Thirty-Eight Days (3 page)

Clara knew it would have been worse for her if she didn't have her brother. She owed him everything, especially her three-bedroom apartment in the city away from their parents. Alex paid for everything that came with the apartment: the bills, the maintenance, and the furnishing. Although Alex denied it, Clara knew he used some of his trust fund money to pay for her living. She loved her brother with all her heart, and the fact that he was coming home from New York in a matter of days made her smile.

"Clara, hey!" she heard someone yell from behind her. Clara reached her car with the keys in her hand and ready to go. Turning, she saw Annie Jenkins running towards her.

Annie had always been nice; it was hard for Clara to shrug off her kindness. The fact that she was pretty and popular always raised Clara's eyebrows. Annie wanted to be Clara's friend, and ever since the scandal with Darren broke out on campus, she let Annie sneak into her life.

"Oh, hey, Annie. How's it going?" Clara asked as she shuffled her car keys from one hand to the next. All she wanted to do was go home and cry, unravel all the pain, and just let it out.

She didn't need to put on a persona anymore. She could cry in the comfort of her own home, but Annie Jenkins was stopping her.

Bless her beautiful soul and all, but I'm starting to really hate her constant comforting.

"Nothing much. How'd you do on that employment relations exam?" she asked with bright, sparkly eyes. Annie always had those sparkly eyes flashing every time Clara saw her.

"Was a bitch." Clara breathed out a heavy sigh before realising what she said and quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "Crap, sorry, Annie. I shouldn't have used that kind of language. The exam was tough, but I got there." Clara watched Annie's reaction carefully. Annie was a good girl who never smoked or swore. She was the perfect example of a girl raised by wholesome parents.

Clara continued to watch Annie for a reaction. Annie's eyes crinkled, a large, perfect smile developed, and a laugh slipped through her lips. At first Annie's laughter had scared her, but it started to warm Clara.

"No worries, Clara. I kind of liked the way you just described that exam. It was a real piece of work, wasn't it?" she replied after the last sounds of her laugh settled and she was her smooth and graceful self again.

All Clara could do was smile at Annie. When she was with Darren, she wasn't up for making friends; she had her boyfriend and her best friend. The word
had
started a fire in her chest and tears started to prickle her eyes. Clara held them at bay. Annie was too kind to see Clara fall apart in front of her.

God, I'm a mess.

"So, what do you say?" The sparkle in Annie’s eyes started to subside, turning into a murky blue instead of that vibrant colour she was jealous of. Annie was worried. Her brows started to bunch together and her lips curve down; her face said it all.

"Uhh… Sorry, Annie, I didn't get what you just said."

"Oh, no bother. Me, Jarred, Ethan, and Bridgett are hitting up the coffee shop across the road. I was wondering if you wanted to come along, you know, celebrate that we finished university for the year," Annie explained, and the smile returned to her face.

Clara looked over to see Jarred smiling at her. They had a class together this semester, and he was nothing short of lovely. It was Clara who introduced Jarred to Annie. They had always been nice to her, and she didn't want to turn them down, but Clara suspected that she was only invited because of Annie.

She would literally be the fifth wheel to what seemed like a couple's kind of date. No place for the newly single Clara Lawrence.

"Thanks, Annie, I really appreciate the invite, but I'm tired, exhausted more like it. Plus, I'd be intruding. You guys have fun, though!"

"No, you wouldn’t be intruding. We
want you there. Please?" She was fighting for her presence, and that made Clara smile.

"Thank you, Annie, seriously. With recent events you’ve been so kind to me that it's unfair. I think you need time away from me. Go off with your friends, and we’ll catch up next week. I have your number, and I'd like to hang out with you.” Not a single lie came from Clara's mouth. She really owed Annie for her compassion, and wanted them to be friends.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Annie said with such excitement that she clapped her hands together.

"Great. Well, I better go. Long drive back to the city. I'll see you next week, Annie."

"Bye, Clara. Drive safely now." Annie smiled. Clara watched as Annie walked in the direction of her friends. She quickly stopped her pace and turned around. “Clara!” Annie yelled out for her attention. "They’re your
friends, too,” Annie said without taking her eyes off Clara. A satisfied smile spread across her face before she walked back to the group.

My friends?

Clara laughed at Annie’s words and unlocked her car. Slipping in, Clara sat in the driver's seat. They couldn't be her friends. Clara had no friends. She was the epitome of desperate and useless.

No one wanted her, not Darren, and not even her parents. She was desperate to find that one person that would claim her, want her, and need her. Not spend time with her because they pitied her or expected something in return. Clara placed her key in the ignition and turned her Lexus—another present from her brother—to life.

Clara didn’t want anyone like Darren Porters to get as close to her as he did. She wouldn’t allow for it to happen again. She would rather be alone against the world; not even Annie would break her wall. Clara smiled weakly at herself in the rear view mirror.

