Chapter Nine
(parts in italics - in the past)
The sun shone down on the ocean, making it twinkle like silver as Cheryl sat on one of the rocks just off the footpath from the beach. She picked up a few pebbles from out of the sand beneath her and flung them lazily towards the water as she waited for Kimberley to join her.
Normally it was Cheryl who was still scrambling to get ready five minutes before she was due to meet the girl on the beach. It had become somewhat of a ritual between them since they decided to buy the two neighbouring cottages over looking the shore.
Every morning they would meet each other at the rock that Cheryl was sat on, and they would walk the length of the beach, putting the world to rights.
And that’s when she saw him…
The week previous, Kimberley had reluctantly confessed to her that she had met somebody and she thought it might have the potential to develop in to something serious. Cheryl smiled and embraced her friend the way any other friend would, of course she was happy for Kimberley.
But why did it hurt so much?
Why, when Kimberley would talk about him, did she feel like shouting and screaming?
Of course she knew the answer. It was the simplest answer to any question she had ever answered.
The answer was love…
But it had no place in their friendship. Kimberley wanted Cheryl to be there for her through the hard times, to hold her hand and tell her everything would be okay, she wanted her to laugh with her through the good times and enjoy what they had together…but it wasn’t love. It wasn’t love the way Cheryl felt it.
He walked towards Cheryl with a misplaced sense of confidence as he stretched his hand out and waited for Kimberley to take it.
He was talk and dark, with a body that suggested he spent most of his spare time in the gym, his colour reminding Cheryl of why she didn’t use tanning salons any more. She stood up slowly as they both made there way over the wet sand towards her, hand in hand.
Kimberley fiddled with the knot on her white sarong as she reached Cheryl and for a moment Cheryl was sure that the girl was finding it difficult to look at her. Cheryl, on the other hand, was finding it difficult to look anywhere but at Kimberley.
The sun beat down on her exposed tanned skin giving her a healthy glow as she greeted Cheryl with a smile. Cheryl matched the eagerness of her smile to Kimberley’s as she gave the girl a little hug.
“Cheryl, this is Justin” she said to the younger girl as Cheryl forced her eyes away from Kimberley and on to the man she had brought along to one of their walks.
“hia” Cheryl nodded with a smile, a little bit too enthusiastic to be believable. Kimberley shot her a questioning look as the three of them started down the beach. Cheryl glanced down at Kimberley’s hand, the hand that would normally be holding her hand. But this time it was resting loosely at her side, her other hand intertwined in his.
She felt a tightening in her chest as the sound of Kimberley’ deep, raspy laugh resounded in her ears. He laughed along with her and for a minute Cheryl wondered if they even remembered she was there. She knew that the little life that they had in the quiet little village wouldn’t last forever, of course it was only a matter of time before one of them found somebody else.
But even so, it still came as a surprise. It was even more surprising to Cheryl at how much it was bothering her. She had seen Kimberley with boyfriends before, and although she had been a bit jealous of them at the time, it was nothing like this.
“I think I’m going to head back to the house” Cheryl said after a few moments, stopping in her tracks.
“awww” Kimberley moaned jokingly as she stopped walking and turned towards Cheryl. Justin let go of her hand and carried on walking slowly up the beach, much to Cheryl’s relief.
“you do like him don’t you?” Kimberley asked, holding Cheryl’s wrist as she asked. Her smile was infectious as Cheryl found out every single day. No matter how badly she was feeling, if Kimberley was smiling, then so was she.
“he’s great” she lied, hoping her fake smile was adequate enough to fool Kimberley. “why don’t you come for dinner with us?” Kimberley asked, squeezing her wrist a little in her hand.
“no…I’m really busy tonight” Cheryl replied, making up her excuse on the spot. She wasn’t busy that night at all, in fact, on any other occasion she would probably have spent it having dinner with Kimberley.
“please” Kimberley went on. She cocked her head to the side and gave Cheryl her best puppy dog eyes, which usually worked with the younger girl. This time though she frowned a little to herself as Cheryl shook her head.
“three’s a crowd Kimberley” Cheryl replied, doing her best to keep her voice light and friendly.
The older girl sighed deeply but nodded her head in reluctant agreement. Cheryl breathed a sigh of relief as she walked away thankful that Kimberley hadn’t pushed her more because she knew she was on the edge of relenting and giving in.
“oh Cheryl…” Kimberley called as Cheryl began walking back towards the way she had come from.
She turned around and met Kimberley’s eye for the briefest of seconds before the older girl extended her hand to Cheryl.
Cheryl opened her hand and let Kimberley put something in it. She was momentarily stalled by the feel of Kimberley’s hand which brushed ever so gently against her hip. This time it was Cheryl who stood as Kimberley made her way back to Justin who was a few minutes away up the beach.
Cheryl sighed as she watched the girl go and tightened her grip around the shell that Kimberley had dropped in to her hand.
Why did she feel like she wanted to cry?
-
Cheryl woke up with a start and screwed her eyes up tightly, letting them adjust to the darkness. She sat up in the bed and grabbed out at the bedside lamp that was on the table beside her.
The hotel room that greeted her suddenly felt impersonal and empty, and all she really wanted to do was go back home. She had done what she came to do, she had seen all of the girls, even Kimberley.
Kimberley….
No matter how hard she tried, her memories of that last week that they spent as friends would not banish themselves from her head. Sometimes they popped up when she least expected it, sometimes they never went away at all.
It was worse when she slept though. When she was awake, she could shake the thoughts from her mind, and busy herself with something else. But when she slept…
She felt the pain as if it had happened yesterday.
