An Imperfect Circle (18 page)

“Don’t get her riled up before her bed time, Ian,” Andrew frowns but he doesn’t look too angry.

I turn back to Karl as the two of them disappear up the stairs, smiling because, for the first time, I sort of wish I had a brother.

“Why do you all call Ian ‘E’?” I prompt. “It seems a little lazy considering Ian only has three letters.”

The Carters all chuckle.

“Get Jamie to say his name next time you see her,” Karl grins.

“
She’s gotten better now but she couldn’t say his name when she was younger. She just said ‘Eee’. Now it sounds more like ‘Een’,” Matt nods.

“
Bless,” I smile because I didn’t think it was possible for her to get any more adorable.

“
It’s not hard to say, Ian,” Jake mocks.

“
You couldn’t say my name when you were younger,” I point out. He’s equally adorable as he sits in between the twins.

“
I’ve never met you before today,” Jake frowns at me.

“
Yes you have, Jacob,” Andrew corrects him. “You just don’t remember because it was a long time ago. Elise used to live next door.”

“
She’s seen you naked,” the twins goad him.

Jake’s eyes widen slightly as he looks at me in horror.

“It was a very long time ago,” I try to reassure him. “I don’t remember.”

“
Don’t wind him up,” Andrew instructs the twins who are both wriggling their pinky fingers in Jake’s direction.

When they don’t immediately stop Andrew stands up and glares at them and they both groan as he points to the floor.

“Twenty,” Andrew instructs.

“
Dad!” They groan.

“
Thirty,” he raises an eyebrow at them and they both dutifully begin their thirty push-ups without further complaint.

Karl and Matt snicker but Andrew turns his
attention to Matt and he grimaces.

“
And you swore earlier.”

Matt nods glumly but joins the twins for a set of ten sit-ups.

“I told you that you swore too much,” I laugh at Matt.

“
He’s been swearing at school has he?” Andrew raises an eyebrow and I here Matt groan in between crunches. “First I’ve heard of this.”

His gaze is on Karl rather than Matt
, which confuses me at first but I realise Andrew thinks Karl has been covering for Matt, which he has. He wouldn’t tattle on his best friend.

Instead of grumbling, Karl just nods in acceptance and goes to join Matt and the twins on the floor. I just grin because I know Matt’s going to be irritated with me for getting him in trouble but it’s funny to watch and he really does swear too much.

I should have just gotten the bus home. I really should.
It started getting late and Andrew insisted on giving me a lift back. He offered me a place to sleep for the night but that didn’t feel like a good idea and this was the lesser of two evils.

I’ve text my mum to let her know I’m on my way home and that I’m not alone because I have a sneaking suspicion that Andrew, Karl, and Matt will want to come in.

I direct Andrew to my street, past the gang of teenagers hanging out on the corner, and he pulls up onto the kerb outside my house.

I see Matt grimace
whilst exchanging a look with Karl and at first I want to punch him because I think he’s judging my house but then I see him looking at the gang of people who are approaching.

He doesn’t need to worry. The people from round
here can look a bit intimidating but we’ve never had any problems. As long as we’re polite to them, they’re polite to us. A lot of these kids have family who buy homemade soaps and lotions from my mum so I never feel threatened by them.

“
Alright, Smithy,” one of the teenagers nods his head in greeting.

It takes me a second to realise they’re talking to Matt. They all seem to know him. It’s then I remember that Karl said Matt used to walk to football matches from Normanton. He must have grown up in the area.

“Alright,” Matt mutters back, not even glancing in the direction of the kids.

“
How’s your sister?” Another one smirks and I see Matt’s back tense but he continues walking towards my house.

“
Dunno,” Matt shrugs and I catch his eye as he passes me. The anger is burning full furnace. He looks about ready to kill something, slowly and painfully, with his bare hands.

I watch Andrew turn around and give the group a look that I’ve seen plenty of times before. It’s a look that Ian also seems to have mastered. It’s a look that says
“shut up and keep on walking if you know what’s good for you.”

The message is received loud and clear and the group move on. Andrew and Karl act like nothing happened and I know Matt is waiting for my reaction. I didn’t know he had a sister but there has to be a reason he lives with the Carters and the mere mention of her existence triggered that anger so I can draw my own conclusions.

Matt’s always been considerate when I’ve had my freakouts and weak moments and I owe him the same courtesy.

