Bran pouted over my shoulder, “I miss them.” He said, before getting off my back and grabbing at his girlfriend who slowly takes his hand. I hadn’t spent much time around the couple as she rarely spent any time with the guys, even if her best friend clung to us. He was the king of casual, tattoo’s scattered all over his body and had a wild energy that never was purged. Mavis was clean cut, always looked like she was ready to go to her officejob and I was almost afraid to crack a joke around her. She didn’t slot into our world, but I guess they both had a movie star quality to them.
Willow slowly makes her way down the patio steps behind everyone, with a towel and Chanel bag. Briefly I look back, but her focus is on the back of her friend's head, distracted and slightly solemn. It's the first time I'm not on total edge around her.
“Hey man, did you go straight to bed Friday? My mind went totally blank when Starling asked.” I look at Bran, who just shrugs at me and frowns like he’s trying to remember what he had for breakfast two months ago. I might be putting unwanted distance between myself and Robin for her own good, but I still want to help.
“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I had a drink with that guy, for a little while in the bar. Bro came down for one too.” He dips his head towards his brother and I want to press more, but Merle replies before I can.
“Not for a drink. I hauled your arse to bed.”
Phin gives me a questioning look, but it's disturbed when Jay creeps up on my right and tossed his arm over the other side of me. Playfully pushes him off, Phin hissminein that weird Gollum voice he does.
“Jay my boy, I feel like I’ve not seen you all weekend.” I confess, patting his shoulder.
“That's because you’ve had hinny on the brain.” He says laughing, his Georgie twang thick. Raising my eyebrow and giving him my bestwhat the fuck are you talking aboutexpression, he laughs harder. “You’ve found yourself a nice woman and we’re very happy to see you acting like a love struck pup.”
I can’t contain my smile but I push him away, only causing his laugh to deepen and Bran joins in. I want to deny it, butI honestly think she has taken up my entire mind which is a refreshing reprieve from the worry I'm usually racked with.
“Where is Robin?” Mavis asks and for once Willow's face remains neutrally uninterested beside her.
“Not sure actually, I couldn’t find her.”
“She went looking for the next clue. We should probably all try to find the rest, but I think her and Cardinal are probably the quickest to work them out.” Phin adds into the conversation and I’m floored with the wave of jealousy. She wasn’t with him when I saw her in the woods, but maybe I should ditch the group and head back to find her.
“She’s a big girl Wren. If she wants to continue playing that silly game with someone else, let her.” Willow's tone isn't her usual taunt and I feel like whilst she's annoyed, it's not aimed at Robin for once. She's not attacking me out of jealousy or trying to turn the attention to her, in fact her gaze is off in the trees as the dirt track turns to sand underneath our feet.
“I was thinking that tonight we should put on a meal. If you're all staying for longer, maybe we can plan some activities.” Merle suggests, probably stepping in like he expects us to go for each other's throats.
Coming up behind his brother, Bran grabs his shoulders. “Great idea. We can even set up the gear again if we need something to do.”
Phin bounces. “Let's throw a dinner party in the lakehouse. We had all the food for the weekend delivered by the caterers Friday, so maybe we can cook it all and still show off the new space.”
“Sure bud. Sounds like an awesome idea. We’ll get some of the decorations down here, decorate the tables and make a night of it.” I smile at him, trying to gauge how his eyes are practically vibrating. He's hyper focused, yet erratic and I’mgetting annoyed at how oblivious Merle is over this behaviour. You can't casually give an addict medication.
Others in our small group agree and we form a plan on how to organise getting the food down to the lake, as well as who wants to help set up. Maybe a distraction is a good thing.
AS the ground turns to coarse sand beneath our shoes, we all head to the dock that sticks out across the water, beside the lake house. The boathouse is a couple more minutes walk down the shore, but seeing the number of paddle and motor boats there makes me so proud of my friends for getting this all put together. The air is humid and even close to the water there isn’t any relief in the form of a cool breeze. My curls start to stick to my forehead and I grab the back of my t-shirt, pulling it over my head in a fluid motion. The guys follow and we dump our things on the wooden slats, forming a huddle right at the end so we can dip our toes or dive in later. I remember Mum being adamant I learnt how to swim young, but the funny part that was soMum,was that we'd lived in a third floor apartment in Hackney.
Perching on the edge, I kick off my converse and lower my long legs into the water as giant forms leaped in next to me. Bran and Jay shoot up after a brief pause, shaking their long hair and aiming the spray at the girls. Merle has already settled further away and pulls out his book, whilst Phin is down to his briefs ready to jump in.
“C’mon Mae, the waters warm.” Bran wagglings his eyebrows, but she remains hesitant to join them. She looks between both men, before sighing and starts to take her towel off. The idea of fun seems to repel her.
“You too Wrenny.” he beams up at me next, swimming forward till he's close to where my feet dangle over the edge. “If you don’t come in, I’ll drag you in.” Pretending to nibble my toes,I no doubt have the weirdest bunch of friends, but I love them all.
Without giving him warning I let go of the deck and dive the short distance feet first, sliding under the surface and lingering there whilst my head clears. The water is cool on my burning skin, the lines of my tattoos feeling hotter than the odd patch of bare skin. Before my lungs can start to protest, I swim back up and give him a taste of his own medicine, shaking my wet hair directly into his face.
“You dick!” He shouts and I bark out a laugh. This might have been the best idea to let off some steam. The water is shallow enough here the water laps at my collar bone and I welcome the steady motion.
“Wrenny, can you help me get in?” Willow asks in a purr and it crawls up my skin. She’d left me alone five minutes ago, so I’d hoped she finally got the hint. I guessed wrong.
“Hard pass. You can get in yourself.” I say, moving further away from the dock and shrugging my shoulders. Maybe I was being spoiled spending time with someone who saw me beyond a superficial level, but the idea of even entertaining this conversation started to piss me off.
“I don’t want to sacrifice a nail.” She whines, holding out her hand to twiddle them at me. Why was she pressing this so much?
I'm knocked backwards under the water's surface as her slim form barrels into me; my immediate reaction is to catch her. I can’t recoil fast enough, just as a pair of sandals hit the wooden deck and I realise why she was suddenly interested again.
Letting go of her, I push myself back into the open water and float as I look up at the furious tiny woman. If I scramble up and grovel on my knees, I wonder if that’ll erase this entire nightmare that has been the past twenty four hours. I could do a lot of things on my knees, but she probably wouldn’t approve in front of everyone.
“Baby girl you came!” Phin raises his arms above his head and waves her over, but she doesn’t move from the dock, hands on her hips. Last night when I'd pushed, she’d shut me out and I dreaded it was for good. Right now, I can’t tell if she wants to drown me or consume me.
