Throughout the lesson however, recollections of the scene I’d witnessed from my position in the hallway just the day before, were clear in my mind. And although there had been a great deal of background noise, I was fairly certain of the words Sara had spoken.
“I want to see you!”
It was her pleading tone that I remembered most. But I had the feeling his response, which I hadn’t caught, was not what she wanted to hear. The agitated expression on her face clearly indicated this was the case, along with the tears that had threatened to spill from her eyes.
Distraught…
When the bus pulled up at my stop later that afternoon, I immediately spotted the familiar car parked in our driveway.
“NOOOO!” I screamed silently. “This can’t be happening!”
Barry’s work truck was easily recognizable. The words, ‘Barry’s Handyman Service’ were displayed clearly on the sides, and I could not believe that my brother had gone ahead and organized for him to do the work.
Although I knew I should be grateful that the damage would be repaired so quickly, I did not have a good feeling about him being in our house.
To begin with, how would our dad react when he was informed that we’d asked his wife’s boyfriend to help us out? It just didn’t seem right. While that detail definitely bothered me, there was something more that filled me with dread. Barry made my skin crawl and I did not like being anywhere near him.
When I entered the house, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I could see Barry occupied with the task at hand but my intuition told me that something else was not right.
“Hi, Julia!” The grin that appeared on his face the moment he realized I was there, caused an anxious sensation in the pit of my stomach.
But I managed a courteous reply. “Hello, Barry.”
“You guys had a pretty wild party here, hey?”
“No, not at all.” I struggled to be civil. Everything about him annoyed me. “It was an accident, that’s all. And now we just need it fixed.”
He returned my gaze, the smirk on his face only managing to irritate me further.
It was then that I became aware of my brother’s absence and abruptly remembered that I hadn’t noticed his car parked outside, either.
“Where’s Matt?’”
“Oh, he had to go out,” he replied with a sly grin. “I think he had a hot date so he let me in and then left.”
He stared at me then, those creepy eyes making me more uncomfortable than ever. I could not believe that Matt hadn’t even warned me and I wondered briefly where he’d gone. He hadn’t mentioned any plans to go out and I’d expected to see him already at home.
Taking a deep breath, I headed to the kitchen where I made myself a quick snack and then, under the pretence of having homework to do, headed up the stairs to my room and closed the door firmly behind me.
In the privacy of my bedroom I took out my phone in order to call Matt, my anger bubbling to the surface. I was so angry at him for leaving me in the house on my own to deal with Barry and could not believe that he’d taken off without letting me know.
As soon as I looked at the screen however, I noticed immediately that my phone had gone flat. With a frustrated sigh, I plugged it into the charger that was permanently connected to the socket in the wall and waited impatiently for it to turn on.
Drumming my fingers on the desk, I stared at it, willing the charge signal to appear so that I could call my brother, but for some reason it was not connecting. Feeling more anxious than ever, I fiddled with the cord, trying desperately to get a connection. But the screen remained dark.
Sighing in frustration, I stood and made my way out the door, then along the hallway to Matt’s room. I sometimes had trouble getting my charger to work and wasn’t sure if it was the charger itself or the cord that was faulty. Matt had ordered a replacement set on eBay but I was still waiting for it to arrive. Meanwhile, I had to make do with using the one he kept by his bed each time mine failed to work.
After connecting the phone to his charger, I sat down at his desk to wait, at the same time accidentally bumping the mouse that sat on the pad in front of his computer. His open Facebook page appeared in front of me, along with several messages that sat along the bottom of the screen. He’d obviously been chatting with a few different people before leaving to go out.
I quickly glanced at the conversations on display, curious to see who he’d been talking to, in the hope that the messages would give me some clues as to his whereabouts.
Recognizing the names of a couple of his friends, I could see that they’d been discussing an assignment which was due at the end of the week, and it appeared they were talking about meeting up at some stage so they could work on it together. That still didn’t give me any indication of where he was right then, so I reached for my phone to call him. However, the blip of a new incoming message sounded loudly and I looked up to see Lisa’s name attached to the text that had just appeared on his screen. Although I knew I was doing the wrong thing, the temptation was just too great, especially as it was Lisa who was involved and I quickly scanned through the message.
Staring in shock at the screen in front of me, I scrolled up to view more of their conversation. There had clearly been several messages back and forth over the past few days and my eyes were glued to the words on display, all the while, my mouth dropping wider at the spectacle in front of me.
It seemed that the two of them had secretly rendezvoused twice since the party, with Lisa obviously climbing out her window in the middle of the night, her parents completely oblivious to what their daughter was up to.
Spellbound by the words on the screen, I continued to scroll through the messages before returning to the latest ones, which I was forced to reread as I was having so much difficulty comprehending the words that stared back at me.
Can I see you later tonight?
Yes, definitely!
I’ll wait for you in my car down the street – will text you when I get there.
