Dead, Actually Part 2

We ended the call with her making sure I knew her address. The usual info, except that something didnt seem right. Like, Teahna was supposed to be devastated at the loss of her friend, and okay I could relate. If something happened to Macey, I dont know what Id do. I dont think Id function. But for all the tears and stuff, I wasnt quite getting that feeling from Teahna.

I didnt have long to think about it, because by the time Id taken two more calls both from JoJos friends asking me to do stuff with them, which was waaaay weird and shovelled a few truckloads of my parents c.r.a.p out of the living room it was time to get ready to meet Pete.

Mimi stepped onto the first-floor landing as I was heading for the door. The stairs were a great meeting place in our house it was the one place we couldnt avoid. Mimi is my mum. I always call her that not because of some misplaced youth thing like Maceys mum, but just because my folks are so casual about that stuff. Dad always called her Mimi and I guessed Id copied. Shed never objected.

Considering what shed been through she looked pretty good. She worked out all the time, like a lot of recovering alcoholics and druggies do. It was the cla.s.sic habit thing: subst.i.tute one for another. Though in my parents case it was two habits: fitness and G.o.d. Thats the Cartwrights for you; we dont do things by halves . . .

She was still pretty, and Id always thought there was maybe a bit of a younger Susan Sarandon there. Looking back up towards her, that likeness. .h.i.t me again. She was directly under the art-nouveau chandelier, which highlighted the planes of her face and added sparkle to her thick dark hair. Maybe I should be hoping I lasted as well. Maybe I would.We had almost the same hair mine was just a bit lighter. Same dark eyes. I had Dads olive skin though. And considering I had no intention of filling my body with poison . . .

As usual, Mimi was wearing skin-tight workout pants and a matching midriff top. Tonight the big negative was the scowl. Nothing pleasant ever came out of a mouth wearing that look.

'Whats this I hear about you blaming me for Rita leaving? I didnt want to fight with her; I really didnt. Not that it mattered, because she was on a roll. 'I just dont think people should be expected to do menial tasks.

'Is that really why you keep sacking them, Mimi? Try as I might, I couldnt keep the wobble out of my voice.

Much as I hated giving in to the emotion, perhaps it wasnt such a bad thing, because the words seemed to blow some of the steam out of Mimi I could see it in her shoulders; her eyes. She came down the stairs towards me, slowly, as though deliberating over every step. 'Willow, Im sorry. Like a set of blinds, her eyelids lowered, hiding her eyes from mine. 'I know you liked Rita, and I- 'Mimi, I began more gently, 'we need someone. This is a big house and you and Dad are the messiest people I know. Im happy to do my share, but I cant do it all. I have schoolwork and . . . I sighed. 'And lets not even talk about the whole Simon thing.

Suddenly her eyes were wide open. Really! It was as if someone had thrown a light switch. 'Simon?

Her surprise matched my own, but for different reasons. For me it was surprise that Id uttered his name without shuddering. Or puking.

'Simon? she repeated. 'Simons much too busy to worry about household tasks. He has a church to create! Willow, hes doing G.o.ds work!

Wow. There it was in black and white. Honestly, those words hurt so much I expected to see blood pouring out of my chest. Instead I reached for my inner b.i.t.c.h. Unfortunately I didnt have to dig very deep. 'Hes doing G.o.ds work and youre footing the bill. How convenient for him. I bet hes doing a better job in that BMW you bought him than he would driving around in some neat little second-hand four-cylinder job. That comment was just pure spite because, really, the money wasnt the issue. Not by a long shot. Dragging in a breath I tried to rein back the snark. 'Mimi, I know you want to see him as Saint Simon, but hes not what you think. Ive tried to tell you, hes hes creepy. Hes- 'Oh Willow! Frustration underpinned every word. 'All were asking is that you give him a chance! Hes our guest and youre refusing to meet him halfway!

'I dont think thats where he wants me to meet him, Mimi.

'Oh really, Willow! Youre being deliberately difficult. This is just another way to punish us . . .

