The Cockney Canuck - 80. Chapter 80 Making A Splash!

“Has Daniel left home?” I was sitting at the counter on Sunday morning while Sue was cooking breakfast.

“It does seem like it sometimes,” she said.

“I’ve told him he has to come home tonight,” said Don from behind me. I swivelled my stool around to look at him as he walked into the kitchen but although he was answering my question he directed his reply at Sue and walked straight past me to kiss his wife and make himself a coffee. This was my third day at home and we had barely said a word to each other since the journey back from the hospital.

I didn’t particularly feel the need to engage him in conversation, but I didn’t like being ignored either and he wasn’t even prepared to acknowledge my presence in a house which was beginning to feel like enemy territory. It was a gender thing; I was sure of it. While the women of the family had drawn closer, fussing over me relentlessly, the males had noticeably distanced themselves.

‘Do they feel that I’ve let them down or something by being gay’?

Amy didn’t seem to think so, but she never had a bad word to say about anyone. “He’ll come home when he’s finished playing at Doug’s house,” she said. “You can play with Nathan when comes around.”

She was the only member of the household who could have got away with such a statement at that time and it was one of the reasons why I loved Amy so much. No one said a word but I knew what Nicola was thinking when she smiled at me as she walked past.

I would have loved the opportunity to play with Nathan but there were two obstacles in front of me who were preventing that from happening and another who would be on his way back soon. Daniel had spent the entire weekend at Doug’s house and it must have been obvious to everyone that he was avoiding me, everyone except Sue, that is.

“It’s nothing to do with you, honey. It’s the summer break; he’s always with his friends.”

I didn’t believe her; it was too much of a coincidence and Nicola backed me up.

“If he has a problem with Robbie, then he needs to say something and not run away and hide at Doug’s house. It’s not gonna just go away.”

Don was determined to try though and he had told me the day before that he was arranging for me to see a counsellor who someone had recommended to him. We didn’t argue and I accepted what he said and walked away. It was the only time that we had spoken over the weekend.

“I’ve already told Daniel he has to be here today,” he said as he took his coffee into the dining room. He ruffled Nicola’s hair on the way past and said good morning as I watched on but not even glance in my direction.

‘He’s a child. Am I the only one who can see this’?

It was difficult not to be affected by such immature antics from the man who I had once looked up to, even though I was doing the same thing to him. I was still a kid as he was always so quick to point out, I was allowed to strop and I was better at it than he was.

I turned away to stare out of the window, hoping to give the impression that I hadn’t noticed his slimy behaviour or that it didn’t bother me, but it did bother me, a lot!

* * * * *

Later that day, I made the most of a reasonably warm afternoon with a dip in the surprisingly cold pool. I had been cleared by the hospital to swim providing I took it easy and there was someone else present. It seemed a little over-the-top to me; I had been swimming for as long as I could remember and their pool was tiny and shallow.

I was out of practice, out of shape, and out of breath as I laboured to get any kind of rhythm to my once smooth strokes. My mom would have been disappointed at my poor form and I managed only a few undisciplined laps before floating on my back. I was good at that; survival tactics, stuff which I had learned as part of my lifesaver course. I was able to relax and find some solitude, but not for long.

Nicola got my attention by slashing me. She was sitting on the side of the pool, reading a book, with her legs in the water and I swam over to her.

“You were at Alex Baker’s house,” she said with a confident smile.

“Who told you?” I said holding onto the side of the pool and wiping my face.

“Dad just mentioned it, I thought I’d let you know.”

“How did he know?”

“The police told him, dummy. He knows everyone in this town. What is it with you and Alex, anyway?”

“He’s my friend and he wanted to help me, that’s all. You don’t really know him.”

“I’m not bad-mouthing him,” she said. “I just can’t see you guys having much in common. I’ve never even seen you talking at school, but he invites you to stay at his house. It’s weird if you ask me?”

“I’m not asking you.” I pushed away and swam on my back towards the middle of the narrow pool.

“Did you tell him why you ran away?”

