That's What Friends Are For

by Marcie Steele

Dan pressed her up against the wall.

  ‘No, this is wrong!’ She pushed him away, grabbed the boxes and began to walk quickly away.

  Cheeks burning, she made her way back to the safety of the stall. She was married. Good girls don’t say yes, do they?

  Chapter Four

  ‘About time,’ Louise cried, as Sam arrived back at the stall feeling all hot and flustered. ‘We’ve been rushed off our feet. Where have you been?’

  ‘Sorry!’ Sam practically shouted. ‘I couldn’t find what I was looking for.’

  ‘Dan came by about ten minutes ago asking after you.’ Louise lowered her voice as she weighed out a kilo of apples for a young woman.

  ‘I never saw him!’ Sam practically shouted.

  Louise quickly finished serving and turned back to her with a frown. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing!’ She handed a box of bags to Louise. ‘Pop these behind the counter, will you?’

  Sam sought refuge in the staff room while she tried desperately to control her reddening skin. But every time she thought about what she’d done, it caused her to blush even more. Had she really kissed another man? She ran a fingertip over her lips. At first, Dan’s lips had barely touched hers, as if he knew how anxious she was at the thought of what it might lead to. Then she remembered his lips moving lower, his tongue…she fanned her face with her hand. She was blushing again!

  ‘Coffee?’ She held the kettle in front of her face as Louise walked in, hoping she wouldn’t notice her rosy cheeks.

  ‘Yes, thanks, I could murder one.’ Louise nodded gratefully. ‘There’s no one waiting to be served at the moment, and Nicci’s out there anyway. I’ll watch through the door while the kettle boils.’

  Sam turned her back and busied herself adding coffee to their favourite mugs.

  ‘Come on, spit it out,’ Louise said eventually when Sam wasn’t forthcoming with any chat. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’re blushing the colour of a tomato.’

  ‘It’s just hot in here.’ Sam turned to her and rolled her eyes.

  But Louise wasn’t giving in. She folded her arms and stared at Sam.

  Sam bit her lip before speaking again. ‘Dan Wilshaw came to find me in the store room and he— he kissed me.’

  ‘No!’ Louise covered her mouth with her hand. ‘What did you do?’

  Sam grimaced. ‘I kind of kissed him back.’

  Louise gasped this time.

  ‘Don’t make a big fuss about it,’ Sam begged her. ‘It was only a kiss.’

  ‘Only a kiss?’ Louise glanced to see if Nicci needed any help and turned back to Sam when she didn’t. ‘Don’t you realise that kissing a man can be more intimate than sleeping with him?’

  ‘You must have read that somewhere.’ Sam batted the comment away with her hand. ‘It was just a kiss and it won’t happen again. I told him to—’

  ‘Sa-am,’ said Louise. ‘Sam! Look at me. No, actually, look at you! Your eyes are shining and you’re virtually hyperventilating. Tell me what happened.’

  ‘I don’t really remember,’ Sam said truthfully. ‘One minute I was talking to him and the next he had me pushed up against the wall kissing me with a passion. Honestly, Louise, he’s made me feel better than I remember feeling for a long time.’

  The look on Louise’s face was comical. Her best friend seemed as if she didn’t know whether to shout at her or give her a high five.

  ‘What happened after he kissed you?’ Louise asked, pushing the door shut when she saw Nicci approaching.

  ‘He kissed me again and I was all in the moment. If Mike hadn’t interrupted us, I don’t know what would have happened.’

  ‘Where’s my coffee?’ Nicci asked as she pushed open the door and joined them. ‘I’m gagging for a brew.’ She looked at the glances shooting between Sam and Louise. ‘What have I missed?’

  ‘Dan Wilshaw just kissed Sam!’

  ‘Louise!’ Sam sounded distraught.

  ‘Well, that’s what happened, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, but I don’t want everyone to know.’

  ‘I don’t know how you can take the moral high ground after you slept with Rob Masters again,’ Nicci remarked in Sam’s defence.

  ‘Thanks, Nicci,’ said Sam, ‘but Louise is right. I shouldn’t have kissed him back.’

