A Twist Of Fate [3]

Chapter 11

'Is this it?' I asked, flatly, as we turned the corner and were greeted by a little stall of vegetables outside of a dinky little store.

'What do you mean is this it?!' Sadie cried, hurrying over to the stall to study all of the fresh produce. 'It's so pretty!'

'I guess it is pretty but we're hardly gonna' have much choice in choosing something for dinner,' I mumbled, strolling over to study the baskets of potatoes, onions and tomatoes.

'You don't know Sadie,' Tori chuckled. 'She can make a meal out of anything.'

Sadie grinned at us. 'It's one of my many talents.'

'Don't disturb her, she'll find something great, trust me!' Tori linked my arm and dragged me away from Sadie, into the store.

It was bright and welcoming inside with a pleasant older lady behind the counter. 'Good afternoon!'

'Hey,' Tori and I replied, in unison.

'Can I help you with anything?' she asked us.

Tori shook her head. 'Thanks, just looking.'

She pulled me to the back of the store where shelves were filled with jars of jam, marmalade, honey and all sorts more.

'This really is cute,' I said, with a warm smile, the vision of living somewhere so remote with barely anything around seeming like a great idea to me. It was like Leiper Falls but much more rural.

'Okay, spill it, bitch.' Tori thumped my arm and stood staring at me with her hands on her hips.

I gasped and rubbed the light ache she'd left there and frowned at her. 'What the fuck did you do that for?' I quickly glanced over to the lady behind the counter to see if she'd heard me curse but she was too busy tending to some flower bouquets by the door.

'The deal with Felix!' Tori hissed. 'I didn't want to bring it up in front of Sadie incase you didn't want her to know but you have to tell me.'

I laughed softly. 'You are the worst person I could tell. You can't keep your mouth shut!'

She gasped. 'That's not true! You can trust me!'

I shook my head. 'Even so, I can't tell you. Even if I did want to tell you, I would have to talk it over with Cal first. This is his situation too.'

'Why? Because he punched him?' Tori questioned. 'The only reason I can think of that would make him do that is if Felix did something to disrespect you...'

I shifted uncomfortably and looked away from her, picking a jar of homemade raspberry jam from the shelf. 'I think I'll get this for my mother.'

'Bethan,' Tori sighed. 'What did Felix do to you?'

I let my eyes drift shut and turned back to her. 'He didn't do anything to me. As my friend, please...just let this go.'

Her eyes flickered all over my face but she nodded. 'Fine. I honestly don't think it will be long before it all comes out anyway and everyone will know so...just be prepared for that.'

'I don't want to think about it when I'm trying to enjoy my vacation,' I groaned, quickly stalking over to the counter where the lady greeted me with a smile and I handed her the jar of jam.

As I fished cash from my pocket to hand over, Sadie came in behind me with arms full of produce. 'Dinner is sorted!'

I took my little jam jar from the lady, thanked her and turned to Sadie and Tori. 'I'll wait outside.'

I left the store and strolled down the little cobbled street, checking out the area to see what else was around. There wasn't much, but there was a post office, a couple more little random stores and a pub. From what it looked like, it was an Irish pub and I kept it in mind to suggest we all come down one night for some drinks.

As I turned back to wait outside of the store, a blur of long, brown hair blowing in the breeze caught my eye. It disappeared behind a bush across the street and I hurried over there, feeling like it looked awfully familiar.

When I reached the other side of the street, I noticed that the bush was by a gate that led to a narrow footpath through a park. I pushed open the gate and stepped inside, spotting Olivia bent over in a strange, frog-like position on the grass.

'Olivia?' I questioned.

She looked up and her cheeks flushed red. 'Oh, Bethan! You caught me right in the middle of a Forward Fold!'

'A what?' My eyebrow raised slightly.

'It's yoga,' she chuckled. 'Thought it might be nice to find a pretty place to relax my mind and body. Escape the craziness of the cabin.'

I frowned at her. 'It's fucking freezing out.'

She laughed like I was completely dumb. 'It's Springtime, Bethan; the weather is beautiful. Plus, I don't feel the cold like ever. Anyway, can I help you with something?'

I shook my head. 'No, I just noticed you behind the bush and...I thought someone was spying on me to be totally honest. I didn't realise it was you.'

'Yeah, I took a long walk here earlier to explore a little and see if there was anywhere interesting for us to incorporate into our vacation,' she explained.

I pointed back the other way. 'Well, there is a little local bar.'

'Great find!' She grinned at me and patted my arm gently like I was a little puppy who'd just learned it's first trick. 'The boys will all love that.'

I nodded in agreement. 'Yeah well, Tori, Sadie and I are driving back up to the cabin now. We just came for groceries...do you want to grab a ride in the car?'

She shook her head. 'A walk back will do me just fine, thank you.'

'Okay then...' I smiled at her and edged back toward the gate. 'Enjoy your...folding.'

She giggled and turned away from me, sliding slowly down into the splits on the grass.

I left the park and made way back over to the store where Tori and Sadie were waiting with grocery bags. 'Where were you?'

'Olivia is in the park over there doing yoga,' I told them. 'I was just talking to her for a second.'

'Yoga?' Tori snorted. 'It's freezing!'

I nodded in agreement. We had certainly expected some decent weather for Spring Break but weren't having any luck so far out here in the middle of nowhere. I was beginning to think we totally should have went somewhere coastal instead.

'The girl is cute but fucking strange,' Sadie commented, before nudging Tori. 'Come on, back to the car; we're freezing our nips off!'

We strolled up the cobbled street back towards the car park. As we hurried around the corner, I glanced back towards the park where I'd just been talking to Olivia, but she was gone.

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