The Ultimate Community

by J Meverington

  The next morning Alice moved back to her apartment. After her session with Dr Smith, she was more relaxed and no longer mad with Damion. It was pointless holding a grudge against her father. He had his reasons for withholding the information about her adopted parents.

  Back home, she opened the balcony door to let in some fresh air, then plonked herself down on the sofa. Loneliness crept into her bones as she realised it was the first time in months’ she’d been alone.

  She wished Jason was here, his healthy lifestyle and habits suddenly appealing to her. Should she call him? He’d been angry with her for moving to France, but it wasn’t anything personal. She’d still like to remain friends with him.

  Instead, Alice phoned the college to enquire about the naturopathy course and was surprised they still had vacancies. She booked herself on it and excitement flipped around in her tummy at the anticipation of doing something new. She texted Katie to let her know.

  A text message pinged back. Expecting it was from Katie she looked at her phone, but a withheld number appeared on her screen and her heart skipped a beat. ‘I know you’re back in London. Be very afraid...’

  A shiver of dread ran down her spine. How did he know? She’d changed the settings on her phone like Doofy had advised. Even though the apartment was in a secure building on the 5th floor, it still unnerved her. Should she call the police?

  Right now she needed someone here to comfort her, so she called Jason’s number but got a message saying it had been disconnected. She rang again but the same thing. Perhaps the network was down.

  Alice shoved her concerns aside and settled down on the sofa to watch TV. Unable to concentrate on anything, she flicked it to a music video channel.

  A new song came on that made her sit up and take notice. One of the dancers looked familiar. She paused the video and a shiver ran down her spine.

  She pressed play again, and sure enough, the dancer was Peaches Campbell, her nemesis from high-school in Kentucky, the girl who had made her life hell back then. As she watched her dance, Alice couldn’t believe it was the same girl who had turned everyone against her. Peaches oozed confidence as she cavorted around on stage, smiling and happy, far removed from the bully she once knew.

  When the clip ended, Alice called her friend from school, Carter Willis, who she’d recently reconnected with on Facebook.

  He answered straight away. ‘Hey there stranger, how you doing?’

  The sound of yelling children echoing in the background made her cringe.

  ‘Good thanks, you sound busy there.’

  ‘Yeah, typical Saturday morning, kids are hyper. Hang on, I’ll head outside.’

  She heard a door slam, then quiet.

  ‘How’s life in sunny England?’

  ‘Not so sunny, more kind of overcast. Hey, I was watching TV, and I saw Peaches in a video, dancing.’

  ‘Oh yeah, she’s doing well for herself in L.A. She’s a dancer and backing singer for a few of the major bands.’

  ‘You’ve kept in touch with her?’

  ‘Yeah, she’s my wife’s best friend, believe it or not. They modelled together in L.A. That’s how I met Miranda.’

  ‘Haha, that’s weird, meeting your future wife through your ex-girlfriend!’

  ‘Yeah it is kinda, although we broke up not long after you left. She’s gay now, so it would never have worked out. I met Miranda when she visited Kentucky with Peaches a few years later. Then we kept in touch online and found we had a lot in common. So, we started dating, and not long after, she moved here and helped me set up my hairdressing salon, and the rest is history.’

  Alice heard a woman calling Carter’s name.

  ‘Hey, I gotta go, Miranda’s calling me. It’s a mad house here on Saturday mornings. Hey, nice chatting to you.’

  ‘You too,’ she said, and the call disconnected.

  She didn’t envy Carter and his domestic life, it sounded like her idea of hell.

  Chapter 19

  The next day Alice tried calling Jason again, but the same disconnected message came through. Was he avoiding her? Would he go to the effort of changing his number because she dumped him?

  Not wanting to spend the day alone, she called Katie who answered on the first ring. ‘Hey chick, so glad you got on that course, so exited for you. You can come and work for me. How’s the teetotalling going?’

  ‘So far so good, but something weird has happened. I tried ringing Jason, but his phone’s been cut off.’

