Avalon Expandable Heart: The Wild Heart Series

by Shantelle McKinnon

  “Had a full-on night,” I lever the exhaust down to the ground, trying not to think of headstones.

  “Yeah, what did you do?” Jarrod’s voice possesses no inference. Not that I would tell him what I really did. I realise after agreeing to Nathan’s deal last night I will never be able to. Not stuff like that.

  “Av got me and Sam to play this bloody exhausting game to get us over our mutual dislike,” I shake my head remembering the carrot outfit’s squeeze and the dizziness of numerous spins.

  “What the fuck?” Jarrod’s fingers tense white on the drive shaft. He mutters something else I can’t make out. “Sam as in Seth’s Sam?”

  I nod as I work out another part. He isn’t that bad, after hearing him speak at the bonfire that night, I hadn’t felt the same intense hate as I once had. I hadn’t even noticed I had changed in that regard until last night. We actually got closer with him being the elderly man I was chasing in the zombie suit last night. The look on the by-standers face, I’ll never forget it.

  “And it worked?” There was an odd note behind the question, like he knew the answer already, so much so that I turned and peered at him. I wasn’t expecting to see what appeared to be pain and betrayal?

  “I won’t kill him,” I hedge. “Yet.”

  “He’d kill me,” Jarrod says drolly, one hand smoothing down over his quad muscle. “So would your girl.”

  “You wouldn’t be the lone one on her list,” I grin, “if that makes you feel any better,” I miss her. I wish she was tucked under my arm even if she was glancing at me with heated eyes that turn my insides to water. She makes me feel giddy inside which is a welcome relief from the acid.

  “Yeah, half our club girls would be rotting in the ground with me. Awesome. Great.” He rolls his eyes. The thought of that seems to clear something that reminds me of a pane of dirty glass within me. I haven’t been back to the clubhouse for what feels like ages. It’s like I’ve lost touch. I’m not sure what I feel about it. And again, he murmurs something, I only catch infiltration. I think. I leave it.

  “How’s it going with you guys?” He’s trying at least. I should too.

  I’m surprised to find I want to talk about it and am about to explain when my ears unconsciously pick up certain pieces from the constant drone of the customer TV. Girl, bull, Harbour Bridge, horns, traffic jam.

  I duck out from under the car and dash to the window to the waiting area, sliding the glass open for a better view. On the TV is footage from a helicopter zooming in on the Harbour Bridge and there, riding Frank leisurely before a pile-up of angry, morning commuters is Avalon in her steak bikini and tomato crown. She is gorgeous. My mouth goes dry just looking at her. Walking a distance behind is Nathan and I can see even from this distance there is something boiling in both of their bloods. They both have the same zing electrifying their bodies, his words sound in my brain, ‘I know my sister.’

  “Holy…What the hell is she doing?” Jarrod breathes out next to me. I’m so glad that I’m not alone in feeling the need to express that sentiment.

  Frank has a spring in his step. He sometimes swings his monstrous head menacingly toward a car, or lunges at another. His tail whips from side to side like Alby when he’s chanced upon a potential fetch toy.

  “She’s doing a bet to raise money for farmers, remember that Kelsey girl?”

  Jarrod’s eyes glass over, “Ah dude, how could I not? She was fricken gorgeous.”

  “Well, yeah,” I try not to visualize her, “she bet Av wouldn’t do it but it’s supposed to be somewhere else,” I leave off the rest of the answer, observing Frank launch again at a vehicle, my girl riding it out like she’s glued to him. He appears to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Av does too, even though I could see fire in every line of her body, the way she is holding herself is… different. “Something must have happened.”

  I sigh in relief, maybe this is what he meant, that Av never sticks to the plan. She told me her nan drummed into them all the motto; improvise, adapt, overcome. I can deal with that; it doesn’t scare me. I feel an odd sense of lightness and pride how good she is at adapting as I grin at the TV. It’s also a strange sensation watching this event happen on TV and know the people. Have slept right next to the minx stopping traffic. It’s surreal.

