Storm Shells (The Wishes Series #3) (21 page)

“Are you going to yell at me again?” I asked. “Because I really don’t need it right now.”

“No,” she replied. “I just want to talk. Yesterday was terrible.”

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself apologising to her. I had nothing to be sorry for. When all was said and done, her anguish had nothing to do with me.

“I didn’t set out to hurt you, Gabi. Obviously I didn’t plan this,” I began. “But I’m happy. I want you to be happy too.”

She brought her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. It was a move I was jealous of. I couldn’t have copied her if I tried.

“I am happy for you. I just don’t understand why you would cut Adam out of the picture. Why haven’t you told him? I think it’s most unfair.”

Gabrielle’s loyalties were with Adam, and it had always been that way. It came as no surprise that she was so quick to defend him. It left me with no choice but to tell her the whole sorry tale. True to form, Alex had told her nothing, which was no mean feat. It would’ve been World War Three in their house after I’d left the day before. Once I explained that Adam wanted a termination, she backed down.

“I gave him an out, and he took it.” I spoke far more casually than a statement like that deserved.

“I know Adam,” she said strongly. “If he’d known the truth, he would have done the right thing.”

I shook my head, reliving the misery all over again. “And what’s the right thing, Gabi? Living a miserable life he doesn’t want?”

Better than anyone, I knew how awful that felt. I just couldn’t do it to him – or myself.

“He has a responsibility to – ”

“I’m not holding him to anything, Gabrielle.” I could feel frustration setting in. She just wasn’t getting it. “For a long time I thought I needed Adam. I realise now that I don’t.”

Her eyes drifted away to the rough ocean ahead. “You no longer love him?”

I picked up a handful of sand and sifted it through my fingers. “I’m always going to love him. I’m just not prepared to keep giving in to him. Things are better this way, for both of us.”

She looked across at me, resting her cheek on her knees. “He’s going to have to know.”

“I realise that.”

“What does he have to do to make it right?” she asked.

Turn up at my door
, I answered silently. Saying it out loud would’ve sounded weak, which would’ve made convincing her that I had it all together impossible.

“Adam hasn’t done anything wrong,” I told her. “We just want different things. I’m not going to punish him for that. He’s free to live his life.”

“And what are you going to do?”

I looked out at the ocean, imagining every possibility. “I’m going to raise my chicken free-range. She’s going to be my happy ending.”

“A chicken?” She sounded confused. “A girl chicken?”

I glanced across at her, smiling. “I’m sure it’s a girl. I’ve thought that from the beginning.”

“Are you going to find out for certain?”

“I don’t need to. I know she’s a girl and I know she’s perfect.”

Gabrielle stretched her hand toward me. “The universe told you?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

She put her hand to my stomach. The look on her face was one of sheer wonderment. “I envy you so much.”

“I’m going to need help, Gabi.” I wasn’t trying to make her feel better. I was speaking the absolute truth. I had no clue what I was doing and wasn’t stubborn enough to pretend otherwise.

“We’re going to be here for you, Charli,” she promised in a tiny voice. “All babies are blessings.”

* * *

“Earth to Charli,” called Nicole, waving her hand in front of my face.

“Did you say something?” I asked, snapping out of my daydream.

“I asked you if you want a cup of coffee,” she repeated.

I’d spent quite a bit of time at the café lately. Being with Nicole gave me a chance to test the friendship waters. I wasn’t entirely sure that there was a place for my traitor ex-best friend in my life, but after all she’d been through I felt as if I at least owed her a chance.

“No, she doesn’t want any coffee,” chimed Alex, jingling his car keys as he headed toward the door. “It’s not good for the baby. I’ll see you in an hour or two... maybe three.”

Alex wasn’t quite the workhorse he used to be. Nicole practically ran the place, which I think suited them both. She ran things her way and he cut out to go surfing whenever he pleased.

“He disappears all the time,” grumbled Nicole as soon as he walked out the door. Her annoyance didn’t seem genuine. Being left to her own devices was hardly a bad thing.

“Do you still have a thing for him?” I teased. “Do you miss him when he’s gone?”

Nicole swiped a cloth along the countertop, pretending to clean it. “Alex is hot, Charli. Too bad he’s your daddy.”

It felt so good to laugh. Staying happy was a coup, because after signing divorce papers, I wasn’t at all hopeful any more.

I’d received another sign that morning that led me to think my happy ending was slipping out of reach. The rings I’d finally grown into were now getting tight and uncomfortable to wear.

“It’s probably just temporary,” reasoned Nicole. “You have lots of changes going on in your body right now.”

I slipped the rings into my pocket and rubbed the red mark on my finger.

“We’ll see,” I mumbled.

* * *

The bell at the top of the door jingled and Wade Davis strutted in, breathing heavily like he’d run all the way from Hobart.

“Forty-three minutes and twelve seconds,” he announced, pressing a button on his watch.

“Nice work Wado,” praised Nicole. “That’s a record, isn’t it?”

“What’s going on?” I whispered from the corner of my mouth.

“Wade and Jasmine run ten kilometres every morning. They’re quite the fitness freaks,” explained Nicole, winking at me.

Madness, I thought. I twisted on the stool to get a better look at Wade – and turned back quickly before I permanently damaged my eyesight. He was bobbing up and down in a strange squatting motion, warming down after his run.

“Gross,” I mouthed, wide eyed and repulsed by his red spandex shorts.

“Wait until you see Jasmine,” whispered Nicole, grinning.

I didn’t have to wait long. Jasmine staggered into the café soon after, doubled over and gasping for breath.

“Well done, babes!” boomed Wade. “Forty-three minutes and fifty-eight seconds.”