I was treading water as I tried to answer but I was uncomfortable with where this was heading. “Yes, of course.”

“And he was okay with it?”

“Why wouldn’t he be? He’s not as bad as people think. He has a good side; you have to get to know him.” She went back to her book so I took a breath and allowed myself to sink underwater. It was always so peaceful below the surface, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long as I noticed her legs dangling ahead of me. It was a challenge that I was unable to resist. I swam along the bottom of the six-foot-deep pool, grabbed her foot, and kicked off the side, pulling her off her perch. It was a trick that I had learned from Tom years before and it worked to perfection as she plunged into the water with a scream and a huge splash. It was the funniest thing that I had seen in ages and I surfaced laughing and gasping for air before trying to make good my escape.

“YOU LITTLE FUCKING SHIT!” She spat those words at me with water as I tried to swim away. Under normal circumstances, I was sure that I would have made it but she was bearing down on me like a great white in search of a meal and I had barely managed a couple of strokes before I felt her fingers clamped around my ankle.

“I didn’t mean it; it was an accident.” My pathetic pleas for mercy fell on death ears and I would have been better off saving my breath.

Unable to free my foot from her vice like grip I tried splashing water on her, but Nicola was a competent swimmer and a formidable opponent. She let go of my ankle and slapped me hard on my back before punching me on the thigh.

“I can’t believe you just did that, you asshole.” Then she noticed her book floating a couple of feet away from us and I cringed. “Look what you did!” She narrowed her eyes at me and I sprang into action, picking it out of the water and swimming to the side with it, holding it out of the water before placing it on the decking. I saw it as an opportunity to finally put my lifesavers training to good use and I would have given it the kiss of life too if I thought it would have helped, but the soggy paperback was already beyond saving.

“It’ll dry in the sun,” I said but I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing as I held onto the decking to catch my breath. Turning my back on her was a big mistake though. I should have realised that she would want revenge and she wasn’t afraid of using underhand tactics either. I reacted as quick as I could when I felt her hands under the waistband of my swimming shorts but it was too late to prevent her from tugging them down to my knees.

“NO, DON’T!” I managed to grab the front of my shorts with one hand while holding onto the side with the other, but she had both hands on the prize and I was fighting a losing battle. “STOP, PLEASE, HELP!”

I knew that if she got them from me, she would throw them out of the pool leaving me in a highly embarrassing situation, but she let go and backed off laughing as I frantically tried to pull them back up to cover myself as Sue approached. It was the second time in as many months that Nicola had copped an eyeful of my undercarriage but it could have been much worse.

“What’s going on here?” demanded Sue before shielding her eyes and looking away as I dragged my shorts over my bare ass. “Robbie, cover yourself please.”

“I’m putting them on, not taking them off,” I said. “She pulled my shorts down!”

“He dragged me into the pool, mom,” said Nicola as she swam to the ladder.

“No, I didn’t, she fell in.”

“YOU LYING SHIT!”

“NICOLA, LEAVE HIM ALONE. You know he’s supposed to be taking it easy.” Sue looked on the verge of a full-blown anxiety attack. “What will they think if he has to go back to the hospital?”

“It’s his fault; he started it!”

I climbed up onto the hot decking and stood up to adjust myself. “Try to keep your clothes on dear, you’re getting as bad as Daniel.”

‘Maybe it runs in the family’?

Watching Nicola struggle up the ladder in her wet clothes seemed to confirm this. It was an experience though that I’ll never forget and it had me in tears of laughter as the tables turned yet again. Even Sue couldn’t help giggling as my sister narrowed her eyes at me and chased me into the house. I was still laughing as I closed the bedroom door behind me, but closed doors meant nothing to her when she was riled and as expected, it flew open.

“Nicola, you can’t just barge in here like that. I was about to get changed.”

She scoffed as we faced each other with puddles forming on the hardwood floor around our feet. “Huh, you’ve got nothing worth covering up; I’m surprised that Nathan can even find it.”

I screwed up my face. “That’s not very nice.”