“
Come on,” I smile. “The tea’ll be stewed and nobody likes stewed herbal tea.” I hook my arm around Matt’s in an effort to show solidarity and understanding even though it puts me out of my comfort zone.

“
Herbal tea?” Andrew grimaces.

“
Herbal tea,” I nod with a grin. I’m used to this reaction. People tend to prefer English Breakfast but you get used to it.

“
I’m not drinking herbal tea, demongirl,” Matt grumbles.

I sag with relief as I open the door because he sounds like he’s recovered slightly.
“Aunt Cecile probably has coffee, too,” I reassure him.

Karl tugs me away from Matt as we take our shoes off in the hall but he doesn’t offer an explanation and pretends like it n
ever happened. I catch the backend of a silent message being communicated between the two friends but I’m none the wiser as Matt chuckles and shakes his head.

“
Welcome home, darling,” mum gushes when I enter the kitchen.

I smile back and grin as I see Bear emerge shirtless from the lounge.

“Ey up, glowbug,” Bear greets me with a wink.

“
Andrew,” my mum greats Karl’s dad with a small hug and a kiss to each cheek. It wouldn’t do to forget her French roots after all.

“
Hi, Corinne,” Andrew responds politely. “Thanks for letting us borrow Elise for the evening. She’s been great help.”

“
Oh, wonderful,” mum answers. “It’s nice that these two have found each other again.”

I grimace and thank the Earth mother for not giving me the ability to blush. Mum starts offering tea and biscuits so I usher Matt and Karl into the lounge because Mum’s bound to keep Andrew busy for at least fifteen minutes.

Bear follows us in and grabs the armchair, leaving the sofa for us.

“
Karl, Matt, this is Bear,” I introduce them and Bear offers a friendly smile in greeting whilst the guys nod their heads.

“
Karl Carter?” Bear questions, looking at me inquisitively.

I nod, confirming that this is in fact the boy who Bear has heard me talk about and, more recently, complain about for hours on end.

“I don’t remember Elise having an uncle,” Karl levels Bear with an interrogating glare and I elbow him in the ribs because he’s breaking the rules but he doesn’t seem to feel it. “Are you Cecile’s husband?”

“
No,” Bear chuckles, seemingly tickled by the idea. “Spirit uncle is just a label the community uses for somebody who helps a new member to find themselves.”

“
So you’re not related?” Matt cocks his head at Bear.

“
No,” Bear grins at me. “But sometimes it feels like it.”

I nod because he’
s right and that’s not a bad thing.

“
Do you live here?” Karl continues. It sounds likes he’s interrogating Bear but he doesn’t seem to mind, if anything he seems happy about it. I learnt a long time ago to stop trying to figure out what goes on in Bear’s head. The man is an enigma.

“
At the minute I do,” Bear smiles.

“
Where do you sleep?”

“
Mate,” Matt cuts Karl off with a sideways glance at me. “What’s gotten into you?”

“
I like a man who asks questions,” Bear laughs, completely unperturbed.

“
Just making conversation,” Karl frowns, his eyes still on Bear. He appears uncomfortably tense and I’m not sure why. It seems like he doesn’t really like Bear and that annoys me because he doesn’t even know him.

“
Why don’t you go show Karl your room, glowbug?” Bear prompts. I don’t really want to but Bear has that look on his face that tells me that he’s got a reason.

“
Me and Matt will go help your mum with the tea and biscuits,” Bear announces, standing up.

Matt gives me a look which roughly translates to
“why me?” so I stick my tongue out at him. My room is my sanctuary, I’m not sure I can handle having two new people in there at once.

“
It’s only fair, you’ve seen mine,” Karl smirks slightly once we’re alone in the lounge.

“
This isn’t quid pro quo. It’s not I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” I grumble even as I lead him up the stairs.

“
So you like Bear?” He asks as we reach the landing.

“
He’s awesome,” I nod sincerely. It bothers me more than I can explain that Karl seems not to get that.

He just nods contemplatively as I open the door and I know he’s thinking deeply because he’s got that little crinkle between his brows. It disappears when I turn the light switch on and his eyes scan the room methodically, resting on every single thing of significance.

It’s nothing like the polite but curious perusal of Becky Blossom. This is a full on invasion of privacy. I feel like every detail he’s raking over is being catalogued and registered in his mind.