  ‘I thought you broke it off? Why are you calling him?’

  ‘I dunno, just felt like seeing him.’

  ‘Allie, what’s going on with you? You’re not usually this needy. Hey, I’m just heading out the door to a yoga class. You should come.’

  ‘Yoga? Seriously? I’ve never done yoga in my life.’

  ‘It’ll be good for you. Jake, the instructor, is an old friend of mine. And he’s rather dishy.’

  ‘Isn’t yoga a bit wishy-washy?’

  ‘Nah, Jake does hardcore yoga. Football players go to him.’

  ‘Really? Guess I could give it a go.’

  ‘Awesome!’ Katie gave Alice the address. ‘See you in an hour.’

  Alice had always been open to trying new things, but yoga had never crossed her mind. She put on her running gear and headed for the venue.

  Katie was already waiting for her when she arrived. Dozens of shoes sat outside the front door, so Alice and Katie followed suit and kicked off their shoes before entering.

  Inside, chairs had been laid out around the outside of the room and people sat barefoot on the floor.

  Katie’s friend Jake looked ordinary, but Alice could see why Katie might like him. He had a calm manner and he oozed confidence.

  The yoga class started, and Alice followed along to the best of her ability. During a side stretch one of Jake’s helpers came over and pushed her further into the pose.

  ‘Ouch,’ she yelled, and a few people turned and glared at her. ‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, embarrassed.

  As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next pose was a head stand. Alice used the wall to support herself, but the blood rushed to her head, so she sat it out. She watched the others, impressed with Katie’s ability to do the pose without support. There were only a handful of men in the class, most of them seniors, but one guy at the front of the class caught her attention. As he performed the perfect head-stand, his bright yellow t-shirt had slid down to his shoulders exposing his toned back. She made a note to check him out later.

  The next pose involved a chair. Alice slid into the chair as instructed, then promptly got stuck. She glanced across at her friend, looking elegant next to her, doing as instructed. ‘Katie,’ she whispered.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m stuck.’

  Katie let out a giggle. A series from ‘shh’s’ came from the others. A snort escaped Alice’s mouth as she struggled to break free from the chair, but only managed to wedge herself further in. She saw Katie trying to stifle her laughter, and this made her laugh louder. Next thing, the two of them were hysterical, and Alice was still unable to move. Katie wriggled free to help, and Jake came over as well.

  They extracted her from the chair, and everyone glared at her. This caused her keel over in a fit of giggles, unable to control herself.

  Jake wasn’t amused, ‘Right you two, you go to the back of the class and behave yourselves.’

  They both felt like naughty school girls. After the class, Alice was on a high. ‘That was the best time I’ve had in ages. I didn’t realise yoga could be so much fun.’

  ‘Unfortunately, it’s not supposed to be that much fun,’ Katie said, and Alice burst out laughing again.

  ‘Did you see the way they looked at us? How come yoga people are so uptight?’

  Katie laughed. ‘I know, right. That was for sure the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, you getting stuck in that chair! And the look on their faces? Priceless.’

  They were so busy chatting and laughi
ng they didn’t notice the man wearing the bright yellow t-shirt standing next to them.

  It was Charles.

  Chapter 20

  Alice froze. Should she run? But what would Katie think? Charles looked just as surprised.

  ‘Allie, hello. Long time no see. What are you doing in London?’

  ‘Um, I live here, I could ask the same about you.’

  ‘I’m over here on business. But what a surprise, bumping into you after all this time.’

  ‘Um, yeah, sorry about the way I left.’ Alice wasn’t sure why she was apologising, the English manners must have rubbed off on her.

  ‘Hey, it’s me who should apologise. I acted appallingly. I hope you’ve been able to forgive me.’

  Katie looked uncomfortable. ‘I’m going to say hello to Jake, I’ll be over there if you need me.’ She walked away, giving them a chance to talk.

  ‘Charles, what are you playing at. You know I’m here, you’ve been sending me all those text messages threats.’

  ‘Threats? Allie, I don’t even have your phone number. And why would I do that?’

