Chapter one
Andy's Point of View
"Andrew! What the hell is going on?" I hear my mother's voice screaming at me and I inwardly groan as my head feels like it's going to explode. I roll over and throw my arm over my eyes to avoid the light that's suddenly filled the room.
"Oh my head" I hear to the right hand side of me and when I suddenly realise that's not Elle's voice I quickly sit up and look beside me.
Julie is lying there, in my bed, and it looks like she's naked. What the fuck is going on? I look over to the door way where my mother is standing glaring at me.
"Andrew Clemmensen, what the hell have you done?" she says and I look between her and Julie and back again. What have I done? I try my hardest to remember what happened last night but I've got nothing.
"Turn the lights off" I hear Julie say beside me and my mother is instantly across the room and in her face.
"Listen to me you little tart, you have exactly one minute to tell me what is going on here and to get your clothes on and your ass out of my house" she yells at Julie.
I put my hand under the doona and check to make sure I have jocks on, which thankfully I do, before climbing out of bed and grabbing some clothes.
Julie sits up and holds the sheet around her whilst reaching for her shirt. She pulls it on under the doona and stands. I'm relieved she still has her jeans on but when Mum sees it she loses her cool.
"What the hell do you think you're doing in my son's bed with no shirt on? His girlfriend just came in here and saw you two."
My stomach clenches and I feel like I'm going to throw up. "What? Elle was here?" I ask mum and she nods.
"She just bolted out of the house five minutes ago" she tells me and I run out of the room. As I fling open the front door I see her car travel down the road and round the corner.
"FUCK!" I scream out, holding my head in my hands.
I run back in the house and into my room. Lewis is sitting up in the lounge as I run by and yells out "What the fuck is going on?"
I ignore him and go in search of my phone. Mum is still in my room, sitting on my bed and there's no sign of Julie.
"Did she say anything?" I ask her as I find my phone on my desk and switch it on.
"Who? Julie?" she says.
"I couldn't give a rat's ass about Julie Mum. Elle, okay, did Elle say anything when she left?" I ask as I impatiently wait for my phone to connect to the network.
"No, she didn't. She just ran out" she tells me. "I spoke to Julie and she informs me that nothing happened between you two, in case you were wondering."
I glance at mum and she's staring at me, her eyebrows raised in question.
"I know I wouldn't have done anything Mum, come on. What do you take me for?" I ask her as I dial Elle's number finally.
It rings three times and cuts off abruptly. Shit, she's turned her phone off. I dial the number again and this time it goes straight to message bank.
"God damn it!" I yell and throw my phone down on my bed.
"She's not answering is she?" mum says.
"No, she's turned it off. Shit what do I do?" I think out loud.
"What the hell is going on?" I hear Bradie as from the doorway and I look up to see him and Lewis standing there. I just shake my head and rub my face, trying to think what to do now. I see Julie slink past Bradie and Lewis and disappear down the hall.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that Alice stayed the night at Elle's. Perhaps she said something to her?" Mum says as I nod and brush past Lewis on my way out. Bradie follows me down the hall and asks me repeatedly what's happening.
When I pass the lounge I see Julie talking quietly to Shannon. "Get the fuck out of my house and don't you ever come back here" I yell and point at her. The look on Shannon's face is pure shock followed by anger.
"What do you think you're doing, speaking to Julie like that?" Shannon yells at me.
"Ask your wonderful, perfect little cousin what she's done now. I've got more important things to do" I say as I keep walking out of the house and over to Elle's, with Bradie trailing behind me.
"Why are you following me?" I ask him over my shoulder as I reach the front door and bang on it.
"What's happened?" he asks me as the door opens and Alice is standing there.
"Where did Elle go?" I ask her, not even bothering with a 'hello'.
"I don't know Andy" she says. I glare at her and she says "I really don't okay?"
Bradie steps around me and stands next to Alice in the doorway and puts his arm around her shoulder.
"Well, what did she say?" I ask her.
"Nothing. What's happened?" she asks me and I shake my head.
"I was asleep but I think she came into my room and saw Julie and I in bed. Nothing happened though" I quickly say as I see the anger flash across both Alice's and Bradie's faces.
"Do you know that for sure?" Bradie asks and I nod my head.
"She didn't have a shirt on but still had her skin-tight jeans on. There's no way anything happened between me and her, I'm telling you both now. I was drunk but I wasn't that drunk. When I went to bed, I was alone. She's obviously crawled in afterwards" I tell them.
"Oh God, no wonder Elle was so upset" Alice says as I hear the front door from home slam shut. I see Julie and Shannon walking out to his car. He looks pretty pissed with her and she seems to be crying. Well, good, she gets what she deserves. Bradie and Alice are watching as well.
