Shelby
Chapter Two
Evermore Circuit, Australia
M y bracelets clattered down my arm piercing the otherwise silent mid-morning air as I traced my finger over the old eucalypt.
The strong, slightly medicinal scent thrust me back to an afternoon long ago when Corbin and I tore the leaves apart and attempted to use them as whistles.
Dad had carefully selected each of my leaves because mine were never broad or waxy enough and like everything else we did, Corbs was far more successful.
His method less ‘do it as quickly as possible’ and more ‘patience equates to efficiency’ or something else entirely put together.
Another gaping difference between – Mr. I Grew up Gorgeous, Successful and Put Together – And me, the lackadaisical, free-spirit with a slight kink for living in the unknown.
Being with him had ironically held no awkwardness thus far and I wondered how we would go on the road together for the foreseeable future given our stark differences.
While pondering, my fingers followed the pattern of the S written backwards in the trunk of the tree, the naivety of a five-year-old still learning to write their name, carved alongside the initial of her closest friend.
Cee plus backwards ess.
Corbin, bright even as a child, had corrected me, but easily distracted, the carvings remained as they were for all these years.
And it was a symbol, as adorable as childhood, for the two little friends who a few years later would be separated by The Pacific Ocean and 9000 miles.
An insurmountable distance at that age. Retrieving my phone I snapped a photo, wanting to keep the memory fresh forever now it had resurfaced.
“I wondered if you would remember that.” I jumped, startled by his proximity as I turned, lost in my own bank of memories.
“I can’t believe it’s still there,” I replied with a quick grin over my shoulder. “We got up to a lot of things back here,” I remembered, not daring to look back at him in case he saw the blush creeping up my neck.
Clearing his throat and ignoring the inference in my words, he said, “Mum spends a lot of time back here, especially over the last twelve months.”
Since my mother’s passing, left unsaid but in the air all the same.
Mum’s illness affected Aunty Ash deeply.
Like Corbin and I, they’d been best friends since childhood and the distance had never been an issue for them.
Mum spoke to her more than she spoke to the people who lived next door.
They were each other’s constant and losing her was a grief Corbin’s mother and I now shared.
The loss of my mother but her soul-sister.
I’d had flashbacks to my younger years since arriving in my childhood street this morning.
The house I’d lived in looked so very different now with wild gardens and untethered hedges blanketing the property, turning it into a jungle oasis compared to the giant plot of land it used to be.
The Chambers and Hudson households lived in each other’s pockets so often it was easier to have nothing acting as a barrier to our afternoon play time and that included fences or landscaping.
The new street sign had followed me as we turned in, the bold font of Evermore Circuit, staring as though it remembered me too.
Knew I would one day return as if the street itself was a visionary.
“She loved it out here,” Aunty Ash’s voice pulled me from my reverie as she patted down to join us.
I looked around at the backyard which was much smaller than I remembered as a child but recognisable by the tyre swing which still hung from the same tree only now it also housed a set of chairs and some freshly potted plants.
“Your mum, I mean. We would sit back here with a sneaky glass of wine while you kids played. Complaining about how tired we were,” she chuckled as her eyes filled with tears.
“She’d be so happy knowing you brought her home,” she added, and I reached out and squeezed her hand. “They both would.”
“As if I could ever keep you two apart for long,” I wiped a stray tear from my own cheek. “And we know my parents were always going to be together.”
“She followed him for love, and I never begrudged that. I would have done the same. Although, when he passed away, I begged her to come back. But Blake had started school by then and you’d settled into your new high school.
She didn’t want you both to deal with any more than you already had.
” She smiled kindly and I nodded. I never knew Aunty Ash begged her to come back.
It made sense now I thought about it, we’d only been overseas for two years, but hearing Mum’s reasons wasn’t surprising.
She always did put us first which was why I found putting my life on hold when she needed me, so easy.
“We’re heading to Serenity Ridge first up. Anything we should know?” I asked, ready to move away from the emerging sadness of discussing her passing.
We’d told her and Uncle Chris our plans over brunch, and they loved the idea .
“Don’t tell my son everything we got up to,” she whispered, and I laughed.
