Thirty-Eight Days

by Len Webster

  Thirty-Eight Days

  Copyright © 2014 Len Webster

  Published by Len Webster

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Published: Len Webster 2014

  Publishing assisted by Black Firefly: http://www.blackfirefly.com/

  (Shedding light on your self-publishing journey)

  Editing: Allyson @ Black Firefly

  Proofreading: Crystal and Christine @ Black Firefly

  Cover Design: Michelle Johnson from AlexandMe Designs

  Formatting by: http://www.blackfirefly.com/

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  My grandparents, Elsie and Denis Webster.

  My belief in true love is because of you both. I believe, I will always believe. True love isn’t running away, it’s staying and fixing the little things. It’s about spending the rest of your life with that one person. Your forever. Thank you for making me believe that true love is always endless, like a Celtic knot.

  Thirty-Eight Days

  A Thirty-Eight Series Novel

  Len Webster

  Ask yourself, how many days does it take to fall in love?

  Fifteen Years Ago

  They formed a circle around the water tap against the brick wall of the house. One by one they filled a box with different coloured water balloons. As Noel tied one of the balloons, he quickly turned to see his teenage brother laughing and shaking his head at them.

  “Make sure Mum doesn’t catch you, Nolan!” George yelled out. His parents had named him after his grandfather who served in Vietnam. His family called him Nolan while others called him Noel, the name he'd rather be called. He was the only Nolan in a class filled with Jakes and Daniels.

  “I won’t!” Noel shouted back as he turned his attention to his group of friends. He gave them all a stern stare. He didn’t want to get in trouble for ruining his parent’s party.

  “We can hit those annoying girls across the road with the water balloons. If we get them enough they’ll leave us alone!” Alex said. Noel looked at his best friend and handed out the small water balloons.

  “Alex, don’t lie! You like like Sarah!” Rob teased. For an eight-year-old, Rob towered over their group of friends. Ever since prep, they had all been in the same class. Except for Rob’s brother, Julian, who was a year younger. Alex gagged at Rob’s teasing before turning off the tap.

  “Sarah’s pretty,” Max pointed out as he stared at the blue balloon in his hand. Noel watched as Max shrugged at the group.

  Alex let out a laugh. “Yeah, pretty annoying!”

  Max's face contorted at Alex’s comments. Noel nudged him with his shoulder and offered a reassuring smile.

  “Can we not hit Valerie? She helped me home when I fell off my bike last week,” Noel said. He took a few balloons from Julian, whose small hands were unable to carry as much as the other boys could.

  “Fine! We won’t hit her. Rob, go get the water guns and we’ll surprise them from the bushes of old man Peter’s garden.”

  Rob nodded at Alex. Noel placed the water balloons in the pockets of his shorts. He adjusted his baseball cap as he quickly rolled up the sleeves of the long sleeved shirt his mother chose.

  “We should go before we get caught!” Julian warned. Noel led them to the side gate of the fence. Alex reached up, unlatched the door, and held it open for their friends. Noel waited until everyone made it through the gate and towards the driveway.

  “Nolan Parker!” his mother yelled. Noel let out a heavy sigh as he nodded at Alex to go ahead before closing the gate. He turned around to see his mother tapping her foot at him.

  “Are you going to go hit those nice girls with water balloons?” she asked, eyeing the balloon peeking out of his pocket.

  “No, Mum! I swear! I wasn’t,” he lied.

  “Don’t you lie to me, Nolan!” The corner of his mother’s mouth twitched. Noel stuck his hands in his pockets and felt the water balloons. His eyes fell to the concrete path instead of his mother’s disapproving green eyes.

  Footsteps tapped along the concrete, gaining his attention. Noel raised his head as his falther walked over to stand next to his mother. “Come on, Louise. He’s just being a kid,” his father defended.

  “Marcus, I don’t want those poor girls’ parents at our doorstep,” his mother explained, the irritated tone in her voice clear. Noel looked at his father and silently pleaded for mercy.

  “We weren’t going to hurt them, Mum. We were just gonna scare them, honest!” Noel crossed his arms over his chest as his head dipped down. He knew his mother hated it when he pouted. It was her form of weakness and he hoped it would get him off the hook.

  “Your mother is right, Nolan. You could hurt those girls. How about you come and help me with the barbecue? Then you can go play with the other boys. What do you say?” his father asked. Noel watched as both his parents looked down at him. He let out an irritated huff as he pulled his hands out of his pockets.

  “It’s not fair,” Noel mumbled before following his parents back to the party. He watched his parents hold hands, and the sight of it made him want to gag.

  Noel walked over to the barbecue. He waited for his father to instruct him on his punishment for an act he hadn’t yet committed. His mother bent down to face him. He squinted at her before he crossed his arms. His mother’s green eyes mirrored his, but hers were shinier than Noel’s. She brought her hands to either side of Noel’s cheeks and pressed her lips to his forehead.

