31
CLAiRE
Claire spent the entire day getting ready for the party. She went all out. Waxing and plucking, painting her nails, shampooing and conditioning. She moisturised every millimetre of her skin, painted her nails, spent a full hour perfecting her eye make-up.
She got Bree to blow-dry and straighten her hair. Bree caught her eye in the bathroom mirror. ‘You know, I was thinking before, we don’t actually have to go out tonight if we don’t want to. We could stay home. Watch a movie. Make some popcorn.’
‘Don’t be stupid.’ Claire laughed, though she didn’t actually think it was funny. ‘I couldn’t think of anything more boring.’
Later, when she was fully dressed and ready to go, she poured them both a vodka to get them in the right mood. She took the drinks to Bree’s room. Bree was sitting at her desk, her laptop open. To Claire’s horror she saw that Bree was working on an assignment.
‘What are you doing?’ She laughed to hide her irritation.
‘Just working on my essay. It’s due next week.’ Bree saved her work, swivelled in her chair, smiled. ‘Is that okay with you?’
Claire shrugged, handed Bree a glass.
‘We are actually students, Claire. We do have to do some work sometimes.’
‘I know that. I’m not a complete idiot.’ But her voice came out sounding weirdly choked up. Unexpected tears pricked at her eyes. She didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her, why her chest suddenly felt so tight, why she had to swallow an urge to wail. What she really wanted to do was collapse to the floor and curl up in a ball, have someone tell her everything would be okay. Instead, she went to the mirror, made a show of checking her eye make-up. She looked reassuringly normal.
‘You look hot, Claire,’ Bree said. ‘Totally supermodel. You are far too good for this town.’
‘You too, babe.’ Claire smiled. All the wobble was gone from her voice. ‘You are too.’
As they were leaving, the noise of their heels a pleasingly loud echo down the staircase, Bree hesitated on the landing. ‘Is he really worth it, Claire?’ she asked. ‘Really?’
Claire went faster, pretending not to hear.
She couldn’t answer that question.
If Cooper wasn’t worth it, she didn’t know what was.
32
LiBBy
I knew almost as soon as we arrived that it had been a mistake to come. I felt out of place immediately, and I wanted to turn around and flee back to my own life, my own house, my familiar friends.
The front door was unlocked and we walked straight in. The house was even more impressive inside than out, all modern glossy surfaces, concrete floors, minimalist design. Enormous windows covered the east wall of the house and revealed a view of the ocean that was so vast and perfect and close that it could have been a collection of enormous paintings. Paintings so lifelike they had waves that actually moved.
We could hear music, but there was nobody around.
‘Down here.’ Cooper led me to a door which opened to a flight of stairs. As we walked down the music got louder, and when we reached the bottom a second door led onto a massive deck which in turn led to a brilliant swimming pool and manicured lawns, all with the amazing backdrop of the sea. From here it seemed as though the entire Pacific belonged to the house, an extension of the backyard.
The interior was white, the exterior green and blue, and the whole thing was so much like something out of the pages of a magazine I felt too unpolished to step into it. My clothes were all wrong. The other girls were far more dressed up – high heels, short dresses, perfect hair. I’d felt pretty and comfortable on the way here, but now I just felt scruffy. The boys were dressed much more casually, and Cooper – in his old jeans and T-shirt – fitted right in.
A massive bar ran the length of the room. Seb stood behind it with his back to us. People sat at the bar, lounged on sofas or stood in groups. It seemed like something out of a movie, so sophisticated, so posed and artificial. So vastly different to the kind of corn-chip-and-beer parties I was used to.
‘Come on.’ Cooper pulled me inside. ‘Let’s get a drink.’
‘I’m dressed all wrong,’ I said.
‘No, you’re not,’ he said, rolling his eyes. ‘They are.’
I spotted Claire Forrester and Bree Portman as we walked to the bar. They were standing together on one side of the room, and they stared at us as we passed. They both looked amazing, incredibly polished – their hair smooth, their skin tanned and glossy – like models getting ready for a photo shoot. Claire’s dress was short and shimmery, her legs insanely long. Bree’s dress wasn’t as short as Claire’s but it was tighter, cut to show off her perfect body.
