my girlfriend,” Josh cried. Bevan was between him and Gina and he couldn’t reach her. He wanted to get her out of the room, out of the house.
“You think she’s yours, do you?” Bevan said, squaring up to him.
Gina stood behind Bevan, looking at Josh and giggling.
“She loves me,” Josh said.
“She told you that did she?” Bevan’s upper lip curled in disdain. “She’s just using you, and you’re too dumb to see it.”
“No, she wouldn’t do that.” Josh shook his head, but decided not to do that again as the room lurched.
“Yes, she would. We had a fight, see, and she wanted to get back at me so she goes after you. She knew it would make me mad. But she’s had her fun and it’s time for it to stop.”
Josh again tried to push past Bevan, but he was blocked. Bevan shoved him back towards the door. “Now leave us alone and get out of here.”
“She’s coming with me,” Josh said as he jostled with Bevan to get to Gina.
“Listen, dickhead,” Bevan said, pushing him back. “Get it into your head. She doesn’t love you.”
“It’s not true!” Josh shouted, and hit him. It was a solid blow to the jaw, all his fury in one single blow, and Bevan reeled away. Josh tried to reach for Gina, but Bevan recovered quickly and punched Josh in the side of his head. Josh staggered backwards from the blow and collided with the wall. Bevan followed him and hit him hard on the chin. His mouth snapped shut and he tasted blood. Josh attempted to hit back, but Bevan was more experienced at fighting and he wasn’t as drunk.
“What’s going on?” a voice asked as a figure appeared in the doorway. Josh looked up and recognised Rhys.
Bevan stepped away from Josh as Rhys came into the room and said, “This guy hit me.”
Josh took his chance and swung another blow at Bevan, but it didn’t connect. Rhys grabbed Josh’s outstretched hand and twisted it behind his back. Josh yelped as pain shot through his shoulder and his knees buckled.
“Stand up,” Rhys demanded as he pulled at Josh’s other arm.
Josh rose unsteadily and Rhys pushed him through the bedroom door.
“Bye-bye, Joshie,” Gina said from the bedroom and giggled.
The pressure on Josh’s twisted arm didn’t let up, and he struggled to keep upright as he was propelled down the passage towards the open front door. When they reached the open doorway, Rhys gave him a shove forward as he released his arm. Josh staggered forward, fell down the steps onto the sandy lawn and landed on his face on the ground. He pushed himself up, spitting sand from his mouth, and saw Bevan standing next to him. A crowd had gathered. Someone was holding up a mobile phone.
“Stay away from Gina,” Bevan warned him. “I see you with her again and I’ll beat you so bad you won’t ever look pretty. Got that!”
He didn’t see the kick coming. It caught him in the stomach and he curled up before vomiting onto the grass. Bevan laughed and someone in the crowd said, ”Bro, that was wicked, let’s load it onto YouTube.”
Bevan followed the rest of the crowd back in the bach, the door closed and Josh was left alone in the dark.