Chapter 22
22
JOEL
I left Poppy and crossed the lobby in a daze, feeling as though I’d woken from a really bad dream in which my brother proclaimed he hated me and threw a bottle of wine at me. If only it had been a dream. I wasn’t sure where we could go from here. Chester needed help and I couldn’t give him any because it seemed I was part of the problem. If he hated me that much, he couldn’t possibly want to live with me, but with no job, no income, no girlfriend and no other close friends, what other options did he have? The thought of him remaining under my roof radiating hatred towards me made me feel sick. I couldn’t bear the thought of getting home from work each day to his mess everywhere, to bare cupboards and an empty fridge, and being unable to say anything in case it kicked off again. Plus, with my own job situation precarious, why should I be financially supporting someone who so clearly wanted nothing to do with me?
I was vaguely aware of someone coming towards me along the corridor but I didn’t notice who it was. My head was too mashed from trying to find the words to tell my parents that they were going to have to step up and do something about Chez because I had enough of my own problems to deal with right now.
‘Are you all right, Joel?’
It took me a moment to register that Fizz had stopped beside me.
‘Yeah, I’m, er… Have you seen Imogen?’
‘She’s dancing with Darcie and Phoebe. Oh my God! What have you done to your hand?’
I didn’t have the energy to cover for my brother. ‘A run-in with Chez. He threw a bottle of wine at me, and I cut my hand picking up the glass.’
Fizz’s mouth dropped open. ‘He threw a bottle of wine at you?’
‘It missed. I don’t know if it was meant to or not.’
‘The ungrateful little…’ Fizz swallowed down whatever she’d been about to call him, but I filled in a few blanks in my head. ‘I’m so sorry, Joel. What was he thinking? You’ve done everything for that lad. I know Chez has issues with his mental health and I really feel for him because depression is horrendous, but throwing a bottle at you is not depression. That’s mindless violence and he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.’
‘What the hell’s it got to do with you?’
I jumped at Chez’s loud voice. Presumably he’d heard everything Fizz had just said.
‘I’m concerned about your brother,’ Fizz declared, her voice strong and confident.
‘Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you be? Everyone’s on Joel’s side.’
‘Nobody’s taking sides,’ I said gently, hoping to defuse the situation.
‘She is!’ He jabbed his finger in Fizz’s direction.
‘Yes, I am. And do you know why? Because your actions have injured Joel and if your aim had been better, it could have been a heck of a lot worse than a cut hand. Stop blaming everyone else for your issues. You did something wrong and here’s your chance to act like a grown-up for once, own your actions and make amends.’
My stomach churned as I looked between Chez and Fizz, locked in a staring match. Fizz was right to call him out on his behaviour and I wondered if it would have made a difference if I’d stood up to him much earlier on. Fizz had made a great point – that there was a world of difference between depression affecting your behaviour and choosing to be aggressive. I’d allowed the lines to become so blurred that Chez had managed to get away with far too much.
Chez sighed and I wondered for a moment whether he was going to see sense but he shook his head and curled up his lip.
‘Backstabbing bitch!’ he snarled as he barged past us both, heading for the lobby.
‘Chez! Get back here now!’ I set off after him, determined he would apologise to Fizz for his disgusting language, but Fizz grabbed my arm.
‘I’ve been called worse than that,’ she said, smiling ruefully. ‘He’s being an arse but confronting him with it while he’s this hammered isn’t going to work. Let it go for tonight but, when he’s sober, you can tell him I expect an apology. A sincere one.’
‘You can have one from me for starters. I’m so sorry, Fizz. I shouldn’t have spilled my guts.’
‘Yes, you should. We’re friends and friends open up about their problems. Do your parents know what he’s done?’
‘No, but I am going to tell them. I’d already been thinking I can’t do this on my own anymore and tonight’s just proved it. I was going to check on Imogen then find them. Hopefully they can get through to him.’
‘Good. And once you’ve spoken to them, I want to see you back on the dance floor. Don’t let Chester’s strop ruin today for you.’
‘I’ll try not to. You said Imogen’s in the disco?’
‘Yes, and I was actually looking for you because I’ve got a special request. Darcie wants to know if Imogen can have a sleepover in her room tonight. It adjoins ours and has twin beds so she’ll be perfectly safe. I’ve asked Darcie not to mention it to Imogen as I wanted to make sure you were okay with it first.’
‘It’s fine by me, and probably for the best in case anything more kicks off with Chez. Last thing I need is him banging on my door in the early hours and scaring the life out of her.’
We found Imogen on the dance floor and ran Darcie’s suggestion by her. As expected, she loved the idea, so I gave Fizz my room key and she disappeared with the girls to move Imogen’s belongings and get Cloud settled on her new bed. Phoebe told me she’d seen my parents in the snug earlier, so I went to find them, noting that Poppy wasn’t in there. I hoped she’d been waylaid and hadn’t decided to call it a night, although I could hardly blame her if she had.
Mum spotted my clothes immediately. ‘I didn’t think you were planning to change,’ she said.
‘I wasn’t.’ I removed my hands from my pockets, revealing my bandage. ‘Long story.’
I pulled up a chair and made sure I had one eye on the door, partly to watch out for Poppy but mainly to make sure Chez didn’t walk in on me mid-conversation and accuse us all of conspiring against him or some other such nonsense. Keeping my voice low enough so that no nearby guests could hear, I filled them in on everything that had happened since Chez fell out with Harry, culminating in the ugly scene on the roof terrace. Mum pressed her fingers to her lips, eyes wide, cheeks pale as she took it all in and Dad kept his head bowed. I knew they’d both be blaming themselves for leaving and I wanted to nip that in the bud.
‘You mustn’t blame yourselves for any of this. You did the right thing for both of you leaving when you did and you’d have stayed if Chez had needed you, but he was in a good place and didn’t back then. That’s changed recently and I think he does need you now.’
Dad looked up, his eyes red, his brow furrowed. ‘I’m sorry about tonight and what you’ve been through with your brother this past week. We’ll book a room for him at our B&B from tomorrow night and spend some quality time with him this week.’
‘It would be a weight off me if you could.’
‘It’s the least we can do,’ Mum said. ‘We’re so grateful for everything you’ve done for your brother, but this ends now. What he’s put you through this week isn’t acceptable and don’t even get me started on tonight.’
‘I keep thinking I’ve failed him.’
They were both quick to reassure me that I’d done nothing wrong.
‘I’ll speak to him again about coming back to Portugal with us,’ Dad said. ‘He needs a break from everything that’s making him angry and bringing him down.’
‘What if he refuses again?’
‘I’ll make him see sense.’
If anyone could, Dad could. Seeing that Mum was flagging, I bid them goodnight so they could get to bed. A quick look round the bar confirmed that Poppy hadn’t slipped by without me noticing. I checked out the Juniper Lounge. She wasn’t in there either, but I spotted Zara and Snowy at the bar.
‘She was on the dance floor a few minutes ago,’ Zara said. ‘Have you two had a drink yet or is it time for me to bang your heads together?’
‘No drink, but she administered first aid to me.’ I held up my hand.
‘What happened?’
‘You don’t want to know. Dance floor, you say?’
‘Yes. Go get her, tiger.’
My spirits lifted as I neared the function room and, when I spotted Poppy dancing with Imogen, my heart leapt. Suddenly the issues with Chez and work faded away and all I wanted to do was dance with the little girl who’d stolen my heart the moment she’d arrived in the world and the woman who was in danger of doing the same thing.