They smirked and looked me up and down in a way that was designed to make me feel self-conscious. It had the desired effect – I felt plain and inadequate and frumpy.
Claire whispered something in Bree’s ear and the next moment they were both rushing over. Claire called out, her voice high with false welcome. ‘You made it! I didn’t think you’d come!’
It was clear that she was talking to me, not Cooper, but Cooper answered her anyway.
‘Yeah,’ he said, taking my arm. ‘We made it.’
The tone of his voice was icy. Claire hesitated, flinching, and I almost felt sorry for her. But she recovered immediately, her smile becoming only more enormous, insincere, grating. The dynamic between them was painful. Claire obviously had an agenda. Cooper clearly just wanted to avoid her.
Claire stepped in beside me, leaned close. ‘Do you think you can get rid of Cooper for a minute?’ Her breath was hot against my ear. ‘We want to show you something.’
I shook my head, a definite no, but she ignored me, put her hand on my shoulder. She looked at Cooper.
‘Why don’t you get Libby a drink? We’ll show her around. Show her where the bathrooms are.’
‘No need,’ he said. ‘I can point the way. We’ll be fine. Thanks.’
‘God, Cooper,’ said Bree. ‘You really do need to chill out. We’re just trying to be friendly. Libby doesn’t know any of us very well. Why come to a party if you’re not going to mingle?’
‘Don’t worry about Cooper,’ Claire said to me. ‘He can get a bit paranoid sometimes. Come on. Just five minutes. We’ll show you around and bring you back safe and sound. We just want to make sure you feel welcome.’
Much as I wanted to stay with Cooper, I could hardly refuse to go with them. Bree had a point. Why come to a party and refuse to socialise?
Cooper gave me an intense look. ‘I’ll wait at the bar,’ he said.
Claire and Bree linked their arms through mine and dragged me across the room and down a hallway that ended in a massive bedroom. The room was pristine, the bed made, the desk clear. Sebastian’s room, I guessed. Through another door a walk-in robe led into a luxurious bathroom which was almost as big as the bedroom. Claire ushered me inside. Bree locked the door behind us.
Claire reached her fingers down the front of her dress and pulled out a small plastic bag filled with fine white powder. She waved it with an excited flourish.
‘Good old Seb,’ Bree said. ‘Never lets us down.’
Claire shook some of the powder onto the top of the vanity and started cutting it up and straightening it into a line with a credit card. I’d never seen anyone do this in real life, but Claire looked like she knew what she was doing. She rolled a twenty-dollar note into a neat tube and held it out towards me.
‘Care to indulge?’
‘Oh. No, thanks,’ I said, trying to act casual, unsurprised, as if it was an everyday event to be offered cocaine or speed or whatever it was. ‘I’ll pass for now.’
Claire laughed, thrust the note closer. ‘Oh god, please don’t be a drag. No need to be polite with us. Dig in. There’s more than enough.’
I shook my head. ‘Thanks. I really don’t want any. I’ve got an assignment to do tomorrow.’ It was a pathetic excuse, but the only thing I could think of under pres
sure.
Claire looked astonished, as if I’d said something completely outrageous. She glanced at Bree and rolled her eyes.
‘An assignment? Right. Well, fair enough. We wouldn’t want to interfere with your studies,’ she said sarcastically.
I stood there watching, feeling idiotic and uncomfortable. And though I wanted to get out of there and hurry back to Cooper, I didn’t dare. Not only would I have seemed like some kind of naive goody-goody, but it would have felt rude somehow to leave in the middle of all this, a breach of some unspoken social code.
Claire and Bree took it in turns. They had two lines each and when they’d finished they spent a minute or two sniffing and wiping their noses, checking their faces in the mirror. Bree reapplied her lip-gloss. Claire licked her fingertip, slid it along the counter-top and rubbed the residue on her gums.
‘Aaaah.’ She tipped her head back, a dreamy smile on her face. ‘Feeling so good.’
