“Fair enough,” I say, knowing better than to even ask what’s going on between the two of them. Something is definitely going on though. Brett isn’t exactly Mr. Chatty at the best of times, but he barely said a word through the whole meeting and now, he’s talking to me like we’re friends again. I can’t work him out.
“Look Opal, do you think maybe we could call a truce? We got off on the wrong foot, and I know that was mostly my fault, but”
“Mostly your fault?” I interrupt him, raising my eyebrow at him.
“Ok, completely my fault.” He smiles.
It’s the smile that almost makes him look shy. The one that makes me melt inside and I feel myself returning the smile. “What the hell? Why not. Let’s just start over with a clean slate,”
“Thanks.” He turns to look out of the window, falling silent again.
I notice his hands in his lap. They’re clenched into fists so tightly that his knuckles are white. I try to ignore it, but I can’t and I eventually, work up the courage to ask him what’s wrong. I don’t really expect him to tell me, but I’ll feel awful if I don’t even try to get him to open a little and talk about whatever is bothering him. “Brett?” I say quietly.
He turns to look at me.
I plough ahead before I can change my mind, “What’s wrong? I can see something is bothering you, so don’t say it’s nothing.”
He looks at me for a couple of seconds as though he’s deciding whether or not to tell me. He smiles as we turn a corner and pull onto my block. “I guess it’s late for me to tell you now,” he says.
Suddenly, I realize he wasn’t thinking about whether or not to trust me, he is stalling. “Not necessarily. We could—shit!” I shout the last part, throwing myself off the seat and ducking down out of sight when I spot Gary sitting on the steps at the front of my apartment building. Oh God, not now!
13
“Opal? What is it?” Brett asks, looking down at me.
The car is slowing down and I ignore Brett for a moment, talking instead to the driver, “Please keep going. Just drop me off on the next block instead.”
The driver looks into the rear view mirror at Brett.
He nods his head then looks back down at me as I remain crouched in the space between the front and the back seats. “What’s going on?” he asks again. “Who is that man on your building’s steps?”
I debate lying to him, but what would be the point? And besides, what could I tell him to explain my strange behaviour except the truth? That he’s my landlord and I owe him rent money? I don’t think so. I sigh, resigning myself to just telling Brett who Gary really is, “He’s my ex boyfriend. Although, he seems to think there’s still a chance for us. He’s clingy and irritating, and to be honest, I would rather just wait around until he gets bored and goes away.” It’s not a lie exactly, although I have downplayed Gary’s character somewhat. To say he’s clingy is an understatement, and although I would never admit it to Brett, I’m kind of worried that he won’t get bored and go away. That he’ll stay there until I eventually come home.
“Is he dangerous?” Brett asks me with a frown.
The car turns onto the next block and pulls into the curb.
Bouncing back up from the floorboard, I perch on the seat for a moment as my thighs scream at me. I shake my head. “No, he’s harmless, just irritating.” I hope that’s true. I slide my body towards the door. “Thank you for the lift.”
Brett touches my arm.
I breathe in audibly and look back at him.
His eyes search my face. “I don’t like the idea of you wandering the streets waiting for him to go away. Would you like to hang out for a couple of hours instead?”
The stubborn part of me wants to say no, but luckily, that’s not the part that’s in charge of this choice. The part making the decisions right now is the part that really doesn’t want to face Gary. I tell myself it’s nothing to do with the tingling in my arm at Brett’s touch. “That would be great,” I say gratefully. “Unless you have plans of course. I don’t want to spoil your evening or anything.”
“Well, now that you mention it, hanging out with someone I can laugh with would kind of spoil my plans to sit alone in front of the TV.” Brett smirks.
I elbow him and laugh, but I settle back into the seat and that gives him his answer.
He leans forward slightly and talks to the driver, giving him an address I don’t recognize. I don’t ask where we’re going. I don’t care. Anywhere with Brett will be better than being stuck here, forced to face Gary or risking having to wander the streets all night.
We drive in comfortable silence for a time. I look out of the window, trying to get my bearings, but we’re driving though a part of the city I don’t know very well. We turn onto a road that seems to lead out into the countryside. We drive down a narrow road lined by bushes and the driver pulls over.
Brett starts to get out of the car.
“Wait,” I say. “Where are we?”
“What’s wrong?” Brett smirks. “Scared you’ll get dirty or something?” He gets out of the car without waiting for an answer.
I roll my eyes as I clamber out of my side and look around. We’re really in the middle of nowhere, but I’m not particularly afraid of getting dirty, but if Brett wants to go walking through the fields, then I’m certainly not
