Seven Days: The Complete Story (25 page)

“You’ve been
carrying on with them the whole time you were with Mason, haven’t
you? The poor guy was a cover.”

Poor guy? “You
hated his guts.”

She ignores
me. “That was why you weren’t upset when he dumped you. You were
never that into him to begin with. You were using him to hide your
disgusting little affair.”

What the hell?
Who is this girl? This is not my Emily. My Emily would be upset but
she’d never jump to conclusions. And she’d never attack me like
this. I swivel on the toilet floor, looking up at my friend. I wish
she could understand. “That’s not how it was. I liked Mason till he
did a three-sixty on me.”

“And who could
blame him? You know, I don’t think you care that people get hurt.
All you think about is how much dick you can get.”

“I never got
with Nicholas and Joel till after Mason dumped me.”

“What, like
twenty-four hours after?”

Ouch.

“I couldn’t
help it, Emily,” I scream. “I tried everything I could think of to
stay away but I can’t. I can’t.” I stare at my feet. A tear runs
down the side of my nose and I smear it away. There are no words to
take away the hideousness of this situation. I knew Emily would
react this way if I told her. I’ve simply compounded it by lying.
Emily’s lived through a childhood of affairs and lies by both of
her parents. She doesn’t trust the way I do. She would never see
what the boys and I have as more than sex with three people. And
she’s stoic about being monogamous, even if you sleep with a
different guy every night.

“You know, the
thing that hurts the most—” she continues, “—Is the fact that you
lied. I’m meant to be your best friend.”

“I couldn’t
tell you. I knew you’d be like this.”

“Because
you’re ashamed that you’re having an affair with two men at the
same time? Or that you deliberately put me off by telling me Joel
was gay. What sort of friend is that? You knew I liked him. Yet you
were so selfish you wouldn’t share, even though you already had
Nicholas. God, you must have been over the freakin’ moon when I
hooked up with Alex. It left both of them free.”

I bite my lip.
I’m choking. There’s a huge bubble of guilt and hurt in my throat
and it’s killing me. Everything she’s saying is true. I’ve been a
shit friend.

“It’s not the
sex, Emily.”

“Spare me the
details. I’m not interested.”

“I love them.
You can’t help the people you love. You told me that yourself.”

“Oh, for God’s
sake. You sound like my father. The first time you get a bit of
dick that’s worth keeping and you imagine you’re in love because
they can make you come? You can’t be in love with two men at the
same time. Grow up, Sadie. This is a fling. It’s nothing. Those
boys will drop you like a hot stone as soon as something with
bigger tits comes along. They’re men, they know more about the
world than you’ll ever know.”

I stand up.
“It’s not like that. I don’t know how to explain it to you.”

“Then don’t.
You’re not the friend I thought you were, Sadie. You deliberately
misled me so you could get what you wanted, then you added lie upon
lie to cover up the fact. It wouldn’t surprise me if you set that
placement up months ago. I gather you were shagging them both while
we were at the beach.”

I nod
slowly.

“You suck,
Sadie Cooper and you’re no friend of mine.” Emily thumps her way
down the hall. I follow her, determined to make her hear my side
but she picks up her keys from the hallstand, turning back as she
does. Her face is filled with a type of hatred I’ve never seen from
anyone in my life. “I’m going to Alex’s. When I get back tomorrow,
I want you and your shit gone.”

I’ve stuffed
up so bad.

“But where
will I go?”

“Why don’t you
try one of your boyfriends? Live-in whore is one step down the
ladder from Queen of the Threesome. I’m sure you’ll cope.”

She leaves;
slamming the door so hard it makes the window shake.

I sit on the
couch in shock for some time after that. It’s cold but I can’t move
to turn on the heater. I can’t think or make a plan. My mind is
numb. All I know is, I’ve hurt Emily by lying to her and she will
never forgive me. I’ve broken her trust the way I promised I would
never do when we became friends. I’ve seen how she reacts to people
who do this, how much hurt she carries, and yet I knowingly lied to
her to get what I wanted.

