Charlie winked at her. ’I could kill him. Easy.’
25
Charlie smiled and let go of his neck. ‘I’m messing with you, Sally. I’m over him,’ he said.
‘You’re sure?’ Sally asked, nervous.
‘Look at me,’ he said, raising his hands. ‘I’m all good.’
‘Don’t scare me like that.’
‘Alright,’ he said, still smiling. ‘I apologise.’
‘Accepted,’ Sally replied. ‘So, where’s my money?’
‘Where’s your money? You sound like a gangster.’
Sally thrust her hands on her hips in an intimidating style, joking. ‘Where is it?’
‘I don’t exactly have it on me right now.’
‘What?’
‘I hope that wasn’t the only reason you came to see me tonight. But I’m working on it. I’ll get it to you.’
‘Right.’
‘Honestly, I’ll get it to you,’ he said.
‘You don’t have to stress. I don’t need it straight away.’ She did feel silly about it, asking him for the money. He’d offered it on the cliff, and she really needed it to help get Ashley a new phone, but it didn’t seem right for her to ask him.
‘In the meantime,’ Charlie asked in a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Do you want a shot?’
‘A shot?’
‘Yeah. A shot. An alcoholic shot.’ He ran his hand through his messy hair. ‘I’ll get you one,’ he said. Before she could object he disappeared inside, leaving Sally in the smokers’ area with the sun going over her head.
She shouldn’t accept a drink from Charlie. She tried to refuse Jim’s offers last night, so it’d feel hypocritical to let Charlie buy her one now. She never accepted drinks from guys, but Charlie was different. Yeah, he probably wanted to have sex with her, but it wasn’t the same way as other guys. He wasn’t like Jim. With Charlie, it was more than sex. He was actually interested in her, unlike Jim. Charlie listened to Sally. She could open up to him. She felt heard by him. Comfortable. She couldn't explain it.
Ashley was always the one to get the attention from males. She was the one who got free drinks at parties. But now it was Sally’s turn.
Charlie returned a few minutes later with a shot in each hand. He’d been fast.
‘How’d you skip the bar queue?’ Sally asked him, amazed.
‘I have a few friends,’ Charlie said, winking. He offered the shot glass in his right hand. ‘Here.’
‘I’m not drinking that,’ Sally said.
‘Sure you are. Here, take it.’
‘Okay.’ She took the shot glass cautiously, holding it between her fingers. Maybe a drink would help Sally, help her to forget Ashley waiting back at the hostel.
‘There you go.’ He raised his shot to his mouth. His smile urged her on. ‘Cheers.’
They clinked glasses. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she said, following his example and knocking the shot back. The alcohol was sharp as it hit the back of her throat, stinging and hot. She resisted the urge to gag. It tasted of liquorice. Sambuca.
Charlie breathed out a quick exhale. ‘How was it?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, good. What was it?’
‘Sambuca.’
‘I should’ve guessed.’
‘You know what?’ he said. ‘Some friends of mine are going to a house party around the corner from here. Do you want to come?’
‘A house party?’
‘Yeah, what do you think?’
She shook her head. She considered Ashley. Where was she now? Maybe looking for Sally. Maybe she was waiting in the room. Sally couldn’t go somewhere else because she needed to get back to the hostel. She needed to deal with Ashley.
‘I’m sorry. I have to go home,’ she said to Charlie. He appeared unmoved by her dismissal.
‘Where are you staying?’
‘Some hostel.’
‘I didn’t mean that.’ Charlie pointed at the ground. ‘I meant to ask if you're staying around here?’
‘Yeah, it’s a few streets back.’
He spread his arms out in protest. ‘Come on, that’s not far at all. This party is only around the corner.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You can come for one drink. That’s all I’m asking. One drink and I guarantee you’ll be in and out. Enjoy yourself.’
‘I really can’t. I’m sorry.’ God, why was she apologising so much? She felt like she owed him something.
‘Fine. Your loss.’ Charlie turned back to the door leading into the pub. ‘It’s been nice meeting you, Staring Girl. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again, you have a knack for stalking me.’