  Alice studied him, wondering whether to believe him. He was a good actor if he was lying. ‘So, you haven’t been texting me?’

  ‘Of course not. I’m starting up a new business, no time for silly games.’

  ‘A new business here in London?’

  ‘No, in New York, I’m here on research. Anyway, it’s been nice seeing you again. I hope there are no hard feelings for how I treated you. It was an accident hitting you, and I should never have made such a fuss about you seeing your friends.’

  ‘These things happen. Even though our relationship was short, we had some fun times.’

  ‘Yes, we did. Glad you’re okay. I have to run, take care Allie.’

  ‘Bye.’ She watched him scurry off. What on earth had she ever seen in him? He was quite ordinary.

  Katie came back over to her. ‘Was that the Charles?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Did you find out why he was sending you evil messages?’

  ‘He’s over here on business and assured me he hadn’t sent any.’

  ‘I must admit, he doesn’t look like the type of guy who would send petty messages. Are you ok?’

  ‘Yeah, the whole encounter was surreal. How was I ever attracted to him? There was no spark, nothing. And I believe him when he says he hasn’t been texting me.’

  ‘So who has?’

  Alice had no idea, and she didn’t know if she wanted to find out.

  Chapter 21

  Alice bounced out of bed the next morning after having had a good night’s sleep and wondered whether it was the yoga session, or whether confronting Charles had put her mind at rest.

  She called Jason again, but got the same disconnected message from his phone. With nothing planned for the day, Alice headed to the gym hoping he would be there.

  The sun beamed down on her as she walked, breathing in the smell of London, a stark contrast to the fresh country air in France. The two places balanced each other out, and she liked the variety, pleased to have the best of both worlds.

  It took 45 minutes to walk to the gym, and the excitement of seeing Jason grew with the realisation of how much she’d missed him. The automatic doors opened and the musky scent of people working out made her cringe. Taking a shallow breath, she approached the receptionist.

  ‘Hi, I’m wondering if Jason is working today?’

  ‘Jason who?’

  ‘Jason Middleton.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of him.’

  ‘He works here as a personal trainer.’

  The phone behind the desk shrilled. ‘One moment,’ the receptionist said, then answered it.

  Alice waited, hoping someone else would come along and help her. This lady had no idea who worked here.

  A scan of the gym showed a few people working out, but no sign of Jason. The receptionist continued to talk on the phone, and this annoyed Alice. Surely she, who had come here in person, should be prioritised over someone on the phone.

  After a few minutes a man walked over, muscles bulging out of his shirt. The words, Personal Trainer were embroidered on the front, and Alice couldn’t help but be impressed.

  ‘Can I help you?’ he asked

  ‘Yeah, I’m looking for Jason Middleton, he works here as a personal trainer.’

  The guy scrunched up his face as if trying to remember. ‘The name doesn’t ring a bell, I’ll ask around, see if anyone else knows him. Take a seat.’ He gestured towards two black sofas and walked away. Alice did as requested and sat there twiddling her thumbs, watching the receptionist talking on the phone. Who would choose to do that job, working on the front desk of a sweaty smelly gym.

  The personal trainer came back over. ‘Nobody’s heard of him love, are you sure you have the right gym?’

  ‘Yes, he used to train me here.’

  ‘How long ago?’

  ‘Eight months, but I’ve met him here many times since, until just a few weeks ago.’

  ‘I’ve worked here for two years and I’ve not heard of him.’

  Alice fished around in her bag. ‘I’ll find a photo of him, hang on.’ She scrolled through her photos and found one of him eating snails in France. ‘This is him.’ She held the phone out for him to see.

  ‘Oh yeah, I’ve seen him around, but he’s never worked here.’

  A strange feeling came over Alice as she wondered if she ever really knew Jason at all.

  Chapter 22

  Alice headed home and as she entered the apartment, she had the strange sensation that someone had been in there. But they couldn’t have been, the alarm was still set, and nobody knew the code except for her and Damion. Jason didn’t even know it.

