Being Grey (Beings Trilogy) (17 page)

I turn back to the boys just in time to see a loaded sponge flying at me that lands square in my chest. The boys laugh and my old Hello Kitty tee is soaked.
 
I slam the door shut on reflex and turn around and see the three females’ heads peeping out from the lounge doorway. I have suds in my birds-nest hair, and am sopping wet. We all start laughing at the same time and Poppy jumps up screaming “Let the games begin!”

Some time later, we're all sat in the back garden drying off in the sun. Even mum played tough and everyone ended up soaked. We girls had gotten the hose pipe so the boys were worse off.

It must have been quite a sight for the neighbours.

"I filled her up and checked your tyre pressure too." Robbie says, "You never did get to buy the petrol, did you?"

I laugh, "No!" The car is hardly damaged at all - just a small dent and a lot of scratches. It'll do until I can get it to a garage next week.

"When will you be back from Lisa's?" Annabel asks.

"Thursday, probably." Three nights is more than enough for a good catch up.

"Well, don't kill anyone else in the car!" Robbie smiles, "It's far too exhausting washing it!"

“But far too much fun watching.” Mum sighs.

Chapter Thirty One

It took me just over two and a half hours to drive to
Bath
. Lisa’s small flat is a beautiful Cotswold stone terraced that has been converted. She lives in the basement flat with the most beautiful garden at the rear. The flat can be dark at times, but in this summer heat, at least it is cool.

She sees me pull in to her road and runs out to give me a visitors parking slip. All the streets in
Bath
this close to the town centre are for permit holders only.

After a big hug and a huge grin, she helps me inside with my bag. As expected, the flat is absolutely spotless. To anyone else, you’d think Lisa was a clean freak, but I know that she probably got cleaners in over the weekend so the place looks just right. I’m flattered.

“I was expecting you earlier!” she says as she puts the kettle on.

“I know, but the boys got the car from the police station for me this morning and ended up spending an hour trying to clean it all up for me.”

“Urgh!” Lisa says, “Well at least there wasn’t too much damage.”

Lisa doesn’t know about my ability. And mum and I have discussed at great length why she should never know. Anything out the ordinary just doesn’t fit in to her life. When puberty hit her, she stopped believing in anything make believe. Mum says that as the older sister, she just wanted to grow up too quickly, and anything mystical or unproven simply took a back seat.

So, we decided long ago that there were some things that Lisa just didn’t need to know.

She’s studying economics and politics at the
University
of
Bath
. I’m not sure what she wants to do with her life, but whatever it is, she’ll excel. Her
Being
is pure. I’m sure once she completes her degree, and decides on her future, we’ll make sure she does well. I’d try to do that for her even if I had no ability, no contacts.

“How are you coping with it all?” she asks as she hands me my tea.

We walk out to the garden, which is stunning, and take a seat under the dappled shade of an apple tree. I know what she’s really asking is how am I coping with having killed a man by accident.

“Actually, it hasn’t really affected me at all,” I answer honestly, “I think knowing that he had just shot the assistant and had robbed the place makes it easier.” And knowing that he had a damned
Being
goes unsaid.

We spend the next couple of hours just catching up. I tell her about bumping into Jason Long Legs again and that I’d been out on a couple of dates with him. This, she finds hilarious, especially as she knew him better than I did back then – he was in her class, after all. “He used to follow you around like a little puppy!”

“I know.” I laugh, “He’s not quite so keen now though. He seems good at playing it very cool.”

“That’s because he’s not a little boy anymore. Did you know he carved your name on his desk in school?”

Oh really? “No, I did not!”

“He got detention and six months of the other boys teasing him for it. But he was a sweet kid and clever too. What’s he doing now?”

“Trainee mechanic.” I say.

“Oh.” I guess she expected more for him. “That’s nice.”

That ends the conversation about Jason.

We order Chinese to be delivered. As is always the case we’ve ordered enough to feed six. Left over’s go into Tupperware for tomorrow. We may have no shortage of money, but Lisa has become a student in every way.

For dessert, Lisa pulls out a bottle of white wine. “I know you don’t drink much, but you’re almost eighteen and you should learn that there’s nothing nicer than relaxing in the garden on a summer’s evening with a cool glass of chardonnay.” She gives me a sister’s wink.

Decision made, we spend the rest of the evening relaxing and watching the sun set. It’s the perfect end to a perfectly normal day.

Chapter Thirty Two

Today Lisa has lectures in University. It’s a gorgeous day, so I don my shorts and decide to do a bit of gardening as Lisa’s garden is atrocious, and I’ve lost a flip flop in the lawn somewhere.

The lawn mower is in a tiny shed at the end of her sixty foot garden. I feel like an explorer just making my way down to it. I could happily spend three weeks sorting this place out for her. I love gardening.

