“If you’re leaving town in the middle of the night, you’re obviously running away. Your mum will be beside herself by morning.” I was sure I could make her see reason.
“I really don’t care. I’m eighteen, she can’t stop me.”
Her attitude was outrageous. Nicole was the good one. The wrath of Carol Lawson scared me, but it usually terrified her. Nothing I was saying was getting through. I wasn’t sure if she couldn’t see the knock-on effect that skipping town would have or if she simply didn’t care.
“What about our plans? You know I can’t travel without you. Are you just going to leave me here?” My tone became more desperate as I pleaded my case.
Still she remained unaffected.
Ethan got into her car and started the engine, revving it to hurry her along. She glanced over her shoulder like she was gearing up to run from me. I gripped the sleeve of her coat futilely.
“Look,” she said, marginally sympathetically. “You’ll be fine. You’re always fine. You’ll work out how to leave. Try patching things up with Adam.”
“Adam has nothing to do with this, Nic,” I spat. “This is about you and me. We’ve been planning this for ten years. Don’t you care about that?”
Her body seemed to relax and I loosened my grip. Her expression was completely blank. “I really don’t, Charli,” she said wearily. “I have Ethan.”
“You don’t love him!” The words raged out of me. I couldn’t have toned it down if I’d tried.
“I don’t need to love him. I’ve learned from your mistakes. Where did falling in love get you?”
“Are you trying to hurt me, Nicole?”
“I’m pretty sure not everything is about you.”
Shrugging free, she marched to the car. Ethan wasted no time, peeling down the driveway as soon as she closed the door. I thought I saw her look back at me as they drove away, but my tears were clouding my vision.
I was wandering aimlessly around the car park, kicking stones with Gabrielle’s hellishly expensive shoes when Mitchell finally found me.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, taking off his jacket and draping it around my shoulders. I couldn’t find the coordination I needed to put my arms through the sleeves.
“This.” I thrust the half empty bottle of vodka at him and he jumped back, trying to avoid the splash of liquor heading his way.
He looked perplexed. “Are you drunk?”
I pinched my thumb and forefinger together, confirming his suspicions. “Li’l bit,” I slurred.
“Do you want me to take you home?” he asked as he took the bottle and emptied it onto the ground.
“No, I want you to take me to the beach.”
He tossed the bottle into a nearby garden. “Charli, I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
Inexplicably, I burst into tears. I couldn’t explain why. Perhaps the half bottle of vodka I’d guzzled in less than half an hour had something to do with it. Mitchell pulled his jacket tighter around me, buttoning it up like that would contain me. How dismal I must have looked, in a cocktail dress and ill-fitting dinner jacket, empty sleeves flapping in the breeze, blubbering like a child.
“Alright, alright. We’ll compromise,” he offered, bringing his finger to his lips to shush me. “We’ll go for a walk down to the grapes, okay?”
“There should be no compromise at seventeen,” I recited in a voice that sounded nothing like Alex.
“You’re a certifiable nutcase, Charli Blake,” he said. Grabbing my shoulders, he pointed me down the track to the vineyard. We seemed to walk forever.
“Nicole and Ethan have done a runner,” I told him out of the blue.
Mitchell stopped dead. “Tell me what happened.”
I told him everything I knew, leaving nothing out. “She’s been planning it for weeks,” I snivelled.
“Nicole couldn’t plan a day at the beach,” he replied. “Ethan’s the ringmaster.”
“Are you mad at him?” My brain was starting to fail me. Even I could tell that I was slurring my words.
“He never said a word. I’m shocked.”
“Nicole never does anything bad. She’s the good one,” I rambled. “All the trouble we’ve ever been in was my fault.”
I thought I was confessing to something he didn’t know. “You don’t say?”
“It’s true. I’m the bad one.”
“You’re not bad, Charli,” he said sympathetically, putting one arm around me as he pulled me in close.
I could feel my tears saturating the front of his shirt but made no attempt to move or stop crying.
