Shiver Sweet

by H Elliston

  “See ya.”

  I dropped my phone into my handbag and made my way into the kitchen. Nicola was chatting to Dave, whose arms were tightly wrapped around her waist. Ooh, things have stepped up.

  Nicola spotted us, her eyes crinkled and sparkled. She looked lovely in a navy, belted jumpsuit. She wore just enough makeup to accentuate her eyes, and her hair flowed loose around her shoulders with a single plait across her fringe. “Hey there, stranger.” Sarah ran over and cuddled her. Nicola grabbed her chin and teasingly squeezed. “Ooh... I missed you.” She glanced across to me and mouthed, ‘you too. A lot.’

  Smiling, I set my handbag on a worktop and wandered over to fill the kettle. “What you up to?”

  “Well.” Nicola winked at Sarah. “Figured celebrating your mum’s birthday was way overdue. Wanna help me decorate this cake?” She lowered her voice and said with a giggle, “Dave’s not really any good at this stuff.”

  I grinned at him. “Makes two of us.”

  He smiled. “How you doing?”

  “Better. Thanks. Pleased to be home.” I set the kettle to boil.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Nicola grabbed a bottle of bubbly, poured a glass and handed it to me.

  I frowned. “Can you afford this?”

  A smirk played on her lips. “It’s just cheap fizz. Probably tastes of vinegar and soap, but we can pretend, right?”

  I nodded and sipped it. Hmmm... probably tastes better on the second glass.

  Sarah went to the sink to wash her hands.

  “Good girl,” Nicola said.

  The doorbell rang. I turned and flinched.

  Dave walked past me and touched my shoulder. “Relax. I’ll get it.” He left the room.

  Nicola shook icing sugar into a bowl. “I invited a few people.”

  “Who?”

  “You’ll see.” She dropped a few nobs of butter in and let Sarah mix it.

  “Come here,” I said, and pulled Nicola into a hug. “God, I’ve missed you. How you feeling?”

  “Like I’ve been on a spin cycle in a washing machine.”

  “Get your tooth fixed?”

  “Nah. I’d need an implant. It’s a back one so no one will see it’s missing. Oh, God, I’m just happy to be alive and at home again.”

  “Me too,” I whispered into her hair. “And it is, you know, your home too, for as long as you want. I meant every word.”

  Footsteps tapped into the kitchen.

  “Look who I found,” Dave said.

  I released Nicola and gaped, speechless. My cousin Brad entered the kitchen saying hello, followed by... oh, God, it was Brian.

  “Did you invite him?” I whispered to Nicola.

  “Yes.”

  Wha-t?

  I drew level with her. “But I thought you wanted to rip his head off.”

  “For dumping you? Yeah, I did. But that was before.”

  “Before what?”

  “I was wrong. You should talk to him.”

  Brian was silent at first. We exchanged smiles in an awkward, don’t-hold-eye-contact way.

  “You still like him, right?” Nicola whispered.

  “No.” Of course I did. But too much had bludgeoned cracks into my romantic thoughts. I’d gotten over him once, I could do it again.

  As I stepped away from Nicola, he unzipped his coat and waggled his mobile phone at me. “Anytime now,” he said, as I realised he meant the paternity results.

  A cough bust out of my throat. Oh, crikey.

  “Nicola invited me, and Brad drove. I hope that’s okay.”

  I nodded and gulped. “Y-yeah. Of course.” I’d expected him to message me, not turn up. What the heck was Nicola thinking?

  “Thought you’d want us to be together when we get the-” He mouthed the word ‘results.’

  Of course. I coughed and glanced away. “Absolutely.” Oh, crikey. Mixed emotions surged through me. I wanted him here, yet didn’t. Why is life so freakin’ complicated?

  “You okay?” Brad asked, rubbing my back.

  I prodded him. “You could have told me you were coming round here.”

  He laughed. “Couldn’t resist the surprise. Nicola invited me.” He glanced her way, winked and smiled.

  Yes. He definitely had a thing for her. I frowned, hoping Dave hadn’t seen.

  “And she asked me to pick Brian up. He’s not meant to drive yet.”

