by Anna Archer
“Rob doesn’t hate me.”
“He will when he realises he can’t have you.”
“I might let him have me.”
“Will you?”
“Well no. But I could if I wanted to.”
“But you don’t want to. Why not?”
Eve shook her head. “What are we talking about him for when I’m here with you?”
“I’m just trying to get to know you.”
“There’s honestly not much to know.”
Manny gasped. “But that’s just it! There obviously is because you’re here right now. Who does this?”
“You sprung this on me!”
“And you could have said no. You could have dobbed me in to your teammates or you could have flattened me by that bin.”
“As if I’d do that.”
“That’s more understandable than this is.”
“Maybe I just want a bit of excitement.”
“Good, because that’s what I want too.”
Eve smiled. “Is school really that boring?”
“I’ve told you before. I’ve lived a full-on life. It’s just strange going from hero to zero. I need entertaining.”
“And I’m your amusement, am I?”
“Aren’t I yours?”
Eve paused. “I don’t know what you are.”
“It’s the moustache isn’t it? I should take it off.”
Laughing, Eve unbuckled her seatbelt. “Come on, I’ve got a torch in the boot and some spare gloves if you want them?”
“Yes to the torch, no to the gloves.”
“It’s cold.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be holding your hand.”
****
Kicking through another huge pile of recently fallen orange leaves, Eve gripped the torch tightly in her gloved hand. She’d put her warm jacket on and thankfully had a hat and scarf in the boot too and was suddenly transported back to the late-night walks her parents would take her and her sister on when they were children during the October half terms that saw fireworks let off nearly every evening regardless of what day Nov 5th actually fell on.
“Can you smell the bonfires?” asked Manny as they passed under the branches of one of the many towering Corsican pines that gave the splashes of green to the mostly autumnal woodland.
“I was just thinking that. Are you going to a display on Thursday?”
“We’re going to a display on Thursday.”
“Oh are we now? Just like we were going to hold hands?”
“Hey, you couldn’t get your gloves on quickly enough!”
“I told you I had another pair.”
Manny blew hot air on her fingers before plunging her hands back into her pockets. “It’s fine. This trench coat’s pure wool.”
“Thank you for taking the moustache off.”
“Just giving you easier access.”
Eve batted Manny’s shoulder. “Stop it. This is nice. I enjoy walking in the evenings.”
“You’re quite a thoughtful person, aren’t you?”
“I just like remembering.”
“Remembering what? What are you thinking about right now? Paint the picture for me.”
Eve smiled. “Okay, so I’m ten years old. My sister’s fifteen. She’d been moaning that she didn’t want to come on a walk with me and mum and dad, but they made her and now she’s smiling and happy and we’re all kicking through the autumn leaves as we point at the fireworks whizzing up from different angles. We’re not rich enough to go to an actual display and mum’s a bit of a worrier anyway and says displays are dangerous, so we’re walking through an area similar to this, but it’s more open and we’re quite high up and we can see the glow from different bonfires and there are some bright flashing lights from a fair in the distance and I ask if we can get back in the car and go and find it, but my dad picks me up and spins me around and tells me I don’t need a fair because he can throw me about and jig me up and down, and he does and I can see my sister and my mum smiling at the exact moment a huge firework bursts above us and it looks like a red heart and I’m happy.”
Manny smiled. “Oh bless you, that’s lovely. Do you still do bonfire nights together? Is that why I’m blacklisted?”
Eve shook her head. “They’re not with me anymore.”
“You moved away?”
“They died.”
Manny gasped. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. Come here, Eve. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Eve allowed the arms to wrap around her shoulders. “It’s fine. It was thirteen years ago, but that was one of my last happy memories.”
“Oh no. That’s even worse. You grew up without a family?”
“I had my grandma, but she passed away the year I started at Ridgecrest.”
“No!” Manny let out a nervous laugh.
“It’s fine. Honestly.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Eve re-started their walk, forcing Manny to release her contact. “You want to hear it?”
“Of course I do, as long as it’s not too painful for you.”
Eve shone the torch ahead. The woodland wasn’t lit, but the path was easy enough to follow and she’d often enjoy this walk on various Sunday afternoons when all of her marking was complete and she needed that last breath of peaceful fresh air before facing school on a Monday, and she’d often think about her family then, so this wasn’t much different. She paused. Manny was watching her, genuinely concerned. “Okay, so I was in the last year of primary school and we’d just started to get homework given to us on a Friday to supposedly prepare us for secondary school.” She shrugged. “It was only one worksheet, but I loved it and I always wanted to do it as soon as I got home. There were a couple of maths questions, some English sentences, a little box where you could do a drawing, you know the kind of thing, not important really, but it seemed like a real privilege for me.” She waited for Manny’s smart remark, but continued when it didn’t arrive. “Anyway I was sitting at the kitchen table filling it in when Ellie, my sister, started kicking off again. Something about us being a boring family who never did anything and how it was Friday night and all of her friends were going out and she had to stay in because she wasn’t allowed out, but there was no point in staying in as we were just boring, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.” Eve managed to laugh. “She wasn’t naughty, she was just a typical teenager I guess, and mum and dad weren’t boring, they were just trying to protect us. So anyway, my dad, bless him, always the peacemaker tried to reason with her, asking her what we could do that would make us less boring and she listed a whole load of things that mum and dad instantly dismissed, like getting a cooler car, or mum changing her hairstyle, or us all going on a proper holiday to a resort somewhere instead of having to go to grandma’s caravan in Sidmouth every summer.”
