That One Summer (The Summer Series), Page 3

  “Tammy.” My attention snapped back to the frying corpse beside me. “You’re blocking my sun,” said Amy.

  “Oh, sorry.” I moved to lie back down on my stomach, fidgeting to get comfy. Resting my chin on my arms again, I sighed a long, deep, contented sigh, shutting my eyes and letting the heat of the sun’s rays warm my skin. My peace was soon disturbed by a none-too-subtle elbow knocking into mine. I peered to my left just in time to catch Amy wink at me with a cheeky grin.

  “Oh, I don’t know, Ellie, what’s wrong with counting down the New Year in the beer garden?” Amy asked in all seriousness.

  Ellie’s head bobbed up, her white-rimmed sunnies masking the dark, searing stare that no doubt bore into Amy.

  “Are you serious?” Ellie hitched herself up onto her elbows. “It’s 1999, Amy, we’re counting down into the new millennium, a new century! As if I’m going to spend another year sitting in the beer garden of the Onslow Hotel … No offence.”

  Amy shrugged. “None taken.”

  “Isn’t the world supposed to end, anyway?” asked Tess in a sleepy, mumbled voice.

  “Exactly!” Ellie straightened. “And I’ll be damned if I am going to spend my last moments on this earth at a Blue Light disco singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ with my parents.”

  “It won’t be like that,” Amy piped up. “Do you honestly think Sean would let it be like that? That I would?”

  I knew Ellie had meant ‘no offence’, she had even said it herself, but I could tell by the incredulous tone in Amy’s voice that she was getting a bit shitty that Ellie was depicting the Onslow so negatively.

  I mean, if the choice was death over spending time there, then yeah, I could see why one would be pretty insulted by that.

  On paper, the weeks leading up to and beyond Christmas looked like they had been pretty turbulent for Amy and her family. They had sold the Onslow Hotel, but in reality it wasn’t as if anything much had changed; even though the Onslow sported a new sign on the front verandah boasting ‘Under New Management’.

  It had been a huge relief for everyone that Sean and Chris had bought the hotel and not one of the city types with bulldozers on standby.

  Well, it was a relief for almost everyone. I spied Chris rip a page out of his folder and screw it up.

  Closing my eyes, I attempted to zone out of Amy and Ellie’s bickering, pressing my forehead against my arms, hoping that if I kept out of it I would soon just melt into the deck and avoid the drama. Whatever they chose for New Year’s was fine with me.

  It had seemed like a perfect plan and I was just starting to doze off in the warm sun when Amy elbowed me again, completely jolting me from my Zen-like state.

  “Amy!” I glowered, rubbing my ribcage.

  “Did you know about this?” Amy’s voice was high and squeaky, which always meant trouble.

  “Know about what?” I asked, mystified by her heated question. What had I missed?

  Amy tilted her sunnies back and twisted herself to sit and face toward the jetty, glaring over at the boys.

  “RIGHT!” she said before launching herself to her bare feet and stomping along the deck toward the long jetty where the Onslow Boys sat fishing.

  “Uh-oh …” Ellie sing-songed.

  “I thought she knew; I thought everyone knew,” Tess added quickly, biting her lip, worry lines etched in her brow.

  “Knew what?” I asked, watching Amy close the distance between her and Sean.

  What the hell had I missed?

  “Amy was under the impression there was going to be some grand New Year extravaganza at the hotel this year,” Ellie said.

  “And then I just asked if we should wait until the boys got back from their camping trip.” Tess grimaced.

  “Camping trip?” I asked.

  “Yeah, the camping trip Amy obviously had no idea about.” Ellie sat up, crossing her legs. “You too, it seems? The New Year’s Eve boy bonding expedition they’ve planned.” Ellie shrugged. “Adam mentioned it. They go into the bush, chant and share feelings and stuff.”

  “Not exactly,” a voice said from above.

  The three of us swivelled around and found a silhouette towering over us, blocking the sun.

  Chris.

  “Please don’t smash my illusion of what you boys actually get up to,” smirked Ellie. “Adam paints quite the vivid picture.”