What was the harm for being out another hour? Ashley already was most likely very angry.
Screw it.
Sally called out after him before he disappeared inside the bar. ‘Okay. I’ll come for one. But that’s because I owe you for that disgusting shot,’ she said.
He turned around, his gorgeous smile wide. ‘Perfect. Let’s get out of here,’ he said, stepping aside to let her through the doorway into the bar.
He followed her through the pub. As they passed the bar, he lightly placed his hand on her lower back, guiding her out.
It was the first time Charlie had touched her, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last.
26
‘He’s been watching you the whole time,’ the drunk woman said. Her cheek, wet with sweat, pushed against Sally’s face.
‘Who?’ Sally asked, even though she knew what the drunk woman was talking about.
Charlie.
‘Him in the corner. He’s been watching you. I thought he had eyes for me, but now I know it’s you.’
‘I think it is me, we came together,’ Sally replied, her voice fighting against the thudding music. Seeing the flash of recognition pass over the drunk woman’s face Sally added quickly, ‘it’s not like that, it’s not like that at all.’
They swayed together, bodies tangled, in the middle of the improvised dance floor in the living room. The drunk woman spoke again into Sally’s ear. ‘Do you want you and him to be like that?’ she asked, and Sally had no answer.
Charlie had whispered in her ear in the same way when they’d arrived at the building and entered the apartment for the house party. ‘I see some of my friends over there,’ he’d said, his breath hot against her skin. He waved in the direction of a group huddled in the corner of the living room, their backs facing the room. Sally couldn’t see their faces. ‘I have to say hello to them. I can’t avoid it. Are you okay on your own for a bit?’
Instead of replying properly, Sally had nodded. She couldn’t compete with the dance music streaming from the living room loudspeakers. Charlie swaggered towards his friends, and Sally went in search of a drink.
Charlie had been right. The apartment was only around the corner from the bar. A block back from the beach. That calmed Sally, knowing she could leave anytime and be back at the hostel within minutes. The apartment was less a house party and more like a music festival. At least the space inside was large, big enough to hold what seemed to be a hundred people milling around drinking and dancing.
As if to flaunt the luxury of the building, there was a concierge desk at the entrance downstairs. He gave Charlie and Sally a stern smile when they’d entered. The swanky lift up to the party practically smelt of money. They were let into the apartment by a woman Charlie was friendly with. The woman wasn’t the owner. She gave Charlie a grimace as if to prove her disapproval of him, and sauntered into another room, leaving the door open for them to walk through. Sally got the vibe that the woman was potentially Charlie's ex. She could ask him, but she was scared of his answer.
The apartment was white and posh, a minimalistic style with a sparse amount of furniture dotted about. Pretty modern. Sally had never been to many places like this.
Looking around, inspecting, Sally didn’t have a clue as to who owned the place and what they did for a living. Other than the plain furniture and a framed abst
ract painting on the hallway wall, coated with dull colours, there weren’t any other signs of someone actually living there.
The speaker system in the living room was the main feature. Someone must’ve set up giant speakers for the party. In the middle of the space, a mass of people danced to the beat.
With Charlie gone to his friends, Sally was left on her own. In the search for a drink, she found the kitchen. On the counter were rows of bottles containing alcohol and beside them was a tall stack of plastic cups balanced against the wall tiles. She guessed that everything here was laid out for free. Sally filled a glass of water under the tap and helped herself to a shot of vodka. The beat of the dance music crashed against the walls like the ocean waves outside. The floor under her feet shook with the rhythm. What would the neighbours think of all this noise?
She didn’t mind Charlie had left her when they entered. She didn’t mind being on her own. The music was inviting, and she wanted to dance.
But first, she needed to pee.
She had to go up a flight of stairs to reach the bathroom. The stairs had no handrail. The lack of one was probably an aesthetic choice, but to Sally, it was just pretentious. There was no one outside the bathroom door. It was locked from the inside. Sally rested her head on the hallway’s white wall and waited.