  The footage then switches to Avalon leading Frank toward a small, silver hatchback behind the horse truck that moves off, leaving them, and after a hand movement, Frank lunges at the car, tipping it up on two wheels. People’s faces blanch in shock, the reporter almost slips and curses. Frank is a huge, gleaming tank, his tail lashes as he hoists the car up on his head like it’s nothing. Even though I’ve seen him up close I’ve never fully envisioned the brute strength he possesses. It would be terrifying to experience.

  “Fuck, that thing is a beast,” Jarrod puts his hand up to the glass. He mutters something under his breath. That is getting irritating.

  “What?” I ask, letting my eyes watch him sideways for a moment.

  “I said that guy must have said something she didn’t like,” something like resentment skitches between his words even though they are upbeat.

  I turn to him and the remnants of an emotion dancing across his features morphs to friendliness and amusement. “Sorry, I guess, I kind of blame her a bit for not seeing you much anymore. Do you wanna catch up on your break?”

  I consider him for a second, part of my brain wishes to wonder about things but it’s nice to have him back around, someone I know, knows what to expect from and can talk to now that understands my background.

  I nod.

  stick with it

  Seth

  “You photograph better when you tilt your head like this,” Kelsey’s hand forcefully positions my face to the angle she desires, five crescents digging slightly into my face. She checks it again on her phone’s screen, her full lips blow out before she smiles slightly and nods, “Three, two, one.” I pose as she has spent the last few minutes instructing me to, and she snaps the shot. She focusses on the image as she turns and sits next to me, close but not touching. Tiny specs of gold glitter along her slender forearms as she moves her fingers to play with the filter on the shot. I’ve learnt quickly that Kels likes to remain perfect and it’s in my best interest to not push the subject and leave her unmolested.

  She nods and silky strands of her golden hair slide over her shoulder. “I think this is the one,” she holds the phone so I can see, I’ve also learnt not to try to take the phone to look. I don’t see much difference to the last fifty she’s taken. It’s like a ritual now, taking these perfect photos of each other to post on social media. It’s boring. I’d rather be in the surf than pretending to come out of it, but I’ve gained thousands of new followers since the first one, so I go with it without verbal complaint.

  “What do you think?” she asks, and I know again from experience that a good old ‘it’s great’, won’t cut it.

  “I like the light you’ve got on the side of my face,” I answer instead, hoping that will satisfy her, finally finding something to be positive about in hearing my mum rave on with bullcrap all the time. I’m good at spilling it out too. For some reason my stomach turns slightly leaden at that thought. I push it away, telling myself it’s what you have to do.

  She smiles radiantly at me, “I love that too, makes your eyes sparkle in a mysterious way and your jaw seem extra manly.” She kisses me on my more manly jaw. “My turn.”

  She drops the satin beach robe she’s wearing to reveal yet another new bikini, gold this time, adorned with small diamantes along the strings. She is the vision reanimate of a long dead goddess, Zoey would have swooned at her feet, my heart rate has increased tenfold shunting blood to one place in particular. I swallow and try to direct my thoughts elsewhere; I wonder what Zoey is doing hoping to kill the flood of teenage lust hitting my groin. I’ll have to ask Av tonight when I see her.

  Fingers. I miss her.

  Even though she’s taken to calling me ‘Mannequin�
� or ‘Hollywood’ on all these social media posts. I miss the fact that if she were here she would still venture into the water even though she has a fear of it, not sit back for the sole reason that she is wearing make-up that she doesn’t want to run, or hair that is styled to look beach like.

  Luke asked about her yesterday, when I’d finally made it out the back after the daily photoshoot was announced over. I’d hated the burning in my throat that I hadn’t looked after her that night at the dinner, it still makes me feel like a coward. But she was okay about it this morning when she had rung me, she did say, as she is always truthful that it didn’t ring her bell but maybe because she was pretty out of it, and she understood the predicament I was in and hoped one day I would free of all that expectation and choice crap. She didn’t actually phrase it that way, it contained words such words as cement, penis, idiot and blind.

