Angel Kiss

‘David, this is Jacki,’ said Emily, grabbing his arm and bringing him over to the table.

‘Hi,’ said David, sitting down beside Emily. ‘Nice to meet you.’

‘I just moved here,’ I said. ‘A few weeks ago.’

‘Yeah, I heard,’ said David. ‘Nick told me about you.’

Now it was my turn to blush. Nick told him about me. So Nick had been talking about me. Which meant Nick was thinking about me. I wanted to ask him what Nick had said. I wanted to ask him to repeat every single syllable exactly as he’d heard it, but I decided to keep quiet and hope no one could see my delight.

‘You had fun in Japan then?’ said Emily.

‘It was epic. I have Colin’s stuff here,’ he said, putting a plastic bag with some Japanese lettering on it on the table. ‘And I got you something,’ he added, rummaging through its contents. He pulled out a little Hello Kitty purse and gave it to Emily.

‘Aww, wow! Thanks!’

‘And you can have Sarah’s one,’ he said to me.

‘Oh… I don’t think I -’

‘No, it’s no problem – have it. I’m so glad I don’t have to pretend to like that girl any more.’ David handed me the purse. I said thanks, but felt awkward taking it from him. David told us more about his holiday, and then he and Emily started to gossip about people I didn’t know. My mind began to wander. I thought about Beth again. How could somebody just vanish? Especially in a little village? How could she be cycling home one minute, and be gone the next? But when I thought of her I didn’t imagine her cycling along the road. I thought of her pale frozen body lying on the ground. I hated that image. It was really detailed and horribly clear. I gripped the plastic purse so tightly that it left an imprint in my palm.

‘Here’s Nick,’ whispered Emily.

I looked up to see him trudging along the path outside. I put the purse in my bag and banished the image of Beth from my mind. Nick spotted us inside and pushed open the door. He looked tired as he came over to the table. Tired and grumpy. But still very hot.

‘We heard what happened…’ said Emily sympathetically. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘I don’t want to talk about it,’ he said, sitting across from me.

Nick proceeded to eat four cupcakes and ignored Emily’s advice that comfort eating would solve nothing. I wanted to say something to him, but was afraid I’d say the wrong thing. I didn’t want to mess up my chances.

Shortly afterwards Colin came into the cafe, and almost dived for the bag when he saw it on the table. His face lit up as he pulled out the DVDs and Manga stuff. ‘David, you’re an absolute legend,’ he said. ‘I love you.’

‘Steady now,’ said David.

Colin smiled as he flicked through one of the books. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anyone look so happy. It reminded me of Mum when she’d found our Italian kitchen tiles at half price.

‘Fancy going to Sligo later?’ said Nick. ‘I need to get away from here.’

I’d have done anything to go to Sligo with Nick, but I didn’t want to sound too keen, so I waited to see what the others would say.

‘Can’t,’ said David. ‘My parents had to go off to Wexford for the night and they forgot to leave me money.’

‘So you have a free gaff?’ asked Nick, his voice more animated.

A look of horror spread across David’s face. ‘Nick, I’m not having another party. You know the shit I got into after the last one.’

‘Not a party, David… just a few friends over.’ Nick had already got his phone out and was busy texting.

‘Fine,’ said David. ‘But you’re not allowed to bring any of your bandmates.’

‘But -’

‘I mean it.’

‘OK!’ said Nick.

‘Relax, David,’ said Emily. ‘It’ll be fun.’

‘So you’re coming then, yeah?’ he said, sitting back in his seat.

‘Definitely. And Jacki will come, won’t you?’ She smiled at me.

‘Yeah, OK,’ I said. A party would be the perfect place to talk to Nick.

‘And can I bring a few of the girls?’ Emily suggested.

‘Sure.’

‘So she gets to bring people and I don’t?’ Nick protested.

‘Nick, at my last party your bassist ate my goldfish.’

‘That was so funny,’ said Nick with a laugh.

‘It was not funny. It was traumatic,’ said David.

I was so excited. I couldn’t wait for the party. This was even better than a trip to Sligo. This was a house party. With no parents. Maybe something would happen with Nick. I knew it was a long shot, because he had just broken up with his girlfriend, but that didn’t stop me imagining. I just wished my excitement wasn’t dampened by the sick feeling in my stomach. I had begun to feel very ill again, just like I had the night before in the forest and the other night in my back garden.

I looked around for the bathroom and made my way to the back of the cafe.

‘It’s kind of dark in there,’ said Ali as I walked past the counter. ‘I haven’t had a chance to change the light bulb yet.’

‘That’s OK,’ I said, pushing open the bathroom door. It was a little room painted dark green and there was a tiny window up high on the back wall that didn’t let much light in. The toilet was old, with a wooden seat, and a chain dangled from the cast-iron cistern hanging up on the wall.

As I washed my hands I stared into the mirror above the basin. My eyeliner had smudged, and dark shadows hung under my eyes. I reapplied my make-up and fixed my hair, trying to make myself feel better. I needed to go to that party. I was already planning my outfit, trying to remember what clothes were clean. I put my make-up back in my bag and tried to turn the key in the lock, but it wouldn’t open. It was one of those old ones that you had to twiddle a bit. I tried the lock again. It still wouldn’t budge. There was probably a knack to it… I could just call out for Ali to help me. But that would be embarrassing.

Eventually the key turned. As I pushed open the door I felt something rush past me. Something familiar. A dark figure with flowing black hair. It disappeared so quickly that it became little more than a blur.

My heart thumped rapidly. I tried to convince myself that it was nothing, but deep down inside I knew I needed to accept that something strange was going on. Had I just seen a ghost? It was a crazy thought; I didn’t believe in that kind of thing. Or did I? My brain was telling me not to be ridiculous, but my body was reacting so strongly: my legs felt wobbly and my hands were clammy. After what had happened in the garden, then the forest last night… and now this… What was going on? I thought back to the card Dr Cahill had given me for the healer. Maybe it was worth asking him a few questions. But I quickly dismissed this idea. There had to be a simple explanation. It was probably stress, or tiredness…

I forced myself to calm down. I took a few slow deep breaths and waited until I felt normal enough to face the others.

Later that evening Colin came over to the caravan so we could go to the party together. I wasn’t sure where Mum was, but I knew she wouldn’t be happy about the mess. There were clothes scattered everywhere. I had no time to clean up – I was far too busy trying to make myself look as irresistible as possible. Colin enjoyed trying on various items from my wardrobe as I got ready. I needed to find something perfect to wear. I rummaged through my suitcase and pulled out my tight white shirt.

‘Colin, that’s not going to fit you!’ I said as he tried to squeeze himself into my denim waistcoat. To my disbelief he managed it.

‘Do I look like Kate Moss?’ he asked.

‘Spitting image,’ I giggled, as I searched for my other ankle boot. It was impossible to find anything.

‘We should put on some music,’ said Colin. He grabbed my iPod and within seconds ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ was blasting from the portable speakers. Colin tied my red silk scarf round his neck and proceeded to dance around the tiny caravan.

‘Don’t look,’ I said as I changed into my shirt and tartan skirt.

‘What you’re sellin’ I ain’t buyin’,’ said Colin, mid twirl.