“First Adam and now Nicole. Everything is a mess,” I wailed.
“It’s not your fault. Nicole’s just a sheep following a wolf, and Adam’s a fool for – ”
“Shut up!” If my arms had been free of my makeshift straightjacket, I would have hit him. “Adam never dumped me. I ended it.”
He stared. “Why would you do that? I thought you were looking forward to going to New York.”
“I was looking forward to being with him. There’s a difference, a big difference as it turns out. Even in my head, I couldn’t make a fairy-tale ending.”
“I’m sorry, Charli.”
“So am I.” My voice was barely louder than a whisper. “I’m not going to New York. I’m not going anywhere anymore.”
My impromptu decision to get blind rotten drunk was purely to drown my sorrows. For a while it had worked. But now I was starting to feel sick, and my sorrows were magnifying at a rate of knots.
“You can still travel,” Mitchell insisted.
“Sure I can,” I replied sarcastically. “My father will love the idea of me heading off into the big unknown by myself.”
His pained expression made me laugh.
“What’s funny?”
“You were scared of him when you thought he was my brother. You must be scared stiff now you know he’s my dad.” I giggled through my tears.
He looked at the ground. “Especially tonight,” he muttered. “I have to take his daughter home, and she’s smashed.”
I hadn’t put much thought into what Alex’s reaction would be. The second I did, I regretted ever taking a sip. Given my grandmother’s history and his tendency to overreact, he’d be signing me up for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
“Mitch, can you take me home?” I asked, sounding downtrodden even to myself.
“Absolutely.” He pointed me back towards the car park.
Sleep was the only thing I was looking forward to about getting home. Mitchell did his best to prop me up as we walked into the house, but it took Alex two seconds to figure out I was drunk. He grabbed my chin, tilting my head up to look at my eyes. The bright light made it impossible not to squint.
“Oh, Charlotte, you are in a whole world of trouble.” He was remarkably calm, all things considered.
“Don’t be too hard on her,” said Mitchell, bravely pleading my case. “She’s had a rough night.”
Alex turned his vexation to Mitchell. “You don’t need to speak,” he growled.
Mitchell helped me across the room and lowered me on to the couch.
“I do need to speak. There’s a problem. I think Nicole’s mum thinks she’s staying here tonight.”
Alex swiped both hands down his face. “Nicole is Carol’s problem. Where is she? With Ethan?” he asked, furious.
“Technically,” mumbled Mitchell.
I tried to stay awake while Mitchell explained the whole sorry saga, but I couldn’t. My eyes started closing the second my head hit the cushion.
***
Waking up the next morning with a thumping headache and very queasy stomach should have been punishment enough. Alex didn’t see it that way. I was jolted awake by the sound of him smashing the lid down on a saucepan as he circled the couch.
“Stop!” I pleaded, covering my head with a cushion.
He ripped the cushion away. “I’m sorry, Charli.” His voice was sweet. “I didn’t mean to wake you.
”
“Just stop,” I begged.
I closed my eyes because I needed to. The morning was much too bright. Alex was much too bright. He chuckled maniacally as he walked away. I heard the tap running and a few seconds later he returned, presenting me with a huge glass of water.
“Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.” I sat up and took it from him, gratefully.
“How much trouble am I in?” I asked, preparing for the worst. The worst didn’t bother me. I didn’t feel as though I had much left to lose.
Alex sat on the edge of the coffee table. “Not as much as Nicole. I’ve been to see her mother.”
“Why did you tell Carol?” I asked, horror-struck.
“Someone had to. Nicole didn’t even leave a note. Carol’s a mess. Did you know she was planning this?”
I instantly regretted shaking my head so fervently. I had to swallow hard to stop myself throwing up in his lap. “No. Not a thing. I still wouldn’t know if I hadn’t noticed her sneaking out of the party.”
His hard expression softened. “Are you upset with her?”
