Page 39 of Waiting Game

“Good,” he shrugged, a teasing smirk on his face.

“Great,” I pulled a face.

“Awesome,” he shot back without looking at me.

“Cool,” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Wonderful,” he called, walking out of the room, “marvellous, fantastic, brilliant…” he continued rambling even after he was out of earshot.

It wasn’t until much later, when he was already locked away in his office, that I realised that I had forgotten to ask him the most important question about this camping trip. The question that would reveal his motives and whether or not I would enjoy myself.

Would Ren be there?

12

Chapter 12

Ren

It had been years since I had returned to this field.

The bridge was even more decrepit looking, and it was covered in even more graffiti that proved that we were not the only ones who knew about this spot anymore. The grass was overgrown, but the creek was still flowing strong.

Craning my neck, I looked up to the top of the rock wall where we used to sit, but couldn’t see what I was looking for. I climbed to the peak of it, slipping on the moss covered boulders. My head only just grazed the bottom of the bridge as I reached the top, and debris fell from the decaying wood and tumbled down the few metre drop towards the creek. I used my hand to wipe the moss off of the largest boulder, revealing a faded green splotch that was once in the shape of a disfigured heart.

I stared at it for a little while, shaking my head at the blue paint that now covered most of it, making it look like only a half of a heart - which was fitting for the situation.

I reached into my back pocket, retrieving the can of green spray paint as I heard another car pull up. With a sigh, I stashed the can behind one of the rocks as I heard car doors open and close. I climbed back down, stumbling a few times as my shoes slipped on the damp rocks.

“Afternoon,” I grunted as I jumped down from the last boulder.

“The fuck were you doing up there?” Antoni asked, looking up towards where I was.

“Just checking something,” I said.

He shrugged and I looked over to Val, who was standing with her arms crossed and an unimpressed pout on her face. It was clear that she wasn’t happy about my being here.

Antoni said that he had this camping trip planned all along, but he hadn’t mentioned it to me until the night before. I wondered if he was not so subtly trying to make us nostalgic, bringing us here. Why else would he bring his new wife here with me and his little sister?

Antoni and I collected wood and built the fire as the girls set up the tents.

Rome dragged out the esky from the back of my ute that was filled with food and drinks. I opened it up, offering a beer to Valerie but she shook her head.

Perhaps she had learned her lesson on the wedding night.

The fact that she didn’t trust herself around me spoke volumes.

Why couldn’t she just admit it to herself?

She had told me that she was engaged, but there was no ring on her finger - and if she was truly in love with this doctor, why had she come home with me on the night of the reception?

Something wasn’t adding up, and I knew that she was lying to me and herself about something.

We all sat around the fire as the sun set.

It swung between flowing conversation and laughter, and awkward silence.

“So out of all the places you could have gone, this is where you decided to spend your free time as teenagers?” Rome laughed at us.

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