That was it. My exit time.

'Willow! she called. 'Were doing our best.

'For Simon, I answered.

Hand on the doork.n.o.b of the huge, carved double doors, I stopped and turned to look at her.

Mimis legacy from her bad time was that she couldnt sustain an argument or focus for long, which was a pity. In her day shed been studying law and she would have been awesome at it.

Beside me now, she finally seemed to really see me, and it was almost like shed already forgotten we were arguing. She looked at my coat and bag. She didnt comment on my clothes she never did. Not that I was worried when you had a friend like Macey you always knew you looked okay; she wouldnt stand for anything else. So, I was pretty comfortable in my tapered low-cut jeans. The silver-grey filmy top was one of those floaty, totally feminine things from Maceys and my fave retro online store and that had nothing to do with the fact that it camouflaged my no-b.o.o.b status. Well, not much. Bottom line was I knew it looked good, but I wasnt even going to try to a.n.a.lyse why Id chosen it for a date I didnt want especially when I had a sudden longing for the comfort of my fave jeans and tank . . .

'Youre going out? Mimi asked.

Thank you Captain Obvious. I nodded, still smarting over being told basically that Simon was way more important than I was. 'With a s.e.x G.o.d. One of the senior guys who wants my virginity and another notch to carve into his belt. I shouldnt be too late getting back.

Mimis mouth fell open. 'Do you have condoms?

I closed my eyes, trying to fight all the obvious conclusions I could draw from her response. 'Is that all you have to say?

She was frowning now, clearly trying to work out what shed missed. But just when I thought shed mentally checked out, she spoke up. 'No . . . Im sorry. Look, be careful. Okay? And dont . . . She sighed. 'I know youll make the right decision.

And there it was. Those teeny glimpses of parent-stuff they kept taunting me with; the ones that made me hungry for more. I wanted her to demand I go back upstairs; to be a real mum and ground me. But that wasnt Mimis style. So I leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek and couldnt help myself I hugged her; hugged her so tight. She felt frail in my arms and I had this totally weird feeling I should be tucking her into bed before I left.

That was me: the seventeen-year-old parent of two. A thirty-five year old and a thirty-six year old. Who, incidentally, were getting ready to leave me.

Even though Pete would have come to my house, I took my own car. I had my reasons and most of them centred on the fact that I wanted to control the situation. If I wanted to call it quits, then I could. And would. Already I was sorry Id even said Id go.

Before we left wed decided by phone on Greek mostly because Im semi-vegetarian and burgers are something I dont do well. Pete chose the place and I followed his directions. It was a family biz right back away from the coast, though I had no idea why we had to travel so far. He was already waiting at this table with a red-and-white checked cloth and the usual half-burned-down candle.

He stood as I got nearer. 'Hey! I was wondering if youd changed your mind.

Did the guy actually sound nervous? Pete Hamill?

I smiled and dragged out my chair just in time to have the waiter take it from me and get me seated. 'Family stuff.

He held out his gla.s.s for me to smell. 'You want a beer? I know a guy here wholl slip you one in a frosted gla.s.s. Itll look like ginger ale.

I figured it wasnt his first that night. 'Nah. Ill stick with water.

He shrugged.

The drinks came another beer for him and my water and then he looked around the room, like he was trying to think up something to say.

I decided to put him out of his misery. 'Look, Pete. You have to know that I dont know anything about JoJos death or anything else about her. I mean, if you want to talk Im a good listener, but . . .

His eyes swung back to mine, staring deep like I was the only one in the room. Yeah, the guy was cute and he knew how to use it.

'Maybe that was just a scam to get you here.

'What?

Pete shrugged again. 'Hey youre really cute, you know. Maybe I just saw my chance to ask you out and took it. I know Pentecost has always warned us off you keeping you for himself but I dont see any action between you two, so I figured why should I wait?

Okay, now there were more things going on in my mind than I could cope with. What did I answer first? The fact that he wanted me to believe that he liked me or the fact that Seth had been talking about me? Ha! Who was I kidding? I wanted to know about Seth.

