Too late, I realised my mistake. I hadn’t. Not since Em disappeared. Shit. I was a bloody monk.
Vinnie put a consolatory hand on my shoulder, suddenly serious again, although Joel was still grinning from ear to ear.
“Don’t worry, bro. We’ll sort you out. Maia, was it?”
I felt sick. I could barely be in the same room as her without having heart palpitations, and I was going to have to somehow talk my way out of teaching her how to surf without coming off like a total dick. No way was I capable of being around her, no matter how curious I was. Seeking out her company would be like walking into a burning building. Naked.
“That’s not funny,” I said. “Can you please just keep your nose out of it?”
Vinnie shot me a look, taking another swig of beer. I knew what that look meant, and Vinnie knew I knew it, too.
He could push me all he wanted, I didn’t care. I wasn’t ready, for any of this.
ALEX HAD SPENT AN hour sitting at the end of the bar, glowering at me. I could see he was working himself up and I didn’t want to be there when he hit the ceiling. I tried to ignore him, but he was living up to his nickname.
‘The Prince of Darkness.’
It was so apt. Whenever he was around, he cast a black shadow over everything. I knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing, all the time. Sometimes he said it aloud, sometimes he didn’t have to.
It’s your fault.
Maybe he had a point. Regardless, I couldn’t sit there under the microscope any longer. I had mentally started planning my escape. Vinnie must’ve picked up on it, despite what he’d said earlier about me standing up to him. He called Jas, and before I knew it? I was bundled out of the pub and into her waiting car. It wasn’t until I hit the fresh air that I began to realise just how drunk I was. Or, more to the point, how drunk we were.
“There’s my baby mommy,” Vinnie purred, climbing into the front seat and leaning over to plant a wet kiss on Jas’s cheek. “You’re a life-saver, babe.”
I grinned, half-lying, half-sitting in the back seat. I rubbed a hand over my face to try and sober myself up as Vinnie continued his seduction up front.
“You’re looking radiant, if I may say so,” he said, grinning at her lazily as we pulled away from the curb.
“You’re pissed.”
“How dare you! I resent the implication!”
“Wow, listen to you. Did you swallow a dictionary along with half the brewery?” she said, glancing at me in the rear-vision mirror. “Heath, you’re supposed to be the sensible one here. What happened?”
“He’s older.” I waved a hand in Vinnie’s general direction while I fought with my seat belt. “Blame him.”
“He’s too bloody sensible, if you ask me,” Vinnie said.
Oh for God’s sake. “Is that a crime? You say that like it’s a crime.”
Jas came to my rescue, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she stopped at the intersection. “Get off his case. And he’s right – you are the eldest, although I think you missed out on the sensible gene somewhere along the line.”
“Ha!” Vinnie laughed, although I’ve no idea why.
It didn’t seem to matter. The alcohol was numbing everything nicely. I wondered if I was gonna be drunk enough to fall asleep right away tonight. I hoped so. It was always the same, right before Em’s birthday. That was half the reason for going a little overboard tonight. I told myself it was medicinal. I needed to sleep, and alcohol helped. There was justification in there somewhere, I was sure of it.
“While you’re in my lair – so to speak – have you got a costume sorted for tomorrow night?” Jas asked, glancing at me in the mirror again.
“Yep. Done.”
“What is it?”
“Ah!” I tried to wink at her, tapping my nose. “Surprise.”
“I’m not kidding, Heath. If you turn up without a costume, I’m kicking you out. You’ve been warned.”
“Oh ye of little faith!” I threw my hands up in mock disappointment. “Don’t you trust me?”
“In a word? No.”
“Jazzy, I promise you – I have a costume and it’s awesome,” I said, shrugging modestly. “But I’m keeping it under my hat. And that may or may not be a clue.”
She raised her eyebrows at me in the mirror but didn’t say anything.
“My costume is awesome,” Vinnie stated. “Isn’t it babe?”
“It’s… very you.”
“Which is to say, awesome.”
I chuckled. Despite Jas being four years younger than Vinnie, she was definitely the one who wore the pants in their relationship, and that was a good thing. She was like me – sensible, logical, level-headed, but with a side of stubborn that I was completely in awe of. It took a special kind of woman to put up with Vinnie’s shit, and she was that woman. She was going to be the sensible Mum, just like ours was. And Vinnie would be the fun Dad. They’d be the perfect little family, and I’d be the weird, quiet, eternally-single Uncle Heath.