Seven Days: The Complete Story (30 page)

I race to
answer it.

By ten, the
living room is heaving with people. The music is loud. Everyone is
talking and laughing. Drinks are flowing. Groups are mingling
because everyone knows each other but me. I’ve spent most of my
time making small talk with people from Hardwick & Lawson and
keeping a close eye on two women who appear to be monopolising
Joel’s time. I do not like this situation.

Joel is
playing his part of
single
birthday boy so well it would be
easy to think I never existed so I can’t blame those girls for
thinking they have a chance. He’s dirty dancing and chugging back
beers like there’s no tomorrow. He has his hand loosely on the
blonde girl’s waist and he’s being uber charming, probably wooing
her with the innuendoes he once used on me. He’s looking into the
other one’s eyes and leaning over to whisper secrets in her ear.
He’s even perving on her boobs, the dirty bastard. I hate him for
doing this to me. But I hate that girl with the big breasts
more.

God, what is
he saying to her now? Why is he not winking at me like he usually
does in a crowd? He can see me standing here alone. Why the hell is
he ignoring me? Nope, I do not like this situation one little
bit.

From my side
of the room, I begin to seethe. The jealousy rises in my throat
like a big green ball and I feel like I might have to scratch
someone’s eyes out if that girl whispers one more word in my Joel’s
ear or strokes his arm again on that very part of his arm I know he
loves. They’re way too chummy. But what can I do? I’m stuck in the
corner listening to people crap on about plants. I mean, who cares
about freaking conifers when your man is cosying up to another
girl? Even if it is — supposedly — for show.

Pursing my
lips in disgust, I scan the room for a solution. If there was a
time when I’d benefit from being absolutely shit faced it would
probably be now but how, how? Then I note a smell I don’t often
equate with a good time. It’s wafting in my direction. Fortunately
for me, it appears one of the guests thinks now is the perfect time
to spark up a joint. With my new spirit of adventure taking root
and my need to calm down helping it along, I decide I should get to
know the owner of that hooch. I mean, getting mellow might be the
only hope I have of not killing one of those girls. Or Joel. The
disastrous effects of the last time I partook seem to have been
overlooked by my brain. All I can think of is Joel and the fact
that he’s totally ignoring my existence.

I excuse
myself and go for a stroll around the room. The smell is getting
heavier. I spy a few of Nicholas’ friends, standing in a circle and
I do something I swear I have never done in my life. I burst into
their group, a smile plastered from ear to ear. “Hi!”

Geez, I sound
like I’ve already been toking on that joint.

One of the men
looks down at me. He’s tall and little chubby and he’s attempted to
hide the fact by growing a bit of a beard but he hasn’t trimmed it
well so it makes his neck look bigger. He gives me a friendly grin.
“Hi there.”

“I’m Sadie,” I
say, marvelling at the lack of inhibition I suddenly have. Maybe
I’ve gotten stoned from simply standing in the vicinity of the
joint?

“
Ahhh
.”
The man nods.

What’s that
supposed to mean? I stare at him quizzically.

“You must be
the intern? Or were the intern, I should say. I’m Simon. Simon
Black.”

“Nice to meet
you Simon. How do you know Joel and Nicholas?”

“We went to
school together. Trinity Boys School.”

The guys have
never spoken much about their past only that they’ve been friends
forever. I have to say I’m shocked they went to such an upmarket
school. I can see Nicholas in that uniform with the grey shorts and
black blazer. He’s head boy material, for sure. But Joel, not so
much. It’s funny but Joel always struck me as being more like me —
a bit public school. Someone who has worked his way up from nothing
and made a success of himself. He’s less concerned with doing the
“right thing” and keeping up appearances than Nicholas. Most of the
time he gives off the air that he really doesn’t give a fuck about
what the rest of the world thinks. He does though. He’s simply not
one to show his feelings, my Joel.

“And what do
you do, Simon?” I ask. The joint has landed in my hand so I take a
hit and try not to choke on the smoke. That would do nothing for
the sophisticated air I’m trying to project.

“I’m a lawyer.
Bloody shit job. Great pay, though.” He says it like I should be
impressed but I’m not. In fact, I think I may be going to
giggle.