After a minute, the lock unfastened with a shaky jangle, and a woman emerged. She stumbled into Sally. In her hand was one of the plastic cups from the kitchen. She was drunk, and Sally caught her fall. The woman’s entire weight rested on her. Sally struggled to keep her up.
‘Sorry,’ the woman apologised into Sally’s neck. ‘Lost my footing.’
‘It’s okay,’ Sally replied.
The woman lolled her head back so that they could see each other’s eyes. ‘Are you having a good night?’ she asked.
‘I am. Are you?’
The drunk woman raised her cup. ‘For sure I am. I’m loving tonight. I’m happy and I’m drinking.’ She was fun. Sally liked her.
‘I’m happy to see that.’
She pointed at Sally. ‘Wow. You are very pretty. Really, you are.’
‘So are you,’ Sally said.
‘You know who you remind me of?’
‘No, who?’
‘You remind me of my cat,’ the drunk woman said.
Sally laughed. ‘Thank you.’
‘I mean, I’ve only met you, like, right now. But you seem like a caring person. And you caught me. So, that’s nice.’
‘It was my pleasure. You’re pretty as well,’ Sally said.
‘Stop it.’
‘You’ve been the nicest person I’ve met all day. This has been the nicest interaction I’ve had today.’
‘Really? You’re so sweet. Stay pretty,’ the woman said. ‘I’m going to go now and leave you to pee in peace.’
‘Be careful,’ Sally said.
The woman let go of their hug and staggered down the hallway. Sally watched with trepidation as she descended the handrail-less stairs, but the drunk woman managed to get to the bottom unharmed. She cried out a name, presumably one of her friends.
The bathroom reflected the sheer luxury of the rest of the apartment. It was the largest bathroom Sally had ever been with, even larger than Ashley’s family house. Everything was painted either white or black. The shower was lit by mood lighting that reflected changing colours.
She sat on the toilet and cupped her head in her hands. The room began to spin, rotate around her like a tumble dryer. Oh. She was drunk, very drunk. She held on to the toilet roll and waited for the spinning to cease. It stopped after a while, and when she checked the digital clock by the sink it was nearly midnight. Had she been gone all day? At some point, she will have to go back to the hostel. She dreaded that.
Leaving the bathroom, Sally followed the music down the stairs and into the living room. She joined the dozen people already dancing. She let herself go to the beat. She paid no attention to anyone else. It was her and the music. Her hands ran through her hair, guided by her impulse. She traced her fingers down the back of her neck, puncturing drops of sweat running across her skin. Her body responded to the rhythm, and she was free. Her worries about Ashley drifted from her mind. Back home she’d be nervous stepping out like this, risking to be seen dancing in such a public space. But here was different, she didn’t know anyone. Here she didn’t care what anyone thought of her. It was just her and the music.
Sally’s shoulder was tapped from behind. It was the drunk woman from the bathroom. She was no longer holding her plastic cup.
‘Hello you,’ she said with a grin. ‘So funny seeing you here.’
‘Hello,’ Sally replied. ‘Are you dancing as well?’
‘Yes. Let’s dance together.’
‘Okay,’ Sally said.
The drunk woman looped her arm in Sally’s and started to sway to the music with her. ‘I like you. You have a kind face.’ It was hard to hear each other over the music.
‘Thanks, you’re very nice,’ Sally replied. The drunk woman liked that, she smiled at Sally.
They continued to dance together, the woman leading and Sally following. Sally enjoyed it, the woman had good rhythm despite the number of drinks she’d had. Sally loved how the ease in which they moved in sync.
And that was when she whispered into Sally's ear, telling her Charlie had been watching her the whole time.
He was with his friends, the same ones he’d pointed out to Sally when they entered the house party. They stood together in the corner of the room. Four of them, Sally counted. All men. Sally recognised two of them. They were Charlie's band members. None of them was drinking or dancing. They were in a deep discussion. Charlie had his head bowed, speaking closely to them, probably to be heard over the music. His manner now reminded Sally of the seriousness he had when he was speaking to the men at the harbour.
