Page 11

Even though his team had won, Niall’s mood had turned to rage now.

And I got it, I really did. Before he got into the car, I watched him kick the ground, digging his foot hard into the grass that we walked across to get to the car park.

Dad didn’t even notice. He was pointing out some building work that was going on across the road.

But I hadn’t seen Niall this angry in a long time, if ever.

‘That new kid’s good, isn’t he?’ Dad said on the drive home.

And as pissed off as I was at Niall right then, I had to fight the urge to tell Dad to stop. I tried firing him a look, but he didn’t catch it. ‘Yeah,’ I agreed so Niall wouldn’t have to.

‘Good game, Niall.’ Dad glanced in the rear-view mirror to try to get his attention.

But nothing.

‘So what are your plans tonight?’ Dad had clearly given up with Niall and asked me instead.

‘A party at Zoe’s,’ I replied.

‘Are her parents mad ?’ Dad laughed. He would never let us have a party in the house.

I smirked at him. ‘I think they’re just out. They trust their child.’

‘And I trust mine too. I just don’t trust the other teenage tearaways that would show up. I will never consent to a party in that house. Unless me and your mum are there.’

‘Oh God, no thanks,’ I replied, my face screwed up in disgust. Not that I wanted to have a party anyway; houses always ended up getting wrecked, someone would throw up on a carpet somewhere or there’d be cigarette burns in curtains.

At home I went straight upstairs to get ready. My tightest jeans, my lowest-cut top. Hair down, make-up that looked natural but actually took ages to do.

I looked in the mirror, happy with what I saw, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I missed Megan. Getting ready was so much more fun when she was with me.

I shook it off and thought about Shane again. And there it was, the feeling that made my stomach flip and made me smile without telling myself to.

A knock on the door shook me out of my head.

‘Lexie?’

‘Niall?’ I replied, confused.

‘Will you drive us tonight? Megan too?’

I knew what this meant. Niall wanted to drink.

I rolled my eyes in the mirror. ‘Whatever.’

‘Thanks,’ he muttered.

‘What’s this your dad told me about you and Megan?’ Mum asked when we walked in downstairs, her question directed at Niall.

I could almost see his shoulders tensing.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, is she your girlfriend?’ Mum asked outright.

I loitered by the kitchen island, holding my breath.

‘Megan just made a comment that sounded that way,’ Dad started to explain.

‘Yeah, so?’ Niall said defensively.

Mum held up her hands in surrender. ‘I would just appreciate you telling us these things, Niall, especially when she’s sleeping over here,’ Mum said gently.

‘God, Mum!’ Niall screwed up his face and walked out of the house, leaving me standing there with Mum and Dad staring at me.

‘You picked a terrible night to bring that up,’ I said, and walked towards the door after Niall, like it was a reflex.

‘Why? What happened?’ Mum asked, concern in her voice.

‘New kid at football took his position.’ I shrugged and started walking again.

‘Of course, that’s it,’ Dad said, the penny only dropping now.

‘Lexie?’

The soft tone of Mum’s voice made me turn round.

‘What?’

‘Are you OK? Niall and Megan? It’s a big deal for you too.’

I didn’t expect for anyone else to even notice, or care about how it was for me. But if I started talking about it, I wouldn’t stop. ‘I’m fine. See you later.’ And I walked out the door.

Niall had taken some of Dad’s beer with him in a backpack. I didn’t know how he had the balls to take it, because Dad would go mad if he knew.

Silence until the end of the driveway. Then I decided to break it, because this wasn’t how we were.

I sighed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘Tell you what?’ he snapped.

Now my back was up too. ‘You know what.’

‘About Megan? Lexie, it’s nothing to do with you.’ He stared out the window as we drove to Megan’s house.

‘Except it is. She was my best friend and you’re my brother, don’t you think I’m owed some kind of honesty?’

‘That’s not how it works. You think next year when we’re at uni, I’m going to phone you up and ask you if it’s OK to go out with someone or if it’s going to hurt your feelings?’ he spat.

It was like a football to the stomach. I had to compose myself because my words were stuck, and there was a lump in my throat. ‘I didn’t say that.’

‘We were born on the same day, Lexie. That’s it. It doesn’t mean any more than that. There’s no special connection, no magic twin thing that you seem to think we have. I have my life and you have yours. It’s not my fault they overlapped. You’re just going to have to deal with it.’

I gripped the steering wheel and my jaw clenched. ‘You’re just pissed the new kid took your position,’ I said quietly, because I didn’t want him to hear the weakness in my voice.

‘Fuck off,’ he said.

He’d never said that to me before, never seriously. And it hurt.

