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‘Why can’t you be more like her?’ Mum glared at me with her gaze set to maim or immobilise.
‘More like Caroline? Seriously?’ I shoved the newspaper back at Mum and watched it fall to the floor. ‘Why the hell would I want to be like that two-faced bitch?’
‘She’s going places, I can see it her eyes.’
‘And I’m not, I suppose?’ Caroline’s perfect profile mocked me from afar and I could just hear her whiny laugh.
‘Oh, Alice, just look at yourself.’ Mum dragged her gaze over me.
‘Why?’ I fought the instinct to shrink back against my seat and forced myself to sit up taller. ‘What’s wrong with the way I look? With me?’
‘Your underwear is supposed to be covered by your clothes, not an accessory. Your skirt is so short you might as well not bother wearing it.’ Mum’s lip curled into a sneer. ‘Perhaps the more pertinent question is “what’s right with you?”’
‘Fine. Whatever.’ My shoulders slumped and I dug my nails into my hand to quell the threat of tears. I couldn’t do much about Mum, god knows I’d tried, but I could wipe the smug grin off Caroline’s face. If revenge was indeed a dish best served cold, I was ready to eat the whole damn dish frozen, and the sooner the better before my conscience talked me out of it.
Chapter six (#ulink_899cde08-881a-5acf-99d9-2a4f032b578c)
Dumped
Zac
Zac jogged on the spot at the entrance to the park, torn between whether to head home or keep running. Rain pelted his face, getting clogged in his eyebrows before dripping off the end of his nose, yet the miserable weather seemed fitting. The portentous grey skies suited his gloomy state of mind. Decision made, he set off for an extra loop around the park to try and run off his bad mood.
Some birthday this is turning out to be.
The blame for his grump lay squarely on his own shoulders and served him right for getting ahead of himself. More fool him for thinking his relationship with Lena had been going great and making plans on the assumption they’d still be together on his birthday. Instead he’d been caught out by the ‘it’s over but it’s not you, it’s me’ line and Lena had been long gone for weeks.
Romantically at least.
If he’d ever had her to begin with. Zac couldn’t be certain of that any more either, not when he’d lost out to another guy who didn’t even want her as anything more than a friend—the idiot—but why hadn’t he spotted the signs? Perhaps because there weren’t any, what with Lena living in a state of denial right to the end. Now he was saddled with two tickets for a jazz night and no one to go with any more.
Zac upped his pace and ran on, heading deeper into the park with nothing but the sound of his footsteps for company. He’d only bought the tickets in the first place to introduce Lena to the world of jazz and blues. A few more weeks and he might have invited the still-single Lena along anyway, but time had run out and he hadn’t quite reached the ‘let’s be friends’ level of acceptance yet.
The wind changed direction and brought an easterly gale whipping across the flat terrain of the park. Each gust swirled up the last remaining leaves from the ground and plastered them onto his legs. Beyond the canopy of bare trees, the sky darkened, more like dusk than day. Heavier rain soon followed, driving against his cheeks and lashing his eyes until they stung.
This is madness.
Running in rain and drizzle was one thing but this was monsoon weather, together with an icy chill that threatened hail. If he didn’t take cover soon he’d land himself in the hospital with pneumonia, which would at least bag him some ‘get well soon’ cards and maybe some more gifts to add to his birthday haul, however it still didn’t hold much appeal.
Too far from home to turn back, his best bet was to head to the pool where he could at least dry off and put on the spare clothes he kept in his locker. Zac changed course and followed the track that led towards the recreation centre, taking him beneath the denser trees. They offered little in the way of shelter and did nothing more than drop water bombs on him. His new route took him past the foot of the massive oak tree.
The memory of the girl hanging upside down from its branches burst unbidden into his mind and put an unexpected spring in his step.
Alice.
Now there was a girl with a sharp tongue. The banter had been exhilarating even when she’d been clinging onto the branch and scared out of her wits. For her to be up the damn tree in the first place revealed a fun, risk-taking personality. Back on terra firma she’d acted like two different people: the shy one Charlie got to hang out with and the brash one she clearly presented to everybody else.
But why?
Based on first impressions, Alice could definitely stand her ground so that wasn’t the problem. Money was clearly no object either, judging from her swanky mansion, her flashy car and her home gym. She had everything she could possibly wish for, yet instead of coming across as a spoilt little rich girl she seemed deeply unhappy. Disturbed, even. Why was she living with her sister anyway? Where were her parents?