  ‘No, you shouldn’t have.’ Louise paused. ‘But spill the beans. Was he good?’

  ‘Jeez, I’m in the middle of a crisis and all you want to know is if he’s a good kisser?’

  ‘Well—’

  Sam handed a mug to Nicci who took it gratefully. ‘It was exciting and dangerous ... unlike everything else in my life,’ she sighed. ‘But it was so wrong. I shouldn’t have done it.’

  ‘I thought things were all right between you and Reece,’ said Louise.

  Sam still hadn’t told anyone that Reece had left for Germany, and there was obviously no point in saying it right then either. Somehow she thought they might not believe her, that she might just be saying it as an excuse.

  Instead, she just babbled, ‘I don’t know what came over me, okay? Dan just appeared out of nowhere and the next minute he pushed me up against the wall and kissed me. I didn’t know he was going to show up. It wasn’t as if I planned it to happen.’

  Nicci headed back into the stall when she saw two women with full baskets.

  ‘But you wanted it to?’ probed Louise.

  Her words hung in the air for a few moments. Sam could hardly breathe, let alone speak.

  Louise stared at her before following Nicci, as several customers approached the store at once.

  Sam grabbed her elbow. ‘This goes no further than the three of us,’ she pleaded with her friend. ‘I don’t know what to do right now, okay?’

  Louise shrugged. ‘Not my place to say anything.’

  ‘You told Nicci!’

  ‘That was different.’

  Left with her thoughts as they went back to work, Sam struggled to think about anything but the touch of Dan’s lips to her own. Feelings of guilt, exhilaration and yes, a little bit of lust, combined to make her feel utterly confused.

  What was happening to her? And more to the point, what would happen to her and Reece if she let it continue?

  That evening, Charley Pellington couldn’t get Sex off her mind. Yes, sex with a capital S. Her iPod playing One Direction, she lay on her bed, swinging her feet backwards and forwards, trying to concentrate on the magazine article she was reading.

  After bunking off today, she wondered whether it would be wise to stay off tomorrow as well, following the numerous texts and direct messages she’d received. She knew that she’d be taunted by everyone, but most of the time it didn’t last long. In her school, there would always be something more scandalous happening that everyone would turn their attention to.

  But Charley hated being the source of a rumour. Her Facebook account had a stream of comments on it. Some of her friends wanted to know if what Aaron was talking about was true. Some of them – especially the boys – wanted more details of what had happened. Some of the girls she didn’t know so well took the opportunity to call her names.

  She wrote a message on Aaron’s wall, asking why he had lied, knowing that everyone would see his reply. But, so far, he hadn’t answered it.

  Maybe it would be worse because she hadn’t gone to school today. By this time, the rumour mill would be that she’d more than likely had sex with Aaron five times, given him oral sex twice, hung from the living room lights and been taken over the kitchen table afterwards before jumping into her mum’s bed for a final fling.

  One thing was certain though. Aaron Smithson was the same as the rest of them. Charley cursed Sophie - she’d felt the need to broadcast their pact to the world, so that every boy in the school now wanted to try their luck with the two of them. It wasn’t as if they were the only female virgins in their year. If truth be known, Charley reckoned most of the girls were all talk. There
were the odd ones who she was sure were working their way through the boy’s surnames in alphabetical order, so frequent were their escapades, but really they were far and few between.

  Charley’s feet stopped swinging for a moment as she was paralysed with fear. That would be her worst nightmare. There was no way she wanted to end up like her mum, pregnant with her at eighteen. Still, there was no chance of that – unless you listened to Aaron’s side of things.

  It wasn’t just her feeling the pressure. Sophie had been getting her fair share of groping too. But no one had started a rumour about her. Charley knew it was because Sophie’s mum wasn’t like hers. Loose Louise, that’s what everyone called her at school. That’s what the nasty texts said.

  ‘Like motha, like dghtr.’

  ‘Fancy repeating it with me?’

  ‘I ear u giv head now. Want 2 do it 2 me?’

