A Little Bit of Truth (Little Bits) (48 page)

“
Summer,” I pinch the bridge of my nose and rub my eyes. “I’ve seen it. Let it go.” Then I walk away, feeling like a bastard.

“Your loss,” she calls after me. That hurts.

Doesn’t she think I’m a loss?

Girls… they stick together right? Brilliant. That means I’ll probably lose the only group of people in my life that I actually value and care about. It doesn’t seem fair seeing as I’m the one who’s been fucked over, I’ve done what any normal person would do in this situation; which is to leave the person who’s fucked them over.

“Jakey!” A voice calls right as I’m stepping into my room. It’s not the voice I want to hear but it’s a voice I know well and enjoy hearing.

I turn and face a flushed and happy looking Maya, “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just looking for Marie,” she shrugs and starts stretching her thighs. “She has my straighteners.”

“She’s in room one zero eight,” I push my door open, step inside and close it without looking back or even saying goodbye. The last thing I need right now is a hoard of questions. The last thing Maya needs right now is to worry on the first day of her marriage. Although slamming the door in her face probably wasn’t a good way to avoid that. If I know Maya she’ll be digging the dirt on us already.

You know what I need? I need to relax by the pool with something strong to soothe the burn in my chest. Or just something to cover up the burn, like a stronger burn from whiskey.

So I grab my stuff and head down, going the long way to avoid as many people as possible. Marie included.

Great, I come down for a drink and the sun and Jacob is at my choice of pool. Asshole. Get out of my face! Gah. I’ll just go to the beach instead, the other pools are too busy.

I can’t wait to get home.

Shit.

Home.

I don’t have a home. I knew I should never have moved out! Knew it deep down.

But for once in my fucking life I had hope, a lot of it. What a joke.

With a heavy sigh that weighs on my heart I turn to head in the other direction; th
at is until I hear his voice, “Don’t leave on my account. I won’t bother you.”

“Thanks but I’d rather go to the beach anyway,” I bite out and continue walking. He doesn’t stop me, I don’t look back.
Christ I can’t wait to get off this god damn island.

No longer will it be the island of paradise to me. It’ll be the island of pain. Maybe I’m being a little over dramatic.

I have every right to be.

A blur of movement catches my eye, then it stops and starts jogging on the spot beside me. “Morning!”

“Morning.”

“Someone’s cheerful this morning,” Maya bites into an apple and chews, her freaky violet eyes focused on my face. “This have anything to do with the fact you and Jacob aren’t sharing a room?”

I keep walking, she doesn’t slow her legs but somehow manages to keep the same pace as me. “Where’re you going?”

“To the beach.”

“Awesome! Me too,” why does she have to be so damn cheerful?

“Alone.”

“Awesome! Me too.”

“Without you Maya.”

“Awesome!” She grins, stops jogging, loops her arm through mine and tugs me onward. “Me too.”

I stare at her blankly, “Do you speak the same language as me?”

“No, I gave up on the, ‘I’m Marie and when I’m sad you better fuck off’ language a loooooong time ago. I decided to make up my own. When you say go away that means, come along and bug me.”

“Fine,” I snap, stifling my smile with my brilliant poker face. “Come along with me.”

“Okay,” she cheers and hops up and down. “What’re we doing?”

“I thought come along with me would mean fuck off…”

She quirks a brow, “My language isn’t the opposite of everything you know?”

“Unfortunately I know now.”

“Stop grumbling. I need a tan, let’s go.”

She’s kidding right? She needs a tan? What a laugh.

“Awesome.” I gripe sarcastically. “Me too.”

“
See, I knew we got each other. It would’ve been awkward if I was saying one thing and meaning another to you because of…”

“What are you talking about?” Sigh. Just leave me alone woman!

“Nothing, nothing, let’s go,” she releases my arm and starts jogging again, I’m getting muscle ache from just watching her. Crazy bitch.

I walk silently, listening to the crash of the water against the soft sand, the low murmur of chatter from the few people who occupy their spaces under the warm sun and the crunching coming from Maya’s mouth as she eats her blasted apple. Although I am grateful she’s giving me this. It’s nice to have her silent company.

I lie on the sand on my stomach only a few feet from the water, my head resting on crossed arms. Maya jogs up and down not too far from me, never straying and always coming back, her eyes seemingly distant but I know she’s getting in some good glances and monitoring my expression which I keep carefully neutral no matter how badly I want to cry.

When she’s done she sits with crossed legs to the right of me, her fingers gently weaving their way through the ends of my hair.

This is what we do for an hour before I decide it’s time for me to head back to my room and pack my things. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon. I should be unhappy about that but honestly I can’t wait to get back to the city and get back to my own life.

With a longer than necessary hug, Maya leaves me at my door and skips merrily to her husband. I knew it before but I definitely know it now, I have the best friends in the entire world. They’d do anything for me. I’d do anything for them. They get me and I love that.

Makes me feel a little bit guilty about calling her all of the names under the sun in my mind; although she’s probably done the same to me on more than one occasion so it’s only fair.

******

“Marie, I want to talk to you about yesterday morning,” Mason bangs on my door. Christ, the entire hall can probably hear him. “You can’t avoid me forever!”

“I’m not avoiding you,” I snap after whipping the door open
. He plods inside, his hands tucked into the pockets of his khaki shorts.

“You didn’t come to lunch or dinner, Maya said…
oooh. So that’s why you’ve got a new room.” He winces and opens his arms. “Come here.”

“No.” I pout, stepping back from him. “I don’t need a Mason mauling.”

“Everybody needs a Mason mauling,” he grins easily. Ugh, he looks like me when he does that. “Come on little sis.”

“No.”

He follows me toward the balcony as I try to make my escape. “Come on. You know you want to.”

