“Stop, stop, stop.” Janice grabbed the remote and cut off the music. “Andrea, what was that?”
“I lost my balance, sorry.”
“Where’s your head tonight? You and Jess are way off your game.”
Jess and I locked eyes in the mirror. She bit her lip, her forehead crumpling before she dropped her gaze.
“Okay, maybe that’s enough. I’ll see you all on Tuesday. Have a good weekend.”
We all beelined for our bags before grabbing towels and drink bottles to mop up the sweat and replenish our fluids.
Jess threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “You okay?”
The bottle made a sucking sound as I took it out of my mouth before swallowing. “Yeah. My head was elsewhere. How about you?”
“Same.”
“I’m pretty sure I know where Andy’s head was.” Kate cocked a brow, giving me a knowing look.
“Oh, Ben. You’re so ripped. Let me feel your muscles.” Pauline put on a breathy voice, like she was channelling Marilyn Munroe.
I guess I’d been obvious because I hadn’t said a word to anyone. Except Will. Damn it. Why couldn’t I keep my feelings hidden? I normally wouldn’t care. But this seemed way more precious than anything I’d ever longed for. I’d wanted to keep it to myself until I knew if my feelings were reciprocated.
Too late for that now. “He let me feel them today. It was better than I imagined.” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think he’s dating that Kelly chick in year eleven.” Jess looked apologetic as she wielded the words like a meat tenderiser aimed at my chest. “Sorry.”
Kelly? The leggy wannabe WAG from McDonald’s. “Yeah, I saw them together at Macca’s several weeks ago.” Ugh, I wanted to be sick.
Sitting on the floor, I pretended to fix my shoelaces. My nostrils flared as I dragged in air. He’d felt what I felt. Hadn’t he? God, maybe it’s all in my head.
Pauline broke into my reverie. “Dad’s here. Do you still need a lift, Kate?”
“Yeah.”
We said our goodbyes before they took off.
Jess slid down the wall to sit beside me. “You really like him, don’t you?”
More than I can admit. “Nah. He’s friends with Spew. There’s something seriously wrong with him if he likes my brother.” I smiled through the crushing pain surging inside. I was supposed to be checking up on Jess anyway. Not lamenting the loss of someone I’d never had, and probably never would. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“What’s going on with you? You’re extra quiet and you avoid direct eye contact like the plague. You don’t have to tell me all the gory details, but I know something’s up. Tell me to piss off if you don’t want to talk, but I’m here if you need me.”
Her brows pinched, eyes dropping to her hands as she steepled her fingers.
“Mum has a new boyfriend. He thinks my blonde curls are pretty.” She added a sarcastic twist of her lip on that last statement.
Creeper. What the hell was her mother thinking? I engulfed her in a hug.
It was rough—the initial shock of your parents separating, and the massive adjustment that came afterward. She was probably blaming herself. We all did it. Every kid I’d known whose family was torn apart had blamed themselves at one point.
It had taken many therapy sessions for me to realise it had nothing to do with me. We learn patterns of behaviour from our parents and develop coping strategies to deal with the shit they put on us. Then as we grow, we figure out the crap we have to unlearn to function as normal human beings. Some of us never get there. I was still a work-in-progress. Jess ... Jess was in the coping stage.
“Has he done anything?”
“No. It’s just—the way he looks at me is ugh.” She shuddered.
“Have you said anything to your mum?”
“She won’t listen.”
My eyes narrowed to slits and my nostrils flared. I’d make her listen and my mother would help. “Do you want to sleep at mine tonight?”
“I don’t have any stuff.”
“You can borrow my PJs. We always have spare toothbrushes. I’ll ask Mum if we can stop at the shops on the way home. She should be here soon.”
“I can’t, Andy. Thanks, though.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” She looked out the windows. “That’s his car. I’ve gotta go.”
“He’s picking you up? How long have they been together?”
“A month.” She struggled to her feet. “He’s very helpful. He even does the washing.”
Creeper was probably sniffing Jess’s knickers. I screwed up my nose.
I stood to give her a hug. “Take care of yourself. Barricade your door and window if you have to.”
“I already thought of that. Thanks, Andy. I might see you over the holidays. Call me when you want to catch up.”
“How about we meet at the shopping centre on Monday morning? Main entrance.”
“What time?”
“Nine a.m. We’ll make a day of it.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
I followed Jess through the door, spotting my mum’s white Camry in the car park. Creeper was parked three spaces away in a beat up orange Datsun. There weren’t too many of those around anymore. He’d be easy for the police to find. God, why had that horrible thought entered my brain? I prayed that it wouldn’t come to that. Every step she took towards that car felt like she was stomping on my stomach. The tingle was back. It raced down my spine and lodged behind my belly button. If my navel was a mouth, it would’ve opened wide in a scream.
“Jess.”
She looked over her shoulder, holding the passenger door open.
“Just ask if you can sleep over.”
Her attention was pulled into the car before she turned back to
