Page 27 of Someone in the Water

Frankie

Izzy drops her chin on my shoulder and rests her empty plastic glass in the crook of my elbow. A stage has been set up on the wide path in front of the Porto Vecchio marina, and a big crowd is gathering around us as four men in white suits belt out cheesy cover songs.

‘What’s the band called again?’ Izzy asks, shouting into my ear to make herself heard above the noise.

‘Eastlife,’ I say. ‘I think they’re a Westlife tribute band.’

‘Well, that explains a lot,’ she says with a sigh. ‘Shall we get another drink before the fireworks? Did you say they were starting at ten?’

I look at my watch. It’s 9.30 p.m. I was the only one to accept Izzy’s offer of a Long Island iced tea – the others preferring to wait for Jack to return with the beers – so it’s just been the two of us milling around for the last hour.

I wonder if I should suggest we find the rest of them.

It is supposed to be a team night out after all, and I wouldn’t mind checking on Archie.

The more I see him and Jack together, the more I worry that Archie is going to end up getting hurt.

‘Yeah cool. We might bump into the others around the bar area too.’

‘Maybe,’ Izzy says, shrugging while flashing me one of her light-up-the-sky smiles.

We push through the crowd towards the bar and I join the five-deep queue. As I shuffle forwards, I feel a tap on my shoulder, and turn around to see Archie, a couple of people behind me.

‘Oh, hey,’ I say, smiling. ‘I was hoping to bump into you. Is everything okay?’

‘Listen, is there any chance you could order drinks for Jack and me?’ he asks. ‘And I’ll return the favour later? We don’t want to miss the fireworks.’

I look beyond Archie, but I can’t see Jack anywhere, and a flame of annoyance lights up in my belly.

Him treating Archie like his skivvy. But that’s not fair – I’m buying a drink for Izzy, and it doesn’t make me her servant.

‘Of course I can. Long Island iced tea?’ It’s a bit crazy that our default drink of the summer has five different spirits in it, but it’s become so routine that its potency hardly registers.

‘Brilliant, thanks,’ Archie says, his smile strengthening a notch. ‘Next round is on me.’

‘Are you buying Jack a drink?’ Izzy hisses in my ear.

I hadn’t realised that she’d followed me into the queue and I sigh.

I know Izzy doesn’t like Jack, but she has never explained why.

And the weird thing is, when everyone else (except me) was calling for her to be sacked after the Felix Drake incident, Jack stood up for her.

Reminded us all – in his usual blunt way – that everyone makes mistakes and maybe we should cut her some slack.

But when I relayed this to Izzy later, it seemed to make her more angry with him, not less.

‘Yes. Because we work with him,’ I say, as patiently as I can manage. ‘And he’s Archie’s boyfriend. And I could hardly say no, could I?’

I reach the front of the bar and concentrate on catching the bartender’s eye.

When he looks over, I give him my order, then watch him mix the spirits and pour the liquid over four glasses of ice with Coke and lime.

I hand over the money with a grimace – it’s three times what we pay at the hotel – then hand two drinks to Izzy and together we snake back through the crowd.

We do a weird drink exchange where Archie takes one from me, then Izzy passes me one of her two, so Jack has to get his drink from me too. It’s petty, and I don’t blame Jack for swearing under his breath. He takes a couple of gulps without looking at any of us.

‘Cheers,’ Archie says, knocking his glass against mine and Izzy’s, as though it might ease the awkwardness. But Izzy only manages a half-smile before looking away too.

‘Where’s everyone else?’ I ask, wondering if a bigger group would make things easier, or if we should admit defeat and go our separate ways again.

‘I haven’t seen Raphael since Salvo marched him off after taking that call,’ Archie says. ‘Dom and Harriet are around though. We were with them until we came to get a drink.’

‘Maybe they’re getting friendly,’ Izzy suggests, lifting her eyebrows. ‘I mean, Dom’s got form, hasn’t he? And Harriet is so competitive. I bet she’d love to get one up on you, Frankie.’

‘There’s no way Dom would do anything with Harriet,’ Archie says. He looks at me, as though I need the reassurance, which is crazy because Archie knows exactly how I feel about Dom – he’s been my cover story on both occasions that Dom has quietly asked if I want to go for a drink with him.

