“Right, Beth; there are only two things you can do with this. One, ignore that it ever happened and hope that she sorts it out, or two, confront her about it. However, the last one leaves you open to another fight.”
“Right, and that’s all that you can come up with?”
“Well, what did you expect?”
“Meg, seriously, I could have thought of that. I thought you would’ve given me something to work with.”
“Look, what else can you do?” I had no answer. “Exactly,” she continued, “nothing. If you can’t leave it then just bite the bullet and have it out with her. It is just that simple. I’m sorry if that hasn’t helped. There’s nothing else I can say. You know me, Beth, I’m a straight talker.”
“No, you’re right. I’ll just have to go ’round, and ask her directly. Thanks, Meg. I’ll ring you later to tell you how it went.”
I replaced the phone in its base and went to get ready. Another thing was I had to talk to Jason. I decided to do that first. However, I wasn’t going to tell him about Sam and the mystery man.
Ringing Jason’s doorbell, I had made a decisive decision to play this calmly. In my eyes, I wasn’t the one in the wrong, here. I could feel pain boring into the side of my head. This was going to be a crap day. One mess after another.
The door opened and there stood his mother. Looking as sullen as ever.
“Hi, is Jason here?” I smiled sweetly.
His mother looked exasperated. “Come on in.” She moved to the left to allow space for me to slide in. “You can wait in the living room, if you want.” I thanked her and went to sit down. Thankfully, nobody sat in there. I relaxed a little.
After what felt like forever, I heard movement. Jason walked in. Looking at his face, I couldn’t tell how this was going to go. I stood up.
“Hi. I rang you this morning. Did you get the message?”
“Yes.”
“So you know that I’m sorry?”
“So you said.” I nodded and kept my answers short. I wanted to see if he could pick up that I still wasn’t happy with him.
“So are we good?”
“You think that apology was good enough, do you?” He didn’t reply. “I mean, I can remember that I said sorry last night to you. Quite a few times, actually. You were determined not to accept any of them, if I recollect.”
“Look, I am sorry. I was just really mad at your sister, that’s all. She was being unbelievably rude to Mum.”
“For which she has told me to say sorry.”
“OK. Apology accepted. Now will you acknowledge mine?”
I couldn’t think of a good enough excuse not to, which annoyed me a bit, as he hadn’t suffered enough, in my book.
“Yes, but you keep doing this and one day, the answer will be no. Got it, Jason?”
He moved towards me with a grin on his face from ear to ear, and kissed me, moving his arms around my middle.
“Yes, beautiful.”
“Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tonight though, maybe.”
At first ,Jason looked shocked. Then something seemed to go through his mind and his mouth turned into a smile.
“Yeah, OK.”
I kissed him quickly on the cheek, rushed out of the door and got into the car. I had to put the shade down, as the sun was shining hard through the windscreen. It didn’t do much, though, so I took my sunglasses out of my bag and drove off.
I drove around for a little while first, thinking about how I should begin when I saw Sam. I knew that she was ’round Mum and Dad’s, so I was toying with the idea to take her out somewhere. The weather was nice and I was thinking going for a drink, I’d tell her. To soften the blow.
I really hadn’t got a clue how to start the conversation that I was about to have. For that matter, I didn’t know the middle and end, either. Coming ’round the corner, the house was now in sight. My stomach was doing somersaults.
I turned the key in the door and let myself in. As I walked towards the living room, I could hear voices. Taking a rather large breath, I walked in.
Everyone looked around at me, and Mum smiled.
“Hello, love. This is a nice surprise.”
I smiled back and nodded my head. It felt as though I had a brick lodged in my chest. I sat down and waited for the right moment. Mum brought me in a cup of tea and placed it next to me on the oak table.
I took the cup and gulped it down, burning my tongue.
“Wow! Shit, that hurt!”
Sam looked over at me. “What did you do?”
“Burnt my mouth. It’s a bit hot, still.”
“Yup.” She smiled, but there was something behind it. I couldn’t work out what it was. She didn’t seem herself. I put my finger on it, suddenly; she was feeling guilty.
I had a foot in both parks. On one hand, I loved my sister and I was behind her all the way, but on the other, I really needed to be with Russell. I felt like screaming. Mum was still out of the room, so I took this as my cue.
“Sam, do you want to go out for a drive with me?”
She looked at me with curiosity. “Why?”
I cleared my throat. “I need to talk to you.”
Sam began to fiddle with the silver necklace around her neck. She looked nervous.
“What about?”
“I can’t tell you here.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow, Beth?”
“No, not really. Please, Sam.”
Sam sighed and nodded in agreement. We got up, I made our excuses and we left.
Driving on a duel carriageway, I was considering where to go. My mind was swimming and I couldn’t think straight.
“Beth, where are we going?”
I was putting the mess off, so I stopped the car on the hard shoulder and turned to face Sam.
“Sam, this is hard to say to you.”
“What is it Beth? You’re scaring me now.”
My heart felt like it had stopped beating.
“I know what you did at the party.”
Sam face was one of pure bewilderment.
“What are you talking about?”