Jasmine’s melodramatic panting sounded positively obscene. “Water, get me water.” Nicole grabbed two bottles of water out of the glass fridge and handed them to the sparkly athletes. “Thank you,” wheezed Jasmine.

“Do you do this every day?” I asked, too curious for my own good.

“Beauty is pain, Charli,” explained Wade, raising his left arm and kissing his bicep.

I covered my mouth to stop myself giggling – or vomiting. I hadn’t decided which. Jasmine pulled out the nearest chair and slumped on it in an unladylike pose. “We’re trying to get super fit before the wedding. We want to look our best.”

“Of course,” I agreed.

At that moment Jasmine looked far from her best. Embarking on a long distance run while wearing a full face of makeup didn’t work for her. She looked like a hot, sweaty panda.

“Adam likes to jog, doesn’t he Charli?” she asked, looking at me through black-rimmed eyes.

“Yeah,” I replied, unaffected by her intel gathering. “Except in winter. He goes to the gym in winter.”

“You should think about taking up jogging,” she noted, still a little breathless. “You’re way out of shape these days. It’s sad to see you let yourself go like that.”

Nicole laughed. I scowled at her but it had no effect.

“You know, Charli,” began Wade, sauntering toward me. “I can help you out with the few extra kilos you’re carrying. Never misunderestimate the power of exercise.”

I cleared my throat. “Ah, that’s a very generous offer but I’m going to have to turn you down. I’m enjoying being fat.”

“Oh I see.” He had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Good for you.”

Jasmine fervently shook her head. “Well I’m sorry, Charli, but you’re out of the wedding. I can’t possibly have a fat bridesmaid. The photos would be horrible.”

Nicole returned to the business side of the counter, cackling the whole way. “Were you going to ask Charli to be a bridesmaid? Seriously?”

Her incredulity was warranted. Jasmine had been my mortal enemy for as long as I could remember. Being an attendant at her wedding beggared belief.

“Jasmine wants the whole bridal party to be blonde,” interjected Wade. “They’ll match the pink dresses better.” The staid expression on his sweaty face led me to believe he was deadly serious.

“That’s right,” agreed Jasmine, rolling the lid of her bottle of water between her fingers. “It doesn’t matter, though. I was thinking of asking Penny. Remember her?” I could only think of one girl named Penny. If memory served me correctly, her high school career had been as miserable as ours, thanks to the Beautifuls. “She works at the bait and tackle shop now,” she added. “I love her hair. She has ghastly skin but I think I can work with her.”

“Doesn’t Penny hate you?” asked Nicole.

“Why would she hate me?”

“Er, because you were a bitch to her in school?” Nicole suggested. “You used to call her Pensioner Penny.”

“She wore corduroy!” snapped Jasmine. “No one wears corduroy!”

“Calm down, babes. You’ll get frown lines.” Wade put a protective arm around her.

A chuckle escaped me, which I masked with a cough. I didn’t dare glance at Nicole. One smirk from her would have had me on the floor in hysterics.

“Anyway, I’ve changed, Nicole,” spat Jasmine, holding her left hand in the air and pointing at her ring. “I’m freaking engaged now.”

And to Jasmine Tate, that meant everything. Finding a man who believed she was worthy of marrying was her idea of success. It was that small town mentality that I’d spent a lifetime running from.

Some days, the decision to come back to Pipers Cove made no sense at all.

February 23

Adam

With the exception of Ryan and the hot little blonde that turned up at our door looking for him, I hadn’t spoken to a real person in two days – and I’m not sure that she counted. I was beginning to think I was going mad. I had to get out of the apartment.

I spent the next few hours torturing myself with a run through the park. The freezing air burned my lungs, but it was a good kind of pain, far different from the pining-to-death agony I normally suffered from. I was at the top of the Wollman rink, adjusting the cleats on my shoes, when someone screeched my name.

I spun to see Bente’s sister barrelling toward me. I used the time it took her to reach me to try and remember her name. I came up blank so I greeted her little girl instead. Fabergé wasn’t an easy name to forget.

“I’m getting ice-cream,” announced Fabergé.

“Great,” I replied, working hard to smile.

“No, she’s not,” said her mother.

Fabergé let out a scream that made me flinch. It ended when her mother put her hand over her mouth. I almost thanked her for it.

“You look like crap,” said the woman, looking me up and down.

“I’ve been running,” I defended. “No one looks good when they’re running.”

“No, it’s more than that,” she countered. “The single life isn’t treating you well. You look heartbroken.”

I wondered what heartbreak looked like. My condition was much more severe – possibly even terminal. I was suffering full mind and body break. I probably looked like death.

“So, how have you been?” I asked, shifting the conversation.

“So-so.” She moved her hand away from Faberge’s mouth and patted her stomach. “It’s not easy being pregnant when you have a four-year-old running around.”

I hadn’t even noticed until she pointed it out. Once she had, I couldn’t help staring at her stomach.

“Well, congratulations,” I offered.

“Thanks.”

A strange feeling of sadness gripped me as I stole another glance at her belly. I tortured myself trying to imagine how Charli would’ve looked pregnant – and then wondered why.

“Ah, I have to go,” I stammered.

“Okay,” she said nodding. “Take care of yourself, Adam.”

I said goodbye to Fabergé and took off running.

* * *

I was in a complete funk. I’d given up everything I loved for a life that was now strangling me. I had no idea what to do about it.

I must’ve been completely downtrodden because I found myself confiding in my brother while he was preparing dinner.

“What’s Bente’s sister’s name?” I asked, pulling up a stool at the island counter.

“Ivy.” He spat out her name. “She hates me.”

“I saw her today. She’s pregnant.”

Ryan took a break from chopping vegetables to look at me and smirk. “That might calm her down a bit.”