“He is on a need-to-know basis,” I replied with a wide grin towards Corbin who was shaking his head with mock disgust.
“I’m going to say bye to Dad. Meet you out front in five,” he called, retreating as Aunty Ash, and I slowly followed.
“Some of those entries are wild. I wish I had a friendship like yours,” I admitted.
She laughed but it held a sad tinge. “Talia was my greatest love. We were inseparable, even an ocean apart. Thank you for bringing her back to me,” she choked, and I paused, turning towards her with equal amounts of grief.
“Mum loved you as much as she loved Dad, I think. She would want you all together again.”
She nodded, wiping her eyes. “Your mum always got me to do the wildest things and now you have my son agreeing to take time off work and travel. You Hudsons are something else. He can get cranky when he is out of routine so be patient with him.” She smiled softly.
“I’m more worried about him with me,” I joked, eliciting a laugh.
“I think you are exactly what he needs, Shel,” she replied. “He just doesn’t realise it yet.”
“Look at the fresh powder. It’s the first decent fall of the season and guests have gone crazy,” my brother drawled, his excitement evident in his fast-paced camera panning.
“It’s so hot here, Blake. I was desperate for the heat but I’m not so sure anymore. ”
“I’m slightly jealous of your tank top and shorts weather,” he smiled, flipping the camera back onto his face. “But keen to hit the slopes tomorrow.”
“I bet. But just be safe okay. No stupid hills. I don’t need to come home to broken bones.” I chastised, easily falling back into the self-appointed role of parental figure.
“Seriously, I’m twenty-two years old. I have a mortgage now for God’s sake,” he added with pride, referring to the unit he’d purchased with the money he received from Mum’s life insurance.
Something else Corbin had sorted for me, without question, from the other side of the planet.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he continued, rolling his eyes and I smiled.
After Dad passed so suddenly, it was only the three of us, and when Mum died, I felt lost, going from caring for someone constantly, to nothing.
Taking over and worrying about my little brother was an easy adjustment and my problem more than his.
He was right, I needed to give him breathing space, not that I was going to admit that to him.
“How’s Aurora shaping up? Bet it’s busy,” I said instead, offering a segue.
Aurora Ridge was like a hallmark movie over the winter and tourists and locals alike flocked to the town sometimes seeing the place booked out for months in advance.
The snow-globe come to life was an adventurer's dream and a place you could easily find yourself lost within the powdered playground.
My brother knew working the winter would be anything but vocational, however, he scored free accommodation, all the snow gear he would need and two days off a week to explore – his idyllic break.
“Fully booked for the whole season. I hit the tundra first thing tomorrow before taking the late shift. Shelbs, its magic this year, I…” His voice sounded sullen. Wistful .
“I’ll be back for New Years. I’ll join you at Aurora for a few days as always,” I promised, knowing he was thinking about how we would be separate this year.
“Sounds good. Cole might come up too, if his dad loosens the leash he has on him,” he grumbled.
His best mate came from a sketchy family.
The Evans’ were known in town for their less than legal dealings, although no one really knew exactly what they did behind the gates of the large plot of land.
What wasn’t a secret was how aggressive Cole’s father was and while his son resembled him in looks, the tattoos and heterochromia were where those similarities ended.
Blake’s best mate was the best and he spent a lot of time at our house escaping his own.
“Perfect,” I smiled, meaning it. They were hilarious when they were together and Cole knew exactly how to rile my little brother up, which was my favourite part. “But you are not allowed to ditch me for girls again,” I added.
“That was one time and even you said how great her t-”
“Blake!” I whisper-screamed, “I have you on loudspeaker.” I shot him a warning glare through the screen, but he only laughed.
“Sorry, sis. My cell service will be dicey here but keep me posted on where you go. I’m glad you have Corbin with you. Didn’t love the idea of you being alone.”
“Me too,” I replied honestly, looking away from the screen at a tuft of grass next to the park bench I was sitting on while I coloured and chatted to Blake.
“How is the infamous Corbin?” He asked playfully. He’d been only four when we left Australia, so his memories of our neighbours were barely there, if at all.