Alice was a puzzle and the longer Zac spent in her presence, the more he wanted to know what she was hiding, and he had no doubt that she’d been hiding something. Bold and brash on the surface, she remained guarded and aloof underneath. She cloaked her emotions and never let anybody else see that she had a vulnerable side.
Any mention of her home life and the shutters went up faster than the security screen in a bank at the first sign of a heist. There was no point asking her outright or pressing her for details; she’d have only deflected the question or fobbed him off another load of cryptic answers. From the few answers she had given, they didn’t make any sense and he’d left her house with so many questions it had driven him crazy for the best part of a fortnight.
Zac knew he must have watched too many chick movies with Lena when he found himself thinking of Alice as a lost soul. He’d grown more infuriated by the day until Lena had asked what was troubling him. With no explanation forthcoming and no hope of learning the answers, he’d had no choice but to let it drop.
Guilt now prickled his conscience and left him with a sense of unfinished business. He’d convinced himself that he couldn’t turn up at those big iron gates and claim to be in the neighbourhood and expect to be taken seriously. He should have done something though and if it had been anybody else, he probably would have.
It didn’t matter that he could list a whole heap of excuses for not getting in touch with Alice to check her hands were OK—from work to Lena breaking up with him—because that’s all they were: excuses, and feeble ones at that. The main reason he’d stayed away was because it would have been tantamount to taking an industrial-strength fan into the desert and switching it on when the dust had barely settled.
Regardless of what Alice did or most likely didn’t say, it was obvious she had enough issues to write a list a mile long and his head was already fucked up with his own mess. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so distracted thinking about Alice, he’d have noticed the cracks appearing in his relationship with Lena. Sure, she would have left him no matter what but he might at least have seen it coming and been able to prepare himself mentally.
None of that was Alice’s fault but the last thing he needed to do was add to the cacophony inside his brain and stir up a sandstorm. Admittedly, a desert sandstorm appealed far more than the torrential downpour he was having to contend with right at that moment. Every inch of him was soaked, his clothes saturated, and his trainers squelched with each stride. Steam rose off him and a chill permeated his skin leaving a trail of goosebumps.
Zac shook it off and raced towards the harbour of the staff changing room with its hot shower, fluffy towels and dry clothing. He didn’t stop running until his hand was pushing open the front door, quickly followed by the rest of him.
‘You’re supposed to get changed before you go swimming, you know,’ came a female voice from a few feet away. ‘Or at least take your shoes off.’
Zac recognised the voice instantly; his mouth already curved into a grin. Speak of the devil. ‘Ah, thank you. I thought I was probably doing something wrong.’
Alice replied with a giggle but as he turned to greet her, his pulse skittered at the sight of her. Stood with her bag over her shoulder, wearing not enough clothing and way too much make-up, she looked more like a drag queen version of herself. Or maybe an evil twin. It was a fight to regain control of legs that were trying to make him back away.
He could have sworn her eyes were more of a khaki colour, but now they were bright blue. Unnaturally blue. ‘Fallen out of any trees lately?’ he asked, planting his foot firmly on the floor.
‘No, it’s like I told you…no more tree-climbing for me.’
‘Good. Just checking.’ In more ways than one. If Alice hadn’t have spoken first, he doubted he would have recognised her. ‘So how are your hands?’
‘Good as new,’ she said, holding them out in front of her and wiggling her fingers. ‘See?’
‘Gre—’ A shudder ripped through him; the combination of being tickled and the shock of the icy chill as several drops of rain dripped onto the back of his neck. The sudden movement caused more water to run in rivulets down his legs.
‘The nearest gents is upstairs,’ Alice teased, directing his attention to the water pooling around his feet. ‘Unless it’s too late?’
‘Damn.’ The puddle was getting bigger by the second but there was so much he wanted to ask. ‘Are you going to be here for a while? I need to go and get dried off before I pose a health and safety risk but I could catch up with you after?’
‘Um…’ Alice sank her teeth into her bottom lip, creating a dent in the garish red lipstick. Surely she’d have to scrape it all off to swim? ‘I’m kind of meeting a…a friend.’
Kind of?
Her story would have been a whole lot easier to believe if she’d held his gaze, but she broke off to stare at his feet, revealing the thickness of the black line painted along the edge of her eyelid. Easily as thick as the straps on her flimsy top—thicker in fact—she couldn’t even put the trowel job down to her hands being knackered so had to have done it that way on purpose.
‘Oh OK.’ Intrigue be damned, he should consider it a blessing that she was trying to put him off. Think of it as a narrow escape. If Alice was up to something then he didn’t want to know. ‘Some other time, then?’ he added, purely out of politeness.