Lawn mowed, eventually, I celebrate with a bacon sandwich under the apple tree. I’m covered with grass cuttings and I haven’t stopped sneezing for an hour, but I also feel satisfied and lazy.

I daydream about Poppy’s party, about seeing Ian again. Jason is also there, but in my vision he’s perfectly fine with me being Ian’s date and not his. It all gets a bit ugly when Robbie and Stefan decide to try and kill Ian in front of 200 guests.

I’m dragged back to reality by the doorbell, and quickly make my way through the house. It’s a courier, “Miss Shaw?” he asks. I am as well as Lisa so I nod and he hands over the small envelope and his little electronic signature gadget. I sign, which naturally doesn’t look anything like my signature, and close the door behind him.

The envelope is addressed to me.

Frowning, I carry it into back into the garden, searching for a ‘from’ address. But its blank, there’s no other information on it.

Gingerly, I open it. I’m not expecting anything from anyone, and it makes me half excited, half nervous.

Inside, is a single sheet of beautiful thick cream writing paper, the kind that costs a fortune for 6 sheets. The handwriting is classic and slants heavily to the right. It’s signed, ‘with love, Ian’.

My heart skips several beats and I feel stunned. What on earth is going on? Why is he writing to me?

Of course, I won’t know the answer until I read the letter.

My Dearest
Alice
,

Though we have yet to formally meet, our two encounters have left me breathless. I only hope that you have also felt the attraction

I hope that you are enjoying your time with your sister, Lisa.
Bath
is a beautiful city steeped with history and culture.

Looking forward to seeing you again very soon.

With love,

Ian.

Did I say I was stunned? Now I’m flabbergasted. Gobsmacked. This is wrong on so many levels.

So why am I smiling?

After five seconds of amazement, the paranoia sets in. How did he know where I was? How does he know Lisa’s name, or that she is my sister?

Instinctively, I run to the door, swinging it wide. I’m out in the road, turning around, I wander behind parked cars, check windows facing the street. Stare at passing cars. I’m looking for him.

A gust of wind suddenly hits me and I’m pulled out of my mild panic by the sound of my sisters’ front door slamming.

Damn. Now I’m locked out.

With no shoes on.

It should be funny, but the humour escapes me. I can’t shake the feeling that he is here. Watching me and probably laughing at my predicament.

Thankfully, the next door neighbours have a spare key (they’re also students at the Uni and have known my sister all year). When I shut the door behind me, I lock it and put the chain on.

I lean back against the door and try to get my breathing under control. I close my eyes, but all I can see is his face. Dark eyes that don’t look, they
penetrate
.

And he’s attracted to me?

Stop it. I’m not flattered. I’m spooked.

Aren’t I?

By the time Lisa arrives home from her lectures, the house is fragrant with roast chicken that smells fabulous and I’ve laid the table in the garden for dinner. I’ve made a green salad and boiled some baby potatoes to go with the meat. I’d had to keep myself busy with something.

Thankfully I’ve managed to get my nerves under control. I’m worried about Ian knowing my sisters address and even that I’m here, but there’s no need to panic Lisa.

“Dear lord!” Lisa exclaims, “Who are you and what have you done with my sister, and my garden for that matter?”

Giggling, we eat in the sunshine and discuss what a difference a few extra plants and some flowers could make.

“So how about you?” Lisa asks. I know where the conversation is going because we always have the same one when I come to spend time with her.

I shrug.

“
Alice
, you are such a bright and intelligent thing! Why can’t you decide what you want to do with your life? You can’t live off the family money forever, you know!”

“I do, stuff!” I say, defensively. Like make sure pure
Beings
get amazing jobs and make sure damned
Beings
are removed from society (that sounds much better than saying I kill them).

“Like what?”

“This week, I’ve been helping Lady Howard prepare for Poppy’s eighteenth.”

“So you’re thinking about event management?”

Actually, I was thinking about throwing parties but that sounds better. “Well, maybe. You should see what we have planned! I can’t wait to see how it’s coming along when I get back.”

“It’s bound to be spectacular if it’s a Howard affair.”

“It will be.”

“But seriously, little sis,” she only calls me that when she is being serious. “Have you thought more about going back to college to do you’re ‘A’ levels?”

“Actually, I thought I’d skip them and perhaps do a degree through correspondence.”

“Really? But you’re like this social butterfly! Surely actually being in college or Uni is more you? You’d be the life and soul.”

I’m flattered she thinks I’m fun at the same time as being annoyed that she thinks I’m living off family money. Lisa is only two years older than me, but sometimes she thinks mum is too soft and she has to step up. “It’s a bit late for this year anyway.” I say, “Everywhere will be full by now.”

Lisa huffs. “That’s a poor excuse, and you know it.”

I smile my cheekiest grin. “Besides, if I did go back to school, what could you possibly moan at me about?”

“Oh! That’s low.”