Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series) (40 page)

Nicole and I had been saving for years. Realistically, the proceeds of my tiny postcard business would have added up to little more than a few thousand dollars. She’d probably fared much better, working every shift Alex had offered her since she was fourteen. My saving grace was the unbelievable bonus of receiving the proceeds of Adam’s boat – only I hadn’t received it yet. I wasn’t worried. Norm was hardly the type to rip anyone off. Needing an excuse to leave the house, I made the short drive into town to visit Norm and Floss.

Floss seemed to have a sixth sense. I couldn’t remember a time that I’d ever visited and got as far as knocking. She was always waiting for me on the front step.

“How’s the head, Charli?”

“Is there anything you don’t know?” I asked, hugging her tightly so she wouldn’t see me blush.

“I saw your dad at the café this morning. He mentioned that you were feeling under the weather.”

It was amazing how quickly Floss dropped the façade and began referring to Alex as my father. I was astounded that she’d managed to keep the secret going for seventeen years.

I released her and stepped back. “Is that what he called it?”

Floss’s trademark roar of laughter filled the air and I couldn’t help laughing with her.

“No. He told me you had a skinful last night and were paying for it this morning.”

“Is he worried?” It was a question I was too fearful to ask Alex.

She shook her head telling me no, and I huffed out a long breath. He wasn’t about to ship me off to rehab.

“He’s very worried about Nicole running away, though, and how that will affect your plans.”

Everyone around me had jumped to the same conclusion. My plans were dead in the water the minute she left.

“I’ll be fine,” I insisted.

“So what brings you here today?” she asked, pulling the screen door open and ushering me inside.

“I came to see Norm, actually.” I scanned the front room as I walked in ahead of her.

Floss’s house was cluttered to say the least. Figurines and ornaments decorated every surface. Heavy lace curtains hung on the windows and everywhere I looked, there seemed to be a sleeping cat. Floss claimed to have three cats. I’d seen at least four in the minute and a half that I’d been there.

“He’s not here, love. He has a new mistress these days.” My expression as I turned to face her must have been strange because immediately, she explained. “The boat, Charli. He’s gone fishing.”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “That’s what I wanted to see him about. I was hoping he’d have my cheque for me.”

I felt embarrassed even asking. Floss stood motionless, frowning at me for so long that I had to look away.

“Adam asked Norm to make out a cash cheque and give it to you,” she said slowly, replaying the scenario out loud.

I nodded in agreement, prompting her to continue.

“He went to the café last weekend to give to Alex but he wasn’t there. Nicole was working. She offered to pass it on to you, so he gave it to her.”

“Has the cheque been cashed, Floss?” I asked shakily.

Floss staggered back a few steps and flopped down on the red velvet recliner behind her. “I’m so sorry, love.”

Her apology instantly confirmed my worst fears. My heart was screaming at me to come up with a plausible explanation for the picture coming together in my head. But I couldn’t. There was no denying it. My so-called best friend had betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. The Pipers Cove version of Bonnie and Clyde were hobnobbing around the world, living my dream – on Adam’s money.

I reached for her hand, like she’d done for me a million times.

“It’s not your fault, Floss,” I insisted. “Don’t waste another second thinking about it.”

The hooligan half of me was plotting revenge. The sweeter, less well-known part of me spent the next half hour trying to console Floss. It took a long time and a gallon of tea to calm her down.

Before I left, I swore her to secrecy. Until I could figure out a way around it, no one needed to know. The only person in town that I trusted with the news was Mitchell. And I suddenly became desperate to see him.

To get to Mitchell’s shack, I had no choice but to drive past the main house. Thankfully the Audi was nowhere to be seen. I wasn’t in the mood for fending off Beautifuls.

Everything about the Tate property was impressive except Mitchell’s shack. It was originally the main house and probably once quite charming, but now it was ramshackle. If I didn’t know for sure that he lived there, I would have sworn it had been abandoned.

I pounded on the front door, fighting to be heard over the loud, angry music coming from inside. The door flew open and I took a quick step back, shocked by his fierce expression.

“Oh, it’s you.” The choler disappeared instantly.

“Who were you expecting?”

He poked his head out, looking from left to right as if he expected to spot someone in the bushes.

“Lisa,” he uttered, motioning me inside. I didn’t ask why. I could handle no more drama that day.

He walked across the cluttered room to the stereo, turning it down. I stood, too scared to sit on the manky couch.

“You’re a pig,” I told him, making no secret of my disgust.

“Is that what you came here to tell me?” He didn’t stop moving, sifting through piles of clothes like he was searching for something.

“No. What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to figure out what else he’s taken.”

“Who?” My question was superfluous. I already knew the answer.

“Ethan. He’s taken two of my boards and my camera. And those are the things I know about,” he growled, understandably furious.

“That’s not all they took,” I told him.

He and looked at me for the first time since I’d walked in. “Tell me everything,” he demanded.

I launched into my woeful tale. Mitchell said nothing for a long time, probably trying to make sense of it, just as I had tried to do. “So, what are you going to do?” he asked finally.

“Nothing. There’s nothing I can do.”

Mitchell swept a pile of clothes off the couch and sat. We both stared straight ahead, lost in our thoughts. The two people we never thought would, had betrayed us.

“We were talking about South America just a few nights ago. That was the plan,” he mused. “My dad gave us work in the vineyard. Three months of saving and we were to be out of here.”

Apologising seemed absurd but I found myself doing it anyway. He shuddered like he was warding off ugly thoughts.