“Is it weird for me to say criminally attractive. I’m not even sure how he’s single. He’s a walking, talking argument for why intelligence is the ultimate turn-on and has these potent green eyes- ”
“For fuck’s sake, sis. Can you please answer me as your brother, not your friend. A fine would suffice.” He emulated a shudder, and I laughed. I missed him already.
“Oops, sorry,” I giggled, not even remotely sorry. “Well, he is, I don’t know, he’s Corbin,” I shrugged. “The complete opposite to me in the best of ways.”
“I’m sorry I asked,” Blake shook his head. “How are you feeling about the drop and shake?”
“Blake! Can you not?” I smacked a hand over my face to stop myself laughing at his macabre humour.
My twenty-two-year-old brother was born with zero empathy and no emotional intelligence.
It meant he didn’t at all mind where Mum and Dad’s final resting places would be, but it also meant he coined the scattering of their ashes with horrendous euphemisms.
“I bet Dad would love that,” he grinned, and he was right. My brother got his sick sense of humour from our father who thought anything even remotely emotional was the perfect opportunity for a good old laugh.
“And I can hear Mum admonishing you both,” I again grinned. “I’m glad Corbin is coming too. I thought doing it alone would be no big thing but, and this is going to sound super weird-”
“Most things you say are weird,” he cut me off with an accurate interruption.
“I think he calms me,” I said more to myself. “Makes me less weird.” I added for lack of a better word.
“Nothing could make you less weird,” Blake retorted, before yawning.
“Hush. It’s what makes me the best sister you could ever have. Now go to sleep. I’ll be in touch over the next few days. Love you,” I said in farewell.
“Love you, too.” He tapped his cheek three times in quick succession, emulating the gesture I was also doing, before ending the call. It was something we’d always done because unlike me, he didn’t really like affection, so we compromised, satisfying us both.
I took a deep breath of the warm air, already perspiring despite the loose fit of my clothes.
It was only supposed to be 30℃ today but it felt much hotter in the mid-afternoon sun and Corbin’s truck couldn’t be ready soon enough.
Ever reliable, he expected the same in his car and it was cute how he ensured everything was good to go before our road trip, even if I stupidly chose to sit across the street in the heat while the mechanic gave it a once over.
“It’s ready when you are,” he cut through my inner ramblings as if I elicited his presence with my thoughts.
“You must have read my mind,” I replied, noticing his posture against that tree looked far too comfortable for someone who just arrived.
“Nope. But I do agree with Blake. There isn’t a lot that could tone down your weirdness,” he grinned lazily, and I blanched. He looked relatively pleased with himself, which meant he’d heard the conversation. How much, I couldn’t be sure.
Narrowing my eyes, I went for optimally cool – which was difficult given the film of sweat that was serving more uncomfortable boar than relaxed.
“Your audacity is high for someone who described their mood as Deep Space Sparkle less than an hour ago,” I jibed and startling me, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.
His palm pressed to his stomach as if the act took him just as much by surprise.
It was a sound I wanted to record and add to my playlist because hearing it made me think of Ocean Foam or Leafy Canopy , my favourite colours in the Crayola selection.
“Not all of us are eternally optimistic, Berry Parfait,” he said once he’d regained his composure, and I let my own laugh free.
“I really want to prolong this argument, but I’m a few minutes away from sunstroke with the amount of fluid I am unintentionally losing,” I said, snapping my colouring book closed and standing to head back towards the mechanic.
“We definitely are the complete opposite, aren’t we,” he joked with a slight shove to my shoulder.
I sighed internally. Both at the shame of him having heard the entire conversation with my meathead brother, but also that we really were very different.
“Oh my God, you are such a little peeper,” I deflected.
“Just acting like the criminal you said I was,” he added and I sucked in a sharp exaggerated breath.
“I said criminally attractive actually,” I flicked him a side-eye noticing the way his cheeks pinkened ever so slightly. Not as confident as he was trying to be, I realised with delight.
“Okay, okay,” he held his hands up. “Let’s get something for dinner and go finish packing,” he relented in defeat.
“That’s what I thought,” I said on a chuckle, linking my arm through his and feeling positively excited for the journey we were about to embark upon.