‘No not serious, just delicate. But I’d rather talk to you about it face to face.’
‘Okay,’ said Rachel, her curiosity piqued. ‘I’ve got to do some project work in the Russell Cotes Museum tomorrow after school, why don’t I meet you in their coffee shop at 4.30.’
‘Brilliant. Thank you so much. I’ll see you then.’
Rachel hung up. This was even more puzzling. What did Olivia want to see her about at such short notice? Rachel didn’t really even know her. She’d only met her once before at Lewis’ party. Today was getting stranger by the minute.
*
Olivia woke up early on Sunday morning, partly because she hadn’t been out partying the night before and partly because she wanted to do something useful after having a week that didn’t really add up to much. She decided that cooking breakfast for everyone would help make up for having been such a waste of space for the past seven days.
Scrambled eggs bubbled away on the stove while a battalion of toast stood to attention in a wire rack. There was also freshly cooked asparagus, orange juice and a huge pot of thick black coffee. The delicious aroma of it all soon drifted around the house. It worked better than any alarm clock; her mother and father were up soon afterwards, but the delights of Olivia’s breakfast had no effect on Lewis. After his attempt at being Edward had backfired spectacularly in the gardens, he’d decided that being asleep was the best way of blocking it all out.
Her parents tucked into the hearty breakfast Olivia placed in front of them. After coming back for seconds they felt that a long walk along the beach was needed to burn off all those calories. Olivia declined their offer to join them, deciding instead to stay at home and tidy up. As Olivia was clearing the dishes away she heard Lewis’ footsteps coming down the stairs. She was just about to throw the remains of the breakfast away.
‘Lewis, do you want some scrambled eggs?’ she said, with the plate hovering above the open bin. When she saw Lewis, the plate slipped out of her hands and smashed onto the tiles. It was the shock of the seeing his inflated blue and bruised nose. ‘What the hell happened to you?’
‘I got elbowed in the face.’ Lewis’ voice was quiet and small.
‘By who?’
‘By Rachel.’
‘By Rachel?’ Olivia said, noticing that Lewis wasn’t making eye contact with her.
‘What - did you attack her or something?’
‘Not exactly.’
‘You did something stupid, didn’t you?’
Lewis didn’t say anything.
‘You idiot,’ Olivia said, pushing him away from her. ‘Well, you’ll get no
sympathy from me.’ She turned and cleared up the mixture of broken china and
egg off the floor.
Lewis stood there, chastised by the silence of his sister. Sometimes she could be worse than his parents for making him feel guilty. It was probably the fact that she knew what he was really like, whereas they chose to overlook some of his more reckless antics. Olivia ignored Lewis and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to get dressed.
This was bad for Lewis because he needed to tell someone about last night. Lewis had to get things out of his system otherwise they would fester in his head and drive him crazy. He couldn’t tell his parents because they would flip out, while his friends would think the whole thing was just funny. So it was always Olivia he went to when he needed someone to talk to. Since they were young she’d been like his priest and he’d made many a confession to her. She would patiently listen, while he would tell her how he had fallen through a roof or woken up naked somewhere or stolen a bus. Lewis followed her up to the bedroom.
‘Come on, sis,’ he said.
‘I’m not listening,’ Olivia replied.
‘Please, I need to tell someone, otherwise I’ll go insane.’
‘I think you’re already there.’
‘You’re the only one I can talk to.’
‘Well find someone else. Now I need to get dressed.’
Olivia shut the door in his face. She had never been a selfish person and usually couldn’t resist anyone who asked for her help, even if it was her dumb brother. The door opened again, to Lewis’ relief.
‘Okay what happened?’
Lewis sat on his sister’s bed and recounted the events of Saturday night, including how he enlisted a gang of hoodies to do his dirty work. When he was finished Olivia stood up and looked out of the window.
‘Well, say something, then,’ Lewis demanded.
Olivia ignored him for a minute then turned around to face him.
‘Come here,’ she said in a soft voice. This was what Lewis needed, someone who understood him. As he got closer he put his arms out to hug her and she slapped him in the face. ‘You are not Edward Cullen! You are a prat!’ Olivia screamed in his face. ‘How could you do that to a girl, especially Rachel! You put her in danger just to make yourself look good. You’ve gone too far this time.’
Lewis didn’t react. He wanted to accept his punishment, even though one slap on the face didn’t really atone for what he did.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Lewis.
‘Why are you saying sorry to me? It’s Rachel you need to apologise to.’
‘If I told her what I did she’d never speak to me again.’
‘Quite right too.’
‘So what should I do?’
‘Stop pretending to be Edward.’