"No one will ever hurt me again," she whispered to herself. Clara pulled out of the car park and drove towards the city to her apartment. She would start anew. She had to find a way.

H
aving cleared customs, Noel stepped foot on Australian soil for the first time in over a year. He didn’t like the circumstances he was in, without his best friend and babysitting his best friend’s sister. It would be some homecoming.

He took in the smell of the Melbourne air; Noel smelt taxis and tourists, but the air was different here than Boston. He loved it. He took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts for Alexander Lawrence’s number.

It was four p.m. in Melbourne, and Noel knew it would be twelve in the morning back in New York. He knew Alex would be up waiting for his call about his arrival.

"How was your flight?" Alex said softly. Noel knew he was tired. Alex had been working on the Owens account for hours at a time, starting early and finishing late.

"Long! I got sat next to a twenty-year-old, and she was a little grabby, if you know what I mean. Had I not been strapped to my chair with about a hundred other people on the plane, I might have said yes." She was cute, but he wasn't up for any kind of fling during his eight-week stay in Melbourne.

"Jesus, Noel. God help me if you think of my sister that way. She’s not one of your one-night stands, got it? I trust you to not lay a finger on her.” It was more of a demand than a question. Noel knew his best friend would rip him apart, balls and all, if he tried to touch Clara. The threat did little as Noel laughed into the speaker of his phone.

"Don't worry, Alex. Your poor heartbroken little sister won't be rebounding with me. I can assure you,” Noel said, almost too proudly.

"Shit! You better make sure she doesn't go and throw herself at the next guy she sees. Her head isn't working properly, Noel. And I don't want her rebounding at all! No matter how much she wants to go home with a guy, you tell her no!" Alex was almost growling.

Is he serious?

Alex was one protective bastard over his sister. Noel always knew it, but this time it was different. But what did he know? He only had his older brother, George, who was sailing around Greece with his bride-to-be, Penelope.

"All right, Alex! No guys trying to get into your sister's pants. I got it. So, does little kiddo know you aren't coming for two weeks now?" Noel asked as he shuffled his bag in front of him.

"Crap!" Alex fumbled the phone and then a
bang
sounded. He must have punched the table again. It was a frequent sound whenever Noel spoke to Alex lately.

"You didn't tell her you’d be a week later than expected, did you?" Noel asked, raising the eyebrow he knew Alex wouldn’t see.

"I didn't even tell her I wasn't going to be there for her birthday, let alone two weeks late to see her," Alex said, sounding defeated.

"Don't worry, man. I'll let her down easy for you. Just concentrate on that case so you can get your ass down here," Noel teased. It was meant to be their summer to get away from work and everything in between.

"I owe you one. Thanks for doing this for me and checking in on Clara. I’m one lucky bastard to have you as my best mate,” Alex said with pride. Noel felt the same sense of pride through him. He was everything to Noel, practically his brother, blood or not.

"Remember, not a hand on my sister, got it?" It was another demand. Noel shook his head and let out a bothered breath of air.

"As if I'd lay a finger on my mate's sister, let alone little Clara."

"She isn't little anymore, I'll tell you that!"

"Yeah, yeah, Alex. She’s still your little sister to me. I better go; a taxi’s just pulled up,” Noel said as the driver lifted up the boot and put his bag inside.

"Thanks again, Noel." He noted the heavy sigh Alex let slip. A warning bell sounded; he started to worry over Alex. The feeling in him was unnatural. Such circumstances were normally the other way around between the two of them.

"No worries. I'll call you later," Noel replied, and hung up the phone. There were times in his childhood that he remembered Clara to be annoying. Noel pointed it down to her clinginess with her brother, but besides the framed picture of Alex and Clara in their dorm room, Noel hadn’t seen her since he left for Stanford.

C
lara looked at the mess in her living room. It resembled the aftermath of a bomb dropping. She looked around the room to find two wine bottles and several noodle boxes from the Chinese restaurant a few streets away on her coffee table. A box of chocolates lay scattered across the floor and her TV was paused in the middle of the movie that had been playing. Clara walked over to her coffee table and picked up the two wine bottles, both empty.

She didn't even remember stopping by the bottle shop on her way home from her exam. Clara was never one to drink. She thought she couldn't handle her alcohol, but it seemed she could. She had drowned herself with two bottles the night before. Clara had promised herself forty-eight hours to mourn the expired and crumbled relationship she had with Darren. Forty-eight hours was all she needed to expel her lying, cheating bastard of an ex-boyfriend out of her system.

In twenty-four hours, her brother would be coming home, and he didn’t need to witness her fall from grace. Clara drew back her curtains and was met with the reality of her mess. In the light of day she saw a visible red wine stain on her rug. And the scattered chocolates had made their way to her window seat, some distance from the couch.