The Boy with the Blind Eyes

TWENTY SIX

The crackling of the fire seemed to calm everyone. The atmosphere of the party was quiet, for once. They didn't play any games that night, but instead talked and reconnected. The past month, everyone had been disconnected from each other and separated. They hadn't been eating together much, and their huge group had been split into smaller groups. But tonight, it felt like old times. It felt peaceful.

As Brett slung his arm around Tamsin's shoulders, more people arrived. Angus and Johanna were holding hands, on their way over with Lauren, Tyrone, Blake, Ali, Camilla and Thea. Tamsin studied them. Johanna of course was stunning, dressed in knee-high boots with a pretty lace blue dress, her long locks of dark hair flicked behind her shoulders. She laughed as Angus said something to her. Tamsin shifted her attention to him. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a tight, white T-shirt that exposed his bulging biceps. She might have been worried if he wasn't carrying a dark coat in his other hand, considering the temperature was cool. The weather had calmed down lately though, as August made its slow approach.

The cool breeze stung Tamsin's skin as it blew by. As she shivered, Brett automatically took off his jacket and draped it over her thin shoulders. Gratefully, she pecked his lips, snuggling into his warm arms. Lina winked at her from across the fire and gave her a smile. Everything felt...right, somehow. Even with all the madness surrounding her, she felt safe and warm and connected.

But then Angus and Johanna sat down next to Lina, across from them, and Tamsin felt her heart flutter with nervousness. It was ridiculous. Why should she feel nervous? Just because Angus happened to be there once when she was having a meltdown? Tamsin blushed at the memory. By the lake, not too far from here, the time when he'd cradled her in his arms and said nothing. In that moment, she had never felt more calm.

But that moment, nice as it had been, was long gone now, and Angus had probably forgotten about it. Besides—Brett was here, and he was all she really wanted. He was such a good boyfriend. Loyal, defensive without being over the top. Protective. Loving, of course. And he calmed her. Every time she felt the typical signs of panic, his hand holding hers was enough to keep it at bay, at least for a while.

Across the fire, Johanna smiled and waved at Tamsin. Tamsin smiled back automatically. She looked so pretty tonight. Tamsin shifted awkwardly in her seat as it occurred to her that Angus couldn't even see it.

Leaning in to Brett's ear, Tamsin whispered, 'Are Johanna and Angus a...thing?'

'A thing?' Brett frowned, his eyes latching onto them. 'Well...sure looks like it. They went on a date, right? Probably went well.' He nodded at the direction of their intertwined fingers. Coincidentally—almost deliberately—Angus twisted his fingers out of Johanna's grasp as he started talking to Lina about something. But of course it wasn't deliberate, Tamsin thought. It couldn't have been. For one, Angus did like Johanna, obviously, and he was blind. He didn't know people were watching them hold hands, so why would he move away? Tamsin could have scolded herself in that moment. Why was she studying them so closely? Why did she even care at all?

To distract herself from them, she turned to Brett. 'Wanna go for a walk?'

His lips twisted up into a gentle smile. 'Why, I thought you'd never ask.'

Pairs of eyes turned their way and followed them as they stood up from the log where they'd been sitting and headed in the direction of the trees, further into the woods. Tamsin clutched Brett's hand, and his thumb stroked her knuckles gently. It was a soothing motion.

After a few minutes, Tamsin stopped. She turned to him and smiled nervously. 'I just kind of wanted to get away, you know?'

He gave her a knowing look. 'Believe me, I do. These parties can be a bit much sometimes. Lina is very...forceful, isn't she?' He laughed.