“Neither is pulling me into the pool and you owe me a new book and a loonie.”

“It was only a joke and why do I owe you money?” I said giggling at the sight before me, but too scared to say anything.

“You made me swear in front of mom.” I could see Sue standing behind her. It was costing me enough to cover my own swearing tab, without having to pay for her misdemeanours as well but it wasn’t enough to stop me from laughing again and I backed off holding my stomach.

“Look what he did to me,” said Nicola pointing to her wet hair, but it wasn’t her hair that was the problem.

“I’ll deal with Robbie dear, but in the meantime, I’m pretty sure that wet t-shirts aren’t his thing.” Nicola, realising her mistake, belatedly covered her breasts with her arm. “White t-shirts are best kept dry dear,” he mom said with a smirk.

“Unless it’s a guy who’s wearing it,” I said. “But now we’re even.”

“Not even close,” she said sounding like the Nicola of old before storming upstairs.

I was sentenced to mop the floors for my part in the incident, but my mood changed when Sue closed the bedroom door and asked me to sit down.

“We know where you were staying last week,” she said and my head dropped. “You were at Alex Baker’s house.” It was more of a statement than a question so I didn’t bother to answer. “I’m not interrogating you, but I need to know one thing, his brother is wanted by the police, the RCMP in fact, did you see him when you were there?”

I had to think about it, I didn’t want to get Alex into trouble or even Brad for that matter and I wasn’t sure what he had told the police.

“A few times.” It was the best that I could do but not nearly enough to satisfy her.

“Robbie, listen to me. His brother is in a lot of trouble. He’s a drug dealer, did you know that?” I shook my head; it was easier to lie that way, but she didn’t look as if she believed me. “Did you take any drugs while you were staying there and I want to know the truth.”

“No! Can I get changed now please?”

“Does Alex take drugs?”

“NO!”

“Their father is an alcoholic and their mother can’t be traced, she left them a few years ago, the social workers are getting involved.”

“How do you know all this, I didn’t even know about their mom, why bother asking me if you know more than I do?” I sat on my chair and combed my wet hair with my fingers. “He’s been talking to his buddies at the police station hasn’t he?” I said referring to Don.

“I’m only concerned about you Robbie; I see the effects that drugs have on young people who come into the hospital.”

“I’M NOT TAKING DRUGS, OKAY!” My outburst was followed by a few moments of silence which were eventually interrupted by a light knock on the door. When Sue opened it Daniel was standing on the other side. He said hello to his mom before acknowledging me with a half smile and a quick wave.

“Welcome home dear, we’ll be finished in a minute,” said Sue before closing the door in his face. “I believe you Robbie, but you’ve lied to me in the past about these things and that doesn’t give me confidence.”

“When have I lied?”

“When you stayed over at Alex’s house you told me that his mom was at home.” I lowered my head. I didn’t like lying but I hated being caught lying even more. “Now you can see why I’m worried, honey.” She crouched down in front of me and held my hand. “Alex isn’t in any trouble but he comes from a bad family and I would prefer you not to associate with them.”

“Is this someone else who I can’t be friends with, I’m running out of people for you to ban. This is ridiculous, Alex is not a bad person. He looks after his little brother like it’s his son. Takes him to school, makes his lunch, his dinner, his breakfast. He takes him to the doctors, cleans his clothes, does his shopping, even reads him a f...rigging bedtime story every night. He never leaves that kid on his own, I looked after Luke so he could go on a date and everyone thinks he’s some kind of dropout. I’ve never met a more responsible teenager in my life and probably never will.”

I wasn’t lying just exaggerating the truth a little. As far as his own life was concerned Alex was far from responsible but he never slacked with Luke and I thought people should know that.

“I see, thank you for telling me.” She looked pensive as the topic of conversation switched from me to Alex. “He needs help and you know it or you wouldn’t have told me all of this, would you?”

“He does need help,” I said, he knows it too. It’s so unfair on him, his dad is an asshole…oops, sorry.”