“What sort of
law? I have a friend who practises indigenous and native title
law.” I sound so knowledgeable, like I actually give a toss.

“Corporate
mostly. Boring as all hell. Are you graduating this year? Nicholas
has been impressed with your work. He’s been harping on about you
so much I almost began to think he had the hots for you.”

And he
couldn’t? Am I too ugly for that? Too young?

I release a
strangled sort of chuckle and guzzle at my wine. “You’re joking
right? He’s old enough to be my father!”

Simon looks at
me. “Exactly. And you wouldn’t be his type.”

The freaking
cheek of him.

“And what type
would that be?”

“Shit. I’ve
put my foot in it, haven’t I?”

“Let’s say the
ice is thin.” Someone hands me the joint again and I take another
hit followed by another swig of wine. I’m starting to feel the
buzz. It’s mingling with the alcohol in my system. It’s making
things a little fuzzy round the edges.

“Sorry,” Simon
says. “I wasn’t being rude. You’re hot… in a cutesy sort of way but
Nicholas prefers blondes.”

Not anymore, I
think.

I blink but
say nothing. The hooch is stronger than I realised. It’s taking
every inch of my resolve not to slide down the side of the sofa I’m
leaning on and curl up in sleep. I focus on Simon’s face. I wonder
if I should tell him his beard is crooked.

“Do you have a
job after you graduate?” Simon enquires. “You should hit the boy
up.”

I begin to
giggle uncontrollably. I have no idea why. Maybe it’s the idea of
‘hitting Nicholas up’ or it could be Simon’s name. I’ve never met a
Simon before. “Did you know your name is playing a game of
Simon
Says
in my head?”

“Huh?”

I think he
thinks I’m talking gobbledygook. Oh, I am.

“You know like
Simon says this, Simon says that… That might be a fun game to play
later.” I eye him and wink.

He gives me a
lurid smile. “No more weed for you. You’re off your trolley.”

“No, shit
Sherlock. I’m also hungry. Let’s go raid the fridge.”

Simon and I
set off toward the kitchen. It’s a long journey because I keep
having to move the furniture that seems to be getting in my way.
Simon’s right, I think, as I stagger along on my heels, I am off my
trolley. But at least I’m not thinking about Joel anymore. I do,
however, seem to have created a new problem.

And its name
is Simon.

Simon, who’s
hand was in the centre of my back for said journey appears to have
the wrong idea about our friendship. He has begun to fondle my arse
like it’s a piece of Playdough. I do not want another man touching
my bottom. I only want Nicholas or Joel to touch it. I think I am
going to be sick if Simon does not desist. In fact, I’m positive I
will, but for the life of me I can’t find the words to make him
stop. My mouth is so dry, my lips are stuck together.

We reach the
fridge and I open the door. The wayward hand moves up my skirt and
I straighten. “Simon!”

“Yes,
Sadie?”

“Please don’t
do that.”

“Do what?”
He’s trying to look innocent but seeing he’s the only person in
close proximity to my bottom I know it was him.

“You’re
feeling me up. Stop it.”

“But I don’t
want to. Why did you bend over like that if you didn’t want me to?
You’re being a bit of a tease.”

Fair point I
guess. The dress is very short.

I am about to
apologise when the room begins to spin. My stomach heaves into my
throat and I’m pretty sure the blood drains from my body leaving me
looking a sad shade of green or grey. Sort of like that joint.

Then I spew.
Literally everywhere.

Fucking,
fucking hell.

*****

It’s dark when
I wake up and the house is quiet. I roll over in bed, stretching my
arms out. I’m alone apart from a wet patch on the pillow next to my
nose. I’m not going there as to what that might be but the bed is
cold, so either the boys are sleeping in their own beds or they’re
still up. I lay for a while blinking into the darkness, the patchy
memories of what happened earlier in the night beginning to flood
back.

Oh. My. God. I
made such a dick of myself. I was like a nun let loose from the
convent after she’d been given ecstasy. That poor Simon guy.

Slowly, I sit
up. My head is pounding. I need paracetamol and water. And sleep.
Lots of it. I sigh heavily. How could I have smoked that joint?
What the hell was going on in my head? Something definitely snapped
tonight. I turned into the very girl I’ve always despised. I don’t
like that girl much.