  “Of course.” I noticed Brian staring at me from the corner of his eye as he removed his coat and straightened his black t-shirt. The bandage over his bullet wound covered a large part of his bicep. I wondered if it was still sore. “It seems she sent out a whole load of invites,” I mumbled. The last time I saw Brian was in the hospital five days ago when we’d agreed to do a DNA test. Sarah roughly knew what it was for when we swabbed the inside of her cheek, but I’d tried to deflect it. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Brian could be her dad, didn’t want to get her hopes up in case it came back as ‘no match’.

  “Thanks for clearing my house up this morning,” I said to Brad. “I really appreciate it.”

  “Anything for my favourite cousin.”

  I moved away from him and sunk back into thought. Brian’s knowing many influencial people certainly came in handy this week. However he managed it, the lab put a rush job on the test and agreed to email him the results rather than make us wait another day for them to arrive by post.

  We didn’t really talk about anything in depth when I visited him at hospital, on account of Sarah being with me. And I had no idea how to act around him. I’d be eternally grateful for Brian taking a bullet for me, but... but he’d broken up with me by text, and got it on with Claire the evening she decided she wanted me dead. I didn’t know how I felt. Hurt and disappointment were somewhere in the mix. Beneath this still flickered a longing for him.

  I took a deep breath and played with a strand of hair. Like he’d said to Claire, we were like siblings. Yes, that’s how I had to deal with this. Treat him like a brother; close, but platonic. He’d been confused because he wanted to be a bigger part of Sarah’s life, and saw me as the gatekeeper. Determined, for Sarah’s sake, to reform some civility, and regardless of the emotional judge and jury in my head, I met his eyes and forced myself to smile. “How’s your arm?”

  He flexed it. “On the mend. Thanks. How have you been?”

  “Pretty good, you know... considering.”

  His lips pressed into a line of understanding. “Yeah. Just wish I could have...”

  I half-smiled and glanced away, struggling to hold eye contact.

  Nicola handed glasses of bubbly out, then raised hers. “Okay guys. So let’s make a toast to John, a fresh start, to coming home, and to hopefully...” She grinned at me.

  I stiffened and mouthed, ‘Don’t say it.’ Jeez, don’t mention the test.

  She pointed her glass at me and jutted her chin up. “And I was about to say, happy belated birthday, Christa.”

  My shoulders relaxed. She’s a tease. I laughed.

  “What’s funny, mum?”

  “Nothing. I’m just happy to be home.”

  “Here, here,” Brad said, clinking his glass to Brian’s and Dave’s.

  I raised mine, then took a big gulp of tart bubbles. I walked forward and shoulder-bumped Nicola. “Any other little surprises in store?”

  Her smile vanished and a frown creased her face. “The guy who set the website up is still out there,” she whispered.

  “I know, I know. The cops will catch him.”

  “So I figured...”

  I nodded. “You did the right thing. I have to admit I feel safer with people around.” I beckoned her over to the sink.

  She leaned into me. “Do you know something new?”

  “The police said Dale and Claire, whose real name is Rachel, aren’t talking, and the other men are swearing blind they don’t know who this guy is, but the cops know they’re covering up for him.”

  “So he’s the money man and brai
ns, rather than the muscle man, right?”

  “Yes. I was gonna tell you yesterday but-“

  “I know. Bad phone reception. They’ll want to keep him sweet for when they get out.”

  “The police found the website through Sarah’s laptop, as you know, and said there were about sixty houses being filmed and nearly a thousand subscribers from all over the world.”

  “That freakin’ many?”

  “Yes. Those people must be mortified to learn they were being filmed.”

  “So they’ve shut the site down?”

  I nodded.

  “Good.” Nicola shuddered and hugged herself. “I’d feel so much safer if they found this guy.”

  I remembered Nicola telling me several days ago, that she had a fan, a fan who managed to stop the men killing her during the first attack. When we were tied up in the bedroom, I did not get the impression that any of those men had a crush on her. “Do you think this guy is the one who has a thing for you? You know, your fan?”

