Page 32 of Count On Me

As I watch Angie slam the kitchen cupboards on the hunt to make a cup of coffee, I can’t help but chuckle to myself. She is not a morning person. “Angie, sit down and let me make you a cup,” I offer and she grunts her approval at me.

We got in last night at a reasonable hour, but stayed up way too late watching old rom-coms. It’s a thing we do. Either that or we sit in the living room in total silence, her on her laptop and me reading a book. Mum often refers to us as an old married couple. And I don’t hate it.

As I get her coffee ready, I grab my phone from the table and see another news notification about Brady and a text from him. I open it, read Hawaii, and close it again. I haven't got the energy to reply. And to be honest, I’m getting fed up with seeing excuse after excuse. I know he’s telling the truth, but I’m still annoyed that he puts himself in these positions.

“Who was that?” Angie asks as she takes that first sip of her magic bean water and becomes a normal functioning human being again.

“Jaxson. Another headline and another ‘it isn’t what it looks like’ text,” I say with a sigh and sit opposite her with my tea in my hands.

“Did he Hawaii you?” I nod my head and blow on my drink. “Do you believe him? He’s used that a lot recently.”

Frowning at Angie over my teacup, I tell her firmly, “He would never say Hawaii when he was lying.” She raises a perfectly sculpted brow at me and I plonk my cup onto the table a little too hard. “He wouldn’t. Hawaii is too important to both of us.”

“Why? You’ve never explained it. Granted, I’ve never asked before, but, Edie, how do you know he’s telling the truth?” Angie’s eyes bore into mine and guilt washes over me as I consider telling her the origin of Hawaii. It’s tempting, letting someone in on that little secret, but I can’t. We made a promise to each other.

“I can’t tell you where it came from. We made a pact. Just trust me. When he says Hawaii, I know he’s telling the truth. No question about it.”

She sighs and shrugs her shoulders, finishes her coffee, and stands up. “I’m getting in the shower and then we’re going out for brunch. No more talking about Brady. Deal?”

I nod, and as I watch her back depart from the kitchen, I let my memories overtake me…

“Why are you crying?” I quickly swipe my tears away and scrub my hand over my face.

“I’m not.” I retort petulantly before I turn my back on Jaxson Brady and put my glasses back on. As I push them up my nose, I take a deep breath and turn around, fully expecting him to be gone. He’s not. He’s sitting opposite me with his legs crossed and his arms folded over his chest.

“Are you crying for the same reason your mom’s crying?” he asks gently, and before I can reply, he carries on talking.“Mama was cuddling her and she sent me in here when I walked in the kitchen. She sent my pops and brothers out too. I asked Pops what was going on, but he didn’t know either. But even if he did, he probably wouldn’t tell me. You gonna tell me?”

I shake my head at him, too embarrassed to tell him the reason for my tears. He would never understand anyway. He comes from a perfect family. He wouldn’t understand the pain of finding out your mum and dad are getting divorced because your dad has fallen in love with some other woman. He wouldn’t understand the sting of rejection that knowledge made me feel. That I wasn’t enough to make my own dad happy. Well, not enough to want to live with me. That in the whole month of knowing, the man I looked up to and idolised hadn’t even bothered to see if I was okay. He was living his best life, without a nerdy ten-year-old by his side.

Jaxson wouldn’t get that. Pops loves him, spends time with him and his brothers, and adores Mama Brady. The tears start to fall harder and I squeeze my eyes shut to try to stem them.

“Edie, I hate seeing you sad. It makes me feel sad and I don’t like feeling sad things. Tell me what's going on. I swear, I can help. And I won’t say a word to anyone. You can trust me. Honest.” I open my eyes to look at him and he grins back at me, those dimples of his popping.

“How do I know I can trust you?” I whisper, and a flash of hurt dances over his features.

“You’re my best friend, Eddie. You should trust your best friend. But if you need more, what about if I tell you a secret of mine. That way if I blab yours, you can blab mine?” He smiles at me, and just seeing it makes me feel less sad.

“You’d trust me with your secret? Just like that?” I ask, slightly shocked.

“Yeah, I told you, you’re my best friend.” He blushes a little and I smile gently at him.

“Okay, tell me your secret.”

He leans in closer to me and whispers, “I was the one who broke Mama’s vase last year.”

“No you didn’t. Jenson did. He got in trouble for it and everything. He wasn’t allowed to watch football. You told me on the phone.” I cross my arms and frown at him.

“No, Eddie, I swear it was me. Jenson took the blame for it. He knew Mama would be angry, and I just got in trouble at school and he knew she’d be so mad at me. I swear I’m telling the truth. Um, Hawaii.” He shouts the last word out and a huge blush sweeps over his cheeks.

My face screws up in confusion. “Hawaii?”

“Yeah. Hawaii,” he tells me, with a little more conviction behind it this time, and gestures with his head to the family picture Mama Brady has hanging on the wall. They’re all dressed in hula skirts, with a red flower behind their ears. A memory preserved from when they went on holiday last year. “From now on, every time I’m telling the truth to you and you don’t believe it, I’m gonna say Hawaii. Then you’ll know I’m telling the truth. And ask Jenson. He’ll tell you who really broke the vase.”

There’s something in his voice that makes me believe him. I lower my head and ask him quietly, “You won’t say anything to anyone? Not to Mama Brady or my mum? No-one.”

“I swear. Hawaii.” He grins at me and I roll my eyes in return.

“My dad left us. He doesn’t love us anymore. Mum’s sad all the time. And I…I… I wasn’t enough for him.” As the floodgates to my tears open, he stands up and walks over to me. He pulls me up and hugs me.

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