On the other
side of the door I hear the sound of someone humming softly, so I
get up and pad to the living room in search of whichever of the
boys is still awake. The lamp is on but other than that it’s pitch.
I reach the kitchen before I even see Nicholas stacking glasses
into the dishwasher.

“What time is
it?” My voice is raspy.

Nicholas stops
humming. He looks up. “Three.”

I walk around
the bench and stand beside him. I take in the grumpy set of his
jaw, the dark look in his eyes. He’s angry with me. I suppose I
deserve it. From what I remember I didn’t exactly behave like the
perfect party guest. Or secret girlfriend.

“Where’s
Joel?” I ask.

Please don’t
let him say in bed with that blonde girl. Please. I can’t have
ruined it with him too.

“In bed.”

“Alone?”

Nicholas turns
on me. “What the fuck do you think, Sadie?” he spits.

Right. Okay.
Won’t go there again.

We face off
for a minute before I see him sag. I don’t want him to hurt and yet
I’ve done this. I have no idea how. I move closer, snaking my arms
around his waist. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He shrugs me
off and steps to the other side of the dishwasher. “You don’t even
know what you did. You were so out of it you couldn’t possibly have
an idea.”

“You could
tell me.” My voice is barely a whisper.

Nicholas
closes the dishwasher and turns to face me. He folds his arms
across his chest the way he does when he’s cross and leans against
the bench. “Shall we begin with you trying to hook up with Simon?
The guy thought he was going to get laid for the first time this
millennium.”

“It wasn’t
quite
that
bad. We were only talking.” I’m trying to justify
this but I know I shouldn’t bother; I’m completely at fault. I was
behaving like the worst kind of trollop. “What else did I do?”

“You threw up
all over his trousers.”

“Oops.”
Despite myself, I giggle a little. Then I have a flash of memory.
“He was feeling me up, Nicholas. I asked him to stop and he
wouldn’t.”

“So you used
spew as a self-defence strategy?”

“Something
like that.”

“You told
Helena to stay away from me. You told her she was a skanky piece of
work and didn’t deserve me.”

I frown,
trying to regurgitate the memory. It’s fuzzy but it comes back. I
rub my hands over my eyes. Shit, shit, shit.

“What were you
even thinking Sadie?”

I bite my lip.
“I don’t know. It just sort of popped out.”

“Do you know
how immature that sounds?”

I groan. “I
was jealous, okay. Are you satisfied? Joel was all over that blonde
girl like a freakin” rash and you were pretending like I didn’t
exist and I couldn’t handle it. So I did what any self-respecting
girl my age would do — I got ripped. That girl deserved everything
I said to her. It was bitch-a-palooza in here last night—”

In case you
hadn’t noticed, Mr Nicholas Lawson.

Nicholas just
stares and I groan loudly before I continue. He just doesn’t get
it. Men
never
get it.

“—She said she
was confident she’d get you to propose to her by Christmas if she
put her mind to it. When I asked her how, she looked down her nose
at me like I was a halfwit. I have more brains in my little finger
than she has in her whole head. Damn bitch.”

His lips curve
into a reluctant grin. He pulls me to him. I think I’ve vindicated
myself. Sort of.

“You know
she’s got as much chance as a snowball in hell, right?”

“I didn’t mean
to flirt with Simon, honestly I didn’t. I only talked to him
because he was in charge of the drugs. Things escalated and before
I knew it he had his hand up my skirt.”

“I was this
close to punching him when I saw what he was doing. It’s probably
lucky you chucked up on him.”

I kiss the
tips of his pinched fingers and lean into his body, putting my head
against his chest. I press my palms into the warmth of his skin and
his chin lowers to lean to rest on my head. I feel safe being back
in his arms. I don’t like the way it feels to fight.

“Forgive me?”
I ask.

“I guess.”

“Come on, I
wasn’t that bad, was I? I didn’t, like, ruin the party, did I?”

“Everyone
thought you were pretty hilarious actually, especially the part
where Joel was carrying you to sleep it off in the ‘spare room’ and
you were kissing him and telling everyone how much you loved
him.”