  “I bet he does,” Chris said, staring off at Amy and the boys in the distance. The three of us followed his gaze to see Sean who, smiling upon Amy’s approach, was now not quite so happy.

  Amy stood in her lime green bikini, her hands on her hips whenever they weren’t furiously flailing around.

  Sean held his hands up as if asking a silent question, something that seemed to infuriate her even more.

  Their body language said it all.

  Toby, Ringer and Stan shifted awkwardly, throwing each other wide-eyed grimaces, no doubt wishing they could be anywhere else in that moment.

  “Trouble in paradise?” called an approaching voice. Adam walked through the back bi-fold doors onto the deck, cracking a can of Coke and taking a fizzy sip. He stopped beside Chris. Adam hip and shouldered his brother, causing his drink to fizz over and spill onto the deck.

  Chris eyed his younger brother much like he did everyone, as if he was a bug under a microscope that needed to be stepped on. The two Henderson brothers stood side by side, Chris swiping Adam’s Coke can out of his hand with a gentle shove to his shoulder before taking his own sip.

  “Help yourself,” said Adam good-naturedly. “I backwash anyway.”

  Chris choked mid-sip, working into a coughing fit, rasping insults toward his brother. Adam beamed like he’d just been showered in compliments.

  “You’re a bloody dickhead,” rasped Chris. He worked to pour the remnants of the can out, the brown fizzy stream dribbling and disappearing between the cracks of the decking.

  “Watch it, Boss Man, Sean will use you as a mop when he sees that on his deck,” laughed Adam.

  Chris flicked the excess drops from the can before crushing it in his hand.

  “Somehow,” Chris said, frowning toward the jetty, “I think Sean has bigger fish to fry.”

  And that’s when we heard the scream.

  Chapter Six

  There was a loud splash and I couldn’t be sure who had hit the water first.

  Toby, Ringer and Stan were hunched over in hysterics as Amy and Sean flailed and splashed about in the water. Their bent-at-the-knees, tears-in-the-eyes laughter made me doubt it had been entirely an accident.

  Ellie, Tess and I scrambled to our feet and followed Chris and Adam over to the jetty. We didn’t know whether to laugh or offer support as one hand then another appeared from beyond the decking, splaying themselves on the surface, anchoring themselves into place.

  “I swear to God, Sean Murphy, you’re a dead man!” panted Amy as she struggled to hoist herself onto the deck.

  Sean clamped his two large hands onto the jetty boards and pulled himself out of the water with ease.

  “You pushed me!” He laughed.

  “And you pulled me in!” Amy shouted, as she tried to claw her way onto the platform, rather unsuccessfully. Now on deck, pooling water at his feet, Sean offered her a hand.

  “Don’t touch me!” Amy slapped his hand away.

  “Aw, come on, Amy, I’ll take you bloody camping.”

  “Whaaat?” groaned Chris.

  Sean ignored him; instead, he was trying not to appear amused as Amy hooked her heel on the edge of the pier and awkwardly tried to pull herself up with very little success.

  “Don’t bother,” she bit out. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

  Amy always did have a stubborn streak.

  “Yes, you do,” Sean said. He bent, grabbed her firmly by her arms and ignored her slapping at him as he pulled her up and out of the water as if she weighed nothing. He set her down on her feet, which was all the better for her to glare up at him.

/>   The glare was lost on Sean. His mischievous eyes twinkled as he looked down on Amy. Absolutely no one could doubt he loved her, that he was fully consumed by her, when he looked at her like that. It made my heart unexpectedly pang with jealousy. No one had ever looked at me like that.

  “I’ll take you camping,” he repeated in all seriousness.

  The boys sure stopped laughing then.

  “Sure we will,” added Adam. “You can cook us meals and keep the camp tended to while we do men’s business.”

  That earned Adam a jettyful of murderous stares, none deeper or more intimidating than Chris’s.

  Just as I was about to tease him on behalf of the sisterhood for being so angered, he spoke.

  “They’re not coming.”

  “Excuse me?” Amy’s murderous attention turned from Adam to Chris.

  “Here we go,” sighed Ellie.

