“Yeah, especially shag pile.” Bridget giggles and I laugh.
“How about you Tash, does the carpet match the curtains?” Cameron asks as he leans up on his elbow to see my face.
“Fuck off,” Joshua snaps. “Get your filthy mind off Natasha’s carpet.”
I giggle. “I’m right here, you know.”
“Market research,” Cameron mutters as he lies back.
“Not on the fucking market,” Joshua snaps. Adrian laughs as his phone starts to vibrate.
He answers. “Murphy.” He listens and then stands up in a rush, and we all fall silent.
“Don’t you fucking dare!” he sneers. Joshua sits up immediately at the tone of Adrian’s voice. Who the hell is on the other end of the phone? The girls and I glance at each other and frown.
“Don’t bother,” he snaps. “I’m not listening.” He narrows his eyes in contempt as he shakes his head in anger.
“Don’t call me, don’t email me and stay the hell out of my life Nicholas. We are done.” He listens again. “Too little, too late.” He hangs up the phone and throws it on the deckchair with such force that it bounces and flies straight into the pool. Cameron immediately dives in after it and Adrian storms inside. Joshua’s eyes meet mine. I wait five minutes to see how the boys handle this. They all lie still and start to chatter as if nothing happened and nobody is going after him. Men are hopeless. I tentatively stand and walk inside where I find Adrian lying on his bed. I slowly lie down behind him and cuddle his back.
“Tash.” He shakes his head as his anger steals his ability to speak.
“I don’t want to say anything. I just want to lie with you,” I reply quietly.
He lies silent and still while I troll my brain for the right thing to say. What did Nicholas say to upset him this much? He was only with him for a month… who am I kidding? I was only with Joshua for a month when we first got together and I have been fucked over ever since. A lot of love can happen in a month.
“I want to go home,” Adrian sighs.
I nod. “Ok,” I answer. “We can go early. We are due to go in three days anyway.”
Adrian shakes his head sadly as he rolls onto his back and puts his arm under my head. I gently kiss his chest.
“It will be ok Adrian,” I whisper. I know how a broken heart feels… it’s lonely.
“I want to go home,” he replies.
I nod and squeeze him that little bit harder. “Do you live near Josh?”
“No. I want to go to my parents’ house,” he replies.
My heart drops and my eyes close. I know both his parents are dead.
“I want to be depressed at my mother’s house and have her fuss over me and make me fattening food and my father to tell me that Nicholas didn’t deserve me in the first place. But no. They had to die, didn’t they?”
He’s angry that they died. It’s a natural progression in the grieving process. I am still angry with my father for leaving me. I can’t even imagine the pain of losing both parents at the same time.
“They would be here if they could honey, you know that. It was a terrible accident, Adrian. They didn’t want to die,” I whisper as I kiss his chest again. He pulls me closer but doesn’t answer. We lie still for another 15 minutes both lost in our own thoughts. Joshua walks in and sits at the end of the bed and grabs Adrian’s foot.
“Want a drink? I’m making cocktails,” he asks Adrian as he twists his foot.
“No,” he replies flatly as he yanks his foot from his grip.
“Want to beat up Cam?” Joshua asks as he raises his eyebrows in question.
Adrian smirks. “Possibly,” he replies.
“Get up and stop carrying on. If you want him back, go and fucking get him.” Joshua stands and holds Adrian’s gaze for a moment and then leaves the room. I smile at Adrian.
“Jeez, he has so much empathy,“ I smirk.