But he was staring at Sally. Observing. He hadn’t stopped watching her. A drunk thought came into her head. Was Charlie a drug dealer? He could be. The secrecy in what he did, the people he hung out with, was pretty suspicious. Maybe he had something to do with drugs, Sally guessed. Other than watching a few documentaries on TV, she didn’t know anything at all about that world. What a wild guess. She snorted in laughter at herself and her dumb ideas. Yeah, she was drunk.
‘I know him,’ the woman said, nodding towards Charlie.
‘You do?’ Sally asked.
‘Yeah.’
‘How?’
‘Well, to be honest, I don’t know him, but my friend does,’ the woman said. ‘I’ve met him, like, once or twice. I didn’t really like him.’
‘Why?’ Sally asked, curious that this drunk woman knew Charlie, hoping some of her questions about him might get answered.
The woman raised her free arm as if to show how little she knew. ‘I dunno. He gave me an odd feeling, you know? I didn’t get him, I didn’t like his vibe,’ she said.
‘You didn’t get him? In what way?’
‘It was an odd feeling.’
Someone appeared by the drunk woman’s side. It was the woman who was at the door who’d let Charlie and Sally into the house party. The woman who’d given Charlie a dirty look. His potential ex-girlfriend. She quickly glanced at Sally then at the drunk woman. Her lips were twisted in a scowl.
‘We’re all leaving,’ she said to the drunk woman, ignoring Sally. ‘Are you coming?’
‘Sure.’
‘You’re drunk? How many drinks have you had?’
‘One or two. Or three. I’m not exactly keeping count,’ the drunk woman slurred.
‘Jesus.’
‘Jesus,’ the drunk woman mimicked in a girlish voice. Sally smiled. She really liked this drunk woman. She knew they’d be close friends in another life.
‘Come on, I’m driving you home,’ the scowling woman said.
‘Okay, calm down. I’m coming.’ The drunk woman unlocked arms with Sally. ‘It was lovely to meet you. You’re so pretty,’ she said.
The woman with the dirty look ignored Sally still and took the drunk woman’s arm, pulling her away from the dance floor.
‘Get home safe,’ Sally called out after her. She hadn’t even gotten her name. The woman sneaked her a cheeky smile and a wink before being dragged out the door by her friend.
Sally didn’t feel like dancing any more The music melded into one continuous drone. Her throat was dry. Thirst. She squeezed through the crowd. In the kitchen, she filled another cup full of tap water. Sweat ran down her face so she wiped her forehead with a napkin from a pile she found on the kitchen counter. Fuck it. She knocked back another shot of vodka. She could get drunk, the hostel was around the corner, and maybe being drunk was the best way to see Ashley again. Sally could always rely on being drunk to deal with problems she couldn’t face sober.
Her head throbbed with the beat of the music, and not in a good way. Sally felt claustrophobic, the walls of the kitchen began to crumble in around her. She took her cup of cold water and escaped to the balcony, sliding the glass door behind her.
There was no one out there. The balcony extended from the apartment, stretching into the night sky, overlooking the beach. Sally took a long sip of water and stared off into the dark horizon. The only lights in the horizon were the twinkling of houses hugging the coastline into the far distance, the edge of the city.
In this view of the beach, she could see the outline of the cliff where she’d met Charlie the night before. What had the drunk woman said in the living room? That he’d given her an odd feeling. What did that mean? Sally felt good around Charlie.
The music inside was muted by the glass door, but the light from the apartment streamed through. The balcony was illuminated around her. Sally strained to look over the ledge. It was an eight-storey drop to the street below. She laughed at herself. On this holiday she was always ending up standing at the edge of something.
She took another sip of the water. It was still warm outside. Did this country ever get cold? Her head spun from the dancing and the vodka, and so she steadied herself with a hand on the balcony railing.
She heard the whoosh of the balcony door behind her slide open.
The Busker: A gripping psychological thriller Page 14