“
You have a thing for circles,” he comments.

It feels like the least
significant thing he could have picked up on so I just shrug and nod.

“
All your work?” He prompts, gesturing to the corner pieces so I nod again.

He sits down on my bed, swinging his body round so he can put his feet up and cross them. It’s kind of rude so I smack at his feet but he just grins and keeps them here.

“You have three locks on your door,” he prompts, staring at the door with a curious fascination.

“
You’re doing the pointing out the obvious thing again,” I sigh with exasperation.

He just grins,
crosses his arms under his head, and stares up at the ceiling. His t-shirt pulls up with the movement and exposes his stomach and the band of his boxers. The man either needs to buy longer t-shirts or bigger trousers. I feel like I see that bit of him far too often.

It’s not that I’m looking at it on purpose. I’m not.

He just seems to get it out a lot.

“
Why are you acting all macho aggressive with Bear?” I prompt because I need to stop looking at that little strip of skin.

He cocks his head at me and bites down on his lip in contemplation.
“You want me to answer that honestly or within the confines of the rules?”

I swallow.
“Can’t you do both?”

He frowns and shuffles to the side slightly so I lie down next to him on the bed and join him in staring at the ceiling.

“I don’t know him so I don’t know if I can trust him with you.”

“
Why would you need to know that?” I frown.

“
Because he’s sleeping here,” he answers seriously and I see him look at the locks on my door.

I suddenly realise where he’s going with this and it makes my stomach turn at the same time it makes my heart flutter slightly. He’s worried about me being in a house with a man after what happened five years ago.

I’m not his responsibility but part of me sort of likes that he cares enough to have thought about it. Especially since this friendship is quite new for all intents and purposes.

He doesn’t need to know that I like it though.

“I’m not a little girl any more, Karl. I don’t need protecting,” I inform him icily.

“
Believe me, I know,” Karl answers, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at me. “But just because you don’t need it, doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

“
Karl-” I start, ready to politely tell him to shove his protection up his chute but he cuts me off.

“
Just tell me this guy doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“
He doesn’t, Karl,” I reply softly because his tone is urgent and I can see how much he needed to hear that. “Bear is amazing. He’s helped me and my mum in so many ways and he’s never once made me feel uncomfortable. He’s never even touched me, I only hugged him for the first time last week.”

“
Really?” Karl prompts, his shoulders relaxing somewhat.

I nod and close my eyes, feeling the mattress dip as he lays back down again.

“Yeah.”

“
You’ve hugged me twice now,” I hear him smirk.

“
Are we keeping count?”

“
We are.”

“
Then I want a Wagon Wheel for every hug.”

“
So I can just give you a Wagon Wheel whenever I want a hug?” He asks with a hint of humour.

I seriously think it over for a while. It would be a cushy deal if it
wasn’t for those pesky morals that tell me it sounds kind of like selling myself.

“
No,” I smirk. “You’d probably take advantage.”

“
I was already making plans to bulk buy,” he jokes. Or at least I think he’s joking.

“
I’m not usually a big hugger,” I shrug.

“
You hug Becky all the time,” Karl sounds surprised.

“
She’s slowly converting me,” I shrug.

“
Did you hate hugging me then?” He prompts with genuine curiosity.

“
I didn’t hate it,” I admit. He doesn’t need to know that I quite enjoyed it.

“
Wow. I’m flattered,” he says sarcastically.

“
So you should be,” I deadpan.

I hear mum calling us because we seem to have missed tea and biscuits. Strangely, I don’t even mind that I’ve missed out on a
Wagon Wheel because I’m happy that it was okay having Karl in my room and lying on the bed with him to talk. Don’t get me wrong, there was a good thirty centimetres between us but it was still a huge thing for me.

I don’t have men in my bed.

“The friendship is working out okay then?” Bear prompts once they’ve all left.

“
I think so,” I nod happily. “I’m sorry he was rude to you.”

“
Never apologise for somebody else’s actions, glowbug. And he wasn’t rude, he was cautious of me on your behalf. I can’t fault him for that.”

I look down at the floor because I feel bad that Karl thought Bear was like that.

“He doesn’t know me from Adam, glowbug. I’m not offended. I’m just happy you have another friend that cares about you. You deserve good friends.”

“
Is that why you told me to show him my room?” I twig, remembering the way Karl seemed placated when he saw the locks on my door.