This was followed by her reply which had just come in…
Ok! See you soon xxxx
Completely engrossed, and in shock that the two of them had kept their ‘dates’ such a closely guarded secret, I failed to hear the footsteps on the carpeted floor of the hallway. And it wasn’t until the door creaked slightly as it was swung open that I realized someone had entered the room.
Sitting up with a start I turned guiltily around, expecting to see my brother’s angry face, furious at the sight of his sister sitting at his desk and reading his messages.
However, it was not Matt who stared at me from the doorway at all, and as much as I would have hated for him to catch me so blatantly invading his privacy, I would have preferred that scenario to the one I’d unexpectedly found myself a part of.
A sleazy grin lay plastered on Barry’s face while at the same time, his eyes darted from me to the screen behind me.
“Whatcha doin’ Julia?” he asked, his grin widening as comprehension dawned and he realized that he’d caught me in the middle of forbidden territory.
It seemed fairly obvious that he was enjoying the thrill of my discomfort at the sight of being caught out and also because of his uninvited presence in the room.
Taking his hand off the door knob, he took a step closer, his dark eyes burning into mine.
“What…what do you want?” I stammered, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.
“I just came up to check on you, to see if there’s any work you need done up here.” His face was set in a slimy smirk and his eyes remained on mine as he moved a little further towards me. “I’ve finished repairing the wall. Once the plaster dries, it’ll just need a coat of paint, but I can come back and do that another time if you like?”
“Err, that probably won’t be necessary.” I said, biting my lip uneasily. “We can get someone else to do the painting, or we might even be able to do it ourselves.”
“Anyway,” I continued in a rush as I got
shakily to my feet, “I have heaps of school work to do, so I should get back to it.”
I was desperate to get out of there, out of that room and as far away from him as possible, but right then, he was barring the doorway and did not look like he was in any hurry to move.
My pulse racing, I grabbed my phone, quickly disconnecting it from the charge cord and took a few tentative steps towards the door. Hesitating there, I waited for him to step aside, but he didn’t budge. So I decided to edge past him. Then, without warning, he abruptly took hold of my wrist, preventing me from going any further.
“Surely your homework can wait?” the connotations of his words were clear and I felt my stomach lurch with disgust.
His face was so close to mine that I could feel his warm breath on my skin, the foul smell of cigarette smoke adding to the nausea that was threatening to burst from the back of my throat at any moment. Sick with fear, I dared to make eye contact and twisted my arm in an attempt to set it free. This action simply resulted in a widening of his sleazy smile as his grip on my wrist remained firm.
I opened my mouth to scream, to demand that he let go.
“Get lost, you loser! Just leave me alone!”
They were the words I wanted to spit in his face.
But they would not come.
They remained silent and unspoken as, panic stricken, I felt myself writhing in his grasp, until a sudden noise from downstairs caught my attention.
It was the sound of voices followed by the front door banging shut. Taking advantage of the distraction, I ripped my arm from his grip and raced out of the room towards the staircase, just in time to see my brother and two of his friends heading towards the kitchen.
“Matt!” I called, trying to calm my hysteria as I took the stairs in a rush and hurried after him.
Bursting through the kitchen door, I panted, “Where have you been?”
Looking up in surprise at my rude interruption, he simply stared at me, his expression clearly displaying his annoyance at my sudden outburst in front of his friends.
“I had to pick the guys up, we’ve got an assignment to work on. Is that alright with you?”
I eye-balled him then, tears threatening at the corners of my eyes as I shook my head and replied in frustration, “I didn’t know where you were!”
Before he had a chance to respond, Barry appeared in the doorway behind me. Without turning, I knew he was there. I could feel his presence only inches away and the hairs on my arms stood on end.
Quickly moving to my brother’s side, I kept my eyes downcast, unable to look in his direction and waited anxiously while Matt followed him to the living room to help pack up his tools and the mess that still remained on the floor.
Taking several deep breaths, I attempted to calm myself, while at the same time, Matt’s friends struggled to make conversation that just ended in an awkward silence; until Matt finally returned after seeing Barry out the front door.
I resisted the urge to yell at my brother. Although all I wanted to do was freak out at him, as he sat there innocently staring back at me, as if to say, “What’s your problem?”
The stupid smirk on his face was making me even angrier. He was completely oblivious to what I had just been through and it was all his fault! How dare he organize for that creep to come over and not even warn me in advance!
He probably thought I should be pleased that he’d arranged the repairs himself rather than leaving it all for me to deal with, which was the usual case. But far from being pleased, I was ready to explode.
Directing filthy looks his way, I glared at him from across the benchtop but managed to keep my mouth shut for fear that if I started, I would really lose it and turn into some kind of lunatic in front of his friends.
But I was so upset that I couldn’t stand looking at him any longer and scraped the kitchen stool roughly on the tiled floor as I hopped off it and headed towards the door.
Slamming it shut as I left, I heard his voice behind me.
“Talk about psycho! She’s a nutcase!”