  “You heard me.” Chris unapologetically locked eyes with Amy, as if the subject was somehow non-negotiable.

  This was a mistake, a big mistake.

  Amy crossed her arms. “I don’t believe this. So, what? No girls allowed? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Adam slapped Chris on the shoulder and said, “It’s been nice knowing you, buddy,” before he sidestepped away.

  Now everybody’s attention was fully focused on Chris.

  Sean scratched the back of his neck, grimacing. He turned to me. “What you think, Tam? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

  I flinched at the question.

  Oh God, leave me out of it …

  Now, much to my horror, all eyes shifted to me.

  So much for avoiding confrontation.

  “Oh … um …” I fidgeted under their scrutiny. “Well … I don’t know.” My eyes locked briefly with Chris’s. They were burning into me like laser beams, his folded arms an open scowl of distaste that made me feel like he just wanted me to get on with it. It made me fluster even more. “Well, we could just, um …”Oh God, help! “We could always take a vote?”

  Take a vote? Seriously? I inwardly cringed; I needed to just shut up.

  Chris scoffed at my answer, plunging his hands into his pockets. He looked over the group.

  “What? You can’t be serious,” he said.

  My eyes darted over the others who all looked as if what I had said made perfect sense. Surely not. Sean laughed, squeezing my shoulders as he moved behind me.

  “Nice one, Tam!” Sean beamed. “We shall take a vote. All those in favour of the ladies coming with us for our New Year’s camping extravaganza, raise your hands.”

  Sean led the way, holding his hand straight up in the air, followed by a rather smug-looking Amy. Tess, Toby and Ellie also raised their hands to the sky, followed by Ringer and Stan. Adam raised his hand, smiling at Chris, clearly taking immense joy in the outcome.

  “Those against?” Sean called, causing everyone to plunge their arms down comically fast.

  Chris never moved. Not once. In fact, he was so still that if it wasn’t for the deep sigh emanating from him, I would have sworn he had turned to stone.

  “Well, what do you know – a fucking landslide,” Chris bit out.

  “Sorry, mate, the people have spoken,” Sean said, hooking his arm around Amy and leading her toward the lake house, leaving a trail of water behind them.

  “Better make room for our make-up bags, Chrissy babes,” crooned Ellie as she walked past Chris, following them to the house.

  Toby guided Tess to follow, offering Chris an amused shrug.

  “Well, show’s over. Come on lads, better check those fishing rods; I fancy smoking a kipper for breakfast.” Adam slapped Stan on the back.

  “You don’t know much about fishing, do you, mate?” quipped Stan.

  I smiled, watching the boys make their way back toward the jetty, exchanging trash talk as they went. But then I realised I was now alone with Chris and his angry eyes. He didn’t need to say a word for me to know he thought I was solely to blame for ruining his New Year’s plans, as if my bright idea had backed him into a corner. Maybe it had? So, in true Tammy Maskala fashion, I did what I liked to do best. I smiled apologetically and brushed past him, refusing to meet his eyes as I made a beeline toward the house for a speedy escape. Even in my hasty departure, call it paranoia, I guess, I couldn’t help but feel Chris’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.

  Chapter Seven

  Opening the door to my one-bedroom flat, I threw the keys on the little table by the door.

  Peeling off the strap of my knapsack, I pinched the bridge of my nose with a sigh, praying that what lurked at the front of my brain was not the beginning of a migraine. I’d been an idiot – too much sun and not enough fluids. A migraine was a reasonable punishment, really.

  Even though the sun was now dipping in the sky, taking the edge off the scorching heat, my flat was still painfully warm. I flicked the cooler switch on and it chugged to life. I pulled the curtains closed, shielding my eyes from the blinding, late evening sun. If nothing else, I would have to shower the tanning oil off of me before bed. I had to manage that much before I slunk into a world of pain. I slumped onto the soft couch and shook it from my thoughts.

  No, Tammy Maskala! Stop it. It’s positive, positive, positive, remember?

  Positivity: my new mantra. I’d try to use it before the New Year so at least, by the turn of the new century, looking on the bright side would be second nature.