  She bit her lip, tears brimmed her eyes. “Can we talk about something else? I just... I.”

  I nodded. I understood. “Sure.”

  I turned around, dipped my finger into the icing bowl and licked it.

  “Mum,” Sarah said, playfully slapping my hand. “You have to wait.”

  “But it’s delicious.” I sucked my finger clean and noticed Brian smirking at me.

  Dave kissed Nicola, walked over to Brian, and fell into conversation.

  Nicola sprinkled some cocoa powder into the icing. “Can’t beat a triple chocolate cake, right?”

  Sarah smiled and continued stirring the wooden spoon around the bowl.

  “You’ve got some birthday cards to open, Christa,” Nicola said.

  “Oh, really?”

  “Over there.” She pointed to a stack of envelopes atop magazines near the microwave.

  I reached over and opened a couple.

  “You know,” she whispered, while topping up my glass. “You really should talk to Brian.”

  “I have.”

  “No. I mean really talk.”

  I put the cards down and shook my head. My heart punched at the thought. “I thought you hated him.”

  “Like I said, that was before.”

  I didn’t know what to say to him, but knew we had to erase the awkwardness.

  The doorbell rang and I sighed, hoping I was saved from Nicola.

  “I’ll get it,” Brad said.

  No such luck.

  Nicola nodded toward Brian then whispered in my ear. “He can’t keep his eyes off you.”

  “Shush, will ya?” I gritted my teeth, felt heat rush to my cheeks.

  “Look, I spoke to him in the hospital and we got a few things straightened out,” Nicola said, her soft breath tickling my ear. “That thing with Claire... well, just think about it. He’d had your dead husband strapped to his car, rumours flying around town, and when he saw the website...” She pulled away and pursed her lips.

  “Yeah, so... it still happened. He wasn’t over her. I was just a moment of confusion.”

  “You weren’t.”

  “You’ve changed your tune.” A few days ago, she hated him.

  “Hear me out, will you? I’m just saying, the poor guy wouldn’t have known which way was left, right, up or down after that lot. Jeez! Even I’d have tried it on with Claire after going through that. But you have to know, it really was just a fumble, they didn’t have sex.”

  “But the text message.”

  “I tried to tell you before when the bloody phone cut off.” She squeezed my shoulder. “I was wrong. Claire stole his mobile. The police found it in the glove compartment of her car. Claire sent you that ‘rewind’ text, not Brian.”

  I frowned. “Really? He didn’t mention anything in the hospital.”

  “He didn’t know. Not until later. Don’t you see? Brian didn’t break up with you at all. He still wants you. But he thinks you’ve gone off him after the way he acted with Claire in Sarah’s room. It sickened him to tell her he loved her, but he only said it to save you.”

  My skin tingled. I knew he’d said those things because she had a gun on me, but despite the text, he’d also acknowledged they’d been together that evening. “Ummm... Are you sure about this?” Jeez. What other lies and poison have seeped into my brain?

  Nicola’s mouth widened to a white-toothed smile. She was right, no gap visible. “Hell yes.”

  I glanced away. Perhaps things had gone too far for us to go back, or mend anything now.

  “Oi,” Nicola said, then gave me a sharp eye. “Are you gonna do something about this, or do I have to intervene and bang your stubborn heads together? I’m not spending another decade watching you two pine for each other.”

  I played with my necklace, the one Sarah had threaded by hand for my birthday. “I feel like a complete fool. I believed that text, believed Steph... If I’d had any doubt, I’d have done a DNA test years ago, but I believed her. I really did. She was a nurse and a friend. She knew all about conception and I saw no reason for her to lie to me.”

  “Exactly. You had no reason to doubt her.”

  “And if Brian is Sarah’s dad, then Michael died for nothing.”

  Nicola put her glass down. She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the patio doors away from everyone. “Claire’s a bloody lunatic,” she said, still keeping her voice low. “If you don’t sort things out with Brian, then Claire still kind of wins. And as for Steph, well, I’m sure you’re not the only person in the world who’s been confused about the father of their child. You were a distraught, pregnant sixteen year old who believed a person who was older, supposedly wiser, and a nurse who you thought was on your side. And it’s not your fault that Michael died. How could you have known he’d react that way to the news?”