Lewis knew she was right, but he didn’t want to stop. His new image had imprinted itself on him now. Plus he liked the fact that people, mostly young girls, did double takes when they saw him. If he was honest, it was vanity stopping him from changing his appearance. Of course, he couldn’t say that to Olivia, she’d destroy such a weak argument in a second, so he came up with something else.
‘This was partly your idea anyway,’ Lewis said.
‘What!’
‘Yeah, you suggested that I should be more like Edward so I could attract Rachel.’
‘No I didn’t. I said find something in common so you’ve got something to talk about. I didn’t say start dressing up as a bloody vampire.’
‘I’m sure you did.’
‘I can see where you’re going with this, Lewis, and it won’t work.’
‘What won’t work?’
‘Trying to include me in the blame. You’ve done this since we were kids and I’m not having it. The trouble with you, Lewis, is you have an extreme personality. Everything you do, whether it’s drinking, girls or surfing, you have to take as far as it will go. How far are you going to take this? Are you going to start biting people next?’
‘Don’t be stupid, I’d never do that.’
‘Really? I remember when you started surfing. You said it was just for a laugh and then two months later you were in Hawaii trying to ride waves big enough to kill people. Where’s it going to end?’
‘Yeah but this is different.’
‘Why is it different?’
‘I’m doing this for Rachel. I want her to like me.’
‘Okay so if she likes you and starts going out with you, you’ll stop all this?’
There was a pause before Lewis answered. ‘Er, yeah,’ he said.
‘You’re lying. You had to think before you answered.’
‘No I’m not.’
‘Lewis you have to stop this or either you or Rachel is going to get really hurt. You’ll start thinking you’re invincible or something.’
‘Well if I do you can have me locked up.’
‘It’ll be too late by then.’
Chapter 17
*
Olivia walked out of the bedroom and left Lewis alone. She was really worried about him. He always did this to her and she was always there to pick up the pieces, but now she was getting tired of it. She wondered if she would be doing this for the rest of her life. If he carried on this vampire delusion she could imagine getting phone calls in the middle of the night, asking if she could come and pick him up. Probably because he woul
d be hitch-hiking to Forks and had got lost in the mountains, or had got arrested in Italy trying to track down the Volturi.
Her brother had always had an insane look in his eye, an unpredictable streak that made him do things no normal person would even consider. She remembered the first time she had experienced it. She was five and he was six, and they were walking along Poole Quay with their parents in February. Suddenly there was a scream and she had turned just in time to see Lewis jumping off the quayside with all his clothes on. Her dad had to jump in after him and pull him to safety. The arctic temperature of the water nearly killed both of them.
That was the first time Olivia had known real worry, and it had stuck with her ever since. Lewis wasn’t bothered about what he did, but Olivia was and she would always feel responsible for him. If he did something stupid, somehow she would always blame herself for not stopping it. Olivia grabbed her phone and left the house. She decided to go for a walk along the harbour to help her think. She purposely chose this side of Sandbanks so she wouldn’t bump into her parents. She didn’t want them to see she was worried, otherwise she’d have to start lying and making up explanations.
Olivia sat down on a bench and watched a girl learning to windsurf. Every time she pulled the sail upright she immediately toppled over like a fallen tree. Olivia watched this scene repeat itself about twenty times, until finally the fledgling windsurfer managed to keep the sail up for about three seconds and get the board going. It was enough to put a huge smile on the girl’s face. Olivia chuckled at how achieving something so simple could be so satisfying. Why couldn’t all of life be like that?
She pulled out her phone to see what the time was. It was only then she realised she’d picked up Lewis’ phone by accident. Her parents had bought them identical iphones last Christmas. She looked at the screen and saw that he had a missed call from Rachel. This gave Olivia an idea and she made a note of Rachel’s number.
*
Rachel had been afraid of the Russell Cotes Museum when she was a little girl. She’d thought ghosts and monsters lived in this sinister Victorian mansion with its sharp turrets and dark windows. She’d imagined them gliding through its drafty hallways and magnificent meeting rooms, plotting and scheming about how to entice their next victim in. Whenever the young Rachel had passed beneath its thick walls, her grip had always got a little tighter on her mum’s hand.
It was different now she was older. Rachel absolutely adored the place and always got a tingle of excitement every time she walked through its doors. It was a magical place, eccentrically decorated with stained glass ceilings, a bizarre indoor mosaic pond and the grandest of staircases that stretched out to all three floors. This gave way to its maze of rooms filled with the most fascinating objects gathered from around the world. From dusty sculptures of long-forgotten Victorian actors and vast Pre-Raphaelite paintings, to menacing Samurai suits of armour and golden Buddhas, the Russell Cotes was an Aladdin’s cave of wondrous curiosities from a more romantic era.
