Chapter 29
Alex crossed his arms defiantly but regarded me warily.
"Yeah, karma," he agreed, "I guess you should be careful who you tell to grow up because if they're living in the same house as your best friend they're going to find out stuff about you that you don't want other people to know."
Weirdly enough Alex didn't look half as pleased with himself as he should have. In fact he seemed a bit…ashamed? Oh for goodness sake I was never going to understand that boy!
"Wise words," I said gravely and I swore for about half a second there a glimmer of a smile appeared at the edges of his mouth.
"Look," he sighed, all traces of mirth immediately disappearing, and stared hard at a point just above my left shoulder, presumably so he didn't have to look at me as he spoke, "I shouldn't have done it, yeah? Matt and Jack are alright guys, you know? I was just pissed at you and then I heard Micky talking 'bout how he'd seen you and Jack going for it on the couch."
I blushed at this and glared at Micky wondering for perhaps the millionth time in the last half hour or so how he had managed to attract gentle, softly spoken Simone.
"So yesterday after a few drinks," Alex shrugged, "I found your number in Simone's address book and called you up to just kinda let you know that I knew. When Matt answered I sorta just blurted it out then hung up. I know it was stupid but I did it and I can't take it back so, sorry and all that."
What do you say to so blasé a retelling of the moment that ripped your life to shreds? There was nothing I really could say so I just blinked and then nodded in acceptance of his apology. It didn't come even close in making up for the damage he'd done but at least Alex appreciated that he’d done something wrong and was prepared to admit to it. Unlike some, I thought glancing at Micky out of the corner of my eye.
There was silence for a few awkward minutes which I broke by saying slowly, "So that day I came by and we had a slinging match, Alex, what was that all about?"
"Oh that." Alex rolled his eyes dismissively. "Micky had arrived round the back just a little while before you did and the pair of them," he nodded towards Micky and Simone, "were trying to figure out whether to argue or have sex. I think they did both in the end." He paused then gave another little ghost of a smile. "Hey, maybe I did you a favour. I sure as hell was wishing I was somewhere else when they finally leapt at each other…"
"Yes, alright, Alex," Simone cut in looking flustered, "I think we've heard enough now."
Alex turned those silver grey eyes of his onto her matching ones and nodded slightly. "Whatever," he sighed, mooching across the room and disappearing into the spare bedroom that he was presumably using as his own whilst he stayed there. I wondered briefly how long he was going to stay away from Bridunna. Would the school revoke his suspension now the truth had come out? Something told me that even if they did that Alex wouldn't want to go back there. Maybe it was best if the Coogans left Bridunna, after all small towns have very long memories and I knew that many people would still think it was Alex's fault. It occurred to me that, at long last, Simone's parents had to stand up and take care of their responsibilities. I hoped they would.
There was another long pause while I ruminated on how damn good my parents were looking compared to seemingly everyone else's, but it was broken as Simone said, "I'm sorry about what Alex did, I had no idea he'd overheard us talking but I guess this house is too small to conceal much."
I felt like pointing out here that my flat was smaller and that Jack and I had managed to conceal our weird relationship thing for over two months in front of my brother, but decided it probably wasn't appropriate.
Simone kept talking and, although I was sick to death of revelations I listened intently allowing more pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.
"Alex really is sorry, he came and told me what he'd done pretty much the minute he'd hung up on Matt and I called Micky. I meant for him to go round to your place and make sure that Matt didn't rip Jack limb from limb but he saw you and thought it would be better for you to sort it out."
This was undoubtedly true and I nodded stiffly at Micky to show my thanks. He was getting no more than that, however. Despite hanging out desperately for some sign of forgiveness from Matt, I'd be damned if I'd award Micky the same courtesy.
"So that's me and mine." Simone smiled awkwardly, obviously uneasy at the continued aura of hostility that was radiating between Micky and me. "So, would you care to share your misadventures?"
It was nice of her to phrase it as a question, knowing as we both did that I owed her that much at least, but looking at Micky reclining arrogantly on the couch, I knew that there was no way I was explaining myself in front of him. "Let's take a walk," I suggested, grabbing my little bag and gesturing towards the door.
Simone hesitated then gestured a little despairingly towards my rumpled, stained and skimpy outfit. "You want to go out like that?" She asked and I felt an unexpected grin spreading across my face.
"Yeah," I said boldly, "what the hell. I'm sure there's somebody out there who hasn't seen me making a fool of myself and it seems unfair that they should miss out on all the fun."
Of course, I thought some time later, I wouldn't have been quite so keen on making my bold statement if I'd remembered just how cold spring mornings were! Still, we walked briskly to keep warm; Simone all bouncy and bright eyed while I struggled along beside her in my inappropriate shoes and movement-restricting skirt.
In silent agreement we walked in the direction of my flat with me keeping up a non-stop narration all the way. It was totally a no-holds-barred type of situation and I laid it all out for Simone, my ugly behaviour and all. Good old cathartic effect! By the time we reached my building I felt a bit lighter, a bit more in control of the situation and I'd finally decided on my new plan for dealing with everything. Lay low.
That was it. I was going to concentrate on uni, I was going to see if I could get some more hours at work and, basically, apart from that, I was going to hide away in my empty flat until the world set itself to rights. A brilliant plan if I do say so myself.
With impeccable timing, I had just reached the end of my narration, culminating in turning up on Simone's doorstep that morning, as we reached the car park outside my building. Simone looked completely stunned when I stopped and turned to look at her.
"I had no idea," she murmured faintly. "I mean, when Micky told me what he'd seen and I put it together with everything I'd seen I just assumed you and Jack had got together naturally and nicely and, well, normally!"
"I wish," I muttered, but then I shook off the feeling of regret and stood tall. I had a plan now, I had nothing to fear. If I wasn't arguing or kissing anybody, I reasoned, the dreaded drama would have nothing on me.
"Nothing's simple," Simone said and she was spot on.
We stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. I realised, as I stood there shivering slightly on the asphalt, that as much as lies were bad the truth could be a real bitch as well. What was I supposed to say now in regards to Simone?
"Well I should get back," she said quietly, effectively solving my problem.
"OK." I managed to bite back a catty 'oh we don't want Micky to be left waiting' remark but I think she knew I'd thought it.
"I'll call you, alright?" She said moving forward and giving me a quick hug. "Take care."
"You too," I mumbled, feeling tears sting my eyes even though she was only going back to her home which was less than a five minutes drive from where I was standing. Cue nauseating comment on how, in emotional terms, she was much, much further away from me.
It seemed like she wanted to say more, but then she just turned around and hurried off leaving me wondering where it left us. Could I be cool with sharing her with Micky? More to the point, would Micky be cool with sharing her with me? I struggled momentarily to see if there was some way I had the moral high ground in the mess but realised that I too had broken that sacred rule known as chicks before dicks. I'd lied to her and ignored h
er to focus all my time and energy on Jack, there was no real way I could begrudge her doing the same.
Which is what I firmly told myself, but as I walked up the stairs to my empty apartment, I have to admit that there was some serious begrudging going on.
So Much to Learn Page 53