Thirty-Eight Days (25 page)

Twenty minutes later, Noel watched the back of Clara’s red skirt and white bakery top leave the apartment. Noel had stayed on the couch while Clara got ready for work. Clara didn’t remember, and he was sure he’d rather she did. Not being able to share the memory of last night was killing him. The sound of his phone rang through the apartment. Not bothering with the caller ID, he picked it up and answered.

“Hey, Noel.” He recognised the low, brute voice on the other end.

“I had a tough night. There is no way I want to go rowing with you this morning, Rob.”

“You’re weak as shit! But that’s not what I’m calling about.”

“Okay, what’s up?” Noel asked curiously as he sat up from his slumped position on the couch.

“You remember Brent?”

“Yeah,” Noel replied. He hadn’t thought of Brent Thomas in a long time. In fact, he had his best years playing footy with him.

“He’s having his engagement party with Emilia tonight. I told him you were in town and he told me to invite you.”

“I don’t know, Rob,” he said.

“Emilia gave me the guest list. Valerie’s not coming, so you’re in the clear and…”

“And?”

“Emilia goes to university with Clara. Clara and her friends are going to be there,” Rob finished. Noel had told Rob about his situation with Clara the day after her birthday. They had been rowing on the Yarra when Noel vented out all his frustrations.

“So are you going to come tonight?” Rob asked, hopeful.

This could be my chance; she can’t run.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Good. Hopefully you and Clara can clear the air tonight.”

“Thanks, Rob. Is Julian going to be there? I haven’t seen your little brother in years.”

“Nah, he’s some big hot shot in Sydney. I’ve tried to convince him to come back to Melbourne. But since his trip back from Thailand a couple years ago, he’s completely submerged in his work.”

“Good for him. I’ll see you tonight. Send me the details,” Noel said and hung up the phone.

There was no cold wind in the air, the sun had almost set, and the view of Port Melbourne was breathtaking. As Noel walked up the old pier, he saw people he’d grown up with and hadn’t seen in years on the outdoor function room of the venue. But not the face he was looking for.

Making his way to the main function room, he noticed Brent and Rob near the food tables, and Noel walked over to them.

“Congratulations, Brent,” Noel complemented as he shook Brent’s hand. Brent had always been the skinniest player on their high school football team. But now, almost five years since they graduated, he had gained the weight they all never imagined he could.

“Thanks, mate. This is Emilia, my fiancée.” The glimmer of love in Brent’s eyes should have made Noel want to hurl, but he felt envious.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Noel. I’ve heard all the football stories. But I’d love to know about the cabin in Mount Buller story,” Emilia said. Noel let out a laugh. He hadn’t told that story in a long time.

“Come on, Noel. You’re a legend for that story. Tell it!” Brent said as he passed Noel a beer.

“All right,” Noel said as Brent and Rob hollered. “But Rob should tell it. He tells it the best,” he added.

"I'll gladly take the honours," Rob said as he started to clear his throat, his dramatic antics making both Noel and Brent laugh.

“Okay, this was before my brother went all anal and decided to be a corporate sell-out. We won the state championship and went to Mount Buller for a celebration. Our first night, we went crazy with the alcohol. Noel and Julian decided it’d be fun to play truth or dare while playing strip poker. They both got really drunk and one of the girls dared them to climb on the roof of the cabin across from ours and roll around naked.” Rob stopped as he took a quick drink of his beer and chuckled.

“So my little brother and Noel stripped and ran across the road to the other cabin. From where we were standing, we could just see Julian’s bare ass dangling off the roof as he struggled to pull himself up. Noel was there naked, trying to boost Julian up by his feet. Noel was dancing a bit too much, took too many steps back, and he fell off the roof. It was funny watching a naked Noel try to keep his balance." Rob shook his head at the memory.

“It wasn’t that funny!” Noel argued, remembering the cold snow.

“It was funny! Especially when we found you in the hot tub passed out in the lap of some old lady eyeing your junk. Best moment was Julian yelling, ‘Give grandma a kiss!’ and your drunken ass gave her a big, wet one! Got better when grandpa came and saw; Noel kissed him too before running away, giggling!” They all laughed as Noel rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I kissed Grandma and Grandpa. It was worth the frostbitten nipples!” Noel joined in on the laughter.

“What happened to Julian? Why isn’t he here?” Emilia asked.

“He’s up in Sydney. I don’t know what happened. He came back from Thailand changed. Dad and I think he met a
girl, but we can’t be sure because he never talks about it.” Rob sighed and took another gulp of his beer.

“I just saw a couple of my cousins. It was lovely to meet you, Noel.” Emilia smiled as she and Brent walked over to see their guests. Looking around at all the people,
her
brown curls stood out to him. Clara wore a short pastel green dress, she wore her curls down, and a pair of heels made her legs look that extra mile. A smile graced her face as she spoke to Stevie and Annie. She looked around the room until her brown eyes landed on him.

God, she couldn’t look more beautiful.

“Another beer, Noel?” Rob asked as Clara directed a smile Noel’s way.

“Yeah, I’ll have another one.” Rob walked towards the bar as Noel stood there, contemplating whether or not he should walk over to Clara.

“
Have you told Clara?
”
Noel heard someone say next to him. As if he was on autopilot, he tuned in on the conversation.

“
She’s going to flip when she finds out,
”
a squeaky guy said.

“
Clara shouldn’t know. Not yet. She can't know that Elizabeth's pregnant and—
”
he heard Darren start to say.