‘Sorry, was that Izzy making up stories again?’ Jack mutters. ‘You need to be careful, Izzy, don’t want to get a reputation as the boy who cried wolf.’

Izzy stares at him. ‘Don’t worry, I can be deadly honest when I choose to be.’

Jack’s face darkens and he pushes his lips together.

‘Come on, Jack,’ Archie says, pulling gently on his arm. ‘Let’s go and find a spot to watch the fireworks. Thanks for the drink, Frankie. We owe you.’

Jack resists for a few seconds, then shakes his head, and allows Archie to pull him into the crowd.

I turn to Izzy. ‘Come on, you have to tell me what the hell is going on with you two.’

‘Trust me, you don’t want to know.’

‘I do! One minute you’re giving him the cold shoulder, then you act like you’re scared of him. When he defends you, you treat it like an insult. And now he’s accusing you of being a liar. Come on, Izzy, help me out here.’

Izzy takes a long gulp of her drink, then sighs. ‘Look, I overheard something about Jack. It was by accident, and I really wish I didn’t know. But sadly, that’s not how knowledge works.’

‘What did you hear?’

‘I can’t tell you.’

‘Well, where did you hear it?’

‘I can’t tell you that either. It would give away too much.’

‘Izzy, all this cloak-and-dagger stuff. I don’t understand. It can’t be that bad?’

‘It is, okay?’ Izzy throws back. ‘And then I got drunk and shot my mouth off at that midsummer party. Jack told me to keep quiet, or else.’

‘What do you mean, or else? If he’s threatened you, you need to tell Raphael.’

Izzy shakes her head like I’m stupid. ‘How can I when I need to keep it all a secret? And anyway, I’m not sure Raphael would listen.’

‘Of course he would! You’re one hundred per cent his favourite.’ I don’t add that the rest of the team think it’s juicier than that, that Izzy and Raphael are sleeping together, and that’s the sole reason she kept her job.

‘I don’t know,’ she mutters. ‘He seems to love Jack. Christ knows why.’

‘Maybe I could say something then?’ I suggest, changing tack.

Izzy sighs again. ‘No, it’s fine. I don’t want you to get involved. But it’s for your sake though – you do understand that?’

‘Yeah, I guess,’ I say, trying not to feel offended that Izzy doesn’t trust me to keep her secret.

‘There you are!’

I look up at the sound of Dom’s voice.

‘Been searching for you everywhere.’ He twists, shouts into the crowd. ‘Hey, Harriet! I’ve found them!’ Then he turns back. ‘Are you coming to watch the band? I was thinking of attempting a crowd surf when they play “You Raise Me Up”. Do you get it? Raise me up?’

Despite what Izzy has just told me, the corners of my mouth lift into a smile. Dom beams back.

‘Hey, look who I spotted in the crowd,’ Harriet says as she appears, arms linked with Archie on one side, and Jack on the other. ‘The fireworks are starting soon, so we should head back to the marina, get the best view of them.’

‘Not until they’ve sung “Flying Without Wings”,’ Dom says, shaking his head with mock seriousness. ‘That’s our special song, isn’t it, Frankie? Damn, it gets me right here.’ Dom punches his chest.

‘Oh for fuck’s sake, Dom!’ Izzy pushes forward, turns to face him.

‘I’m so bored of this! Frankie doesn’t like you, okay?

’ she shouts. ‘She slept with you because she was drunk, and then regretted it as soon as she woke up the next morning. Which isn’t surprising because you’re a fucking idiot. So stop hassling her!’

I hold my breath. Nobody moves. Izzy is just repeating what I’ve told her, at least the sentiment if not the words. But it sounds so much worse outside of our room. Am I mad with her for telling him? Or grateful?

‘Is that true?’ Dom finally asks, his voice suddenly quiet.

As I turn my head towards him, I take in everyone else’s expressions. Sympathy on Archie’s face, curiosity on Harriet’s, bemusement on Jack’s. Only Izzy’s is unreadable.

And finally, my eyes reach Dom. His cheeks are glowing pink and there’s a moisture in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Izzy’s words were harsh, but their meaning was accurate, and I owe him the truth.

‘I guess so,’ I say quietly. ‘But not about …’

But it’s too late to finish the sentence. Dom has disappeared into the crowd.