I heard tyres screeching on the gravel driveway. I hadn’t heard the engine, which meant only one thing. It was the Audi. The beautiful, sleek, quiet Audi…with the hot pink seat covers and butterfly decals.

Mitchell groaned, and buried his head in his hands. I didn’t need to ask why.

The wooden front door flew open and Jasmine appeared, looking every bit the fiend she was. Even without the hangover, she would have been hard to take. Lisa stood behind her, looking past the chief Beautiful at Mitchell.

“Do you ever knock?” he asked irately.

“No. What’s she doing here?” Jasmine pointed at me.

“None of your business,” he told her.

Jasmine thrust Lisa forward.

“It is my business. You need to make up your mind who you want.”

The closest I’d come to throwing up that day came at that moment. “I was just leaving,” I said, suddenly keen to escape.

Mitchell grabbed my sleeve to stop me. “No, you weren’t.” He marched to the door and pushed his sister and Lisa out, slamming it behind them and locking it.

Jasmine was unrelenting, pounding on the door and screeching something about us both having the morals of alley cats. Mitchell ignored her.

“Charli, how much money do you have?” he asked, leaning on the door like there was a chance she’d kick it in. I wondered if he was going to pay her to go away.

“About twenty bucks,” I replied, reaching into my pocket.

“No, no. I mean in the bank.”

“Not much.”

“Enough for a plane ticket?”

I nodded, unsure where he was headed.

“I can probably cover a plane ticket too. Let’s just get out of here. Right, now. Let’s go,” He almost sounded desperate.

“I’m not – ”

“What’s the point in staying? Nicole’s gone. Adam’s gone. You want to get out of town. You’re looking for a travel buddy. I’m right here.” He pointed at himself.

He made it sound so easy. In reality there was nothing simple about it. I hadn’t finished school, I had far less money than I should have…and I had Alex.

“When?” I asked.

“Today, tomorrow, as soon as we can.”

“I need more time.”

“Charli, The more time you take, the more likely you’ll talk yourself out of it.”

He was right. That’s exactly what would happen.

Finally the pounding on the door stopped and we heard tyres spinning on gravel. I could only imagine where the Beautifuls were going. I didn’t want to know.

“Can I think about it?”

“No,” he replied quickly.

I walked towards the door, which he was still blocking. “Fine,” I said vaguely.

Mitchell unlocked the door, stepping aside to let me pass. “Fine, what?”

“Fine. I’ll go. Book the tickets. I don’t care where to.” The words tumbled out quickly, but I was telling the truth. I really didn’t care. Travelling with Mitchell meant my horizons broadened considerably. Almost nowhere was out of bounds. “We’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”

He lunged forward, squeezing the life out of me as he hugged me much too hard. “Good girl.”

“Ugh! Get off,” I demanded, trying to wriggle free.

Mitchell released me, grinning like he’d won something huge. “Stay a while. We should decide we’re we going to go.”

I shook my head. “No. I have to tell Alex.”

“Shouldn’t you wait until we at least have a plan?” he asked, sounding unsure for the first time.

“I’m leaving town the day after tomorrow. That is a plan,” I replied.

28. Three Options

I had no idea how Alex would take the news of me leaving town with Mitchell. What I did know was that I’d only have one chance to convince him that I hadn’t lost my mind. I figured the best place to corner him was at home. It also gave me an hour to work on my speech.

The weather that afternoon was glorious. The miserable winter had given way to spring. Tulip blooms had popped from every spot in the garden. It was a happy sight that I looked forward to every year, secretly still hopeful that one day I’d find a sleeping baby fairy. Curiously, for the first time ever, we had a sea of orange tulips amongst the traditional red and yellow blooms. Alex thought they’d mutated over the years. It made sense. Some of the bulbs had been flowering since I was a kid.

Adam had once told me that the fairy garden would be my legacy. The thought of leaving town made me hopeful that the mark I left on the world would be much bigger.

I sat on the steps of the veranda, soaking up the last minutes of the day’s sunshine. Gabrielle arrived home first. That changed my game plan a little bit. It was definitely favourable to have her there because her influence on Alex was generally calming. The Décarie effect. I’d fallen under that spell myself.

“What are you doing sitting out here?” she asked, walking towards me with a bag of groceries.

“Waiting for Alex. What are you doing here?”

I shuffled over to make room for her to pass but instead she sat beside me, resting the groceries on her lap. “I thought I’d surprise him with dinner. What are you planning to surprise him with?”

Lying in wait to ambush him the minute he got home made it pretty obvious that something was going on. I told her my plan in its entirety, which took about five seconds, highlighting just how harebrained it was going to sound to him.

“I have to go. It’s come down to a case of now or never,” I told her.

Gabrielle deliberated for a long time, making me nervous.

“Then go, Charli. I will support you all the way,” she said finally, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.

“Really?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“I had my doubts,” I admitted.

She laughed lightly, repositioning the bag on her lap.

I hadn’t treated Gabrielle well in the past. I’d wasted a lot of energy making her life difficult, which was stupid. She’d turned out to be my greatest ally. One day, when I was braver, I’d tell her so.

“You seem to have a lot of doubts,” she said, hinting towards a different subject matter.

“Not about this. Getting out of here has always felt right,” I insisted.

“What about other decisions you’ve made lately?”

Her question was as subtle as an avalanche. Gabrielle had never once questioned me about my reasons for ending things with Adam. I was miffed that she’d chosen that moment to raise the subject.

“Have you spoken to him lately?” I asked.