“I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear that,” she said as she stood up. “I’m sorry for questioning you, honey, I believe what you told me. I’ll talk to the social worker and she’ll make sure that Alex gets the help he needs.”

My experience with social workers wasn’t a pleasant one, but he really didn’t have much of an alternative. There was no way that he could continue to live like that and it was a relief to know that something was going to be done.

‘Maybe some good will eventually come out of all this’?

“How long do I have to stay indoors,” I asked.

“The doctors said that you should rest for a couple of weeks, you were there.”

“I know, but I can still rest at someone else’s house can’t I?” I could tell that she was already suspicious of my motives.

“Where did you have in mind?”

“Does it make any difference?”

“Where did you have in mind, Robbie?

“Nathan’s house.” She sighed but what else was she expecting.

“He can come over here to see you, during the day. We already agreed on this.”

“But his parents won’t mind?”

“Have you talked to them?”

“No, but I know they’ll be okay. I can rest at their house for a few days. It’s boring here.”

“No Robbie. I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’re supposed to be looking after you not Nathan’s parents. What if something happened to you. The doctors told you that you can go home, not to stay at someone else’s house.”

I should have known better, I suppose. Don was never going to allow me out of his sight again. I might as well have been under house arrest. I turned my back on her and rested my head on my arms.

“It’s not fair, Daniel can spend as much time at his friend’s house as he wants, but I can’t leave the house. It’s nothing to do with my injury.”

“Honey, it’s only to do with your injury. It’s not always going to be like this, things will be different when you’re better.”

“We’ll see.”

“I have two weeks off, starting tomorrow,” said Sue. “Part of my annual leave so I’ll be able to spend a lot more time with you, and Nathan can come over every day if he wants, you know that.” It was also a good way of ruining my love life but maybe I was being cynical.

“Can I get changed now?”

“Yes dear. You know Alex is quite lucky in one respect.”

“How did you work that out?”

“Because he has a very loyal friend who obviously cares a lot about him and that’s rare these days.” I was almost expecting her to say ‘ask Daniel’ at the end of that statement but it was a compliment that I wasn’t comfortable with. I didn’t consider myself to be that much of a friend to Alex and up until a week ago, I didn’t really like him at all.

‘I wonder what she would think if she knew that he was gay and I was mucking about with him’?

I cared about Alex, but I also had my own family issues to resolve and one of those problems was waiting on the other side of the door. My roommate walked in as his mom left.

Not that long ago, Daniel had been my constant companion, but now he felt almost like a stranger to me. Not because I hadn’t seen him in a while but because I no longer thought that I really knew him.

He looked hot and grubby but smiled at me as he walked over to his bed and started to unpack his bag. There was a definite air of apprehension as he sorted through his clothes and then began stripping off to take a shower. It was business as usual but I decided to wait until he had gone before changing and turned towards my computer screen, still in my wet shorts.

I checked my email account while I waited for him but he stopped behind me to break the uncomfortable silence.

“Are you okay?” he asked barely above a whisper.

“Yes thanks,” I said. I had been wondering if he would ask.

“I heard you were in the hospital.”

“Only a day.”

“Oh…you went swimming, was the pool warm?” There was a lot of questions that I was expecting him to ask me, but the temperature of the pool wasn’t one of them and I swivelled around to face him.

“No, it was freezing.” I saw him looking at the puddles of water on the floor, it wouldn’t have bothered him at all but I felt as if I should explain anyway.

“I have to mop the floors in a minute,” I said.

“I’m not complaining,” he said and smiled. “What did you do to Nicola?”

“I pushed her into the pool, well pulled her in actually.”

“No way man!” he started laughing and the tension eased off considerably. Then, when I told him about her wet t-shirt and he almost peed himself. “I wish I had been here,” he said. “Not that I would want to see my sister’s tits, but it would’ve been funny.”

“Yeah, they were, I mean it was funny.”

“That’s crazy, she’s gonna hate you for that.”