  “I wish I could have known.”

  “You can’t change the past. But you can do something about your future.” She bit her lip in delight. “I just hope we get the result we want.”

  I glanced at Brian from the corner of my eye. “If we do, Brian’s going to hate me.”

  She stroked my hair. “No. He’ll blame Steph. You were just young and naive.”

  I nibbled my fingernails. The wait had my stomach and heart in sickening loops and knots. “Brian texted earlier and said we’d get the results...” I glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Anytime now.”

  “I know. That’s one of the reasons I invited him. One. This would be the best news ever.” Nicola squealed with excitement, then put her hand over her mouth. “Oops. Sorry. But, this is unreal. All this time Sarah thought her dad was dead and... he could be right here, in this room.”

  I raised a finger to my lips. “Shush. Please. Sarah’s been through enough, I don’t want to get her hopes up.”

  Nicola nodded. “No problem. But... come on. Can’t you feel it?”

  I twisted my lips to keep from smiling. Yes, something warm on the verge of exploding in my belly told me that Brian was indeed Sarah’s dad. Although Steph had admitted to Brian what she’d done, we had to be sure.

  Brad re-entered the Kitchen. “Christa, you’ve got a visitor.”

  I swung around, saw Harry walking in behind him. “Hi.”

  “Listen, I... er... I saw you’d come back home and just wanted to check you were okay.” He nodded hello to everyone and handed me a shiny bottle bag.

  I took it and looked at a posh arty bottle of chilli oil inside. “Thanks. That’s very kind.”

  “Just a little something for your birthday.” He rubbed his chin and waved his hand about his face. “I can see it’s a bad time. You have guests. I’ll leave you to it.” He turned to face the door.

  “Any good at making sandwiches?” Nicola asked.

  He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “BLT’s, but the bacon needs to be crispy.”

  “Now you’re talking,” Dave said, licking his lips.

  Nicola threw Harry a loaf of bread. “I hope you like che
ap bubbly.”

  Harry smiled and approached her. “My favourite.”

  “Good. The more of us the merrier, ‘cos a few laughs ‘n’ smiles are long overdue in this house, right Sarah?”

  She nodded.

  A phone beeped. Brian pulled his mobile out of his pocket, stared and gasped.

  A blanket of silence came over the room.

  Brian shot me a stunned look. Nicola dropped a sieve on the bench and Brad froze, gaping.

  Oh, Jesus. My knees went weak. “Is it the...?”

  He nodded. “The email’s here.”

  I downed a gulp of my drink. Then another.

  “Hey,” Nicola said, clicking her fingers for my attention, breaking the stillness. “We’ve got this cake to finish up and... Why don’t you step out.” She made a secretive face while Sarah wasn’t looking, and cocked her head toward the hall. “Give us half an hour so you don’t spoil your birthday surprise.”

  “I ... er...”

  “Go on, mum,” Sarah said, happily playing along unawares.

  Nicola’s eyes glittered with excitement. She looked at me and mouthed, ‘It’s the results?’

  I bit my lip and nodded.

  Looking fit to burst, she came from around the bench, thrust the pile of birthday cards into my hand, then shooed me into the hall. “Hey, Brian, go with her. Make sure she doesn’t sneak in until we’re done.”

  “Er, sure.” He slipped the phone in his pocket, gave Sarah a lingering kiss on her head, then followed me into the hall.

  “Hey, Christa,” Nicola said.

  I turned around.

  “Remember what you said to me the other day about currency... love, loyalty and all that.”

  I nodded, remembering when I’d tried to lift her spirits so we could escape from Sarah’s room.

  “Well, look around you girl, no matter what’s on... that,” She nodded toward Sarah, Brian... everyone in the room that was here to support us. “You’re a millionaire.”

  I smiled and walked down the hall next to Brian. “Are you sure that text is the...?” I couldn’t finish.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know?”

  “I don’t dare look.”

  I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

  CHAPTER 33

  CHRISTA