  She had also advised that not only she and her brother were sleeping over, but that she going to do the bull thing today. I had told Kelsey to let her family know to get ready to pay up. Kelsey had scoffed in her delicate way but said nothing else about it except that we had plans tonight after the concert so wouldn’t be back at mine. Kelsey’s plans usually meant I got laid and in this gold bikini, it is a total lure away from the pull I have to hang out with Av. Kelsey has also got me back on the whole getting to the goal thing. We are going straight there. No detours.

  “She may very well do it, but I don’t think she will get much coverage,” Kelsey says out of the blue, positioning herself so that her boobs are pushed up between her arms as she lies on the sand. My mouth goes dry, holy crap she’s stunning.

  She peers at me expectantly.

  “What?’ I stumble over what I’m thinking about doing.

  “Your little acquaintance,” she replies turning her chin down and gazing up into the camera with lips parted. I can’t keep my focus on track as I snap the shot. A small part of my mind sours at her words, but as soon as she moves onto her back and arches on the sand those bedroom eyes seering into my soul; I’m putty.

  A knowing smirk slides quickly across Kelsey’s pout.

  “Hey, Campbell,” Sam’s voice sounds from behind me. I notice Kelsey’s pout deepen at the odd note of scorn in his voice but just as before it disappears in a millisecond.

  “Hey,” I smile up at him, happy to see him. I haven’t seen much of him over the last couple of days; most likely my fault as I’ve been glued to Kelsey’s side and bed.

  “No flash cards today?” he asks, not sitting down. Sam, for some unknown reason, has never really taken to Kels, not that that is unusual for Sam but not even when we were younger did he find her particularly worth his time. I think it used to irritate her and as I watch her push her chin into the air higher, I wonder if it still does. Still, she would had to have seen, even when we were young, that Sam was practically worse than me with girls. Until Av of course.

  “Ugh! Don’t mention fricken flash cards,” I groan. “All morning, my brain is maggoted.”

  “Why aren’t you out there then,” he nods at the waves, “rebooting?”

  A defensive feeling flairs as I catch Kelsey’s lips tightening. I don’t know why because I really do desperately want to be surfing. I essentially need to be to get to me goal.

  I wet my mouth before replying. “It’s all good, we’re just finishing up here then I’ll catch a few. I’m mostly tired from last night,” I wink at Kelsey. I’m rewarded with a very seductive expression, even though last night we bloody studied and only studied. Kelsey wants to study law after high school so she can fall back on that when she’s finished modelling or use it to further her career by doing UN work or whatever. I only was thinking about studying anatomy. Intimately.

  Sam yawns.

  Kelsey moves into a new pose and gestures for me to keep snapping.

  “You know Av is doing the steak thing today, right?’ he asks, turning his back on Kelsey and staring up at the road.

  “She freaking?” I press the mode that takes the photos continuously as Kels keep changing position.

  Sam scoffs, “This is Av we are talking about, the girl who convinced the hostel residents to forego their sleeping pills and drug the nurses so we could paint the joint,” he turns and eyes me like I really need to get the message he’s secretly sending. He sighs and finally acknowledging Kelsey with a curt nod, then yawns again. I think back to that night we all wore balaclava’s and Av broke into the hostel, everyone freaking that we were going to get caught and then finding all the staff in various naughty positions sleeping soundly, I shake my head, that was so fun. Avalon the blackmailer. I can imagine those pictures will resurface every time Avalon wants something. I also picture that fateful bus trip when I told Av she couldn’t drive an excavator only to find my car dangling from it the next morning. As if she’s freaking. She’s always one step ahead.

  “You been up studying?’ I return my focus to Kelsey who shoots me that secret smile that boils my blood. I’m whipped.

  “Nah, just hanging out at Harry’s,” he turns to the surf again, stretching contentedly.

  Something unfurls in my stomach and it isn’t entirely made of cotton candy and perky boobs. I watch him for a second instead of the beauty before me and sense that he’s holding something back. Probably due to Kelsey. I’ll get it out of him later.

  His phone bings and he pulls it out, and something fierce sweeps over his face reminding me totally of bloody Satan herself. A wolfish grin spreads too as a news presenter starts talking. “Yes!” he exclaims, pride beaming over his features.