“It had to be done,” I said. “It’s the only way I could be sure that she wasn’t a witch.” He thought it was funny and so did I, payback for some of the inconsiderate things that my new found, and now loveable big sister had said to me in the past. It took him a while to calm down but it was good to know that he was still talking to me and a relief to hear him laughing again. I had missed that side of him.

“Well, err, I’m glad you’re okay anyway,” he said before walking away but he stopped short of the door to say something else. “It was a shock for me, but I don’t hate you for it and I don’t hate Nathan either. I just didn’t know how to deal with it, that’s all.” He was facing the door but his voice was laced with emotion. It was obviously something that he needed to say and it was all that he needed to say.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t do it to hurt you.”

“I know that,” he sniffed and I could see him rubbing his eyes. Unlike me, Daniel rarely showed any emotion, so when he did, it was serious and I felt for him. “I’ll get over it.”

When he finally got up the courage to face me, his eyes were red and teary, but there was little that I could say that would have made him feel any better.

“Nathan is still your friend; he’ll always be….”

“I’ve known for a while but I didn’t say anything.” This was news to me and I wanted to know how. “Just because I’m quiet, it doesn’t mean that I’m stupid or that I don’t notice things. I noticed how different you acted when Nathan was here and I could see him playing up to you too. It was so obvious; it was impossible not to know.”

“You should’ve said something,” I said but he hadn’t finished. “Then when Nathan stayed over, after the end of term show. I got up in the night for a pee and you guys were in the bathroom. I could hear you talking.”

I closed my eyes. “Shit! Daniel, I’m so sorry I….”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t stick around to listen at the door or anything. I went back to bed and pretended to be asleep.” There was a long silence but I couldn’t look at him. “When you still hadn’t come back an hour later, I went outside and peed in the garden. That was when I knew for certain.”

He wiped his eyes and went off to take his shower, leaving dumbstruck and regretting what happened. After finally managing to change out of my wet shorts, I called Nathan to tell him that Daniel has spoken.

“That’s not good,” he said. “Poor Daniel, I’ll need to talk to him. He should’ve said something to me. I think he’ll be okay but we need to involve him and make sure that he doesn’t feel left out when I visit.” He sounded positive and I guess it was better to have it out in the open. “You’re gonna have to share me with him.”

I didn’t like the sound if that. “That would be impossible, I’m too greedy to share you with anyone and besides you’re not big enough to share. I mean your body as a whole isn’t big enough, I wasn’t talking about your thingy, that certainly is, I mean I’ve never had a problem with that.”

“My thingy?”

“Yes, your thingy, your dangly bits.”

“My dangly bits?”

“Yeah.”

“Skype me?”

“NO! Not now, he’s in the shower, he’ll be out any second now.”

“That’s plenty of time for you.”

“Funny.”

“Why don’t you ask him if he wants to join in.”

“Is that what you mean by involving him?”

“It was a joke.”

“You’re sick.”

“Maybe.”

* * * * *

The next day it rained the whole day, but it was still a surprise to see Daniel stay indoors. He was in his room for most of the day on his computer and I left him plenty of space. It was still a little frosty between us, but there was little that I could do to make things right. We were acting more like brothers now than friends, and I thought that maybe that was the best that I could hope for, but I still missed him.

On Tuesday, the ever-optimistic Sue sat down opposite me while I eating breakfast.

“Honey, I talked to Don last night.”

‘Is he gonna let me stay at Nathan’s house’?

“What about?”

“It’s about your friend Alex dear. We’re concerned about him.” My heart sank when she mentioned Alex and not Nathan and I stared blankly at her as I waited to hear what plan she had cooked up to save him from his wayward family. “Why don’t you invite him over tonight for dinner, he can bring his brother with him?”

“What Brad?”

“No dear, his younger brother of course.”

‘No fucking way’.

“I doubt if he would wanna come over here, Sue.”

“You won't know until you ask.”

“No, really, he won't come over.”

