Page 33 of Nothing Without You

‘I’m nearly sixteen. How old are you?’

He purred like a cat and took a step towards her. ‘Well, I’ll be. Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. I’m Bob Billa and I’m twenty-six. What’s your name?’

‘Evie.’

‘Wow. Evie let your hair hang down. That’s a song.’

‘I know.’

‘Maybe one night you’ll let me sing it to you.’

‘No way. I hate that song.’ Her words came out with a vengeance before she could stop them, and she watched as a look of insult crossed his face.

He scowled. ‘How could anyone hate that song?’

Ducking under the water, she tried to control the nerves jingling in her stomach. When she came to the surface, the water streamed from her hair and face.

Bob moved closer and lowered his voice. ‘Maybe you’d let me sing you something else.’

His face was so close to hers, her voice barely audible when she replied. ‘Sure. You can sing anything but that song.’

Before she could say anything else he moved closer, his lips brushing against hers, his hand running across her stomach. It was only a quick kiss and a soft touch, but the feel of his fingers on her skin sent pleasant shivers through her body. They stared at each other, and once again she thought how much he looked like Chris. ‘Did you like that?’ he asked.

She nodded, unsure of whether she should be having such an interaction with someone older.

He smiled, and she relaxed a little. ‘Maybe Sissy will bring you to the party on the weekend,’ he said.

She didn’t know what to say and stared at him like a stupid kid. Peace yelled out from the banks, ‘Evie. Come on, we’re going.’

‘I have to go,’ she said as she bobbed down, then swam through the water towards the others. Bob followed, standing in the water up to his waist as she got out. She could feel his eyes on her and she quickly put on her shorts and shirt. Older guys were forward, she thought. Cute, but forward.

As she followed Peace and the two boys away from the pool, she turned back to see what the men were doing. Stoner had disappeared with Sissy somewhere, and the other three boys were sitting on the rocks, sharing a smoke. Bob was sitting cross-legged, a ragged leather hat on his head. He waved both arms at her, then blew her a kiss. She lifted her arm and waved back before following the others out through the rainforest.

Chapter Thirty-Five

‘What are the kids you went out with, like?’ her mother asked as they sat and ate dinner that night. It was Evie’s third plate of pasta, and her mother commented how the fresh sea air must be giving her an appetite.

‘They’re nice,’ Evie replied. ‘Really friendly, and I guess just like the kids from home.’

‘Agh,’ her mother said, spooning a mouthful of soggy spaghetti into her mouth. ‘Teenagers are teenagers wherever they are.’

If only she knew, Evie thought. Her new teenage friends were friendly and welcoming, but vastly different from the kids she hung around with at home. Their risk-taking level was definitely in a higher category than even Layla’s.

As she shovelled the food into her mouth, Evie tried to pretend it was delicious. The truth was she could have eaten anything tonight. As long as there was food in her mouth, she didn’t care what it was. Her mother was a terrible cook. Father had always taken on that role, and he would be horrified at how her mother boiled the shit out of the Italian pasta he had so carefully packed for them. He had, of course, been generous with what they had taken, although there was only so much they could fit in the car. ‘Promise me, Evie, you’ll eat well, study hard and be a good girl,’ he’d implored.

It was a weight off her shoulders, not having to face him after the events of the day. He would know straight away that something was amiss. She wasn’t good at hiding any form of guilt from him, and today’s jaunt had introduced new experiences she knew he would disagree with. What she did with her life now though, was not his problem. If her parents had decided that their lives were to take priority, then she didn’t need to feel guilty about anything.

The spaghetti was soggy and gluey, and she poured some more sauce over it to try and mask the texture. ‘They asked me to go to a party on Saturday night. There’s a local band playing and all the kids from school are going. They want me to meet everyone. They said we’ll just walk there and they can either walk me home, or I can stay at their place.’

Her mother took some notice of her last sentence. ‘Stay at their place? I don’t think so. I don’t even know their parents.’

Standing up, Evie picked her plate up and started walking to the sink. ‘I’m almost sixteen now. I could leave school if I wanted, and get a job. If you want me to do well at school, I’ll need to make good friends, and they’re just the same as kids at home. I told them I’d stay with them. Peace and Sissy said I can sleep in their room.’

The truth was the girls had asked her to stay the night, but there had been no mention of where she would sleep. Surely the girls would have a room where she could stay. Anything to gain more freedom, and be away from her mother for a while, would be a relief.

‘Actually, Katrina asked me to go to a yoga night in town. The lady who owns the resort will be there, and Katrina said it would be a good opportunity to meet some of the locals and talk to them about work. I guess it would be alright. You have to be home before lunch the next day though. And …’ her mother stood up also, pulling a stern face, ‘maybe don’t mention things like this to your father. He still has the traditional view that you should be chaperoned. I think though, seeing you’ve made friends with those two girls, it will be alright.’

Chapter Thirty-Six

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