‘Really?’ Her voice lost its defensive edge and was replaced by an enthusiasm he hadn’t anticipated.
‘Er…sure.’
‘Thanks. I’d like that.’ The open, relaxed expression on her face came as a surprise too and this time he did believe her.
‘Me too.’ Maybe he’d finally be able to get some answers or at least get her out of his head. ‘We’ll have to sort something out.’
‘Definitely.’ Her gaze flitted to the clock and then to the folded newspaper in her hand before lifting back to him. ‘Now, hadn’t you better go and dry off before you turn the foyer into a second swimming pool?’
Zac watched in amazement as the shutters slammed down over her eyes. ‘Trying to get rid of me already?’ he asked, disguising his question as a joke.
She laughed on cue—totally fake though—and a manic spark flashed behind the freaky blue lenses. If he read her correctly though, her bluff had nothing to do with him. Either way, he couldn’t argue with her dismissal; not only was he soaking the floor, the shivers were getting the better of him.
‘Take care, Alice,’ he said, although what possessed him to use those particular words was a mystery.
‘You too, Zac. It was good to see you again.’ She saved him the trouble of an awkward goodbye by stalking up to the reception desk.
When she leaned forward to pay, Zac discovered just how short her skirt was and how little it covered. Modesty seemed to be the least of her problems, so he ignored the urge to find something to drape over her. Zac shook himself out of a stunned daze and realised he wasn’t the only one staring after her. Maybe getting caught in a flash flood was preferable to a sandstorm after all?
After one final glance, he forced his legs to move and set off down the corridor ahead of her towards the relative peace of the staff room. For once, the room was empty so he wandered over to his locker to grab his old sweats and T-shirt, along with the towel he kept there. Pity there was no hope of getting his trainers dry for the run home.
Another shiver rippled through him as he considered the choice between his soggy shoes or the flip flops he wore poolside. Both meant wet feet for the foreseeable. Enough dawdling, he needed to get warm and dry. Zac packed up his gear, rolling his spare clothes inside his towel, then grabbed his shower gel before heading to the men’s changing room.
Shy schoolboys occupied the few shower cubicles. Too cold to be fussy, Zac peeled off his sodden clothes and made do with the communal showers. Tension coiled up in his shoulders like a tightly wound spring. The fresh scent of his shower gel washed away the grubby residue left behind by the rain and the mud from splashing in puddles but did nothing for his nagging concerns.
When the shower cut off abruptly for the fourth time, he leaned one hand against the cool tiled surface then held down the press button for the shower valve with the other hand. Eyes closed, he let the hot water cascade over him, coaxing life back into his fingertips and toes.
‘Hey, mate, you OK?’
‘Huh?’ Zac startled and turned his head towards the voice. He opened his eyes to find Josh staring at him from the next shower. ‘Oh, hey, Josh. Yeah, I’m fine thanks.’
‘Have you been swimming? I didn’t see you.’
‘No, I was out running and got caught in the deluge. This place was closer than home so I figured I’d come here.’
‘Sounds grim.’
‘It was. I was easily as wet as you when I got here.’
‘Yuck,’ Josh said, twisting his face into a grimace. ‘Shame you weren’t poolside. You missed some spectacular talent just now.’
‘Yeah? Is one of the under nines coming good?’
Josh laughed. ‘Nah, mate, not that sort of talent. I meant the other one. You know, the one that comes in a teeny-tiny swimsuit with pert tits and legs up to her armpits,’ he said, drawing the shape of an hourglass in the air.
‘Oh right,’ Zac said flatly.
‘I swear she was giving me the eye too.’ The lascivious grin spreading across Josh’s face was what had landed the guy with his questionable reputation with the female lifeguards.
‘I thought you had a girlfriend?’
Josh shrugged. ‘I do,’ he said, leaning in closer. ‘Doesn’t stop me looking though. Right?’ He nudged his elbow into Zac’s side like they were co-conspirators.
‘Of course it doesn’t,’ Zac muttered under his breath, growing more uncomfortable with the conversation with each passing second. He let go of the shower valve and counted to five as he waited for the water to shut off. ‘Right, that’s me done. I’m out of here.’ To avoid eye contact, he bent to pick up his shower gel. ‘I’m on duty next Wednesday so I guess I’ll see you then.’
‘Yeah, mate, see ya next week,’ Josh replied. ‘Hey, I hope that girl comes again too.’
Lost for a suitable reply, Zac opted for silence and raised his hand as a goodbye, then busied himself by wrapping his towel around his waist as he walked away from Josh.
Jeez, the guy was a twat.