  “Mum!” Noel whined as he pulled away. His mother laughed as he quickly wiped her red lipstick off his forehead.

  “Mama loves you, Nolan. Help your father out before you go play with your friends. I’ll be with Gillian if you need me.” Noel nodded his head.

  His mother walked over to Gillian, Alex’s mother, who stood near the drinks table. Gillian’s long, brown curls flew with the warm wind. She didn’t look very happy, but when her eyes met his, she smiled.

  He took off his bas
eball cap and placed it on a clear spot on the table near the barbecue. Noel took the large, silver tray and held it out for his father. One by one, cooked sausages were placed on it. Minutes later, hamburgers and steaks followed.

  Noel’s arms started to tire as he held on to the heavy tray of barbecued meat. His father looked down at him before taking the platter from Noel and placing it on the table. “Thanks, champ! Just between us, you go and chuck some water balloons at them girls. But don’t make any of them cry, Nolan. Your mother won’t be happy. Got it?” His father winked at him as he turned over the skewers.

  “Sure, Dad!” Noel said as he quickly turned around and made his way to the steps of the deck. He jumped off the final step and ran past a group of younger children on his way to the gate.

  “Can I play, too?” he heard a small girl’s voice ask.

  “No! Go away. We don’t like you!” he heard another little girl shout. Noel turned around to see his best friend’s little sister’s face sadden. The other little girl laughed as she ran away with the other children. Clara’s curly ponytail swayed as she turned around and ran to her father. Noel watched to see James Lawrence frown before he lifted his daughter and placed her on his lap.

  A smile returned to Clara’s face as those golden-brown eyes shimmered. Noel smiled at the sight. He had always secretly looked out for Clara when Alex couldn't. Once, when Alex and the other boys played football, Noel held Clara by the hand and took her out to the local ice cream truck. He liked to see her smile ever since he could remember.

  Noel noticed her father whisper in Clara’s ear before she jumped off his lap and ran towards the end of the garden. James got off his seat and walked into the house. Noel could see her run towards the edge of the garden before she fell over. Without even thinking or alerting Clara’s father, Noel ran to her.

  Her small cries filled the air as he reached her. Dirt covered her dress and blood smeared her knee.

  “Clara, are you okay?” he asked sweetly as he sat on the ground with her.

  “Go away, Nolan! I want Alex!”

  Noel reached out for her small hands, but Clara pulled away.

  “No! I hate you!” she shouted, and Noel let out a laugh.

  “No, you don’t,” Noel corrected. He took her hands and brushed off the dirt. Noel scooted forward, wiped his hand on his shorts before brushing Clara’s tears away. Clara stopped crying, and he smiled at her.

  Noel’s hand reached up his right arm and started to unroll his sleeves. He looked down at Clara’s scraped knee. “It’s going to sting a little bit, Clara,” Noel warned before wiping away the blood from her knee with his sleeve. Clara let out a small cry before her tears returned. He didn’t like to see her in pain. He wanted to distract her so he could help her back to their parents.

  Looking around he noticed his mother’s purple tulips. He remembered the times when Clara was over and always walked to the flowerbeds.

  Mum's tulips will do.

  Not caring about getting in trouble, Noel pulled out a purple tulip. He shook off the dirt and broke the roots. He faced Clara to see her smile return. His own smile developed at the sight of hers.

  “Don’t cry, Clara. I like your smile,” Noel said as he held out the flower to her. Clara’s smile grew as her golden-brown eyes twinkled.

  Clara took the purple tulip in her small hand and said, “Thank you, Nolan.”

  Noel smiled and then shrugged at Clara. “It’s just a tulip. No big deal.” He watched Clara twirl it between her fingers as that smile of hers stayed.

  Mum is going to kill me, but I don’t care. Not like it’s anything important. It’s just a flower. She won’t notice it missing anyway.

  "Nolan, hey, did I wake you?" Alex’s hazy voice asked over the phone. Noel rubbed his eyes to see that it was ten past seven in the morning. He groaned at the sight of the time and the sun hidden behind clouded skies.

  "Nah, what's up?" Noel replied as he climbed out of bed and opened the window to the smell of Boston in the morning. As he looked out at the view of the city, he could hear his best friend sounding frustrated over the phone. Noel shook his head in an effort to properly wake up before making his way out of his bedroom and into the living room.

  Noel and Alex had been best friends since they were babies. They both had the same dreams and went after their own pursuit of happiness. They worked hard at school and grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. When Noel and Alex were accepted to Stanford University, they were the talk of the town, two Melbourne boys off to the States. Noel owed everything to Alex. If it weren’t for him, Noel would have never survived Stanford or received the promotion in Boston, which Alex deserved instead of him.

