Chapter 37 #2
“Get in the pool, you idiot.” she nods at my phone. “I’ll guard that thing with my life. It’s wild what you’ve been through.”
I’d told Joan everything. The drugs. The crash. The raid at Arcadia. How I baited security to make the swap happen. Not to forget that crazy police interrogation.
Another chapter in the rock-and-roll saga of Tom McKenna.
Calvin strolls into the lounge area; he’s clearly just fallen out of bed. Bella and Gordo trail behind, collapsing into the shade beside his chair.
He open a beer and pushes a lime wedge into the bottle.
“Hey,” I say, turning to him. “You still have Tiffy’s number?”
He shrugs. “Dunno. Check my phone.” He tosses it over.
I scroll straight to the T’s—right above my own name.
Tiffany Sanchez.
I hit call.
“Fucking wanker! Don’t ring her from my phone!”
I dodge Calvin and circle the pool while he comes after me for his phone, the dogs going feral and joining the chase.
Tiffy picks up.
“Calvin, unless you’re calling to apologize for sucking that girl’s toe in Aruba, I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
Joan snorts water out of her nose.
“Uh—sorry, Tiffy. It’s Tom. Tom McKenna,” I say quickly. I don’t want her to hang up.
“Tooom! Oh my god, this is so embarrassing. How are you?”
“I’m… fine. Sort of. Listen, I’m actually calling to ask if you’ve heard from Yosh.”
There’s a pause.
“Not since SeaBreeze on Sunday. Why?”
I take a breath and tell her everything that’s happened since then. She stays quiet until I’m done.
“Oh god, Tom. This is bad. Seriously. Shit. I’m coming over right now.”
“Okay. You remember where Calvin lives, right?”
Calvin starts flailing his arms beside me, mouthing No, no, no. I ignore him. He still owes me after Sunday’s disaster.
“I’ll be there in twenty. See you soon.”
She hangs up.
Calvin groans dramatically. “Fine. I’ll be hiding downstairs. No way am I dealing with her.”
He heads for the music studio, muttering something about trespassing as he goes.
When a car door slams outside, I know Tiffy’s arrived. She walks into the lounge like she never really left. She used to live here until she’d caught Calvin in the act.
What happens in Aruba, stays in Aruba, Calvin always says.
Now I know why.
I need a second to school my face into something neutral.
I watch her take in the mess of empty beer bottles, Calvin’s flip-flops abandoned near the pool, and of course, Mia, the flamingo floatie with the red lace thong around her neck.
She drops onto the sofa beside me.
“You look like shit,” she says, observing the bruises around my eye. I better not flash her my Hollywood smile.
“There’s improvement, actually. I couldn’t even open my eye until yesterday.”
“And you did that…to protect Yosh?”
The way she’s looking at me, I can tell the big question is already sitting on her tongue. I spare us both the dance.
“Yeah. We’re… sort of a thing. No official label yet.”
She squeals, hand flying over her mouth.
“Tom… wow. Really? That’s amazing!” Her eyes shine.
“He really, really likes you, you know. I’m so relieved it worked out.”
Her expression turns more serious. “He needs someone to love him, Tom. Someone who stays. No matter what.”
“Tiffy, I’m not going anywhere. Right now, I just want to find him and tell him exactly how much he means to me.”
Worry crosses her face. “About that… Here’s the thing. I’m having a bit of a crisis. Yosh is going to hate me for this, but I don’t trust the situation, so I’m telling you anyway.”
“If you’re worried, I’m worried. Tell me.”
She taps her neon-pink nails against the bamboo armrest.
“I tried calling Yosh on my way over. He texted me back. He’s staying at Erin’s place to get ahead of a potential relapse. Said he doesn’t trust himself to be alone.”
Wait, what? Relapse?
“Yosh was a guest at Arcadia once. That’s the whole reason he came to Avalon.”
I stare at her.
Him. At Arcadia.
Like me?
Fuck.
Suddenly it feels like I’m free falling. My spirals, my shame, the silence. It was personal. He understood because he’d lived it.
God. All this time I thought he was seeing me, but now I think he was seeing us. That’s why it felt so real. And now he’s in a bad place because I thought it was a brilliant idea to drag him to SeaBreeze that night.
The worst part? I’m not there to give him the safety and support he gave me. To be the one who stays, even when it gets hard. Even when it hurts and things turn ugly.
“Damn it. I need to find him. Not now, yesterday.”
Tiffy’s fingers tighten around my wrist. “I know it wasn’t my place to tell you, but I don’t trust Erin. I think we need to get Yosh out of there.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Finally. Someone who agrees with me. That woman is two-faced.”
My words are barely cold when Joan and Calvin rush outside. Joan’s barefoot, her body wrapped in a beach towel, dripping water across the tiles. Calvin’s shirt is half-buttoned.
Is the house on fire? Whatever it is, it’s got them rushing out fast.
There’s a moment of awkward eye contact between Cal and Tiffy before he looks back at me.
“We’ve got a problem. Jay’s at the front gate. He brought Sergei.”
“Shit.”
That can only mean one thing.
“He’s here to pick me up. I’ve been ignoring his calls for days.”
I turn to Joan. “What do we do?”
If anyone knows how to dodge her father and his bodyguard, it’s her.
She grabs my phone, ducks back inside to fetch her bag, then presses a wad of cash into my palm.
“Take this and go. I’ll keep your phone so Dad can’t track you.”
I look at Tiffy. Where now?
Calvin snaps into action. “Joan, stall your dad. Tell him you don’t know how to open the gate and you need to wake me up.”
Joan nods and disappears back inside.
Cal heads for the far side of the pool, peering over the fence.
“Oscar! It’s time for OFF!”
Tiffy and I follow. Calvin’s neighbour waves from behind his barbecue, then grabs his keys and jogs over, unlocking a hidden gate between Calvin and his garden.
“What the hell is OFF?” I ask.
“Operation Flying Flamingo,” Cal says proudly. “So his girls can sneak through when the missus is on her way.”
I scoff. Ofcourse Cal has a protocol for this.
Tiffy folds her arms. “Ah, you mean this is a saloon door, swinging both ways?”
Calvin lifts his hands in surrender, which only makes him look guiltier. I figure it’s best we leg it before this turns into a full-blown drama and Sergei starts chasing me like a bloodhound.
I grab Tiffy’s hand, pulling her through to Oscar’s villa.
At the front, Oscar checks the street, then holds up his hand.
We wait in the shadow of the wall, holding our breaths until he waves us on. We sprint for Tiffy’s car the second Jay and Sergei disappear inside.
I collapse into the seat. Tiffy cranks up the AC and hits the gas, a cloud of smoke forming as we take off.
Fuck.
Why is it always one shitstorm after another?