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ANYA

I’M LAZING ON THE LOUNGE, a cool glass of lemonade in my hand. The ice clinks against the glass as I lift it and take a sip. The heat of the sun warms my skin. Being back home is making me feel content.

‘This time next week, you’ll be lounging back, enjoying your cruise.’ I grin, looking over at my mother, who is basically already doing that, but in our backyard instead of on a boat.

‘I can’t wait,’ she breathes, her face lighting up with excitement. ‘I can’t remember the last time I went away with the girls. It’s been years.’

‘It will do you a world of good, Ma,’ I say, smiling.

‘I hope so. I’m looking forward to relaxing for a while.’

‘Make sure you take lots of pics of the islands you stop at!’

‘I will,’ she assures me. ‘So, where’s your brother?’

I peek over at her. Her mouth is pinched with disapproval. She looks similar to me, but her hair has gotten lighter with age and the highlights she’s added to it.

‘With Mase,’ I reply. ‘Have you tried calling him?’

‘I call him almost every day.’

I glance at her in surprise. ‘And he never answers?’

She shakes her head, looking out at the pool, shoulders slumped. She looks tired; there are dark circles under her eyes, and her normally lightly tanned skin is pale.

‘What was the fight about?’ I question, thinking back to the time I arrived home to find Zayden marching out the front door, a duffle bag clutched in his palm, while Mum sobbed from the door, begging him to come back. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to his car. He didn’t tell me what the fight was about, but he refused to let me back inside.

She tenses, but it’s subtle enough that I question whether I truly saw anything.

‘I don’t want to get into it.’

‘It must have been bad. Neither of you will discuss it, and your entire relationship has broken down over it.’

Folding her arms, she stares ahead, stony-faced. The way her jaw clenches reminds me so much of Zayden. They both have fiery personalities and are extremely stubborn, too alike for their own good. Growing up, I was always the peacekeeper. It helped having Mason around – he centred my brother and always brought light-heartedness into the house.

‘I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on,’ I press. I glance down at her arm, where a long bruise sits. ‘That looks sore. What did you do?’

‘Hmm?’ Mum replies, looking down at her arm. ‘Oh, nothing. Must have bumped into something.’

‘Must have hit it hard.’ I frown.

‘Well. You know me. I’m a klutz.’

‘I inherited that from you.’ I roll my eyes. ‘So, you’re really not going to tell me what the fight was about?’

When Mum doesn’t reply, I exhale and rest my head back, giving up. We spend the rest of the afternoon catching up, and when the sun starts sinking into the horizon, I make my way back to the Airbnb.

I drop my keys on the floor when I see Mason’s face. Tears spring to my eyes as I rush over to him. Taking his face between my hands, I inspect it, before remembering Zayden is in the room. Dropping my hands, I step back, feeling the weight of Zayden’s gaze on me.

‘Fuck,’ I murmur. ‘I won’t ask how it went.’

‘Thanks,’ Mason says dryly.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Me too.’

‘Can I do anything?’ I ask. ‘Is there anything you need?’

‘I just want to relax, honestly.’

‘Relax.’ I nod. ‘We can help with that.’

‘I was keen to go out for dinner,’ Zayden states. We both turn to stare at him. ‘Not go out,’ he quickly adds. ‘Just dinner. Casual, quiet dinner.’

Mason and I glance at each other.

‘It’s up to you, Mase,’ I say. ‘Are you feeling up to it?’

He shrugs. ‘Dinner sounds good.’

‘Alright, then.’

‘Yay!’ Zayden claps enthusiastically, and we ignore him.

Once we’re all ready, we head into town, deciding that dinner at the local pub will do. It feels like old times being back here, especially since I recognise every single face. Smiling and waving as we pass, we make our way to a table out in the beer garden, away from the noise of the TAB and pokies.

‘Oh, shit,’ Zayden mutters, rubbing his face. He looks tired. ‘Be right back, I’m going to go hide in that corner and pretend I don’t exist.’

Raising my eyebrows, I look up to see Leasa in line at the bar. I wince. ‘Have you spoken to her since the break-up?’

‘She liked my Instagram story the other night,’ Zayden replies thoughtfully, avoiding my question. ‘What do you think that means?’

‘Depends. What was the story of?’

‘I was holding a beer in front of the sunset.’

I shrug. ‘I don’t know. I wouldn’t think much of it.’

Zayden’s eyes linger on his ex-girlfriend for a moment longer before he drops into the seat, purposely sitting with his back to the bar.

‘Why did I think coming home was a good idea?’ he mutters.

‘You should go out tonight,’ Mason says. ‘You came back here to catch up with everyone.’

‘But you don’t feel up to going.’

I smile. My brother is so dependent on Mason.

‘You can still go,’ Mason says, leaning back in his chair.

Zayden chews his thumbnail, turning to face me. ‘What about you?’

I shake my head. ‘I’m happy with an early night. I just came to see Mum.’

Zayden nods. ‘Well. Alright, then. If you’re both sure.’

He’s barely finished his dinner when he starts pushing his chair back and getting to his feet, having already made plans to meet with others. I’m silently relieved. All I want to do is go back to the Airbnb and relax.

‘Call if you need me,’ Zayden says, gesturing to his phone.

‘We will. Have fun!’ I reply.

‘Ready to go?’ Mason asks me, his fingers pressed against his temple, looking like he’s nursing a headache.

Nodding, I push to my feet.

Zayden tosses a wave over his shoulder as he disappears out the back. Leasa notices Zayden walk past her and she downs her drink, following him.

‘Oh, God,’ I mutter. ‘That’s not going to end well.’