This was followed by murmured comments and laughter from his friends, and with tears streaming down my face, I raced up the stairs to my room.
“You and Lisa deserve each other!”
I spat the words angrily as I grabbed my headphones and iPod and threw myself onto the bed.
“AND WHEN SHE DUMPS YOU, DON’T EXPECT ANY SYMPATHY FROM ME!!!!”
I yelled at the closed door, completely unmindful of who heard me at that stage and then adjusted the volume on my iPod to almost maximum, wanting to drown out all background noise and all memories of the past thirty minutes.
Right then I hated my brother. He was a jerk and his friends weren’t much better! And added to that, I hated my mother as well. Why did she have to bring that creep into our lives? His sleazy grin flashed into my thoughts once again.
Seething with frustration and disgust as well as a whole heap of other emotions I couldn’t even identify, I lay on my bed scrolling angrily through my phone. All the while the music from my iPod blasting in my ears as I fought to keep the tears from falling.
Genuine or not?...
The following morning, I left the house before Matt had even appeared downstairs for breakfast. Although it was clear that he’d be late for school and I should probably wake him, I was still too angry and upset to have anything to do with him and made my way quietly out of the house. If he was going to be sneaking around in the middle of the night, then he could just deal with the consequences.
The one thing that did bring a huge smile to my face was the Facebook message from Ky on my phone. Apparently there was good news as far as Tyler was concerned, as a new type of medication would soon be available that could be the answer to his immunity problem. And after some more testing and consultations with doctors, which were scheduled for that afternoon, they’d be on their way home.
This was the news I’d been so urgently waiting to hear and from that moment on, I felt as though all the anguish from the day before was behind me. Nothing could spoil my mood, not even the glaring stare from Sara as she passed me in the hallway.
Feeling confident and on top of the world, I managed to glare back in a way that said, “WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT!”
I was pleased to notice the surprise in her expression. She had not anticipated such a reaction and it felt good to be the one in control for a change. At least on the surface anyway. While I still felt a niggling anxiety over what I perceived were silent threats from her to keep quiet, I was determined to hide my fear and pretend otherwise, hoping this would help to discourage her continued animosity.
If she actually was involved with a teacher, then I wanted nothing to do with it. Becky was still plagued with curiosity, desperate to know exactly what was going on but I’d refrained from telling her anything at all about what I had seen in the hallway. There was no way I wanted to add fuel to the story and spread gossip that could create a roll on effect of unbelievable proportions. Although deep down I, myself, really was as curious as Becky!
There was another issue however, that I did decide to confront head on. The thought of Lisa sneaking around with my brother irritated me no end and I was determined to get some answers. I realized however, that the only way was to ask her outright, so when I found myself sitting beside her during our lunch break, I came straight out with it.
“You must be getting good at sneaking out of your bedroom, Lisa! What I can’t understand is how you manage to cope with so little sleep!”
The abrupt jerk of her head as she looked at me then, her face turning a bright shade of red, was a clear indication of her surprise at being found out.
And her embarrassment became even more evident when Beth, who had overheard my comment, went on to query curiously, “What’s this? What’s going on with you, Lisa?”
She had obviously thought that her secret was safe and while I had no idea why she was so guarded about the whole scenario, I felt that she wasn’t sure if Matt ha
d spilled the beans and told me everything, or if I was simply guessing.
She opened her mouth to speak and I watched as she hesitated, biting her lip in apprehension, unsure whether or not to admit to what she’d been up to. But then, obviously making a quick decision, she abruptly blurted out everything, unable to keep the details to herself any longer.
“At first it was just a bit of fun. But I think your brother’s really cool, Julia. I really like him. I just didn’t know what you’d say about it all and neither did he. So we decided to keep it a secret. And sneaking out in the middle of the night with no one knowing kind of made it more exciting! It’s such an adrenalin rush!”
Her expression was proof of the thrill she was feeling and I wondered if it was simply the risk of being caught that she enjoyed the most or whether she really did have genuine feelings for Matt. With Lisa, it was difficult to be sure.
But then Beth, who was staring incredulously at the two of us, looked from Lisa to me and then back to Lisa again.
“So, you’re actually dating Julia’s brother? OMG Lisa, why didn’t you tell us?”
Lisa laughed out loud, clearly enjoying the attention she was getting. “All we’re doing, Beth, is hanging out. Matt’s saving me from insanity, that’s all. You have no idea what it’s like to be cooped up at home night after night! And like I said, sneaking out like that, just makes it all so much more exciting!”
I had nothing to say in return and thought again of my brother’s smitten face a couple of nights earlier when I’d caught him reading Lisa’s texts. He was totally besotted and I wondered if it would ever eventuate into something meaningful, for Lisa anyway. As far as Matt was concerned, I had no doubts. But with Lisa, only time would tell.
Julia Jones - The Teenage Years: Boxed Set - Books 2, 3 and 4 Page 15