After a while,
I go to my room and pack a bag. I collect some toiletries from the
bathroom, the slim hope that Emily will text me saying she’s made a
mistake and will forgive me getting slimmer with every minute.
Slowly, I lock the front door and tramp down the stairs and onto
the street. I have no other friends. I have nowhere to go. Nowhere,
except the place I want to be.

And I don’t
know if Nicholas and Joel will have me. We are secret lovers, not
friends.

(Seven Days Part 3)

It’s strange,
but the only thing I can think of as I approach the front door of
Nicholas and Joel’s house is how pretty the Edison globe in the
porch light looks. It’s throwing a golden hue over the doormat and
out onto the path. The walls of the house are tinged with amber.
The scene is almost magical and quite surreal.

Pity I feel
like crap. It sort of dulls something that could be quite
beautiful.

I stop at the
front door and dump my bag on the step, taking in the glossy red
colour of the timber.

So typical, I
think, shaking my head. I bet Joel chose that shade. Nicholas would
never be so flashy. He’s subtler, more sophisticated, less in your
face. His brand of love is like that too. He’s slow and deliberate,
building the fire until the embers explode. Joel’s the heat, the
insistence. He’s the urgent passion I find myself more and more
unable to do without. Together, they’re the perfect combination. I
contemplate this, remembering the last time we were together and a
smile tugs at the corner of my mouth despite myself.

The porch
light flickers and I’m drawn back to the moment. I remember why I’m
here. In my head, I can see the tears in Emily’s eyes. I can hear
every single scathing word she uttered and feel the pain of each
one cutting into my heart. My bottom lip trembles at the thought
and I know I’m going to lose it. I can feel the lump of sadness
building in my throat again.

Breathe,
Sadie, just breathe, I think, trying to control the emotion.
Breathe and everything will be okay.

Who am I
trying to kid? It won’t be okay. This is a fucking disaster.

I stare at the
door and after a bit, the hurt buries itself somewhere inside me.
This is a real imposition me being here like this. I should have
texted first, I know, but I was in such a state after Emily chucked
me out of our flat I couldn’t think straight. I mean, she screeched
at me for a full half hour, stopping one adjective short of calling
me a whore. (Though a few other choice words were flung about). Her
eyes were bulging worse than that time I put her merino sweater in
the wash — thinking it was cotton — and turned it into a top only a
Barbie could fit into.

Tonight, I’ve
lost my best friend in the entire world. Emily’s the one who puts
up with my quirks, who encourages me to try things when I’d rather
stay home in my pyjamas and read a book. She’s my drinking pal, my
defender when I need one, my shoulder to cry on. How can we not be
friends? How can she cut me off without letting me explain? How can
she discount the way I feel so easily? I feel like I’ve done ten
rounds with a prizefighter and not been declared the winner. I ache
all over.

Life fucking
sucks.

I have
literally nowhere to go, no close friends I can couch surf with for
a few days. Nobody… other than Nicholas and Joel. And, as I so
bluntly put it a week or so back — before I got myself into this
mess — the boys and I are not friends. We are lovers. I don’t know
them that well. Plus, I sort of work for them, so I can understand
if they tell me I can’t crash on their sofa for a couple of days.
That won’t make it any easier though. Because I need them to need
me right now. I need to feel loved and secure.

I raise my
hand to knock.

What if they
don’t want me?

What if they
tell me to take a hike?

Shit, what if
I’m at the wrong house?

Oh God. This
is like, so bad. How the hell did I get myself into this mess?

Delaying, I
slip my phone from my pocket. I check the time. Maybe I’m hoping
there’ll be a message I missed, one that says the argument with
Emily was a mistake and I can go home now. There’s nothing there
though. Only the screensaver shot I took of us at the beach six
months ago.

I wish I could
go back six months.

I wish I’d
never agreed to sleep with Nicholas and Joel.

I wish I had
my boring life back. But as Mum used to say hindsight’s a wonderful
thing. You can’t change the past but you can learn from it and move
on.

Okay. So
that’s what I’m going to do.

I hope.

Sucking in the
biggest breath, I knock on the door. It opens so quickly I nearly
jump out of my skin. It’s Joel. His hair is mussed and strands of
blonde are sticking out like he’s just gotten out of the surf and
shaken his head like a shaggy dog. He’s in a pair of faded grey
track pants and a tight white t-shirt that shows every delicious
muscle of his body. His feet are bare. I like his feet. He has sexy
feet, if that’s even possible. I give him a limp sort of smile.