  A niggling piece of me doubted my chances.

  I rubbed at my throbbing temples; I could be as positive as I liked, but that wouldn’t have any effect on the onslaught of a migraine in its first stages. There was no amount of positive thinking that would keep that at bay. If anything, the less thinking I did the better, which was fine by me – the less I thought about the murderous look Chris Henderson had given me the happier I would be.

  I had voiced my unease with Amy.

  “Tammy, please,” she had said. “Have you ever seen the way he treats me?”

  I suppose, but I wasn’t like Amy. She was so sure of herself; whatever room she walked into she dominated. She could play pool, skull a beer, hell, she could even arm wrestle each of the Onslow Boys. They were her friends, not mine, so when one of them gives me a dirty look, unlike Amy, I’m not about to tell them where to go.

  I had to think, though. I had to think of an excuse to get out of this New Year’s camping trip. Talks had begun as soon as we entered the lake house that afternoon. It seemed settled, a non-negotiable trip up the coast to the Port Shank Music festival to count down the New Year. That was the plan, a plan that had somehow automatically included me. Chris had sulked his way into the house, perching quietly on a stool at the counter as everyone talked excitedly around him. The two of us seemed like the most unenthused of the group. Maybe I should have bloody voted against it.

  Thinking was overrated. My head throbbed with pain.

  With a whimper, I dragged my feet across the carpet and up the hall to the bathroom to two crucial things: a cool, clean shower and a medicine cabinet with my painkillers.

  Wow. My life rocked.

  ***

  I knew the drill. After my shower I shuffled to bed and darkness, and tried not to move, just let sleep take me over before the pain, before the blinding nausea I hoped I could beat. And it might just have worked. The pounding in my temple was nothing to do with pain; it was owing to the incessant ringing of my phone instead. It jolted me awake, momentarily disorientating me until I recognised the continuous, shrill rings. I scrounged for the only source of light at my fingertips as I pulled my digital clock radio into view.

  Whoa!

  It was ten o’clock at night; I had been asleep for four hours. I patted my bed for the phone, wondering who would be calling me at this hour. I had my answer the instant I accepted the call. Pounding music bled through the receiver.

  “TUESDAY!” Amy shouted.

  Half asleep, I waited. I figured she was probably talking to a customer.
/>
  “Tammy? Are you there?”

  “I’m here.” I yawned.

  “Oh my God, are you in bed? Already?”

  “I had a migraine.”

  “Riiight,” Amy drawled, as if she wasn’t entirely buying my story.

  “Tuesday,” she repeated.

  “What about it?”

  “That’s when we leave. For the New Year’s trip.”

  My heart pounded in my chest. So soon?

  My mind went blank and I couldn’t speak. I was in shock at the urgency, but of course it was urgent. New Year’s Eve was Friday; yeah, of course we had to leave sooner rather than later.

  “Tammy, you are coming.” Amy’s voice sounded dark.

  “Oh well … I …”

  “Tammy, if you don’t come, I’m going to be really pissed,” she said.

  “I just think that maybe it’s turned into more of a couples’ thing.”

  “A couples’ thing?” Amy repeated, as if she could hardly believe what I’d just said.

  “Well, you know, you and Sean, Tess and Toby, Stan’s bringing his new girlfriend. And, well, Adam and Ellie have each other to hang with, and Chris and Ringer can do their fishing things.”

  In other words I had gone from the usual third wheel to a spare tyre; I really didn’t want to be the awkward tag-along.

  “It is sooo not a couples’ thing. Remember, this was originally a boy bonding expedition that we happen to be gatecrashing. If anything, it will be more of a chance for us girls to kick back while the men go hunt and gather for us.”

  “You sound just like Adam.” I laughed.

  “Ugh, kill me now,” Amy said. “So that’s it. You’re coming and we leave Tuesday. We’ll discuss the finer details later, plus something else you might find very interesting.”

  “Now hang on a sec, I didn’t say … What would I find interesting?”

  “Oh, just a certain something a certain someone said about you.”

  “What?” I croaked. What had they been saying about me?