  “What is it?’ I stand up hearing the words ‘girl, bull, Harbour bridge’. I peer over Sam’s shoulder and watch, forgetting Kelsey. Yup, Satan certainly isn’t freaking. “I should have said, ‘Is she freaking people out yet?’”

  That bloody tyrant, waltzing across the bridge like she owns it, siccing her demented tank on legs on anyone that annoys her.

  “That wasn’t the deal,” Kelsey purrs next to me, her Jasmine scent permeating my nose and reminding what it smells like straight off her chest.

  Sam’s head snaps toward her, eyes narrowed, “What? Riding a ton of bull flesh across the Harbour fucking Bridge isn’t good enough for you?” There is a note of something new in his voice I have never heard before. Kelsey needs to tread cautiously.

  Kelsey not reading or not caring about his warning tenor, stands taller, “It’s twenty thousand dollars, Sammie –”

  “—don’t ever call me that!” Sam snarls. I’ve forgotten extremely quickly how Sam used to be with girls; uncaring and rather brutal. I’ve been too used to him with Av and her mates.

  Kelsey flinches imperceptivity but covers it commenting that Frank appears rather tame.

  Sam gawks incredulously, “Fucking hell.” He stares at her. “Tame? I bet you couldn’t run across his paddock without screaming for Avalon, and you have to double all the money you guys owe her if you can’t.”

  Kelsey chuckles, “I’m sure the money will be sufficient for her without you trying to level two playing fields that aren’t meant to be associated, for your own personal reasons,” Kelsey flicks her hair.

  “What do the words you’re spewing out even mean?” Sam grinds his teeth. Kelsey ignores him. Sam lets a long breath push through his nostrils, he’s definitely spending too much time with Satan and her animal posse. “Personal reasons? Let me say it plain and simple, you don’t know shit about Avalon or … what it would take to do that.”

  “I never said I did,” Kelsey smiles at him serenely, “I merely stated the animal appears tame.”

  Sam mutters something vulgar under his breath. Kelsey simply adjusts her bikini top, long French polished nails running down the side of her breasts.

  “Are you coming tonight?” Sam asks, emphasizing only me. I half glance at Kelsey’s beautiful face and see her eyes thin.

  “Yeah, I told Av this morning we would be there, I think we’d would be gutted or something if we don’t… well, I wou
ld be,” I wink at Kelsey. Kelsey has a bit of a different mind; I don’t know what is going through it but at this exact second something is.

  Sam mutters something that contained the words; awesome, show, riddance.

  “Good, I’ll see you there,” Sam slaps me on the back. “Make sure you bring the whole lot of cash for Av,” it’s the first time he fully looks at Kelsey and there is no swooning at her beauty. “She’ll do exactly what she said she would and you better too… or you won’t like what happens.” His eyes are dark and unfriendly.

  I don’t know whether I should say something, I feel on the spot but one thing about Kelsey is she always maintains her composure; she merely nods her head as if Sam’s comment was aimed at someone else and was completely polite. “I always keep my word, Sam.”

  Sam disappears up the sand. “This one is the one, don’t you think?” Kelsey holds out her phone displaying one of the pictures I just took as if Sam had not even been here and the threat hanging in the air never even reached her ears.

  ENOUGH

  Avalon

  “Now that’s more my type of Queen,” Nat grins as we close the door of the truck at the other end of the bridge. “Pastel curtains go to hell.”

  “Yup, T-bone is way more becoming as long as it’s accompanied by a badarse ride,” I laugh, full of adrenalin I leap on to him and hug him tight, stoked to have him back in close quarters.

  “That was bloody awesome!” He piggy backs me toward the door. “I wish we had full on beast mode insurance on Frank so I could have let him go rampant.”

  I take one last look back at the traffic jammed bumper to bumper behind us, the guy in the silver car nowhere to be seen. I hope he’s not on the phone to the police.

  “Our first trip over the Harbour Bridge!” Nathan hoots as he climbs in the other side.