'And what did Pentecost say, exactly?

He reached out to play with my fingers. 'Just that you were off limits. That kind of stuff. Like a dealer keeping all the good stuff for himself you know? So, whats the situation between you and him? Hes doing you on the side? He grinned and I felt a puke coming on and I hadnt even eaten yet. 'Cos babe, I gotta tell you, I wouldnt be keeping you hidden away if you were with me you know that?

I pulled my hands free and swallowed, changing the subject to avert the puke which I only barely managed. 'I thought you were heartbroken over JoJo?

His face moved into a frown. 'JoJo and I had a thing for a while. She was a friend. Ill miss her. You cant blame people for wanting to be near the last person she spoke to.

'I guess I dont get it. I shook my head. 'She certainly affected a lot of peoples lives. Makes me wish Id known her better.

Pete was doing this crazy mangled thing with his mouth. Must have been his thinking pose. 'So, she didnt, like, give you anything before she died? Ask you to hold anything for her?

'Give me anything? Like what? Other than an order for salad and fries?

He frowned again. 'She ordered fries? JoJo never ate fries. She had a rule that you never ate anything you couldnt wash first. She never broke it.

I put my hands up in the surrender position. 'So she changed her mind! Maybe she wanted to live dangerously for a minute. Maybe she was allergic to fries and crashed her car during some kind of seizure!

'You heard she had a seizure?

Now I wanted to scream. 'Stop! How many times do I have to tell you people: I heard nothing! I know nothing!

The waiter arrived then and we ordered, which was great timing as far as I was concerned. I just wanted to eat and leave. Surely it wouldnt take long to gulp down a vegetable moussaka and some salad. Maybe I should get it in a take-away container?

But as soon as the waiter left, the bar guy came up and gave Pete another beer, his third since Id been there. I looked across the table and suddenly felt sorry for him. He looked about as miserable as it was possible to look.

I sighed. 'How about we finish our meal and then head off home? Okay? Its been a big week for you and maybe you need some downtime.

He nodded and we sat in silence till the food arrived.

But we didnt just eat. Well, he didnt. Two more beers later and I knew we were in trouble. Or at least he was. Hed started to sway and his eyes were rolling in different directions.

I looked over at the bar guy, who was staring our way and looking more than a bit scared. Well, why wouldnt he? If the management twigged that Pete was drunk, the guy would probably lose his job for continuing to serve him. There was also the small thing of the Responsible Service Act! I nodded for him to come over.

'I dont know why Im doing this, because youre an idiot! I whispered as the bar guy bent towards me. 'But Id hate to think you lost your job for another idiot like him. You have to help me. Well say he feels sick that hes on medication and we need to get him outside. Okay? Ill drive him home.

The guy nodded, giving me the heads-up when it was safe to move and so getting Pete outside was waaaay easier than it should have been given the circ.u.mstances. I wasnt sure whose lucky stars to thanks Petes or mine. I even managed to flick my credit card at the cas.h.i.+er on the way out. Bar guy got Pete outside and then went back to get the receipt for me to sign. He even helped me load Pete into my car.

In the car I turned to Pete, who hadnt stopped grinning a stupid vacant grin. 'Im warning you, buster you puke in my car and its yours. Okay? We do a clean swap of cars because Im not having a car thats been puked in.

I started driving back towards the strip that would take us to Mermaid Beach. Some of the area was still bushland and it was just as we reached the bush that I saw his hands come up to cover his face.

'Oh man! Youre going to puke, arent you! I swerved to a stop at the side of the road and lunged at him, pus.h.i.+ng at him to get out. Mid-shove I paused. He wasnt puking he was crying. Confused, my concern immediately changed focus. 'Pete? I asked softly. 'Whats the matter? You feel sick? Ill crack a window.

He shook his head. 'This is the place. Right here. This is where JoJo lost it.

