He didn’t reply.
I slept well for the first time in weeks, but, when I woke, Marcie wasnot in the twin bed across from me. I checked the loo. She wasn’t there, either. For some reason, the sight of those rumpled sheets sent a cold slug of dread through me. I felt them. They were cool to the touch.
She came into the room as I was stepping out of the shower. Her cheeks were pink, her hair mussed. She was dressed already.
“Where’ve you been?” I said, and it was the most direct question I’d aimed at her for a long time.
“Out. I went for a walk.”
“At seven in the morning?”
She shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. What’s it to you, anyway?”
I didn’t reply. I dressed in silence, and we went down to breakfast as a pair, as though there wasn’t a simmering chasm of mistrust and dislike between us.
I texted Josh after breakfast. He still hadn’t replied to my message yesterday, and I felt yet another pang of unease that I couldn’t identify. He didn’t reply to this one, either.
I followed Marcie down to the beach again and we settled ourselves on towels. I’d brought my book this time, but I couldn’t concentrate on the words. I kept an eye on the cliff path, hoping to see Josh picking his way down. Just after midday, he and his friends appeared, yawning. They jostled one another when they saw us and came straight over. A hard knot of nerves formed in my stomach.
“Big night,” the tallest one said, elbowing Josh. “How’re you feeling this morning, Marcie?” He winked at her.
I sat up and looked between them. My stomach was tight.
“Pretty hungover,” Marcie replied.
“What?” My voice didn’t sound like my own.
Marcie drew a line in the sand with her finger. “I came down for the bonfire last night. You were asleep.”
“Did something happen?”
“Ask Josh.” The tall one winked again.
“What about Billy?” I said.
“Who’s Billy?” Josh frowned.
“No one,” Marcie said.
“Marcie’s boyfriend.” I stared at her. This was a new low, even for her. Fresh loathing boiled.
Marcie went red. “It’s not that serious.”
Before I knew what was happening, I was on my feet, strangled words whipping in the wind. “Not serious? Are you joking? You’ve been all over each other for months.”
I couldn’t stand to be in her presence for a second longer. I felt myself cracking. The darkness that had dissipated yesterday was creeping back in. I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to scratch at her eyes. I couldn’t breathe. I gathered my towel and walked away, back toward the path.
“Don’t worry.” I heard Marcie’s soothing tone. “She’s always been jealous of me.”
The injustice choked me.
I couldn’t settle. I paced our bedroom. I would ruin her, just as she had ruined me.
She appeared fifteen minutes later with fury flashing in her eyes. “What the fuck did you do that for?”
I laughed in her face. She couldn’t touch me now. “Do what? Tell the truth? It’s about time someone did, don’t you think?”
“God you’re predictable. You can’t stand it, can you? You can’t stand that I’m prettier than you, smarter than you, more popular than you. You can’t stand that Mum and Dad like me more. Always so jealous, Iris. Always so predictable.”