I grabbed my sunglasses, as the sun was still bright like an angry flame. I opened the window. I was beginning to sweat.
“I heard you having sex, Sam.”
CHAPTER 14
Sam’s face was white. Color drained from it fast as water pouring from a jug.
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“Sam, I heard you having sex with someone last night at the party. Can’t you remember?” This was getting worse by the second. She started to bite her nails. It looked as though she was about to cry. “So I gather now you do remember.”
“I... Um, I was with Russell, in that room. You heard me with Russell.” The words ran out of her mouth as though she believed what she was saying to me.
“Please don’t treat me like an idiot. I know you weren’t with Russell in that room.”
She looked up at me.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I saw Russell while you were still in the room. He asked me where you were, Sam. Tell me the truth. I lied to him for you, so the least you can do is tell me the truth.” She put her face in her hands and wept. I placed my arm around her shoulders, and waited patiently for her to come to a stop. I handed her a tissue. She was shaking violently. “Calm down,” I said. “Tell me what happened.”
“I... I don’t know why I did it. I was so drunk. I just wanted to be close to someone. We’ve been having such a bad time together recently. I wish I’d never done it. What am I going to do Beth?”
“We’ll get through this.” I squeezed her shoulders tightly.
Sam said, “Have you told mum and dad?”
“No, will you?”
“Do you want me to?”
“No, please don’t tell anyone. Keep it to yourself.”
“OK, don’t worry. I will.” I recalled that I had already told Meg, though. “Oh, no.”<
br />
“What?”
“Meg. I told her.” Sam began to cry again. “I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t think. I had to tell someone at the time. She won’t tell anybody; she’s not like that.”
“I know she won’t. This is such a big thing. I still can’t believe that I did it. When I thought nobody knew, it wasn’t so bad. I could lie to myself and think it’s not true. Now though, more and more people are finding out.” Her crying continued with renewed vigor. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Whatever happens, you’ll be OK.” I had a question that was scorching my lips, though, and I had to ask it. “Sam... who was it?”
Her crying lessened. “What?” she asked
“Who was it in the room with you? Can you tell me?”
“I can’t. Please don’t make me tell you, yet. I need more time.”
I was disappointed, but at least she had stopped crying. In the silence, I could think again. What was my next move? The answer was simply that there wasn’t one.
This was Sam’s disaster. I had to be here for her as much as she required me, but that was it. I wasn’t needed, otherwise. I would calm her down, get her to clear her face, take her back to mum and dad’s, then spend the rest of the afternoon with Jason.
According to the small clock in the dashboard, we had been gone an hour. I looked back to Sam. She was more relaxed now.
“Right, let’s go,” I said. “Where do you want me to drop you?”
“Mum’s, please.” Her voice was still catching, but it was better.
“Could you just promise me one thing?” She looked at me through bloodshot eyes. “Never ever do anything like this again.” She did her best to smile. I noticed that her lips were now dry and cracked. We drove home in silence.
The next few weeks crawled by like I was stuck in a traffic jam. I was coming up on my birthday and I secretly dreaded the occasion. I was to be 33 this year. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do for my birthday. Hopefully, everyone would forget it.
The day before my birthday, I was in my kitchen eating a ham and salad sandwich, with an ice-cold glass of coke on the side, when the phone rang. I walked over to answer it. It was Rachel.
“Hi Rach, what can I do for you?” The next few sentences that came down through the line were just a bunch of squeaks and giggles. “Calm down, Rachel! I can’t understand you. Joe did what?”
“Joe asked me to marry him! We are engaged!”
“Oh wow, that’s great! Congratulations, Rachel; it’s about time.”
“Thanks. Anyway, we’re all going out for a few drinks, tomorrow night, after work. Will you come?”
“Yeah, OK. What time?
“We were thinking about eight-ish? Ask Sam and her boyfriend along too, if you want.”
“They’re having a few problems at the moment, so I don’t think that will be a good idea.”
“Oh well, never mind. Hey, it could be a double celebration.”
“Why what else is happening?”
She giggled. “It’s your birthday, silly.”
I’d forced the date completely out of my head. Darn. Oh, well; may as well make the most of it before I’m too old.
“Yeah, well, don’t let that ruin your night.”
“I won’t.” She laughed. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
With that, she was gone and the line was dead. I put the phone down and carried on with my sandwich. Today wasn’t going to be a very eventful day. I didn’t have much going on. I had washing to finish this morning, shopping this afternoon, then more housework to complete the day. I must admit, my life was very exciting! Still, it had to be done.
The next day I tried to keep myself to myself. I was beginning to hate my birthday. The phone had been ringing nonstop, all day so far with everyone wishing me a happy birthday. Mum, Dad, Meg and Izzy were coming round later. Jason would be coming any minute. It was endless. I hadn’t had a second’s peace.
All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep through the whole day. That, of course, wasn’t going to happen. The knock on the door was a needed distraction. Thinking it would be Jason, I walked, still half asleep, in my green pyjamas to the door. I opened it to a deliveryman.
“Hello, parcel for you.” He handed me a small package. “If you could sign here, please.”