"She must have told him what happened" Bradie says to me.
I nod and focus my attention back on Alice. "Did she say anything at all?" I ask her again.
"Oh hang on" she says and steps back inside.
I rub my hands over my eyes again, my head still feels like it's going to explode but it's the least of my worries at the moment.
When Alice comes back out she hands me the CD I made for Elle. My chest constricts and I feel as though someone is slowly choking me. I take a breath and look up at Alice and Bradie.
"Her words were 'when he comes, give him this'" Alice tells me. I see the look of sympathy wash over Bradie's face.
I close my eyes and get control of my emotions. When I open them again I say "Did she say anything else?"
"Just to lock the house up when I leave and that she'd call me. She had a bag in her hand and she woke the kids up and then left."
Nodding I say "thanks Alice" and turn and walk away. I get to where my car is parked and lean against the driver's door. The keys are inside the house but I don't want to drive anywhere just yet. I need to think what to do.
She won't answer her phone if I call. Okay, well what if I borrowed Bradie's phone and called her? That might work.
I can't believe this mess I'm in, fucking hell.
"Hey, are you alright?" I hear Bradie say and I look up to see him leaning against my car bonnet.
"No. Not really. What the fuck do I do here Bradie? She's turned her phone off so she obviously doesn't want to speak to me. I need to tell her that nothing happened. That Julie is just a self-centred bitch that set me up."
"Yeah, both Alice and I tried ringing her. Let's go inside, come on" he says and throws his arm around my shoulder as we walk inside.
"So you believe me then?" I ask him as we approach the front door.
"Yeah, of course I do" he says as he opens the front door and we walk inside.
Mum is standing in the kitchen holding Chris whilst Lewis is making a coffee.
"Did you get a hold of her?" she asks as I put the CD on the bench in front of me.
I shake my head and Mum comes around the bench and hugs me.
"What's this?" Lewis asks as he picks up the CD.
"I made it for Elle. She told Alice to give it back to me" I say.
"Oh honey" Mum says as she gives me that sympathetic look.
"What'd I miss" Jumpnow asks as he wanders into the kitchen.
"Elle found Andy in bed with a half-naked Julie, gave back his CD and left" Lewis says before sipping his coffee.
I just glare at him and he says "What? That's what happened."
"So that was what all the yelling was about then" Jumpnow says.
"Who wants a cuppa?" Mum asks. Jumpnow and Bradie both nod and I shake my head.
"I'm going to grab a quick shower then go see if I can find Elle" I tell them as I head into my room to get some clean clothes to wear.
When I walk into the bathroom and lock the door behind me I take a deep breath and let myself succumb to the heartache I'm feeling. How the fuck did this happen?
I knew I couldn't trust Julie, especially when she started hanging around me more towards the end of the night. She was like a leech at one point there before Bradie dragged her away. I honestly had thought she'd leave me the fuck alone when she saw I was with Elle.
I start the shower and quickly wash my face and hair. When I get out, I brush away the fur from my teeth and gargle some mouthwash. My hangover is nasty but I need to push that aside.
I dress and go back out to the kitchen to find some Panadol for my headache.
"Here sweetie, happy birthday" Mum says handing me a parcel. I'd clean forgot it was my birthday and it's the last thing on my mind at the moment.
"Thanks Mum" I say as I accept the present, kissing her cheek and put it on the bench. "I need some Panadol" I say as I head to the medicine cupboard and grab the packet out.
A chorus of happy birthdays are said by Lewis, Bradie and Jumpnow as I pop out three tablets and grab a glass of water. I swallow down the pills and say "thanks" to everyone.
"You really should eat something with them" Mum says and I nod at her.
"I'll stop at Maccas drive through and grab some breakfast, I promise" I tell her grabbing my keys off the bench. "I'm going out for a while" I say as I head to the front door.
"Hang on, we'll come with you" Lewis says as I turn and look at him.
"I'm looking for Elle, do you really want to come?" I ask him.
"Hell yes, if Maccas is involved I'll even help you search for Jesus" he says. "Just give us a second, I need to take a piss" he says running down the hallway to the bathroom.
"Anyone else?" I say and Bradie and Jumpnow both nod.
"Come on then. Mum, ring me if you hear from her or you have any news" I say.
"I will. Be careful" she says as I walk out the front door, Bradie and Jumpnow following me.
I unlock my car and Bradie gets in the front, Jumpnow in the back as we sit and wait for Lewis.
I turn the radio on and tune it to the local station. When Lewis jumps in the backseat I reverse the car out of the driveway and head to McDonalds, knowing that the guys won't shut up until their fed.
