I slid my hands into my lap, and cleared the lump from my throat. “We tried that, and you know how that worked out.”
Ghost party. Ten o’clock. My place. Bring your nasty.
“You will never find happiness until you embrace your true self, and be the person you’re meant to be.”
My eyes dropped to the floor. Reigning in the need to shiver, I went back to the kitchenette to get some ingredients for dinner.
“Is an omelette okay with you?”
Granny huffed out a breath. “You’re as stubborn as a mule … Fine,” she waved her hand and dismissed the topic. “What about your living arrangements? I assume Felicity is having a night of drunken debauchery for her minions?”
“You assume correctly, as per usual. You can say I told you so, I know you want to.”
“Oh, darling. I’m not going to do that. You have the right to make your own choices. I’m more than aware that you don’t want to know anything about the future or being psychic, but they’re all part of who you are. I didn’t argue too much about your decision because I believed you needed to know this girl for a reason. But now’s the time to pull your finger out. It’s time to go, Big Brother style.”
I huffed out a laugh. “You have such a way with words.” My hands got busy chopping spring onions and capsicum.
“Seriously, honey. Do not let that girl play any more power games with you. You aren’t helping her by staying there.”
“Why the heck would I want to help her at all?”
“Because you are a decent human being under all that spit and sass.”
“If I go home to find vomit or other bodily excrement anywhere near my stuff, she’ll find out just how indecent I can be.”
The sound of the knife embedding itself into the chopping board echoed in the tiny space.
“Prepare yourself. That’s all I have to say.”
Her face was a grim reflection of her warning, before a conspiratorial smile swept away the darkness. The sudden swing made my neck tingle. I had to look down at what I was doing, because I sensed that I wasn’t going to like what was about to happen.
"Okay, enough about that. So, you've met him, finally?" I felt her eyes drill into my face.
The neck tingle became more of a burn. Damn. She knows.
My hand jerked, and I dropped the knife before I sliced off my finger. I was sure my eyes were as wide as saucers, and I had to bite my lip to stop my mouth from falling open.
"Who?" I replied, still looking at the veggies.
I knew it was pointless to play dumb with Granny and yet, stupidly, I pursued this path. I absolutely did not want to talk about him. Peeking out from the corner of my eye, I caught Granny’s wide, satisfied grin. A groan slipped out. Both hands covered my eyes, forgetting that I’d been chopping up spicy vegetables. My hands flailed under the tap, splashing water everywhere in a desperate attempt to evict the capsaicin from my eyeballs.
“Honey, you know you can’t shut everybody out forever. You don’t want to end up old and alone. I don’t want that for you. Imagine if I’d never fallen in love with your granddad. I wouldn’t have you. I shudder at the thought.”
I refrained from squirming. I knew what she said was true, but I wanted to play ostrich for a bit longer. Just the thought of letting anyone in was terrifying. Was she joking? I’d spent my entire life, up to this point, feeling like an outcast—harassed, and plagued. So, my standard defence was to keep to myself. If I absolutely had to interact with people, I was damn good at being a bitch.
My gut was telling me that I no longer had a choice. I couldn’t run from an intangible force like fate. But, I'd do my damnedest to hold it off for a while. After all, I didn’t know his name, or even where he worked. He knew nothing about me, apart from where I run occasionally.
My brain slowly reconnected with the here and now. I realised I’d been staring straight through my granny while she watched patiently, a small smile on her lips and a furrow in her brow. I knew she was worried. I knew she had a fair idea of what was in store for my future. I didn't like to ask her about her predictions, because I really prefer not to know. That was my inner ostrich talking, though slightly muffled due to her head being in the sand.
I shook my head, and blinked a few times. Granny lifted her hand and pointed over my shoulder. I turned my head around to look through the lace curtains, my whole body stiffening at what I saw. The little stalker. She was staring at me, hugging herself, and bouncing from one foot to the other, as if she was cold. Shit! Oh, but this girl knew where to find me anytime she wanted. Even with my head in the sand. Ugh! Why me?
Single white female, indeed.
Brad
God, I loved these old buildings. Even the smell of decades piling up got me high. My biker boots thumped on the old wooden decking, as I smoothed a palm over the beautifully crafted, sandstone walls of Old Government House. It amazed me when I thought of the artistry created with only the most basic tools, and the hours of labour it required. I’d be designing my own structures soon enough, when I start uni. These buildings are my inspiration. Yes, they were styled from European influence, but the use of Australian timbers and natural rock … it converged the foreign with an Aussie flavour, and stamped these buildings as our