A look of
confusion spreads across his face. “Sadie?”

“Sorry.” I
bite my lip. “I know it’s late.”

“What’re you
doing here?”

He glances
toward the overnight bag at my feet and that’s when I collapse. The
tears return, quickly turning to choking sobs. I throw myself
toward the safety of his big strong chest. I cling to him. He’s
warm and firm. I can feel his heart thumping gently as he cradles
me, hugging me to him and stroking my hair. We stand that way for a
good minute before I have the strength to pull away.

“What’s
wrong?” He looks even more confused now. Understandable. It’s not
every day he’d have a hysterical girl on his doorstep. Most of them
would be begging, I guess.

“Emily found
out about us. She knows everything. She kicked me out.”

He pushes a
hand through his hair. “Fuck. I knew this would happen. This is the
reason I don’t do relationships. Too much drama.”

Nice to know
I’m merely another drama. Not.

“I have no
where to go, Joel.”

“You better
come in, then.”

I wish he
sounded more enthusiastic about the invitation. “Are you sure?”

“Sorry. That
was way off base, wasn’t it? Of course I want you to come in.” He
picks up my bag and grins at me. “Besides, if you stand out there
any longer the neighbours will start to talk. Your sobbing is loud
enough to wake the dead.”

“Gee,
thanks.”

“Anytime. Now
get in here before I give you something to wail about.” He takes my
hand in his free one and with a masterful flick, yanks me into the
house so that I’m standing chest to chest with him. He kicks the
front door shut with his heel and it slams shut behind us. His hand
moves to cup my bottom and he gives it a squeeze. “I didn’t mean to
joke. Are you okay?”

“I’ll live. I
hope.”

Joel drops a
kiss on my forehead. I snuggle closer. He smells so good. He’s
lemony and soapy fresh. Like the way the bathroom smells after I
spend an hour soaking in the tub. Like coming home.

“It must be
karma you’re here,” he says. “Nick and I were just discussing
you.”

“Professionally or personally?”

“I don’t know.
What category does that episode on the desk fall into exactly?”

I look up at
him and roll my eyes. “Do you take
anything
seriously?”

He pauses and
his eyes reveal a softness about them I’ve never seen before. It’s
a look I’m positive boy-about-town Joel wouldn’t show his other
girls. And I know he has other girls. Plenty of them. The queue for
his bed stretches from one end of the city to the other. “Only
you,” he replies. “I’m pretty serious about you. I thought you’d
have realised by now.”

“Why Mr
Hardwick, are you saying we’ve moved beyond a sex-only
relationship?”

This is so
weird that I’m standing in his hallway having this conversation.
But then a lot of weird things have been happening lately.

“I’m not sure
what I’m saying, Miss Cooper. I’m glad you’re here though. I’m glad
you came to me. I mean, us.” His lips graze mine. The kiss is so
tender I somehow know that everything is going to be fine. Joel
will fix it. He can fix anything.

We break apart
and Joel leads me into the living room where Nicholas is relaxing
on the sofa, his feet crossed casually on an ottoman in front of
him. He’s twirling a glass of red wine between his fingers, his
head bent as he concentrates on something on his iPad.

“Who was at
the door?” Nicholas looks up. “Sadie, love, what are you doing
here?” He puts down his things, glancing quizzically at Joel and
I.

“I think she
needs a drink before we begin the interrogation.” Joel puts my bag
on the floor and heads to the other end of the room where an
expanse of marble bench longer than my entire bedroom marks the
beginning of the kitchen. He bends under the counter and pulls out
a bottle of tequila.

“If that’s for
me,” I say, “I’ll have to decline.”

“But you like
tequila.”

“Only when I
don’t have to be on my A game the next day. I have these two
bosses… they’re real tyrants.”

“Arseholes.
You probably need to chuck a sickie tomorrow, just to get away from
them. In fact, let’s all have a sick day and spend the day in bed.”
He raises his eyebrows in question.