Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
E vie managed to walk down her street and into the corner store without bumping into anyone she knew. She stood impatiently as Mrs Tyler, the lady behind the counter, counted her change. The last thing she wanted to do was walk around the neighbourhood, but Father had persisted until she gave in. Surely it wasn’t too much to ask that she go and get some Aspirin? They were both busy working out the finer details of their plans, and Mother needed some relief from a thumping headache.
When Mrs Tyler asked how Maya was, Evie must have looked shocked. ‘Oh dear, is she alright?’ Mrs Tyler asked, clutching the packet of Aspirin in her hand. Evie wanted to reach out, snatch the packet from her, and quickly exit the store. But instead she smiled, reassuring the nosy shopkeeper. ‘Yes, she’s fine. Just a bit of hay fever, and the Aspirin will fix that.’
With that, she took the packet and turned to walk out of the shop. As she made her way towards the doorway, she hoped like crazy there wouldn’t be anyone from school in the street. It was early, and being Saturday morning, most kids would be sleeping in or watching Bandstand on TV. When she pushed through the plastic strands that hung from the shop doorway, she looked ahead and her heart leapt into her throat. She stood on the top step of the shop. Two steps down on the concrete footpath in front of her, stood Chris.
They stared at each other for a moment before she sidestepped around him and started to walk up the street towards her house.
‘Evie. Evie. What’s wrong?’
In a flash he was beside her, and when he grabbed her arm, she stopped. He wore a T-shirt that said Stradbroke Island, the picture of two dolphins leaping through the waves smudged with some sort of grease stain. For a while she looked down at the ground, his tanned legs and bare feet easier to look at than his face.
‘Why’re you avoiding me? What happened to you last night? I waited and you didn’t come. I’ve tried to ring. What the hell is wrong?’
She continued to stare at the ground, all the time willing herself not to let him see how upset she was.
‘Evie. Talk to me. I don’t know what I’ve done wrong.’
For a moment she considered spilling it all out. His father. Her mother. Having sex in her mother’s bed. The conversation. Chris. Geraldine. In Chris’s bedroom.
Her words came out with a vengeance. ‘You lied to me. I don’t want to talk to you again. ’
‘What the hell are you talking about? I have no idea what you’re on about, and I have never lied to you.’
‘Bullshit. You might think I’m stupid, but I know exactly what you’ve done. You’re a two-timer.’
He drew back from her, letting go of her arm. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘You’ve been with someone else. Leading me on. You can fuck off.’
A quizzical look crossed his face. ‘What are you talking about? I haven’t been with anyone else. Tell me who.’
‘You tell me.’
‘How can I when I haven’t been with anyone else? You’re my girlfriend.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘You’re not making any sense. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it’s crap, and I’ve never lied to you.’
She looked up at him, his blue eyes staring back at her. Did he stare at Geraldine like that? His hand stroked her arm and she pulled back. Had he touched Geraldine everywhere? Had they touched each other? The thought made her feel sick and she strode past him. ‘I don’t want to see you again. I’m breaking up with you.’
‘For what reason?’
‘I told you.’
His voice grew angry, and he walked quickly to catch up with her. ‘What, you’re not even going to talk to me, or tell me what I’ve done wrong? You’re just going to call it quits? Don’t I mean more to you than that? I don’t even know what I’ve supposedly done wrong.’
She crossed her arms, glaring as hard as she could at him. Tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them come. She pushed past him, striding up the footpath. This time he didn’t follow her. She walked faster, not slowing down until she reached the corner. Her chest ached and she wiped her hand over her face, as tears spilled down her cheeks. When she turned around to look back at him, he was still standing in the same spot, with his arms crossed and an angry look on his face. ‘Goodbye,’ she whispered. ‘Cheater.’