  She noticed the door to Damion’s bedroom was ajar. That was odd, he kept his door closed. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, ready to call the police if need be.

  Alice nudged his bedroom door open and her heart palpitated in her chest. Clothes had been strewn across the bed, and the drawers left open. Had someone broken in?

  Then Alice saw it, sitting on the floor next to the bed. It was Damion’s travel bag. Had he come back to London without telling her? She rang his UK number to check. He answered instantly. ‘Oh Allie, thank god you’re okay, I’ve been trying to get hold of you.’

  ‘Are you back in London?’

  ‘Yes, I’m at The Community Bar looking for you.’

  Alice flopped down on Damion’s bed. ‘Oh, thank goodness, you scared the crap outta me. I got home and your bedroom door was open.’

  ‘Well, I tried calling you and left multiple messages.’

  Alice felt bad blaming him for her scare, having ignored all his messages.

  ‘When are you coming home? I need to talk to you.’

  ‘I’m on my way now, see you soon.’

  As Alice lifted herself up off his bed she noticed the cupboard he kept locked in his bedroom was open. She peeked inside and some headphones, similar to the ones Dr Smith had used on her, dangled from an old laptop. She made a point to ask him about it when he got home. She flopped down on the sofa and dozed off.

  Alice awoke with a start when the door slammed. Damion called out, and she stood up to greet him.

  ‘Oh Allie, I’m so pleased you’re ok.’ He pulled her into his arms.

  She relaxed, enjoying the hug, overwhelmed with forgiveness, unable to hold a grudge for long. It took too much effort.

  ‘So, what have you been up to?’

  ‘I spent some time at Katie’s, but I fell off the wagon again.’

  ‘Oh Allie, I’m so sorry, I know how hard you worked to give up drinking.’

  ‘It’s okay, it’s under control again now.’

  ‘Coffee?’

  ‘No thanks, I’ve given that up too.’

  ‘Really? That’s one thing I could never give up.’

  ‘You should try this guy I’ve been going to, he’s amazing.’

&nbs
p; Damion ground the beans and stamped them into the porta filter. ‘What guy?’

  ‘Dr Smith. He’s got a revolutionary new treatment to cure addictions.’

  Damion attached the portafilter and replied. ‘You’ve been seeing someone? Like a shrink?’

  ‘Yes, it was a one-off visit, but then I fell off the wagon with Katie, and he saw me again immediately.’

  ‘Sounds scary, did you research him first?’

  ‘Yeah, he’s a nice guy, same age as me. I first met him in a coffee shop in Oxford, near Gran’s place. I also went out to dinner with him.’

  ‘Dinner? With your shrink? You don’t muck about.’

  ‘He invited me out years ago but cancelled our date, so he wanted to say sorry for standing me up. I’m going back to him in a few days. You should come along.’

  ‘Nah, not for me mate.’

  ‘Hey, in your room yesterday, the cupboard you keep locked was open, and I happened to notice an old laptop in there with some headphones attached. What are they for?’

  Damion stopped making the coffee and stared at her. Had she done something wrong? He turned away again to pour his coffee. ‘It’s just an old laptop, why do you ask?’

  ‘The headphones, they look similar to the ones Dr Smith uses.’

  ‘Dr Smith?’

  ‘Yeah, the addiction doctor I’m seeing.’

  Damion paled and his voice shook as he spoke. ‘What’s his first name, Allie?’

  ‘Ethan.’

  Damion dropped his full cup of coffee and it splattered all over the floor.

  ‘What? What’s the matter?’ Alice asked, while Damion tidied up his mess. He picked up the shards of his broken cup and mopped the coffee from the floor. He didn’t answer and appeared to be stalling for time. Once he’d finished clearing up, he turned to her.

  ‘What’s the name of the company?’

  ‘BanAddiction. Why? What’s the matter?’

  Damion googled it on his phone and a grimace came over his face.

  ‘It’s Martin,’ he said, his voice barely audible.

  ‘Who?’ Alice asked.