Chapter 10
Fireworks. Everywhere.
I closed my eyes and the fireworks exploded in front of my eyes. I was flying high in the sky, never wanting to come down, never stopping, away from everything, flying up up up...
When suddenly I crashed to earth, waking up with a start. James looked over at me.
"Morning." He said awkwardly.
I rubbed my head. It was sore, but not hangover sore. I didn't remember hitting my head.
"What happened?" As I asked, a thousand and one possibilities ran through my head.
"You passed out." James said, scratching the back of his neck.
Mini heart attack. "After...?"
James looked down to try and hide his pink cheeks, "You know..."
"Oh, right." I nodded slightly.
There was a silence for a minute.
James looked as if he was going to say something for a minute, then he stopped and turned away.
Suddenly he turned back again, came down and sat beside me. I saw that he was smiling.
I nudged him, "What?"
"You have no idea," said James, "of the amount of weird looks I got, coming out of the pool, like a firefighter who's just saved someone from a burning building, carrying an unconscious girl in my arms."
I laughed but couldn't help but feel a longing that I wasn't that close to him now.
The next few days were a bit of a blur. With awkwardness freshly piled upon us, James and I keep as apart as we could bear, which, if truth be told, wasn't really all that far.
On the last night of the trip, James and I were sitting having drinks, in silence, when I was grabbed quickly by a man whose face I couldn't see. But I soon recognised his American accent. My heart sank. I turned my head to look at James but Eric made me look back at him.
"Thought you could get away from me that easily..." He purred in my ear. He stroked down my cheek, then my neck, until his hand was resting on the strap of my dress.
I looked stonily up at him, "Stop it."
Eric raised an eyebrow slightly, "Oh c'mon Amy. I'm just teasin' ya."
"Well I don't want to be teased." I said, pulling away from him and walking quickly away out onto the balcony.
The cool night air blew in my face, calming and soothing me. Well, sort of. I couldn't be exactly calm when Eric was following me.
"So you're saying that you don't want to be teased... you want some more direct action..." Eric looked me over pointedly.
I groaned internally. Why did everything always have to turn into THAT with this guy?!
James walked out to us. I looked over at him, relieved. I mean, I can manage perfectly fine on my own but it's good to have him there for moral support. Just as long as he isn't too attractive and distracting. Which is basically a constant thing.
"Oh great," said Eric sardonically. "Look who's come to save the day."
Part of me wanted to run off with James and hide. But the other part wanted to kick Eric where it hurts and tell him to stop being such a prick.
James said nothing. He just looked between the two of us, then back at me with a slightly hurt expression that only I could recognise. Instantly I felt a massive rush of guilt. It like a giant floodgate had been opened.
I leant against the small wall which circled the balcony. James and Eric were talking but I wasn't paying attention. I looked over the edge and saw the lake underneath us. It was a long way down but I didn't think it would be too difficult. James knew what I was capable of, but Eric didn't. So without him noticing I stepped onto the railing surrounding the balcony and balanced there. James glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I crossed my legs, checking my nails, acting as though I was just waiting for a bus or something. Finally Eric noticed.
"What the hell are ya-" he began.
"Bye boys," I said in a mock teasing voice and let myself fall backwards off of the rail, into the water. I saw a flash of James grinning slightly as they both disappeared from view.