  But Noel knew that Alex wouldn't call him at such an hour if it wasn’t important. Even at seven in the morning, Noel knew the importance of Alex’s early call from the New York office. They both worked for G&MC, one of the leading accounting firms in the country. Although New York was lucrative, Noel held one of Boston's head office positions, practically Alex's boss.

  "Mate, you know the Owens account?" Alex asked as the clatter of papers and erratic typing sounded.

  "Yeah."

  "IRS is looking into it, claiming fraud. G&MC is in trouble, Noel. I could be fired. I handled the account, remember?" Alex said, reminding him.

  "Shit! That could be our asses on the line. What the hell happened?" Noel asked, utterly shocked at the circumstances his best friend was in. Having once worked for the New York office, by association, Noel would also get looked at.

  "Fraud’s gone back long before we picked up the account, but it doesn't look good, even for us. This account could ruin the company's reputation."

  "Anything I can do?"

  "Nah, I don't want to put this kind of pressure on you. You have your own problems in Boston, but listen, I do have one favour to ask," Noel heard as he walked over to the kitchen counter.

  Anything.

  For all the times Alex came through for Noel, this was the time to be the best friend.

  "Go back to Melbourne without me. Get your ass home without me. I know we were meant to meet up in L.A. together, but I'm going to have to stay here in New York till this gets sorted. But can you please take care of Clara? I even booked flights that land back home a day earlier than she expects just to surprise her. She’s going to be disappointed that I'm not there for her birthday." He could hear the desperation and pleading in Alex's voice.

  "You want me to babysit your sister?" Noel blurted out. He hadn't seen her since he and Alex left for Stanford, almost five years back. She was fourteen when he left Australia, and after he was gone, he never really thought much of her.

  "Please, Noel, you know our folks are cruising all around the world, and she needs company right now."

  "Doesn't she have a boyfriend or something?" Noel asked, hoping he could offload Clara to anyone else.

  "Don't get me started on that little shit. Wait till I get my hands on that son of a bitch!" Alex was never angry, not even when Tori, his ex-girlfriend, told him it was over. She was tired of Alex's dedication to his job rather than to her.

  "What's Little Shit done for you to be angry?" Noel laughed as he settled into the bar stool next to the counter. He watched as rain started to pour down onto the streets below. Tomorrow he’d be on a plane back home to Melbourne.

  "He cheated on Clara, that's what he did! He’s been sleeping around with another girl for months. If this Owens auditing hadn't come up, I'd be on that plane back to Melbourne and straight to his door to rip his balls right off!" Alex fumed.

  "Shit. Sorry to hear that. Poor Clara, is she okay?" Noel hadn’t even recognised the concern in his voice for her.

  "She's okay. That's why I don't want to leave her alone. With her birthday coming up, she's going to be dragged through hell once she finds out I won't be there. So, what do you say, stop by and look after Clara?"

  Noel heard the sound of Alex's name being called and knew this was important to A
lex. He sighed, knowing he would do this for his best friend.

  "Fine. I'll stay at Clara's until you get back. Just make sure this Owens account gets sorted quickly." Noel breathed out heavily.

  "Thanks, man, I owe you big time! I swear it'll be a week tops, only seven days with my sister," Alex replied as the sounds in the background started to pick up. "Got to go. The meeting with Mercer is about to start. Thanks again for helping out Clara."

  "No worries,” Noel replied before he hung up his phone. He wasn't helping the heartbroken Clara. In reality, he was helping his best friend.

  The rain started to pick up and Boston was up for a day of what looked like a torrential downpour. Noel had eight weeks off work and was meant to spend that time with Alex in Australia. Picking up the remote on the kitchen counter, he turned on the TV. He watched as the Owens case and G&MC were all over Good Morning America. Noel knew once he saw the case being covered by the media that he wouldn’t be seeing Alex for a long time. It would be weeks, not days, until he’d see Alex Lawrence back in Melbourne.

  "You have five minutes left of your examination," Clara’s sixty-year-old examiner said. She looked up to check the clock and took sight of the examiner. She didn't look very old. She had bright pink lips like most seniors did. Her recently permed hair looked more like a bouncy afro and her arms, hands, and neck were covered in gold jewellery. How she was able to carry that kind of weight in gold was beyond Clara.

  Her mind started to linger and she realised she only had a few minutes left to finish her employment relations exam. She took a deep breath, held her pen tighter, and started to write.

  After what looked like a paragraph of decent information, she placed her pen down. Clara sighed in relief. She had finally finished her last exam for the year. She was thankful that she could just leave this year of university behind her. There were times where she wanted to drop out, but she couldn't do that to her brother. The potential disappointment always stopped her.