“Sidmouth’s great, I’ve been there.”
“I know, right?” Eve laughed. “Anyway they were all arguing and I was just trying to do my little drawing in the style of Picasso and Ellie suddenly shouts: Cinema. She then calmly highlighted the fact that we hadn’t been to the cinema for over two years and if mum and dad were good parents they would take us. I think it was all a big set up really. She’d planned the blow up and knew they’d listen to her more if she calmed down as opposed to just asking calmly in the first place. She needed their attention if that makes sense, and she was crazy about The Twilight Saga and Robert Pattinson and I think mum and dad were just pleased that she wasn’t shouting anymore because when they asked her what was on she knew the exact time the new film was showing at every cinema close to us and my dad just clapped his hands together and said: Right then, we’ll go.”
“Twilight Eclipse ten years ago, wasn’t it? Were you a fan?”
Eve shook her head. “No, it actually scared me a little bit. I was only ten, remember? And I knew the film was a Twelve-A, so I said I shouldn’t go, but I think I also secretly wanted to stay at home and finish my homework.”
“You little boffin.” Manny
gasped. “Sorry, I forgot myself. Carry on with the story.”
Eve shrugged. “It’s fine, it’s true. Even mum and dad were trying to convince me to come. They said that Twelve-A meant I could go as long as I was with an adult and they said Ellie was right, that we should all just live a little and throw caution to the wind, but I didn’t want to so I kept saying no and then Ellie started shouting again, so they called my grandma to come and babysit and off they went.”
“And got eaten by vampires?”
“Oh Manny, that’s not…” Eve paused, she was about to say appropriate.
“Sorry.”
Eve took a deep breath. “I guess I’ve just been living my life based on that evening. I’ve learnt that if you stick to your path and follow the rules you’ll stay safe.”
“Something happened to them that evening?”
“A head-on car crash.”
“Oh no.”
“They all died instantly.”
“Oh Eve, I’m so sorry. Do people know?”
“They don’t often ask, but obviously when they do, I mention it, but it’s fine, it was a long time ago.”
“It explains so much.”
“It doesn’t.”
Manny nodded. “It does.”
“Everything went to my grandma and then to me so maybe it explains how I can afford my apartment.”
“You own it outright?”
Eve nodded. “But I’d rather have my family back with our small house and crappy holidays in Sidmouth.”
“Of course, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine. Thank you for listening.”
“Why are you thanking me?” Manny lifted her hands. “It’s caused this too. It’s made you timid.”
“I’m not timid.”
“Apologetic then. As if you shouldn’t be here.”
Eve sighed. “If I’d gone to a Twelve-A film at the age of ten, and if I hadn’t wanted to be so responsible and finish my homework then I wouldn’t be here.”
“So you live your life not wanting to be inappropriate, not wanting to upset, not daring to do something you shouldn’t?”
“It’s kept me safe.”
Manny reached out for Eve to stop their walk. “So what are you doing here then, in the woods, in the dark, with me?”
Eve stared at the blue eyes. “Talking.”
“But why me? Why are you letting me get close?”
“I don’t know.” Eve paused. “Let me ask you the same question. Why are you here in the woods in the dark with me? Because if I was guessing I’d assume this isn’t at all out of the ordinary for you. You’ve waltzed through school being the notorious superstar, you found fame and fortune on the world stage, so I’m guessing I’m just your latest challenge.”
“You’re not,” said Manny, maintaining her gaze. “You’re special.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I’m getting to know you, and I’m getting to understand you.”
“But you don’t agree with me?”
“No. I think you’re going to waste.”
“Because I don’t live dangerously?”
Manny reached out for Eve’s cheek with the palm of her hand. “Because you don’t live at all.”
“Maybe I’m afraid of getting hurt.”
“I won’t hurt you, Eve.”
Eve laughed and knocked the hand away. “Of course you will.”
“Look at me. I like you. I want to see where this goes.”
“I’m not…”
“You’re not gay, you’re not straight, who cares anymore? Just live your life.”
“I am, and just because my slow and steady life doesn’t match your fast and furious life doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
“But you need me, just like I need you.”
Eve watched as Manny stepped closer.
“Just let me hold you.”
“And then what?”
“And then nothing. There aren’t always consequences.” Manny opened her arms and encased Eve into her own body.
Inhaling the sweet scent of Manny’s perfume as she felt Manny’s cheek pressed against her own, Eve smiled as a red, heart-shaped firework lit up the sky in the distance.
****
Pulling into the requested road that Manny assured her was only two streets away from her car, Eve questioned again. “You’re sure you’re okay to walk back?”