They all talk about last night and I ignore them for the better part of the drive. When we pull up in the drive-through I ask them all what they want and order it as one order. When we get to the first window I pull a $50 from my wallet and pay for it all. When they are all happy and devouring their breakfast I pull out again whilst eating bacon and egg McMuffin and drive to the park.
When I pull in, I notice right away that her car isn't here. I make a u-turn in the parking lot and head back out again. I drive past her work, past the shopping centre she usually visits, down to the beach, all the while looking for her car but never seeing it.
The other three spend the whole morning talking about crap and I pretty much ignore them all. Bradie's phone rings at one point and I look eagerly at him whilst he reads the caller id display. He shakes his head at me and answers it with "Hey Alice."
I listen intently trying to figure out if maybe she's heard from Elle but when Bradie hangs up he says "she just wanted to let me know she's heading home."
"She hasn't heard anything?" I ask him and he shakes his head.
We drive around for another hour but don't see her anywhere. I head for home and when we pull up Mum appears at the front door.
"No luck?" she says as I walk up to the house shaking my head.
I follow her inside and sit at the kitchen bench again. "Do you guys want some lunch?" Mum asks everyone as she walks to the fridge and starts pulling food out.
I pick up the CD Elle left and study the picture on the front.
I'm lost in a memory of the two of us at the park when the sound of my phone ringing wakes me from my daydream. I grab it and check the display. It's Alice.
"Hey, did you hear from her?" I ask quickly.
"She just called me then. She's on her way to the Gold Coast to stay with her brother for a couple of days."
"Do you have his number? Did you tell her what happened?" I say.
"Yeah I did Andy. She's okay I think but still wants some time to herself before she comes back. She's just hurt I think."
"She doesn't want to talk to me does she?" I ask her.
"No, she doesn't, not yet anyhow. She did say to let you know that she'll call you soon. But just give her some time."
"Did she believe me? That I did nothing wrong?" I ask.
"Yeah I think so. But you have to remember, she's been hurt badly before. When she saw you guys, she panicked. When I saw her come in the front door, she was as white as a ghost and shaking so badly. I honestly thought she was having a fit or something until I saw her move again."
"Do you happen to have her brother's number?" I ask Alice.
"No I'm sorry. She didn't tell me. I only know his name is Terry. Just let her calm down and I'm sure she'll ring you soon okay? It'll work out Andy, I'm sure. She loves you."
"Thanks for letting me know anyhow Alice. I'll talk to you later" I say as I hang up the phone.
Everyone is looking at me, waiting for an update. "She's on her way to her brother's place at the Gold Coast. Alice told her what happened but she wants some time away anyhow."
"Well at least we know she's okay" Mum says, trying to find a positive in the news.
"I'm going to go lay down for a while. I'll see you guys later. Thanks for coming down you two" I say to Lewis and Jumpnow and shake their hands, giving them the one-armed man-hug.
"Thanks for having us" they say as I turn and walk down the hall to my room.
I strip the sheets from my bed and lie down on the bare mattress and close my eyes.
All I can see is Elle's face before me and I try to think of something else so I can get some rest. In the end I give up and let myself daydream again about when we were together that first time in the park. It seems like so long ago.
I must have dozed off for a bit because my eyes fly open when I hear my phone beep with a new text message.
I spoke to Alice, she told me what happened. I'm at my brother's house and will be home Wednesday. I'll speak to you then, Elle.
No kiss, no 'I love you', no emotion. I wonder if I should reply but think 'fuck it' and pick my phone back up.
Happy you're okay. I miss you. Please come back to me soon. X
After I send it I think to myself, 'when did I become such a love-sick pussy?'
I look at the time and see it's after six pm. I crawl out of bed, slip my phone back into my pocket and head to the toilet before going out to find out what the other members of my family are doing.
I find them all in the lounge room and when I walk in I notice that there are a few presents on the coffee table.
"Happy birthday" Dad says as I walk in and I realise I haven't seen him since last night.
"Thanks" I say as I sit on the floor and Mum leans forward, sliding the presents towards me.
"Do you feel a bit better?" she asks and I nod.
As I reach for the first present my phone goes off again from my back pocket and I quickly pull it back out again.
Happy Birthday. I miss you too.
I let the smile on my face grow and look up to see Mum smiling at me.
"She messaged you?"Mum says and I nod.
"Yeah. She told me she's at her brother's house and she'll be home on Tuesday. She just sent me one then wishing me a happy birthday and she said she missed me too" I say.
"You guys will sort this out, I'm positive" Mum says and Dad nod in agreement.
"Come on, open your presents" says Bradie. "It might cheer you up a bit to see how much money I spent on you for a change" he says.
I smile slightly and grab the first present, relaxing a bit knowing that Elle is missing me too.