Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 83 - Strangers

Summer and Margot have moved into another room, although you can still hear their incessant arguing from the kitchen, where you, Wren and Ari are standing awkwardly around the kitchen island.

The sound of the bickering travels through the thin walls, casting an awkward silence over you and the other two, with Abbie and Honey having gone out to the garden.

"Well, Ari, Elo's going to be here soon," Wren starts. "So we should maybe-"

"Yeah, yeah, just give me one sec, okay?" he says, calling back to Wren as he's already made his way down the corridor, no doubt heading towards the source of Summer and Margot's row. Perhaps he's going to defend Summer, and for a moment you feel like you should go too, but then again, what excuse is there for holding a huge party and burning down a canopy when her mum only originally agreed to a small Team Bonding session?

Wren doesn't look too happy with her boyfriend's eagerness to help, however.

"Have a nice time after the party last night?" she suddenly says to you, in a way which might seem to any passer-by like friendly small talk, but her voice has an undertone of suspicion, like she thinks something happened between you and Ari last night just because you slept in the same house. She's still eyeing your attire sceptically.

"How's the ankle?" you respond without answering her question first. "I'm sure it'll be better just in time for the comp tomorrow, right?" you say.

She scoffs. "Hopefully. No thanks to you."

"Give it up, Wren. We both know you fell in on purpose to make me look bad. Ari's not here. You don't have to pretend."

"Oh, I'm not pretending. But don't worry, I'm not blaming you. I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt me on purpose," she says sweetly. A horn beeps outside, and Wren appears to snap back to her normal self. "That'll be Elo. Guess I'll see you at the comp tomorrow." she smiles again, but you don't smile back.

___________

You head home and try the front door, which is locked, but you know someone's in, as the car is parked neatly in the normal spot at the front of the driveway. And there's another car next to it, which is a surprise; it doesn't look like any of your mum's friends' cars, and they normally tend to walk anyway. You make your way around the side, through the small wooden gate, when voices hit your ears: accents, another language. Whoever's round there is speaking in fluent Portuguese, and you're finally close enough to hear what they're saying. There's a man's voice, saying something about Marlon being...close, or something. Or maybe they're saying you're both close with someone else. You can't quite work it out.

You peek your head around the corner to see your mum pouring tea from a pot into a cup on the garden table, a man sat opposite her. He doesn't look at all familiar, not a family friend from Brazil, not a relative that you know of.

Marlon isn't there. And you don't make yourself known to your mum and the man, keeping your distance around the corner. After sending a quick 'where are you?' message to your brother, you head back round to the front of the house and this time go to the other side, where you hope the side door is open.

It is, and you're careful not to make too much noise when you shut the door behind you. After cautiously climbing the stairs, you manage to change your clothes and grab some lunch from the kitchen before heading straight out the door again. Maybe you'll go to Poppy's - you've probably overstayed your welcome at Ari's by now, and at least at the club you'll be able to sort your board out for the comp tomorrow.

As you walk purposefully along the road to the club, you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket and pull it out to see a message from Marlon replying to you and saying he's with Ari for a surf. Wasn't Ari going for a surf with Wren? you think to yourself, but put the thought out of your mind when you reach the club - you backtrack a few steps when you hear the conversation flowing out from inside. It's Poppy. And Marlon.