We pulled into Megan’s driveway, and he got out of the front seat and into the back, but he didn’t take any of the tension with him.

Megan got into the passenger seat wearing Nike shorts and a baggy jumper. She looked great. Not that I was going to tell her. Normally we’d dissect the match. Well, I would. Megan would want to talk about the party.

‘Wow, frosty,’ Megan said, looking at me and then twisting round to look at Niall. Neither of us said anything. ‘OK then.’

Zoe lived in a mansion about ten minutes away. One of those really modern houses that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. We pulled into her humongous driveway and I parked the car. I’d barely stopped when Niall got out, taking his bag of beer with him, leaving me and Megan behind.

And I almost cracked. Shane was on the tip of my tongue. I had so much I could tell Megan, and I knew she’d be happy for me. But I couldn’t. She’d made her choice, and it wasn’t me.

I got out of the car and Megan followed.

Zoe was at the door. She was wearing a tiny green dress and her red hair sat in waves over her shoulders.

She looked gorgeous. Then I remembered what she’d said about Shane.

How she wanted him, how she’d been messaging him.

How she always ‘got what she wanted’. I squeezed my hands into fists at my sides as she showed us through to the massive kitchen.

I fixed my hair in a mirror, and Megan went to talk to Hunter and Niall, who were lining up shots on the counter.

‘Hey, Lexie!’ Amina slung her arm round my shoulder. She was wearing a tiny skirt and a skin-tight T-shirt, her black hair down for once and almost touching her waist. She was drunk. Someone clearly hadn’t bailed on predrinks.

‘Hey, Amina, how are you?’

‘I’m so good. Here, have a drink. I don’t like this one. Sex on the beach.’ She giggled and I took the glass from her before she spilled it over us both.

‘I’ve never had sex on the beach, have you?’

I shook my head and put the glass down on a table. ‘Nope.’

I heard a laugh. Loud. Exaggerated. Zoe.

‘Zoe totally wants sex on the beach with him.’ Amina pointed towards the corner of the room.

I followed her drunken finger towards a cream-velvet sofa in a low-lit corner of the kitchen. There he was. Same top from earlier, different track bottoms, different trainers. Smiling at whatever Zoe had said. Her leg was touching his. Then she was whispering something to him. That bitch.

I almost forgot Amina was hanging on to me as I moved towards them. She stumbled and I had to catch her, but her other arm knocked a pint of beer all over the kitchen floor.

‘Shit,’ I said, seizing my moment. ‘Zoe,’ I called loudly, ‘is there something we can use to clean this up?’

Zoe got up and a flash of pissed off clouded her face, but it had disappeared by the time she reached me, and the trademark smile was back.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Amina said.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll get the mop. Go, enjoy yourself.’ She smiled at me. ‘Such a shame you couldn’t come earlier Lexie. Shane ended up coming an hour early, so me and Amina got to know him a bit, which was cool.’

I couldn’t tell if she was trying to rub it in my face or if she was genuinely disappointed I couldn’t make it. But by the time Zoe and Amina had disappeared for a mop and I looked back at Shane, Niall, Hunter and Megan were standing in front of him. Shit.

I walked over, dreading to think what Niall was saying.

‘Why don’t you just fuck off back to Ferndale?’ Niall said, his tone harsh and cold. I cringed.

‘Your coach asked me to come to Westing,’ Shane said, sipping from a can of Coke, seemingly unfazed.

‘Harrison? Big fucking deal. Remember the last kid he recruited?’ Niall laughed and elbowed Hunter.

‘Lasted a week,’ replied Hunter. ‘What do you reckon, Niall? Bet on it? That he doesn’t last the season.’

‘He won’t last the month,’ Niall scoffed, and I couldn’t make any excuses for him this time. I hated what he was doing. I watched him empty half a bottle of beer down his throat.

Megan was standing by his side looking awkward. She didn’t even tell him to stop.

‘What’s happening?’ Zoe was back, looking at Niall and Hunter.

I couldn’t speak. Humiliated that my own brother could act like that.

‘I’ll take that bet.’ Shane held out his hand and stared at Niall.

Niall took his hand, no doubt squeezing as hard as he could.

I saw Megan tugging at Niall’s arm. Hunter had been distracted by Amina walking past in her mini-skirt, and as he moved he put Shane in my eyeline.

I hadn’t noticed that about Hunter, the way it was like he couldn’t help himself staring.

At Megan, at me, at Amina, and it made my stomach lurch.

And as if he could sense me thinking about him, he looked up and winked.

I glared back, hating myself for not saying anything.

‘Oh my God, Shane, are you OK?’ Zoe was all over him now.

He laughed. ‘It’s fine. I didn’t expect it to be a walk in the park.’