My heart jammed as I glanced around. Of course! I should have taken another route. This wasnt exactly fairyland for me either. 'Hey look, maybe Ive been a bit hard on you all. You obviously still loved her, Pete, and . . . and look, Im just really sorry, okay?

His answer threw me. 'Loved her? Ha! Then he shook his head. 'I just want it to be over! I just wish I knew . . .

Oh G.o.d. He sounded so sad.

I scooted over as close as my little coupe would allow. 'Pete? Come on, itll be okay. In all honesty, I didnt have a clue if it would be okay. I didnt even know what he was talking about! I felt so helpless.

I put my hand out to stroke his arm.

Big mistake.

He turned and before I knew it, I was trapped by big muscly arms. Petes mouth was spewing beer breath all over me as he searched for my mouth while one hand crawled up in search of my left breast. Just as the hand found its target and squeezed, my patience found its limit.

'Let go, moron! I was only trying to help you! Comfort you!

'Oh Willow, come on, baby . . . I need comforting . . . Mr P needs you to Ooomph! What was that? I think you broke my rib!

'Im not that lucky. Now get out of my car!

He let me go, and I scooted back over to my side while he hugged his stomach and chest. But he didnt move to get out. He hung his head.

'Please . . . Im sorry Willow. I dont know why I did that. Ive never had to force anyone . . . Ive never tried to . . .

Now that the biggest drama was over, I was replaying everything hed said in my head. 'But you did have plans for me and ahem Mr P?

He groaned.

Frankly I was just shaking my head in disbelief. 'You name your body parts?

I caught his eyes in the headlights of an oncoming car. He was looking like he wished he could die. That made two of us.

'All guys do it! They name their d.i.c.ks. You know I mean its normal.

'Riiiight . . . I stalled for a second. 'But Mr P? I mean, isnt your father a barrister and your mother an author? People who make their living through words? Shees.h.!.+

He was sobering up fast and I could tell he was trying to explain, but I wasnt buying. Id had enough information for one night.

'Skip it, Pete. Now Im going to turn the engine on and youre going to sit on that side of the car on your big fat Mr A and youre going to keep your Mr Hs right to yourself. And maybe itd be better if you kept your Mr M shut tight. Okay?

He wasnt looking happy as we drove off. But all his Mr Men parts behaved themselves, so I guess I had to be thankful for that.

Just as we pulled up in the long, flame-lit, curved driveway at his house, his mobile beeped through a message and he flipped open the screen. I was about to leave him to it when he suddenly froze midway out of the pa.s.senger door.

'Oh s.h.i.+t! No! No!

And then he was out of the car and throwing the phone as far as he could, smas.h.i.+ng it onto the stone driveway.

'Geez! Temper! Whats got into you? I called from my side of the car through the still-open pa.s.senger door.

He bent forward just a bit and I could finally see his face properly. And it terrified me.

He looked like haunted or something!

'Pete? Whats wrong?

His mouth was working, but for a minute nothing came out. Finally he said, 'Its from her . . . Its from JoJo . . . Oh G.o.d! He grabbed at his head as he staggered towards his front door. 'Its not over! Its freakin not over!

And then he went inside and slammed the door.

I stared at the closed door Pete had disappeared through, my jaw still slack from his bad-rocker impersonation. What the heck just happened? That question was just one of the million diving into the over-crowded mosh pit that had suddenly replaced my brain.

The one clear thought was that I had to talk to Macey, and I grabbed my phone only to drop it back into my lap. No. Not here. First I needed to get the h.e.l.l out of Dodge in case Pete decided to come back and share some more of that bad temper.

My head reeled for the couple of blocks it took to get to my house; my phone burned a hole through my thigh. I slid through the last set of lights, barely squeezing through before the amber turned to red. Something was going down it had to be. Invitations from the Angels, the whole fake-friends.h.i.+p thing, the weird looks, a date with Pete and then that crazy drama in Petes driveway? Surely this was all tied together. Or were the people around me always this whacked and I just hadnt noticed it before?

I shook my head, trying to clear a path to make sense of it all, but I kept coming back to that one word.