Rachel never tired of wandering through its galleries and rooms full of glass cases and strange objects; it was the main reason why she had chosen to do her art project here. Being given time off school just to sit and soak up its enchanting atmosphere while learning about its artefacts and artworks didn’t seem like work at all.
After spending a couple of hours making notes and sketching some of the large oil paintings housed in its oldest gallery, she made her way to the smart little coffee shop. Already waiting for her, was Olivia, immaculately dressed in something that made Rachel feel immediately insecure. Rachel needn’t have worried. Olivia’s natural smile put Rachel at ease.
Olivia stood up and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, something Rachel wasn’t used to. All she got from most of her friends was an ‘Alright’. Sitting on the table were two coffees and a plate of sandwiches and cakes arranged on doilies.
‘Rachel, it’s so nice to see you again. I’d forgotten how beautiful you are,’ Olivia said.
Her generous compliment made Rachel feel like she was being wrapped in a warm cosy blanket. She thought how she’d love to have Olivia as a proper friend.
‘That’s really kind of you. You look amazing too,’ said Rachel.
‘Thank you. Now come on, sit, eat and drink - you must be hungry after all that work.’
‘I am a little.’
‘Help yourself.’ Olivia held out both plates and Rachel took a cucumber sandwich and a Viennese whirl.
‘These are delicious,’ said Rachel with her mouth full.
‘I know. This place is great by the way. I’ve never been in here before. It’s incredible.’
‘I’ll show you around later if you like.’
‘I’d love that.’ Olivia paused before continuing. ‘I suppose you’re wondering why I wanted to meet you.’
‘Yes, I am a bit.’
‘I’ll get straight to the point. It’s about Lewis.’
‘Is he okay?’
‘Well, yes and no. I don’t want to interfere in his life, but I think I need to, and if I thought there was any way around this I would have taken it.’
‘What is it?’
‘First you have to promise not to tell him or anyone else about this conversation.’
‘Of course.’
‘Okay, here goes,’ Olivia said smiling, but Rachel saw there was nervousness behind it.
‘He really likes you and I mean really likes you. Now I know I’ve told you that before, but here’s the important bit. He’s changed since he met you. You’ve probably heard how he had a bit of a reputation and I can imagine that probably put you off.’
‘Yeah, you could say that,’ Rachel said, taking another bite.
‘Well, he’s not like that anymore. He only has eyes for you now. You’ve become his obsession. Whether you like him too, is none of my business and I’m not going to put you on the spot about that. What I do need is your help.’
‘What kind of help?’
‘When Lewis gets obsessed by something or someone, he’s like a dog with a bone. He won’t stop until he’s taken it as far as he can go. He started reading Twilight so that he had something in common with you, which was harmless enough. But then he started to take it further. He wanted to be like Edward Cullen because he thought that’s what you wanted. He got his haircut like him and started wearing the same sort of clothes, which I suppose is still all right. But he keeps taking it further and further. He’s got the car, the contact lenses …’
‘But that’s all right, isn’t? A bit geeky but it’s harmless, like people who dress up in Star Trek uniforms.’
‘Yeah, I suppose that’s true, but I know my brother. This is the thin end of the wedge. Soon he’ll start thinking that he is Edward Cullen and I’m afraid he’ll do something really stupid.’ Olivia started to say something else and then stopped, her mouth hung open for a second and closed.
Rachel wondered what it she had been going to say. Olivia shook her head very slightly as if she were disagreeing with herself. She was definitely holding something back. Then she continued:
‘The other day, he climbed to the top of one of the massive pine trees in our garden.’
‘Why did he do that?’
‘Because he’s starting to think he’s Edward, and this is just the beginning. I’m worried he might start picking fights with complete strangers, just to impress you.’
Fights kept cropping up everywhere recently. Rachel wondered what the hell was going on with everybody.
‘I’ve always had to look out for him,’ Olivia continued, ‘even though he’s older than me I sometimes feel like a third parent. You see, not many people know this, but me and Lewis are adopted.’ Olivia stared out of the window, looking like she regretted saying it.
‘Really? But you look so much like your dad.’
‘I know, everyone says that. It’s just a lucky coincidence, I guess. I love my parents to bits and they’ve given us both a wonderful life, but at the back of my m
ind I know they’re not my real family. Sometimes I feel that the only real family I’ve got is Lewis.’
The worry of it all started to get to her. Pools appeared in her eyes and a small tear headed towards her chin where she quickly dabbed it with a tissue.
‘Olivia, it’s okay,’ said Rachel, trying to comfort her. ‘I’ll help you any way I can. Just tell me what you want me to do.’
‘Really? That would be amazing. Are you sure you don’t mind?’
‘Course not. What do you want me to do?’
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