3. Remember Jake Boyd?
brIANNA
3
After eight hours of driving, I see the ‘Welcome to Brisbane’ sign and know I’m not far from my parents' house. When I was a kid, that stretch of road when driving back from the Gold Coast used to feel so long, but after the drive up from where I stopped overnight at Coffs Harbour, I almost feel like crying with relief. This has been the longest seventy-two hours of my life.
My phone rings, and I glance at the screen of the car’s entertainment system to see that it’s Morgan. I hit the speaker button on the steering wheel.
“Hey.”
“Hey, how far away are you?” Her voice is full of excitement, and I smile despite myself.
“About ten minutes. I’ve just come off the Gateway Bridge.” I flick my indicator on to take the exit off the motorway.
“How was the drive? Did you speak to your boss yesterday?”
“The drive was long. I’m ready for a nap. And yes, I spoke to Dayna. She said I’m fine to work from the Brisbane office for a bit. I’ve cancelled my leave, so I’ll start on Monday.”
“Only for a bit? You’re not going back to Sydney, are you?” Morgan asks.
“Hell no. I’m done with Sydney. But I couldn’t tell Dayna that yet,” I say, struggling to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“Good. Cause you belong here with us. Those Sydney assholes didn’t deserve my sweet baby Bri.”
“Where are you? Please tell me you’ll be at Mum’s as well. I can’t handle getting the third degree from her when I walk in the door if you’re not there as a buffer.”
“Getting in the car right now. Oh, and you’re coming out tonight,” she says while I stifle a yawn.
I shake my head before remembering she can’t see me. “No way. I need to sleep for the rest of my life.”
Leaving my parent’s house tonight after spending so long driving there was not appealing to me.
“As the eldest, you know I’m going to win, so you might as well just accept your fate.”
“You’re the eldest by eleven months. Don’t pull that shit on me!” I say, but I can’t stop the small smile that tugs at my lips.
“The last thing you should be doing right now is moping around at home, probably being driven nuts by Mum and hearing the bloody cricket on the TV while Dad pretends everyone else doesn’t exist.”
That very accurate description of home life has me suddenly rethinking my plan to become a hermit.
“Fine, but I’m going to need at least a nap. This drive has shattered me.” Maddie lets out an impatient whine from the passenger seat, loud enough that Morgan hears it over the speakerphone.
“Best get home before that fluffy niece of mine makes a mess in your car. I’ll see you in a few minutes!” She hangs up, and I glance over to check on my furry baby. She is bouncing back and forth, going from sitting on the seat to pawing at the window and whining constantly.
“Just a few more minutes, baby. Hold on.”
I finally pull up at my parent’s house and climb stiffly out of my car before letting Maddie out. She flings herself out of the car and sprints to the nearest piece of grass to relieve herself, looking at me with what I swear is a doggy smile, and I grin.
My mother runs down the driveway, and Maddie instantly recognises her. She dances around our legs while Mum wraps me in a giant hug. I haven’t been back in over a year, and my mother has made me feel guilty about it for months. She tearfully squeezes me tightly before hollering to my father to come and get my stuff. Her mouth is so close to my right ear that it starts ringing, and I pull away, clapping a hand over my ear.
“Hi, Mum.” I rub my poor ear, and my father appears at the door.
I give him a small smile and a wave. A man of few words, I can only assume he is happy to see his youngest daughter when he grunts at me before heading to the back of my car to unload the suitcases and boxes that Richard and his assistant so kindly left piled in there.
My mother is shepherding me and Maddie inside when my sister pulls up in Chris’s car. She barely manages to turn the car off before she’s out and racing up the driveway. She launches herself at me so hard I am lucky not to topple over, and I laugh when she gives me a tight squeeze.
“It sucks what happened, but I’m so damn happy you’re back.” Her words are muffled in my hair, keeping the conversation between us.
Being held in my sister’s arms for the first time in months brings back all the emotions I’ve kept caged inside since that first day in the hotel. I cling to her tightly and fight back the tears that threaten to overcome me. My mother sweeps Maddie up and cuddles her while she watches Morgan and I hug.
“Come on, everyone, inside, please. I’m missing the match,” Dad says, juggling the last of my things.
“Yes, come on, girls.” My mother pushes us both towards the door, and Morgan lets go of me just long enough for us to both get inside.