“Here’s your beer,” Rob interrupted, and handed Noel a cold one. He missed the remainder of the conversation, but he knew what he heard. Looking at the group, he saw Darren with a curly headed blonde in his arms. He presumed the woman was Elizabeth.

Their embrace had triggered the anger in him. His fist forming, Noel handed Rob his beer and wiped the condensation on his shirt. His eyes met Clara’s and she frowned.

“Where are you going?” Rob asked.

“I have to take care of something,” Noel mumbled. He pushed past Rob and broke through the circle, his eyes meeting Darren’s.

“Darren?” Noel asked.

“Yeah,” he replied, protectively putting Elizabeth behind him and stepping forward.

“Good to know!” Noel hissed as he threw his fist at Darren’s face, his knuckles connecting and instantly throbbing at the impact.

“Darren!” Elizabeth shrieked and bent down to him. Darren covered his eye. Noel’s knuckles pulsed in pain, and he was ready to aim again.

“Noel,” Clara said. Her hands alighted on his fist and she gently pried them out of its balled form, entwining them and bringing him back to reality. Clara removed her hands from his and brought them to his face, holding him until his anger subsided.

“Noel, it’s not worth it. Please don’t do anything else.” The party continued. The only people who noticed were the few around them. Noel moved his hands and held her wrists.

“I remember. I remember last night—all of it,” she whispered.

“Even the kiss?” he asked. Clara smiled and nodded.

“Yes,” she replied. Just that one word made his heart leap.

Clara kissed Noel’s forehead. “Please don’t do something stupid. Don’t be worse than him,” she reassured as her thumbs ran along his jawline.

“Okay. I won’t punch the bastard again,” he replied as he removed his hands off Clara’s wrist.

Stepping away from him, Clara turned and looked down at both Elizabeth and Darren.

“How long have
you been with him?” Elizabeth asked. Noel watched as Clara balled her own fists. She never told him if she had confronted Elizabeth, but he knew she didn’t.

As much as he wanted Clara to hurt Elizabeth, he knew she would regret it. He took Clara’s hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.

“Don’t do it, Clara,” he said, hoping to talk sense into her. Both Darren and Elizabeth stood up and looked at Clara. He noticed tears fall down Clara’s cheeks.

“Why, Noel? You did.” Fear flashed in Elizabeth’s eyes as Darren took a step back, leaving Elizabeth to fend for herself.

Wrapping his arm around Clara’s waist, he held her for a moment. He bent down and whispered in her ear. “Please don’t hurt Elizabeth.”

“Why? She hurt me!” she softly cried.

“You don’t want to do it, Clara. Please,” he whispered to her.

“Give me a reason to stop!” She was looking for answers.

Noel took a deep breath. He let go of Clara’s waist and stepped in front of her. He placed both hands on her face and looked her in the eyes. The sadness and hurt were there.

“Elizabeth’s pregnant.”

“
P
regnant?” she whispered in disbelief. Looking into Noel’s eyes, she saw the truth simmer through. Clara’s gaze fell to the floor, hoping the words would come to her. But she couldn’t stop the visions of discovering her ex-boyfriend and ex-friend together from appearing.

Clara stepped out of Noel’s embrace ready to have the confrontation she walked away from all those nights ago. She tried to compose herself and all the emotions she had bottled up. She would not let Darren think he broke her.

“How did you know?” she asked Noel, her gaze at her feet instead of his unnerving green eyes.

“I heard Darren and his friends talk about it,” he replied. There was no sugar coating, and she was thankful. She didn't need any distractions; she just needed the truth. Clara looked up as Elizabeth protectively wrapped her arms around her stomach. It was true, and knowing that she was pregnant didn’t make her angry; it was just another painful betrayal.

“You’re
really
pregnant?” Clara spoke her first words to Elizabeth in months.

“Yes,” Elizabeth whimpered.

That one word felt like acid being injected through her blood vessels. She could see just how scared Elizabeth was of her. As much as Clara wanted to harm Elizabeth, she was carrying an innocent baby in her body.

Looking down, Clara noticed Elizabeth’s small bump. Her head was already doing the math. She had caught them having sex two and a half months ago, but Clara knew there was a high possibility she was right. But she needed to know.

“How far are you?” Clara asked softly in an attempt to control her emotions.

“I—I…” Elizabeth stuttered, and looked away from Clara. Elizabeth glanced around for Darren’s support, but he stayed behind. There were quiet looks exchanged between the two of them.

Their silence gave her the answer she feared, but had to hear. She needed to know, because if she didn’t, she’d always wonder for the rest of her life.

“How far?” Clara yelled, losing her composure.

“F-fifteen weeks,” Elizabeth admitted. Clara took a few steps back, only to be supported by Noel's strong hands.

Pure anger filled her veins. Elizabeth knew what was coming as she seemed to brace herself for Clara’s unleash.

“Fifteen weeks!” Clara yelled in disbelief.

“I-I’m sorry, Clara.” Elizabeth’s voice was a soft mumble.

“Clara, are you okay?” Stevie shouted. Clara turned to see Stevie and Annie on the sidelines. Noel wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Since we’re sharing the happy news—Elizabeth's pregnant!” Clara announced, not caring whether it was a secret or not. Everyone had secrets when it came to her, and she was done. “She’s fifteen weeks,” Clara stated.

Stevie’s eyebrows furrowed; she was doing the math too while Annie held a hand over her mouth, shocked.

“That means…” Stevie began to say.

“She got pregnant when Darren was still with me,” Clara exhaled, finishing Stevie’s sentence. Balling her hands to control her emotions, she stepped out of Noel’s protective embrace, his hand quickly restraining her wrist.