‘Nope,’ Mason agrees.

We make our way to the exit, and my heart plummets when I see Phoebe walking towards us, eyes trained on her phone. I stiffen, attempting to sidestep her and go unnoticed, but she glances up and startles in surprise. My throat instantly turns dry. My eyes sting with the threat of tears, but I swallow down the pain, lifting my chin as I slowly exhale, refusing to let her see how much she broke me.

‘Anya ...’ she whispers, taking a step towards me, having the audacity to look as if she is the one about to cry.

‘Don’t,’ I warn her, shaking my head.

‘I’m sorry ...’ She trails off, cheeks reddening. She looks pale, and thinner than I remember. It never occurred to me that she would be having a hard time with our falling out as well, since she was the one who betrayed me .

‘Why?’ I demand, my voice coming out sharper and firmer than I expected it to sound. ‘Why did you do it?’

Her eyes close, and tears glisten on her cheeks. ‘You had everything I wanted. I just ... I’m sorry.’

‘That’s fucked up,’ I hiss at her, jabbing my finger in the air towards her. She flinches, recoiling and covering her face with her hands, as if scared I might start swinging at her. If I was angrier, I probably would, but I’m hurt and lost because of this. I thought she was my best friend for life, but, obviously, I meant nothing to her. ‘That is nowhere near good enough of an excuse for what you did.’

‘I know,’ she whispers. ‘I’m sorry, Anya.’

‘Good, I hope you are,’ I say, drawing in a breath and meeting those icy-blue eyes of hers. ‘I’m moving on from all of this. You should too.’

‘Just wait ...’ she says, reaching for me.

‘Don’t,’ I snap at her, and she flinches. ‘It’s done now. We will never be friends again. Let’s both move on.’

The sound of her crying makes me close my eyes, the pain washing through me as if I’ve just heard about it all over again for the first time. The sting of her betrayal, of losing her, feels as sharp as ever.

‘Come on,’ Mason says, throwing his arm around my shoulder. My heartbeat is loud in my ears and, suddenly, I feel ice-cold, despite the warm breeze around me. ‘Let’s go.’

I let him steer me past her, and we walk out the exit. Her eyes remain on us until we round the corner. I turn, pressing my forehead into his shoulder.

‘Fuck,’ I whisper shakily, pressing a hand to my heart. ‘It hurts to see her.’

‘I know,’ he murmurs, rubbing soothing circles on my back.

‘Please get me out of here.’

Mason takes my hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing the top of it carefully, his lips soft and warm on my skin.

‘Here for you,’ he says, just like we always used to. ‘Always.’

I smile sadly. ‘Always.’

‘ Psycho ?’

‘We’ve watched that one too many times,’ Mason counters.

‘ Get Out ?’

‘We watched that last time.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ I agree. ‘ Alien ?’

Mason shakes his head. ‘Not tonight.’

‘ The Invisible Man ?’

‘I watched that one last month.’

‘ A Quiet Place ?’

Flicking his hand into a finger gun, he aims it at me. ‘Bingo.’

Switching off the light, I wander over to the lounge. Mason is settled right in the centre of it, with his arm slung over the back. He glances up at me, patting the spot beside him. I flop down and nestle into his side, feeling myself relax in his hold.

He presses his lips to my temple, making my pulse race.

Focus on the movie.

Being here with him, just like this – it feels so right.

‘I want this every night,’ he whispers, lips still pressed against the side of my head.

I turn towards him, our lips coming dangerously close to meeting. My heart is thrumming, steadily increasing in pace as we inch closer and closer. He nuzzles my cheek, the slight stubble across his jaw tenderly rubbing against my chin, and I close my eyes at the feel of it. My favourite look of his is when he has a little stubble.

‘Always?’ I ask softly.

‘Always. Me and you.’

‘Me and you,’ I murmur, feeling warm, safe and content here in his arms.

‘Think about it,’ he says. ‘About me, you and what you want.’

‘Okay.’

‘It will work out as it should.’

‘I hope so.’

Kissing me gently once more, he turns his head, facing the TV. Burrowing my face into his chest, I snuggle in close as we watch the movie.

When the credits start rolling, neither of us moves.

‘Are you okay? After seeing Phoebe tonight?’ he murmurs, fingers playing with my hair.

I shake my head. ‘If everything she did was out of jealousy ... that’s disgusting.’ Releasing a shaky breath, I hold my hand up in a ‘stop’ signal, as if that will help my mind from detouring towards the past. ‘I’m not letting myself think about her or give any of my energy to that situation.’ Swallowing, I wipe the corners of my eyes. ‘Let’s talk about something else.’

‘Do you remember that night we stargazed?’ he asks quietly. ‘And we made wishes on shooting stars?’

‘Yes,’ I breathe.

‘When I was overseas, I often lay outside, looking at the stars. I always thought of you. I was so scared that you hated me, and my heart hurt.’

‘My heart hurt, too.’

His thumb runs across my knuckles. ‘And then we fell asleep outside.’

‘I had the worst mosquito bites,’ I groan. ‘I even managed to get bitten on my ass!’

He chuckles softly. ‘I don’t blame that mosquito one bit.’

Lightly, I shove him, then push to my feet, stretching. A few bones in my back crack, and I rub my eyes.

‘You want first shower?’ I ask, trying to shake off the growing need building inside me. More specifically, between my legs.

His dark eyes travel slowly down my body before he shrugs. ‘I don’t mind.’

‘You go first.’

Unhurriedly, he stands. Leaning down, he presses his lips to my forehead and holds me for a moment. And then, he is gone.