A Pocket Full of Posies (Book 2)

Chapter Three

At around eight o'clock, Ava flutters into the bar. She stands in the entrance bobbing her head around, and freezes when we're in her line of vision. I wave her over with a cheesy grin, but she's not smiling back. Uh-oh.

"Whoa, guys, we were meant to meet at reception at eight, where have--" She pauses. Her eyes narrow as she looks between Carmen, whose legs are stretched out over my lap on the sofa, and me. "Have you been drinking? Are you drunk?"

"Huh? It's not even half seven yet," I reply as I check my phone, only for the screen flash back at me displaying eight fifteen. Oops. "Hm, shit, sorry."

I try not to laugh, but it's really damn hard, so I clamp my mouth shut until my lips are forced into a really thin line. Wait until I tell her about Annabel's new best friend, she'll love that. Ava's eyes flash to Carmen.

"Carmen! You're meant to be the sensible one, you know what he's like!"

Um, excuse me. Rude. I frown. I'm sensible. Carmen starts apologising, but small bursts of laughter trip out of her mouth in-between the apologies, so it's not satisfying Ava a hell of a lot. We probably shouldn't tell her we've been here since four in the morning. Her glower doesn't waver for a second as she orders us to leave our unfinished drinks and stand up, then marches us out of the room.

A few hours later, as we're standing on Aberdeen harbour in a long queue for a ferry with tickets in hand, the drunken euphoria has turned into a nauseous haze of exhaustion. This boat journey is six hours long. Six hours. Nah. I thought it would be a half hour job, there and back. This is not what I need right now. My head aches and I can barely keep my eyes open. Why do I do this to myself?

Annabel's even more irritated with me than Ava, and I've barely said two words to her new friend because of the degree of effort it takes. I'll address the whole missing person thing later. It demands too much brain energy to think about now. Carmen's in no better state than I am, so when I suggest enquiring about renting a cabin in the boat so we have somewhere to sleep, she reacts like she's been crawling through a desert and I've just offered her a gallon of water.

I can smell the salt in the air as we near the ship, which would usually be lovely, I'm sure, but it makes me gag. The rumours about Scotland are true. It's bloody freezing. It doesn't help that the sky is grey with clouds threatening to empty, so the sooner we get on this thing, the better. There are plenty of spare cabins available when I ask at the front of the queue, so I jump right on that.

I take in barely any of my surroundings once we step onto the ship, partly due to me charging straight towards the cabin I've booked, but primarily due to the fact I feel too ill to take my eyes off the floor. I briefly take note of how the ferry reminds me of a budget hotel, just with more wood. Carmen and I have found our cabin within minutes. We rush in, fall onto the double bed, which is only a few inches smaller than the cabin itself, and I'm out like a light.

Four hours of the deepest sleep I think I've ever had later, I find myself slowly waking up. Carmen is still fast asleep beside me. I sit up, and right on cue, Annabel flashes into the room. It's actually terrifying how she does that sometimes. I yawn as I rub my eyes, and stand up to stretch my poor, withered limbs.

"Finally! God, you're an idiot," she groans. "Lucy has lost all in faith in you. I would say I have too, but that ship sailed years ago."

"Nag, nag, nag," I mutter as I awkwardly shuffle through the small space between the bed and the cabin's wall. "Alright, Mum, calm it. Nice nautical pun, by the way."

That doesn't make Annabel calm it. In fact, it does the complete opposite. She starts snapping at me about being irresponsible, and stupid, and ranting about it being dangerous to get drunk right now. I was being sarcastic when I made the mum comment, but she doesn't half live up to it sometimes. I motion for her to leave the room as I leave it myself, and emerge into the outside corridor. This is frustratingly narrow too.