A few hours later, I am sitting on the single bed in my childhood bedroom, watching my sister dig through my bags, searching for a dress for me to wear. I still haven’t had the nap I desperately want, but Morgan insists I don’t need it. The scorching sun has finally dropped below the horizon, and she’s already made me do my hair and makeup.
“Where are we going, anyway?” I ask the top of her head.
“Remember Jake Boyd?” she asks, looking up.
I nod. Hard to forget the guy you spent most of your childhood and teen years crushing on.
She goes back to digging through my clothes. “Well, he won an apartment in one of those prize home charity things, and we’ve organised a party there tonight.” Morgan finds the dress she must have been looking for and nods before throwing it at me. “Put that on. You look hot in that.”
“I didn’t think anyone ever actually won those things? I always assumed they were rigged.” I screw my nose up when I look at the dress she’s chosen for me. “I don’t want to look hot. I want to hang out in tracksuit pants, wear no makeup and not brush my hair. Why do I need to make so much effort to look nice for the people we’ve known our whole lives?”
“Two reasons. One.” She holds up a finger on her right hand before pointing at the dress and then at me. “This apartment is seriously fancy. Therefore, only well-dressed people shall be allowed in. And two, I am not letting you wallow over that dickhead. He was never good enough for you, and I will not sit by and watch while you feel bad for even one more moment because of him. So, we’re going out. You’ll see people you haven’t seen in years but who all still love you very much, and we will never discuss he who shall not be named again.”
I gulp at the determination on her face before saluting and peeling off my favourite tracksuit pants and my senior jersey that I’d found in a drawer in my room. After years of having to dress like one of the Real Housewives of Richard and Co, I was really looking forward to embracing my inner slob, but I guess that will have to start tomorrow.
“You know, Richard wasn’t that bad. Well, before how he ended it,” I say.
Morgan shoots me a disgusted look. “Do not defend him. No decent guy ends a five-year relationship by locking their girlfriend out of their apartment, transferring her plane tickets to his supposed assistant, and just leaving her a fucking note,” she says, her voice shaking.
I swallow hard. Both Morgan and Chris are convinced that Richard has been cheating on me with his assistant. It’s not something I’m ready to think about yet while I’m still processing the humiliation and hurt from the way he ended the relationship.
Once I pull the little black dress into place and rearrange my boobs, I stand before my sister so she can inspect her handiwork.
“Much better. Right, we’re going back to mine so I can get all dressed up, and then we’re catching an Uber to Jake’s. Chris is already there. I dropped him off this morning.”
I’m looking forward to seeing my almost brother-in-law. He has been around for so long that he’s already a part of the family and is the older brother I never had.
“Who else is coming?” I grab my handbag and follow her out of the room after giving my bed one final, longing look.
“The usual crew and a few others we’ve collected over the years will be there. Tara and Kylie are going to be there.”
I smile at the mention of my two best friends from high school, whom I haven’t seen for over a year.
But then the anxiety I’ve been fighting against for the last three days starts to knock on the door once again. I had become so distracted with my life in Sydney that I hadn’t been that close to the people who had been my whole world growing up. Will they even want to see me?
If Richard had left me so easily, maybe my old friends wouldn’t have missed me anyway.
I do my best to push my feelings back down into the box that I’ve been keeping them in since I picked myself up off the floor in that hotel room.
We pass by our parents, who are sitting on the couch watching the cricket. Well, Dad is watching the cricket. Mum is reading a book on her Kindle and shooting dirty looks at the TV. Maddie is curled up in a ball beside her, having made herself right at home. I can tell Mum is happy to have the little fluff ball around to spoil as she affectionately rubs Maddie’s soft ears.
“You girls off now? Have a great time. Send me a photo of this apartment.” We both give Mum a quick peck on the cheek and wave at Dad, who nods without taking his eyes off the TV.
“Thanks, Mum. See you in a bit.”
Morgan laughs. “No, she won’t. She’ll see you in the morning.”
I shoot my sister an alarmed look. “What do you mean? Morgan, all I want to do is sleep, and now you’re saying I can’t even come home?”
I feel like I’m on the verge of a meltdown, but my sister gives me a sunny smile while she waves her hand at me.
“We’re staying there, silly. There are four bedrooms and several couches. This is going to be a big night.” She swans out the door without a care in the world, and I stare after her for a moment, feeling a lump forming in my throat.
Great… Now, I really wish I was back in my tracksuit pants.