They seemed to think this was hilarious. They both laughed loudly and I stood there watching them, feeling stone-cold sober and painfully out of place.
Claire straightened up, grinned at Bree in the mirror. ‘Hey. Remember Cooper’s birthday last year? How we all had lines?’
‘How could I forget?’
‘Cooper was such a hoot that night, wasn’t he?’
‘He was in excellent form.’ Bree nodded decisively. ‘Most excellent.’
They were excluding me deliberately, yet it was obvious their conversation was entirely for my benefit.
‘Talking of form, remember how he stripped off? Made us all go skinny-dipping?’ Claire closed her eyes, put her hand on her chest. ‘God. His abs. His gorgeous gorgeous thighs. His arse.’
‘He could not keep his hands off you. We all had to go back inside, remember? Give you two some privacy.’
Claire tilted her head to one side, smiled coyly. ‘It was his birthday. I had to give him his main present.’
She turned to me then, a revoltingly smug look on her face. ‘What do you think, Libby? Sex with Cooper? Better high or straight?’
I felt my face go red.
‘That’s a very interesting display.’ Claire smirked, and nudged Bree. ‘Very . . . colourful.’
I could have slapped her. I wanted to cry. But I refused to give them the satisfaction. I cleared my throat and said, ‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Then I stepped towards the door and headed out.
By the time I was back in the living area they’d caught up. I could hear them rushing up behind me, their heels click-clacking noisily on the hard floor.
‘It’s such a pity,’ I heard Claire’s voice ring out, deliberately loud. ‘She looks like shit and there’s nothing we can do about that. But at least a line or two would have made her feel like a million bucks.’
33
COOPER
Libby being abducted by Claire and Bree wasn’t the start to the party I’d anticipated. I watched them go, Claire and Bree flanking Libby like evil Barbie twins. I headed to the bar, said hello to some mates and found Sebastian, who poured a large neat tequila and slid the glass towards me.
‘Drink up,’ he said. ‘It’s good stuff.’
‘Sorry, but I’m driving,’ I said. ‘Maybe a beer?’
‘Driving? Right. Fuck.’ He picked up the glass and threw the whole thing straight into the bin. ‘So you’re not going to crash here then?’
‘I can’t, Seb. I’ve got Libby with me.’
‘Someone else can give her a lift home. Or we could call her a cab?’
‘Don’t be a dickhead, mate,’ I said. I smiled in an attempt to appease, but he crossed his arms over his chest, looked down at me with a sour expression.
I didn’t get Seb’s attitude towards these parties. He took them so seriously. He got offended if I didn’t come, if I turned up late, if I wasn’t enthusiastic enough. Sometimes I thought he was judging my dedication to our friendship by my level of commitment to his parties.
I tried to start a conversation, but he was abrupt and uncommunicative. I ignored his mood and talked anyway, telling him about this guy I’d seen – someone I didn’t recognise – carving it up at the beach. I pretended not to notice his bored expression.
I was relieved when Libby finally returned. She slid onto the stool next to me.
‘You okay?’
‘Fine.’ She gave me a tight, unhappy smile. I looked around the room, spotted Claire and Bree watching us from the corner.
‘What did they say?’
She shook her head. ‘I’ll tell you later.’
Sebastian leaned across the bar. ‘Hey, Libby. Nice to see you.’ His whole manner had changed. His frown disappeared and he smiled. Suddenly all warm welcomes. ‘So, you two are an item, eh? Since when? And why haven’t I been informed before now?’
Libby looked at me as if expecting me to answer Seb’s ridiculous question. This was Seb at his most pretentious. I preferred the surly, sulking version – at least it was real. This act he sometimes put on – uber-confident party host, king of the manor – infuriated me. I ignored him, asked Libby if she wanted a drink.
‘Anything you like,’ Seb added. ‘Cooper’s being a big fat fucking bore and won’t have anything, but I could make you a cocktail.’
‘Oh no, I—’
‘No? I won’t accept no. I’ll make you a margarita. They’re my specialty.’
‘Okay. Thanks.’