  ‘You’re just like your mum, Loose Louise.’

  She wasn’t like her mum at all, but no one now would think that.

  Most of the text messages had stopped now, but the WhatsApp messages had started instead. Longer messages, disgusting messages. Charley deleted them as they came in. Mum would go mad if she saw any of them. They were hurtful and spiteful but, in a way she wanted her to see them too. It was all Louise’s fault that she got teased.

  A message came in from Aaron. She opened that one. It read:

  ‘Soz, Charl, didn’t no it wud get this bad for u but can’t bak down now.’

  Charley deleted that one too. As if that would make things better. Aaron didn’t have to live with all the name calling. She bet his mates probably thought he was a super stud. Idiot.

  She flipped open her laptop and logged into Facebook to see if Alex was online. Over the past few weeks, she’d found she could always talk things through with him, even though she wouldn’t talk about this in detail. But then again, he would see all the comments left about her.

  CP: Hey.

  AL: Hey, I’ve just come online. How are you?

  CP: Not good. I’ve had a rumour started about me today and I wanted to let you know that it isn’t true.

  AL: Oh? What about?

  Charley paused for a moment. If he saw her page, he would know, so she might as well be honest.

  CP: Some boy at school says that I did stuff with him, but I didn’t. He sent messages to a few kids in my year and they’ve been calling me names.

  AL: Idiot! What did he do that for?

  CP: I don’t know – attention, I guess?

  AL: I wish I was there. I’d be able to reassure you.

  CP: Thanks, but I’m okay. Just wanted to tell you, that’s all.

  They moved on to general chit-chat for a few minutes and then said goodbye. Charley checked out her page again and sighed. She logged off after reading a few more comments.

  She wished she had Sophie to talk to but she’d gone off in a huff because, according to her, all Charley wanted to do was sit and mope rather than get out there and face it head on. The more she hid away, Sophie argued, the more people would believe Aaron. Charley knew she was right, but instead she’d given her the silent treatment and Sophie had eventually stormed off, saying she’d be round in the morning to drag her through the school gates if she had to.

  Her eyes filled with tears. Why did it have to be her that everyone was talking about?

  ‘Charley!’

  Charley pulled her earphones out as her mother nudged her.

  ‘I’ve been shouting you for ages!’ Louise put a mug of tea down onto the bedside cabinet. ‘Do you want some toast?’

  ‘No thanks.’ Charley pretended to flick through her magazine, hoping that she’d go away.

  But Louise sat down beside her. ‘Are you okay, Charl? You seem pretty quiet tonight. Have you fallen out with Sophie?’

  There was no way Charley would share what was happening with her mother. So she nodded. In a way it was true.

  ‘What was it about this time?’

  Charley flicked another page of her magazine over. ‘Nothing, really.’

  Louise sighed. ‘Well, that’s alright then,’ she said. ‘You’ll be friends again tomorrow, knowing you two. Especially if it’s over nothing. You’ll see.’

  Charley turned another page, praying that her mum wouldn’t see the tears running down her cheeks. She tried to wipe at them discreetly.

  But Louise did notice. ‘What’s the matter? I don’t like to see you like this.’

  Charley said nothing. Maybe if she didn’t look at her, she would go away and leave her alone.

  ‘Charl?’ Louise rested her hand tentatively on her daughter’s shoulder.

  ‘Leave me alone.’ Charley pushed it away. ‘I’m okay.’

  ‘I’m only trying to help!’ Louise sounded hurt. ‘Why won’t you talk to me?’

  ‘Because I don’t want to.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Can’t I have any peace?’ Charley pushed herself up and ran from the room. She found sanctuary in the bathroom and sat down on the side of the bath. As she looked around at the peeling wallpaper above the white tiles and the make-up and body lotions lined up untidily on the rickety shelf, she wished she didn’t have to go to school any more. If she didn’t have to face all those losers, everything would be much better.

  Not for the first time, Charley wished her life away. She couldn’t wait until she was older and could fend for herself, earning her own money. Then she’d move out and get her own place. Somewhere she could be by herself whenever she felt the need. Somewhere she could cry in peace and not have to explain how she was feeling. Somewhere she could be whoever she wanted to be.