“I do not.” Head shake, foot stomp.

“There, there,” and I’m in his arms, my cheek against his shoulder, his hand patting my head like I’m an obedient dog. Momentarily I sag into my brother, soaking up his support and love (even if he acts like a moron on a good day I know he loves me) and then I bite him. “Agh. Fucking bitch. No more Mason mauling’s for you.”

“You’re such a weirdo,” I laugh, man it feels good to laugh even if it is weak. “Get out. I want to be alone.”

He glances around my empty room, his eyes landing on my unfinished breakfast, “I figured that when I noticed the room service. What happened?”

“Don’t wanna talk about it,” grumbling, I head over to the balcony doors and pull them open. Bathing the once dark room in a blinding light.

“Want me to deck him?”

I narrow my eyes and place my hands on my hips, “No I do not want you to deck him. I just want you to leave me alone.”

“Did he cheat on you?” His eyes darken dangerously. “I’ll…”

“Dude, like you can talk,” I lower my voice to a hiss. “I caught you in bed with my married best friend.”

A satisfied smile stretches his face, “What a woman.”

“Ewww…”

“Just saying. That Chris doesn’t know how lucky he is. Maybe he’s gay,” he clicks his fingers and mentally puts on his Einstein hair like he’s solved the answer to God. Is he or isn’t he? “It’s a huge possibility. What man goes home to that at night and doesn’t get an instant boner?”

“Apparently not Chris. It’s not your business Mason. Stay out of it, you’ve done enough damage already. Chris is our friend too. Not just
Summer and what she did was really shitty, what you both did was shitty and I pray it doesn’t blow back in our faces.” Seriously, I will be praying. I don’t normally mind secrets but this is a big one. A really big one. This could potentially destroy lives.

Mason sighs and falls backwards onto my bed, “I hear you.”

“Good, then please…”

“Steer clear, I’ve got it okay?” I nod in response and fall backwards onto the bed next to him. “So,” he continues. “Tell me what’s happened.”

I don’t know why but I do tell him. Everything. My brother and I may seem like we hate each other from time to time but in reality, it’s only ever been us two. We’re closer than people realize. We’re closer than we even realize. I guess that’s a side effect of sharing the same womb.

Mason listens intently the entire time
, occasionally sitting up to nibble on the remains of my breakfast. At the end he doesn’t say much, only promises to not say anything to Jacob if he doesn’t say anything to him first.

Another reason I love my brother. A man he may be but he doesn’t push me, he respects my decisions on things as I do with him.

“I guess it’s a good thing I stayed at your place then,” he remarks on a shrug. “At least you have somewhere to go.”

“Yeah,” I agree. I’m totally lying, the last place I want to be is the place I used to call home. So many memories.

“Why don’t you fight for him?”

I cringe, really not wanting to talk about this part but I guess I’m going to have to, “I don’t want to push him into ‘maybe’ believing me. He should know I wouldn’t do that to him.”

“It’s all there on video, I believe you especially now you’ve told me about Kev,” he bites this out with a sneer. “Always hated that guy. Can I just say?”

“You’re going to anyway.”

He gives me a pointed look before saying what he wants to say, “Look Marie, Jacob is only a guy. A guy who before you has never had anyone he can trust. Ever. Right?” Sure. “And then you come along and rock his world, which is painful to say because you’re my sister but clearly it’s true because out of every single female in the world, believe me when I say there are some extremely fucking hot ones out there. Not that you’re not hot though.”

“Digging yourself deeper here Mace.”

“He trusted you with his heart, he gave that to you and at the moment he thinks you broke that. Isn’t that worth fighting for?”

Ugh. Stupid logic. “Yes, of course it’s worth fighting for. But what’s the point? He will never believe me, you didn’t see his face.”

“Maybe not but you’ll regret it if you don’t try.”

Wow, Mason is the voice of reason? When did that happen?

“Look Marie, I saw some shit when I was away. Shit I really don’t want to talk or think about again. Coming home to you, coming home period was awesome. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because I got a lot of love waiting for me. Sure I piss you off and you piss me off but we always have each other’s backs. It’s what keeps me going,” he hangs his head, his voice solemn reminding me of a lost little boy with too many cares in the world. “What you and Jacob have, I’ve seen it and if you’d have asked me a year ago, I’d have laughed and said that kind of love isn’t real. It fucking is and I want to get myself some. Life is way too short to spend time moaning about what could have been and what isn’t. Make it what it is. Go fight for him, if he doesn’t want it then fine, move along knowing that at one point in your life you had a kind of love a lot of us will never get.”

“Mace…”

“No Marie, it’s deep and fucking soppy and I’ll kill you if you tell anyone I got soppy or deep. Just listen to what I’m saying, use the advice and try. For yourself so you don’t always wonder.” He stands and stretches, twisting his body this way and that to get all of the right clicks in the right places. “I’m going to spend the last few hours of my holiday avoiding Summer and Chris and absorbing as much sun as possible. You need to spend it looking for your man and making him see the truth.” Then he grins wickedly, “Mason mauling!”

“NO!” I scream but it’s too late.

“There, there,” and my head is being patted again. Sigh.

“Can I talk to you?” I look up at the dark figure looming over me, the sun behind her back so her front i
s almost completely blind to me. “In private.”

“Not in the mood for talking,” I respond because it’s true, I really don’t want to talk to her right now. I’m still licking my wounds.

“Please Jacob.”

I’m shocked by the desperation in her voice and even more shocked that she’s sought me out; though nothing she can say can and will ever change my mind. I’m not a fool. “Fine.” I stand, leaving my towel on the sun lounger and follow her toward a nearb
y changing room. It’s a lone hut big enough for four so it should do. “Talk.” I cross my arms over my chest and lean back against the door once it closes behind us.