He passed me a small electrical gadget with a plastic stylus attached to it. I wrote my name quickly and closed the door. I didn’t really want any of the neighbours seeing me in my current state. As I walked into the kitchen, I put the parcel on the breakfast counter.
I looked in the mirror, and couldn’t believe that I had just answered the door looking as I did. My hair looked like a pineapple. Getting closer to the mirror, I could have sworn that I had a few more wrinkles under my eyes. This was becoming depressing, so I moved away from the mirror and picked up the small box wrapped in brown parcel paper. Ripping the paper off and opening the cardboard box, I found a smaller cube inside covered in burgundy velvet. Picking it up, I noticed there was a piece of paper underneath it. I picked it up and unfolded it. On the paper was just the sentence:
With Love. xxx
This was lovely of Jason to send his present this way. I opened the burgundy cube to discover the most gorgeous pair of diamond earrings. I was gobsmacked! He was so thoughtful. I moved to the mirror and put the earrings in. They looked stunning! The door sounded for the second time that day. Opening it, Jason stood there with a smile on his face.
“Happy birthday, birthday girl!” He held out a large white box with red ribbon wrapped ’round it in a cross formation. This was another surprise.
“Thanks, Jase. You didn’t have to buy me anything else.”
He looked at me, with one eyebrow raised.
“What do you mean, ‘anything else’?”
“The other box that came today, that was from you, wasn’t it?”
I took the white box from him.
“No. What was in it?” I pushed my hair behind one of my ears and showed him one of the earrings. “Wow,” he said, “they look expensive. Who were they from, do you think?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, I thought they were from you. Perhaps Mum and Dad or Sam?”
“Maybe. You can ask Sam later. I invited them to the drinks tonight.”
I stopped what I was doing.
“You what?”
“I’ve invited Sam and Russell. I asked your mum and dad, too, but they said it wasn’t really their scene. Why, that’s not a problem, is it?”
“No, of course not. I just thought they were busy, that’s all.”
I smiled at Jason. This wasn’t good. I was going to have to avoid both of them. Russell, because of what was happening between us, and Sam, because of what she had done. I still couldn’t believe it.
“So, are you gonna open it, then?”
“Oh... Yes, sorry.”
I turned my attention to the box on the table. Untying and pulling off the silky ribbon, then pushing off the top of the box. Inside was a piece of clothing. I grabbed it and lifted it up. It was a short chemise. Black as night, and as silky as the ribbon had been. It had lace around the top and bottom.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, thanks. It’s lovely.”
Placing it back it the box, I replaced the lid, took the ribbon and moved it so that it rested on the top of the box.
“You can wear that tonight.” Jason winked.
“What, at the bar?”
“No. Tonight, when we get back.”
“Oh, right.” I smiled.
He walked over to the kettle and flicked the switch down.
“So what are we doing today?” He pulled a cup out of the cabinet and placed it on the counter top.
“Nothing. I might go over Mum and Dad’s later, but that’s it.”
“Well, you will be seeing your mum and dad.” He grinned.
“What do you mean by that?” I questioned.
“We’ll be going ou
t for lunch today, and your mum and dad are coming to that instead of going out tonight with us.”
I shook my head at him.
“Jase, I told you nothing special today.”
“It’s only small. Come on Beth, It’s your birthday, you have to celebrate it.” He bent down to look me in the eyes. “It only comes once a year.”
“Well, duh. I know that.”
He moved and put his arms around me.
“Be happy, love.” He kissed me.
“Fine.” I smiled.
“Good.”
He took his arms from me and turned to finish his tea.
I showered after we returned from lunch with Mum and Dad.
I grabbed for the black, fluffy towel that hung over the radiator, and wrapped it ’round me twisting it on itself to hold it in place. It was warm, as the radiator was on. Even though it was spring, it was still a little chilly at night. I stepped out of the shower and wiped the mirror, so I could see myself.
I felt a bit tipsy still from lunch. One too many glasses of wine. I was going to behave myself tonight. I walked into the bedroom and sat in front of the dressing table to apply my makeup. I couldn’t lie to myself; I was excited about seeing Russell. I just hoped that it didn’t show. I started wiping the brown eye shadow with the brush and applied it to my eyes.
Every year it seemed to take more and more makeup to make me look decent. I moved over to get dressed. Slipping the red glittery dress over my legs, I was getting nervous about seeing Sam again. I didn’t know how she was. I hadn’t seen her since that day I took her out for a chat. I finished up by putting my heels on and drying my hair. I then twisted my hair up into a pleat. With the addition of the mystery earrings, my outfit was complete.
We walked to the car. I wasn’t going to pay for a taxi with how much they charge.
“Beautiful as usual,” Jason said with appreciation. He kissed me and when I came up for air, he had a smile plastered all over his face. He opened the car door for me.
“Thank you,” I said.
I got in and he shut the door behind me.
We got to the bar in plenty of time and Jason ordered the drinks. We stayed at the bar, so when any of our people came in, we would see them. Izzy and Meg arrived first. They walked towards us with smiles on their faces.
Betrayal Page 17