Alex wasn’t stupid. He knew the repercussions of Nicole leaving town were huge. Without her, my travel plans were sunk.
I shrugged, faking indifference. “I forgive her. I’ll work something out.”
“You can come to Marseille with me and Gabs.” He said it like he’d just solved all my problems.
Never, I promised myself, determined to resort to plan B. I shuddered, wondering how long it would take to come up with a plan B.
It took a long time to pull myself together that morning, but I did it. Wallowing in self-pity wasn’t an option. Neither was tagging along to Marseille with Gabrielle and Alex, so I was determined to figure out a way around it. The best way to start was to work out my finances.
Nicole and I had been saving for years. Realistically, the proceeds of my tiny postcard business would have added up to little more than a few thousand dollars. She’d probably fared much better, working every shift Alex had offered her since she was fourteen. My saving grace was the unbelievable bonus of receiving the proceeds of Adam’s boat – only I hadn’t received it yet. I wasn’t worried. Norm was hardly the type to rip anyone off. Needing an excuse to leave the house, I made the short drive into town to visit Norm and Floss.
Floss seemed to have a sixth sense. I couldn’t remember a time that I’d ever visited and got as far as knocking. She was always waiting for me on the front step.
“How’s the head, Charli?”
“Is there anything you don’t know?” I asked, hugging her tightly so she wouldn’t see me blush.
“I saw your dad at the café this morning. He mentioned that you were feeling under the weather.”
It was amazing how quickly Floss dropped the façade and began referring to Alex as my father. I was astounded that she’d managed to keep the secret going for seventeen years.
I released her and stepped back. “Is that what he called it?”
Floss’s trademark roar of laughter filled the air and I couldn’t help laughing with her.
“No. He told me you had a skinful last night and were paying for it this morning.”
“Is he worried?” It was a question I was too fearful to ask Alex.
She shook her head telling me no, and I huffed out a long breath. He wasn’t about to ship me off to rehab.
“He’s very worried about Nicole running away, though, and how that will affect your plans.”
Everyone around me had jumped to the same conclusion. My plans were dead in the water the minute she left.
“I’ll be fine,” I insisted.
“So what brings you here today?” she asked, pulling the screen door open and ushering me inside.
“I came to see Norm, actually.” I scanned the front room as I walked in ahead of her.
Floss’s house was cluttered to say the least. Figurines and ornaments decorated every surface. Heavy lace curtains hung on the windows and everywhere I looked, there seemed to be a sleeping cat. Floss claimed to have three cats. I’d seen at least four in the minute and a half that I’d been there.
“He’s not here, love. He has a new mistress these days.” My expression as I turned to face her must have been strange because immediately, she explained. “The boat, Charli. He’s gone fishing.”
“Oh,” I mumbled. “That’s what I wanted to see him about. I was hoping he’d have my cheque for me.”
I felt embarrassed even asking. Floss stood motionless, frowning at me for so long that I had to look away.
“Adam asked Norm to make out a cash cheque and give it to you,” she said slowly, replaying the scenario out loud.
I nodded in agreement, prompting her to continue.
“He went to the café last weekend to give to Alex but he wasn’t there. Nicole was working. She offered to pass it on to you, so he gave it to her.”
“Has the cheque been cashed, Floss?” I asked shakily.
Floss staggered back a few steps and flopped down on the red velvet recliner behind her. “I’m so sorry, love.”
Her apology instantly confirmed my worst fears. My heart was screaming at me to come up with a plausible explanation for the picture coming together in my head. But I couldn’t. There was no denying it. My so-called best friend had betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. The Pipers Cove version of Bonnie and Clyde were hobnobbing around the world, living my dream – on Adam’s money.
I reached for her hand, like she’d done for me a million times.
“It’s not your fault, Floss,” I insisted. “Don’t waste another second thinking about it.”
The hooligan half of me was plotting revenge. The sweeter, less well-known part of me spent the next half hour trying to console Floss. It took a long time and a gallon of tea to calm her down.