“Call him!” she said pushing my phone across the table to me as I sat open-mouthed in my pyjamas. Nicola looked across and smiled. I had been enjoying my breakfast, but I suddenly lost my appetite, dropping my spoon in the bowl of frosted wheat. This was going to be awkward, it was only nine o’clock. The middle of the day for the usually up-at-the-crack-of-dawn Sue, but Alex would kill me if I woke him up before the hours reached double figures.

Then it got worse. “If they want, they can stay over tonight.”

‘She’s crazy’.

I was regretting telling her now about his life, I should have known that this would happen.

“They’re okay where they are Sue. Alex is fifteen and their dad is there…some of the time.”

“That’s not good enough and you know it, dear. The poor boys are on their own in that house.”

“But they’ve managed for years like that and you said that the social worker was sorting it out?”

“Yes, but that will take a little time.”

“But he can’t stay here!” I looked to Nicola for help but she wasn’t forthcoming and seemed to be enjoying watching me squirm.

“I thought he was your friend?” said Sue.

“Yeah,” said Nicola, “your friend!” I didn’t like the way that said that she had never really bought into that story.

“He is, but he’s not very…domesticated.” They laughed but I was telling the truth.

“You make him sound like an animal,” said Sue. “I’m sure he’s not that bad; you were saying yesterday how responsible he was.”

“He is responsible but in an irresponsible kind of way, that’s all.”

Nicola rolled her eyes. “Some friend you turned out to be.”

‘Okay, he plied me with drugs and alcohol and forced me to have sex with him, would that be a good enough reason for you’?

That wasn’t why I was worried though and it hadn’t stopped me from staying at his house when the chips were down. The real reason why I didn’t want him there was because I didn’t want him to bump into Nathan or vice versa.

I had all kinds of nightmare scenarios popping into my head. What if Alex hit on Nathan? What would Nathan think of Alex? What would he think of me if he found out I had been staying with him? It was all conjecture and I was probably beating myself up over it unnecessarily, but Luke was definitely a loose cannon.

‘He’s already let the cat out of the bag with Jenny, who’s to say he won’t do the same with Sue or even worse Nathan’.

The thought of the family finding out that I had screwed around with Alex was scary enough, but the thought of Nathan finding out was nothing short of apocalyptic. I couldn’t let it happen.

“There’s not enough room for both of them to stay over,” I said with confidence. “And no way would Alex leave Luke with his old man…I mean dad. But I’ll call him when I go downstairs and ask him if you want.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Sue. “The sofa bed’s a double, they can share, or you can let Luke have your bed and you can share with Alex.”

If I had been a cartoon; my jaw would have hit the floor and my tongue rolled out like a carpet.

‘Is this Don’s plan to get rid of Nathan, by putting me in an unescapably irresistible situation and then compromising me by inviting my boyfriend over in the morning just as Alex is banging me in the mouth’?

It was a scary thought but it got me excited too, which was even scarier, so I decided to stay at the table for a while longer.

* * * * *

On Wednesday, I was woken up early by Nicola and dragged out of bed to help her put together a giant dolls house that the three of us had chipped in to buy for Amy’s birthday. It was six o’clock and Amy would be awake by seven-thirty at the latest.

“She’s gonna love this,” said Nicola as she handed me the instructions and began emptying the pieces onto the floor. “It’s easier now that you’re here; we can split her present three ways instead of two.”

“Well that’s one reason for taking me in, I suppose. So I can contribute towards Amy’s birthday present.”

‘Maybe that’s the only reason’.

“I didn’t mean it like that, stupid. You’re good for other things…I just can’t think of any right now.” Whatever else I was good for, it certainly wasn’t putting dolls houses together or reading instructions at six in the morning.

“It’s all in French,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter they’re diagrams, just look at the pictures.”

I was holding the instructions upside down anyway, but I was still half asleep.

“Give them to me.” Unable to suffer my incompetence any further, she snatched the instructions from me and I was banished to the kitchen to make some coffee while she started to build the house.

“Why isn’t Daniel helping?”

“Because he’s even more useless than you.” It taught me a valuable lesson; it pays sometimes to be useless. About a month ago, I had made a rod for my own back after successfully mending a broken toy for Amy and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by my ever vigilant sister.

