Apples and Tim Tams

Chapter 13

A/N Hey sorry for the wait but here it is finally! This chapter really made me work for it so I'm hoping you all like it.

Everyone was piled into my small lounge room as we started to get ready for Travis' 18th birthday party. I'm still not sure why we decided my place was the best place but I have a sneaking suspicion that Derek played a role in Evans very vocal choice of settings. They had been out on a few dates lately and seemed to be getting along really well and Evan said that being with someone with more maturity has been amazing. We had music playing, probably a bit too loud, so it took a bit before I heard my phone ringing in my bedroom.

"Hello" I quickly answered without checking to see who it was.

There was no response so I tried again.

"Hello?" Again silence. Just as I went to hang up I heard laughter coming through. It was loud and sounded horrible. The only person I knew who laughed like that was "Mum? What are you doing? What do you want?"

My voice was shaking and I could feel the old fear creeping through my body. Mum only ever laughed like that when she was high and ready to get physical with her fighting.

"Oh Emma, you thought you could get the police to keep me away but you're going to find out that was just a stupid move on your part. In fact, you're going to find out very soon. Enjoy your little slutty get together with your trashy friends. You never know what might happen to eithet you or one of them." With more of her maniacal laughter sounding in my ear she hung up.

I sat in a daze for a few minutes, shaking and trying not to let the tears fall. I couldn't let the girls know what was happening. Could I? Should I? I didn't want to drag them any further into the mess that was my mother and her schemes. But how could I let them go without some kind of warning? And then it sunk in. Mum knew the girls were here! How? I jumped up and ran to the window in my room that looked out onto the street. As I moved the curtain aside I heard a car race off into the dark. I rushed into the lounge room and, immediately seeing that the curtain was wide open and anyone could see us moving around when we were standing, I yanked them closed and turned to see all three girls staring at me in confusion.

"Emma! What are you doing?" Evan asked and then taking a closer look at my face she flew over to me and grabbed me in a hug. "What the fuck has happened? Who was on the phone?"

I wrapped my arms around her and could feel my grip on my emotions slipping. I guess I was telling the girls after all.

Evans response was what I expected and it tool quite a while to get her settled down. While good in theory, going after my mother with a baseball bat wasn't really the best idea. I eventually resorted to getting Derek over to help us and that worked like a charm. West, Abby and I sat and watched as the pair talked in whispers until Ev finally saw us.

"Seriously? You're just gping to sit there and watch us?"

"Well no," I replied lifting my drink up "We're drinking as well. It's like dinner and a show."

"A pretty tame show but carry on. We've got nothing better to do right now." West raised her glass as well. "Although, you might want to think about fixing your hair. Just a suggestion. Unless birds nest is what you were going for?"

"Arrrggghhh, why didn't you say something before? Oh my God, Derek, don't look at me. I said don't look!"

Derek was laughing so much he nearly fell off the lounge when Evan pushed him.

"Oh come on, babe. You look cute, in a homeless little birdie kind of way." He smiled at her as he spoke and we all stared at him in disbelief.

This man didn't know what kind of wrath was about to fall on his head.

"Derek, run. Run now and run fast." I warned but ruined my warning by snorting with laughter as Evan turned her angry eyes on me. "You can't be angry at the poor clueless man, Evan. Look at his face! You love his face."

Evan didn't even spare Derek a glance just kept her laser like gaze on me. But I looked him and he just winked and rose up to walk to the door. Oh! He wasn't as clueless as I thought, he had very neatly taken her focus away from my shit show of a mother and turned it elsewhere.

"Thank you." I mouthed silently to him and he just nodded and left.

But now while Evans attention had been diverted, unfortunately, it had been diverted to getting ready for the party. Which in turn meant that all three of my friends were now looking at me with that "It's Time to Make-over Emma" look. Damn it.

Three years later, okay, okay, it was only an hour, I was deemed presentable and Derek was called back over to wait for the Uber with us. He was very kind in his compliments and made sure to really talk up how shiny and beautiful Evans hair was. I had made sure to keep my drinking to a minimum as we were getting ready so was only feeling a light buzz as we climbed in the Uber and headed off to club. My nerves were getting worse as the trip continued and I was ready to go home before we even got there. Thoughts of Travis, Amber and my mum were going round and round in my head and it was making me feel sick. Travis and I had been meeting up nearly every day since our first lunch date and every day seemed to be more perfect than the last. He had even stayed over a few nights and things got a bit heated but I was still wary of sleeping with him. That has become my last vestige of independence in my mind and if I give it to him I feel like I'll be trapped again. I know it sounds silly but it's all I've got that I can control. The phone call from my mother tonight has proven how little control I really do have over my life and it had shaken me more than I had let on. Plus, there was still the threat of Amber. She had been quiet these last weeks and that alone was enough to make me worry. Travis was hopeful she had decided to leave us alone but I alone knew the depths of hatred this girl felt for me. It was something even Amber didn't realise, but I had always known. As younger children, her hate would sometimes feel like a wave of darkness just rolling off her and over me. As we got older she became better at hiding her feelings but, I'm pretty sure she knew how I felt about Travis, and that was why she chased him and stayed with him. I tried to tell myself that I was being silly and that she didn't care enough to do something like that but then I found out that she really would. It was one day last year and I was walking home from school when I heard Amber talking to her brother.

"I hate having to spend so much time with Travis." I heard Amber say. "God, he's just so stupid. Plus it gets annoying watching him watch Emma. Fuck, I hate that bitch!"

"Why do you spend time with him then?" Her brother asked.

Good question little bro, I thought.

"Because Emma wants him. And I won't let her have him."

Oh.

"You won't hurt her like that other girl, though, will you? You know the one that mum and dad had to pay all that money to?" Andrews voice was low and filled with fear.

"Shut up! I've told you not to talk about that with me or anyone else."

At that point I had turned down a different path to get away from the siblings as fast as possible. Since that day I've been scared of Amber and she somehow knows it. Amber was evil. I did wonder what made me attract such horrible people. I guess I'll never know why both her and my mum hate me, even if I would like to know, especially about my mum.

The car pulled up to the entrance of the club and we made our way up to the door and gave our names. We were directed to a big room towards the back and we could already see most of our graduating class dancing, drinking and laughing. With a quick stop at the bar we walked over to a table and as we were about to sit down Travis come running up to me and grabbed me in a hug.

"You made it!" He shouted in my ear and then kissed me. In front of everyone.

Before I could even process the ramifications of him being so public about us, there was a commotion near us and we both turned to see my mother stalking towards me with murder in her eyes.

My only thought was "Well, fuck me."