And suddenly Claire and Bree were there beside us. Clutching on to each other, swaying on their heels. ‘What about us, Seb-assss-teee-yan?’ Claire said. ‘We’re thirsty too.’
‘Yep. I’m making a jug. I wouldn’t forget you two alcoholics.’
Claire went to climb onto a stool, but misjudged and stumbled. Bree grabbed her arm just in time to stop her from crashing to the floor. They giggled hysterically. Libby kept her eyes firmly on Seb, who poured tequila and Cointreau over ice, squeezed lime into a large jug. When he was done he lifted three salt-rimmed glasses to the bar.
Claire reached out to grab hers, spilling a fair splash of it as she lifted it to her mouth.
‘You don’t know what you’re missing, Cooper,’ she said.
‘I’ve had a margarita before.’
Claire laughed. She leaned in close to Bree and the two of them started whispering.
Libby was visibly uncomfortable. She sat straight on her stool, sipped her drink, didn’t speak. I struggled to think of something to say, but it was impossible with Claire and Bree sitting so close. I realised what a dumb idea it had been to bring Libby here in the first place. She would never fit in and I didn’t necessarily want her to. I wasn’t sure I even fitted in myself.
‘What do you think?’ Sebastian asked Libby. ‘Good or what?’
‘It’s excellent.’
‘It’s excellent, Sebastian. Excellent. God, Libby, you seriously need to loosen up.’
She swivelled on her stool so she was directly facing us. ‘Can I give you two some advice?’
‘No,’ I said.
She ignored me. ‘Libby.’ Claire tilted her head to one side, pointed her forefinger at Libby’s chest. ‘I wish you’d just do us all a big favour and go away, back to your own friends. But I’m guessing you’re not going to. So. I should probably tell you this. Cooper likes it hot. He needs it a bit wild, if you know what I mean? And I know this from extensive personal experience.’ She smiled widely at this, licked her lips.
‘Claire. For fuck’s sake.’
‘Hold on. I’m not finished.’ Claire’s voice got louder. ‘Cooper.’ She pointed at me. ‘If you don’t die of boredom beforehand, I’m quite sure fucking Libby will finish you off. Ever eaten soggy Weet-Bix? Without sugar? That’s what sex with Libby would be like.’
Libby’s cheeks were two burning balls of red. She put down her drink with shaky hands.
‘Thanks for the advice, Claire,’ I said, my voice surprisingly level. ‘We’ll give it all the consideration it deserves.’
‘I’m only trying
to help,’ she said.
‘Your concern is touching.’
‘Come on.’ Bree stood up, tugged on Claire’s arm. ‘It’s boring in here. Let’s go and find someone interesting to talk to.’
‘It is boring in here, isn’t it?’ Claire stood up, staring at Libby as she spoke, and they both staggered away.
Sebastian tipped his head back and laughed. ‘God, Claire’s in fine form tonight!’
‘Yep. Fine form,’ I snapped. ‘Thanks to you.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
I didn’t bother answering. Libby looked as though she’d like to sink into the floor and disappear. I put my hand on her shoulder. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
She nodded and stood up.
‘You’re not seriously going?’ Seb looked incredulous. ‘You shouldn’t let Claire upset you. You two really do need to lighten up, get a sense of humour. She was only mucking around.’
I took Libby’s hand. We left as quickly as we could.
34
SEBASTiAN
Sebastian watched Cooper and Libby leave and had to fight the urge to follow them and demand they come back. Stay for a decent amount of time. He made a good show of not caring that they’d gone – he talked to the others, made cocktails, laughed at jokes – but the truth was that once Cooper had left the whole party felt flat. Pointless.
As the night wore on, his misery and resentment only grew worse. He told himself to stop being stupid, to stop thinking about Cooper, to enjoy his other friends, but a painful throbbing at his temples only grew stronger. Eventually he went to the bathroom and locked the door. He took a Panadol from the vanity cabinet, turned the tap on, bent over the sink and scooped handfuls of water into his mouth. Then he splashed his face and straightened up, staring at his reflection in the mirror.