Far too jumped up and full of himself, Zac couldn’t wait for the day somebody knocked Josh down a peg or two. The kids seemed to like him, but it probably had something to do with them sharing the same mental age. No, that was harsh; Josh was a good coach as well as a total louse and the male equivalent to a tart.
Unbidden, the image of Alice bent over the reception desk leaped into Zac’s mind and caused him to stop dead in the centre of the changing room. Aware that he was causing an obstruction, Zac shuffled to the bench where his clothes lay waiting for him. He dragged the towel roughly over his skin and tried to brush off the niggling doubt that had taken up residence in his head.
When it failed to work he screwed the towel into a ball, then tossed it onto the bench hard enough to make the wooden slats rattle. The whole set-up was just too much of a coincidence to ignore. Too convenient. He could well imagine Josh fawning over the bleached-blonde look and based on how little Alice had been wearing when fully dressed, it didn’t take much to guess the kind of swimming costume she’d have worn.
Alice certainly kept herself in shape but she was there to meet a friend—or at least, that’s what she’d said—and that friend couldn’t possibly have been Josh since he didn’t show any sign of knowing her. Unless that’s where the ‘kind of’ came into it?
Not my problem.
What Alice and Josh did or didn’t do was entirely their own business. If Josh was stupid enough to play with fire, then he deserved to get his fingers burned. He was a grown adult and could look after himself, as could Alice. Better off staying out of it, Zac wanted nothing to do with the drama. He kept up the internal mantra and dressed quickly.
Not wanting to risk bumping into either of them again, Zac made his way back to the staff room to kill time and hide out until he was sure the coast was clear. The first coffee barely touched the sides, but the second hit the spot. His peace ended when the door burst open to admit four members of staff chattering excitedly, all talking at once as they converged around the small television mounted on the wall.
Two more colleagues came in right behind them while a guy from the gym, Mike or Tyke or something, flipped through the channels. A loud cheer went up when he came to the channel with the CCTV footage and Zac couldn’t help looking up to see what all the fuss was about. His jaw dropped open and the mug slipped from his fingers.
Right there on screen in full colour, albeit a bit grainy, he saw a guy and a girl getting intimately acquainted. Josh was instantly recognisable even from behind. Zac knew better than to watch yet dread slithered over his skin and paralysed him. He couldn’t tear his gaze off the images flashing across the screen for all and sundry to see.
Proper car crash viewing.
Even though the girl wasn’t so easily identifiable from the camera angle, Zac knew exactly who she was. Sadly. The sight of her skirt and shoes merely confirmed it. He raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging it gently but the images burned into his vision refused to vanish. If anything, they got worse as his imagination joined in on the act.
Another jeer went up and his eyelids flew open against his will. Alice had now removed her vest and hitched her skirt up to her waist. Since she didn’t appear to be wearing underwear any more, there was absolutely nothing left to the imagination. Shouts of ‘get in there,’ ‘go on, my son’ and ‘oh my god, they’re actually doing it’ filled the staff room.
Josh wasted no time getting down to business. The tan lines on his backside made his bright white arse look like a flag blowing in the breeze as he thrust and gyrated into the girl with a wanton smile. A smile which faded the instant Josh couldn’t see her face any more. If anything, Alice looked bored.
Huh?
Unaware she was live-streaming on television, she even went so far as to check her phone or send a text or something. Who in their right mind would do that? Nobody else seemed to have noticed, too busy focusing on the action most likely, but the girl on screen wasn’t the Alice that Zac had met in the park. The question now was, which one was real and which one the impostor?
Only one way to find out.
He was going to have to venture into the sandstorm after all, before Alice could do permanent damage to herself. Zac crossed to the door and didn’t stop walking until he reached the door to the meeting room. He knocked sharply on the door three times, giving Josh and Alice ample warning, and then pushed it open an inch to avoid having to shout and cause even more of a scene.
‘No, wait,’ Josh yelled, an edge of panic to his voice. ‘You can’t come in.’
‘You’ve got thirty seconds to make yourselves decent before I open this door fully.’ Zac couldn’t help grinning. ‘And you might just want to keep your backs to the camera since you’ve corralled an audience with your antics.’
‘C-camera?’ Josh spluttered, not sounding anything like his usual cocky self any more. ‘Audience?’
‘Yeah, you might want to choose a better venue for your extra-curricular rendezvous in future,’ Zac said, enjoying Josh’s discomfort far too much. ‘Of all the rooms in the whole place, you had to choose one of the only ones with an external door. God help you if anyone tries to break in tonight and the tapes get seized as evidence.’
