Page 47 of Forever Summer

Had he said something?

“Well, for one, you’re here instead of there, and two, that natural sunshine goodness is more like I want to climb a bell tower.”

“Geez, dramatic much?” I scoffed, standing aside as Tess walked on in. The smell of apple and cinnamon muffins hit me first, followed by the aromatic coffee that had me salivating. Ever since moving to Maitland I fancied myself as a bit of a coffee connoisseur, walking down to the cafes as a morning ritual. I think I might have developed an addiction, hence feeling so bleh, I told myself.

We made ourselves comfortable on the back step of my house; the view was pretty spectacular from here of the bushland. Our humble abode was only a cedar house, but Mum was blessed with a green thumb so the gardens were established and Dad’s love of birds and his elaborate feeding systems attracted beautiful creatures of all colours. That’s about as much as I knew about them; fortunately Dad wasn’t here to bore me to death with his bird-watching knowledge.

I sipped on my coffee, listening to the calls of the bush, smiling at the sound of a kookaburra mocking us with his laughter.

“So, you’re not going to elaborate on why you stayed here last night.”

I shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell.”

What could I say? I found Megsy Swanston in Adam’s bed. I really didn’t want to get into what any of that meant. Unlike me, Tess never had a real issue with Megsy; if anything, she had always approved of their relationship.

Tess looked at me with a sceptical curve to her brow. “Riiight.”

“It’s true,” I lied, and as if by some form of fate my phone chimed for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Message

Adam

“Where are you?”

Ignoring it, I put the mobile back on the deck and kept picking at my muffin.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?”

“Nope.”

Tess sighed. “Listen, Ellie, I think you’re being real harsh on Adam, I’m sure he never meant to offend you; I mean, if that’s what he did.”

“Always defending Adam.”

“Look, I just think you need to back off a bit, he has a bit on his plate right now and I just think—”

“What do you mean, he has a bit on his plate?”

Tess fell silent, like she instantly regretted what she had said.

“I just think you should talk to him, is all.”

“I’m tired of talking.”

I’m tired of being left in the dark; two months away and it’s almost like I wasn’t privy to all the private jokes, all the gossip, all the secrets. It then occurred to me the very reason I had wanted to have brunch with Tess in the first place: it was a means to be a better friend, my vow to try harder and be less self-absorbed. Something I had already failed miserably at, I thought, as I finished the last of my lovely muffin.

I glanced at Tess and her sweet, pleading eyes, the ones that always worried about me.

“Is there something that I should know, Tess, about Adam?”

It took a while for Tess to answer, as if she was thinking of a way to best respond.

“Just talk to him.”

I felt frustration twist my insides. When had we lost this connection? We were always ones to tell each other everything and now we were kind of like strangers; were we growing apart? I don’t think my heart could bear that. In a moment of sheer panic I blurted out the deepest, darkest secret I carried in the hope it would mend the bridge of trust.

“I’m in love with Adam.”

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