“It’s two streets, under street lamps, in this lovely residential area. Plus we didn’t pass a single person on our walk so we’d be tempting fate if we carried on around here, and anyway, we’re too close to the hockey ground. Those hunks must be due out about now?”
“Fine. But text me when you get back to your car.”
“I’ll need your number for that.”
Reaching into her drawstring bag, Eve found her mobile.
“Oh right!” laughed Manny. “So you lied to that hockey hunk? Brilliant. There’s hope for you on this new path of mischief you’re finally willing to tread.”
“Hey, I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“You’ve agreed to see me again tomorrow.”
Eve laughed. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing that much of each other though does it?” Handing over the phone so that Manny could input her number, Eve smiled at the decision they’d come to at the end of their walk. They’d see each other every day but it had to be during an activity or event where they’d both be in disguise. The fact it was Halloween tomorrow made their first choice really simple. The fancy dress party at The Waterside club. It was far enough out of town to ensure none of the other sixth form students would be attending and was exclusive enough to ensure no one would get overly drunk and try to rip off anyone else’s costume. Manny had insisted on sending a taxi for Eve that would then pick her up en-route as well, not from her house obviously, but from a place she’d disclose once she was sure she hadn’t been followed.
Eve had to admit that it was all a little over the top, but as Manny had said, it was better to be safe than sorry, and if she was honest it made it even more exciting if that was at all possible. “So,” she said as she watched Manny click call on the number she’d just entered. “You have my number now, so text when you get back to your car.”
“Will do.”
“And I’ll be ready for the taxi at seven.”
“Make sure you’re in full costume when you leave your apartment.”
“Of course.”
“And make sure your whole face is covered.”
“I’ll nip into that fancy dress shop in town after my match. I think I’ll go as an Egyptian Mummy.”
Manny shook her head. “No. If the bandages are skin tight your tits will expose you.”
“Oi! Fine, I’ll go as a zombie nurse then with a stethoscope covering my assets.”
“No, it can’t be sexy.”
“Why not? Sexy Halloween’s a thing, isn’t it?”
“We don’t want to draw any attention, especially not from men.”
“Should we go as men?”
Manny nodded. “Good idea. Frankenstein or something.”
“Who will you go as?”
“I don’t know. Beetlejuice maybe, in a baggy suit? Or The Joker. Something not particularly original that disguises us whilst letting us blend in. Just two blokes out for some beers on Halloween.”
Eve laughed. “Do we have to put on deep voices?”
Manny put on a deep voice. “Yes.” She smiled. “Right, I need to get off. Thank you for talking to me and thank you for being so brave. You’re an incredible woman, Eve and I already feel honoured that you’re extending this branch of friendship towards me. I can’t promise I’ll always behave, but I managed to hold you in a close and really rather warm hug in the woods in the darkness without trying to kiss you, so I have the confidence that I can do this your way, in your time.”
“Fun, flirty, friends,” said Eve with a nod.
“Gotcha,” replied Manny as she stepped out of the
car, only to pop her head back in the next second. “For now.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hugging her arms for warmth as she stood on the communal balcony of her apartment building, Eve stared down at the carpark in shock. Manny had insisted on booking the taxi in Eve’s name and giving the taxi company Eve’s number so that when it arrived it would be Eve receiving the text letting her know it was here, but now, as her phone buzzed at the exact moment a huge stretch limo pulled into the carpark, Eve thought there must have been a mistake. Pulling her mobile out of the deep chest pocket of her green Frankenstein overalls she clicked on Manny’s name. They’d spoken numerous times since their walk last night, the first time being the call from Manny to say she was safely back in her car, the second to say she was safely home, the third to say goodnight – a call that ended in an hour-long, late-night chat, the fourth to say good morning, the fifth to say good luck for the hockey match, the sixth to find out the result of the hockey match, the seventh fake-emergency, distraught-friend-in-a-crisis call giving Eve an excuse to get away from Kim’s requests for post-match help and Rob’s requests for post-match drinks, and so on, hence why Eve felt so comfortable calling Manny right now. Usually she was the type of person who preferred to email or text, and if a call had to be made she’d often jot down a list of points that needed to be covered so there wouldn’t be any awkward silences, but with Manny she didn’t need any of that because the conversation just flowed naturally, and on the odd occasion that there was a silence, it was a nice thoughtful silence, not an anxiety-inducing, oh-my-goodness-what-do-I-say-next silence.
“It’s arrived, hasn’t it!” said Manny’s voice on the other end of the line.
Eve pushed the phone harder into the side of her Frankenstein mask. “Where are you? It sounds noisy?”
“I’ve walked to the King John’s Tavern. You can pick me up from here, it was the closest place to your apartment. So many people are dressed up.”
“I don’t think my taxi has arrived yet.”
Manny laughed. “It has, that’s why you’re calling me.”
“A limo? Really Manny?”
“Of course! It’s almost an hour to The Waterside. I thought it would be nice with the blacked-out windows. We can take our masks off. You are wearing your mask, right?”