However, the early morning house building also presented Nicola with some valuable one-on-one time with me as a captive audience and this may have been a more logical explanation as to why I was pressganged into helping out.

I could tell that there was something on her mind; she was being cagey towards me and abrupt.

“You didn’t call Alex, did you?” she said as I brought in the coffees.

“Not yet.”

“I think I know why now,” she said. “Why you’re nervous about him coming over here and why you’ve been secretly hanging around with him. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.” I didn’t take the bait but I was certain that she would spill the beans soon anyway. I wasn’t expecting her to get it right though! “Alex is gay and you’ve been fooling around with him?”

I laughed but it was only through nerves. “What makes you think that?”

She didn’t answer me but studied my face. It was too early in the morning for that kind of shock and my reaction may have even confirmed her suspicions, but I still spent the next few minutes trying to deny what she already seemed to know. I couldn’t figure out how she could possibly have come to that conclusion, other than guesswork; nobody would ever suspect Alex of harbouring even so much as a solitary gay thought. I decided to keep denying it even if she were to present me with indisputable evidence to the contrary, like a photograph of me standing with Alex in his basement, in just a pair of boxer shorts!

“Where did you get this from?” I said after snatching it from her.

“I printed it out from my phone. Someone sent it to me yesterday.”

“Who?”

“Does it matter?”

It looked like a selfie from above and although I couldn’t remember Alex taking it, it was obvious when it was taken. We were both in our underwear and he had his arm around my waist and his hand on my butt. It didn’t look good.

“It was a joke…who sent this to you?”

“Is it true Robbie?”

I was in shock.

‘I don’t even remember any photographs’?

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“Alex’s ex-girlfriend is claiming that she left him because he was screwing around with a guy and that guy apparently is you.”

“You mean Jenny?” Nicola scrolled through her messages to show me the text from her. “What a bitch!”

I didn’t even realise that Nicola knew her. It felt as if the earth was giving way beneath me as my world began to tumble. I felt sick and frightened, terrified by the prospect of Nathan finding out.

‘I could lose him’!

It was too much to even consider and I must have turned as white as a ghost.

“Oh my God, this is real, isn’t it? You really have been fooling around with him?” She stood up her eyes burning into me. “I thought you said that you loved Nathan?” She walked off in a huff, heading upstairs.

“Shush, wait. Nicola,” I stopped her at the bottom of the stairs and held onto her arm dragging her into the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” she hissed. “Let me go.”

“Not until I tell you the truth.”

It seemed to placate her somewhat and she stopped struggling and stood in front of me in her dressing gown with her arms folded. “I’m all ears!”

I backed off leaning against the sink in my pyjama bottoms and t-shirt as I explained everything to her in detail, all of it. I felt that I had no choice because it was the only way that she would be able to understand that I hadn’t cheated on Nathan and maybe then she would be able to help me.

“I can’t let Nathan find out because he’s gonna think the same as you did.”

She was sitting on the toilet, shocked by my early morning confession and finding it difficult to look me in the eye. “You’re gonna have to tell him everything that you just told me.”

“No, I can't-do that Nicola. I love him, honestly, I do. I really love him but he wouldn’t understand, I know he wouldn’t. I can’t lose him; I would have nothing left in my life. I swear, if that happened, I would kill myself!”

“How could you be so stupid to fall for that?”

“I’m Robbie, stupid is my middle name.”

“But he raped you!”

“No, I let him.”

“He gave you drugs, that’s the same thing, Robbie, don’t you get it. It was wrong. How can you still be his friend?” I could hear Amy’s excited voice upstairs. “Shit, keep her upstairs for five minutes while I finish the dolls house.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do my best.” I turned towards the door but Nicola stopped me and pulled me in for a hug and kissed me on the cheek.

“Don’t worry okay, we’ll talk about this later. We’ll work something out. I promise.” I nodded as she squeezed me tight and the door opened.

Daniel looked a little surprised. “You’ve gotta be kidding me?”