Before I left, I swore her to secrecy. Until I could figure out a way around it, no one needed to know. The only person in town that I trusted with the news was Mitchell. And I suddenly became desperate to see him.
To get to Mitchell’s shack, I had no choice but to drive past the main house. Thankfully the Audi was nowhere to be seen. I wasn’t in the mood for fending off Beautifuls.
Everything about the Tate property was impressive except Mitchell’s shack. It was originally the main house and probably once quite charming, but now it was ramshackle. If I didn’t know for sure that he lived there, I would have sworn it had been abandoned.
I pounded on the front door, fighting to be heard over the loud, angry music coming from inside. The door flew open and I took a quick step back, shocked by his fierce expression.
“Oh, it’s you.” The choler disappeared instantly.
“Who were you expecting?”
He poked his head out, looking from left to right as if he expected to spot someone in the bushes.
“Lisa,” he uttered, motioning me inside. I didn’t ask why. I could handle no more drama that day.
He walked across the cluttered room to the stereo, turning it down. I stood, too scared to sit on the manky couch.
“You’re a pig,” I told him, making no secret of my disgust.
“Is that what you came here to tell me?” He didn’t stop moving, sifting through piles of clothes like he was searching for something.
“No. What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to figure out what else he’s taken.”
“Who?” My question was superfluous. I already knew the answer.
“Ethan. He’s taken two of my boards and my camera. And those are the things I know about,” he growled, understandably furious.
“That’s not all they took,” I told him.
He and looked at me for the first time since I’d walked in. “Tell me everything,” he demanded.
I launched into my woeful tale. Mitchell said nothing for a long time, probably trying to make sense of it, just as I had tried to do. “So, what are you going to do?” he asked finally.
“Nothing. There’s nothing I
can do.”
Mitchell swept a pile of clothes off the couch and sat. We both stared straight ahead, lost in our thoughts. The two people we never thought would, had betrayed us.
“We were talking about South America just a few nights ago. That was the plan,” he mused. “My dad gave us work in the vineyard. Three months of saving and we were to be out of here.”
Apologising seemed absurd but I found myself doing it anyway. He shuddered like he was warding off ugly thoughts.
I heard tyres screeching on the gravel driveway. I hadn’t heard the engine, which meant only one thing. It was the Audi. The beautiful, sleek, quiet Audi…with the hot pink seat covers and butterfly decals.
Mitchell groaned, and buried his head in his hands. I didn’t need to ask why.
The wooden front door flew open and Jasmine appeared, looking every bit the fiend she was. Even without the hangover, she would have been hard to take. Lisa stood behind her, looking past the chief Beautiful at Mitchell.
“Do you ever knock?” he asked irately.
“No. What’s she doing here?” Jasmine pointed at me.
“None of your business,” he told her.
Jasmine thrust Lisa forward.
“It is my business. You need to make up your mind who you want.”
The closest I’d come to throwing up that day came at that moment. “I was just leaving,” I said, suddenly keen to escape.
Mitchell grabbed my sleeve to stop me. “No, you weren’t.” He marched to the door and pushed his sister and Lisa out, slamming it behind them and locking it.
Jasmine was unrelenting, pounding on the door and screeching something about us both having the morals of alley cats. Mitchell ignored her.
“Charli, how much money do you have?” he asked, leaning on the door like there was a chance she’d kick it in. I wondered if he was going to pay her to go away.
“About twenty bucks,” I replied, reaching into my pocket.
“No, no. I mean in the bank.”
“Not much.”
“Enough for a plane ticket?”
I nodded, unsure where he was headed.
“I can probably cover a plane ticket too. Let’s just get out of here. Right, now. Let’s go,” He almost sounded desperate.
“I’m not – ”
“What’s the point in staying? Nicole’s gone. Adam’s gone. You want to get out of town. You’re looking for a travel buddy. I’m right here.” He pointed at himself.