  She heard her mum shout her name again and decided to run a bath. She’d stay in here all night if she had to, rather than discuss it with Loose Louise.

  Nicci was sitting in the kitchen with Jay, eating dinner. Jay had been working overtime and had called at the chippie for speed.

  ‘Dad rang me this afternoon,’ he said, after the food had been dished out and they were sitting at the table. ‘He says they’re struggling for room now that Jess is staying over. I said she could stay here for a while. That’s okay, isn’t it?’

  Nicci turned to him with wide eyes that showed it clearly wasn’t. ‘What?’

  ‘It’s only for a few weeks.’

  Nicci watched as he fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair, purposely not catching her eye. She waited until he looked up. ‘For God’s sake, Jay, we’re a team! You should have discussed this with me before saying yes.’

  ‘But you would have said no.’

  ‘Too damn right. Jess is nothing but trouble.’

  ‘She’s not that bad.’

  ‘Well.’ Nicci scraped her chair on the floor in her haste to get up. She shoved it noisily back under the table and leaned on it. ‘You can bloody well tell her that she can’t stay here.’

  ‘I only did it to help Mum and Dad out,’ Jay protested.

  ‘I don’t want her here. She’ll cause an atmosphere.’

  ‘Don’t be so dramatic, Nic. She’s my little sister. I can’t turn her away.’

  Nicci sighed. If she didn’t love him so much, she would murder him on the spot. Jason Worthington was a gullible fool but he only did things like that because he had a heart of gold. They’d been a couple for three years now and had lived together for the last twelve months. They’d bought a town house just around the corner from her parents and a few streets away from Louise. For Nicci it was the closest she could get to wedded bliss – but she still wanted the marriage ceremony. She’d been waiting ages for Jay to pop the question but so far, all her hinting had been in vain.

  She watched as he finished his meal. There was a nine year age gap between them but you wouldn’t think it. Jay looked quite a few years younger than his age of thirty-six. An old rocker at heart, so far he’d aged with distinction. His skin tone was rich, his eyes dark, his nose prominent. Brown, layered hair hung down to his shoulders with a longish fringe that she loved to pus
h away from his eyes. Playing football twice a week and cycling at weekends ensured he’d kept the same trim shape he’d had when she’d first started to date him.

  Jay gazed back with a puppy-dog expression. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be such a big issue. I’ll ring her and let her know.’

  ‘Why do you have to be such a nice guy?’ Nicci shook her head. ‘Okay, she can come and stay,’ she relented. ‘But I’m doing it for you – and not your sister.’

  Louise sat on the edge of Charley’s bed, wondering what to do. She tried to put herself in her daughter’s position. Could she remember what it was like at fifteen with hormones determining your every move? She knew she’d been a handful for her parents, and although Ryan had often taken advantage of this by getting away with murder while she took up their attention, poor Nicci had always got the full edge of their wrath.

  It wasn’t unusual for Charley to stay in but usually Sophie would be here too. Louise hoped they’d make up tomorrow. In so many ways, they reminded her of when she and Sam were younger and thick as thieves. When they had shared dreams of double weddings and having babies at the same time. How far from the dream were they now?

  But she knew that if she hadn’t had Sam to confide in, things could have been much worse for her. Sam had been her saviour throughout her life. She’d got her through a bad marriage, a divorce, and she was always there to look out for her and Charley. Yet even their strong friendship had been threatened by her secrecy. She remembered the accusations when she’d found out she was pregnant and refused to tell anyone the father’s name.

  She recalled the tears when Charley had been born. Sam had been there at the birth, holding her hand, tears pouring down her face as she watched Charley emerge into the world. In a way, they were just kids themselves, yet Sam had been her rock, stepping into the role of big sister as well as best friend.

  But, even though Sam had been hurt, and angry, when she’d refused to tell her who Charley’s father was, how could she have shared that information? She would have lost Sam’s friendship, and she wasn’t sure she would have coped without her.