Bellman Tower

Chapter 12

I help Aunt bring the steaming hot lasagna to the table. We had been slaving over the lasagna for the last hour and a half, so hopefully, it would taste good. Uncle comes in, attracted by the aroma. Aunt raises her eyebrows at me and I grin at her. As the three of us sit down and tuck in, we begin the usual small-talk.

As I reach out to grab my juice, the whispers pierce my ears, making me cringe. Aunt looks at me worriedly and I smile at her, hoping she'll leave it. Glancing at me, she returns to her lasagna. I clench my teeth as the whispers raise their volume, raking their claws against my ear drums, making me grab the edges of the table, my knuckles pale-white. Aunt laughs at something Uncle says, but I can't hear them. They sound so distant. Then I see him.

Trevor.

Poised behind Aunt Delilah with a glittering knife, ready to bring it down on her. "NO!" I screech, jumping to my feet. Trevor grins and then dissolves into nothing. Aunt and Uncle look up at me, alarmed. "Nikki, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I stumble over my words, "I... I forgot I had to do something. But it's okay. Er, it can wait."

Aunt regards me suspiciously and then nods. The rest of the dinner hangs in gloomy silence and it's all my fault.

The next day

I yawn and sit up in bed. Opening up the curtains, I look outside. The weather looks good. The sun's rays are shining down, making the dewy grass shine and a light breeze wafts everything about. I rapidly change into a bright orange racer-back tank top and slip into some denim shorts over my red one-piece swimsuit. I jam my feet into flat pumps and bounce down the stairs, my hair floating behind me. Aunt and Uncle are in suits, getting ready to go to a half hour meeting for the business they manage together. "Where are you going?" Aunt asks me, appreciatively looking me up and down.

"The weather is good today. Is there a pool somewhere?" I ask.

Uncle smiles, "There is. Go pack the stuff you need and I'll send Shaun around with his truck. He'll take you. Perhaps he even wants to go swimming." I nod and then race back up the stairs, grabbing my tote bag and shoving a towel and my moisturiser into it. I sling it on my shoulder and then run back downstairs. Aunt is waiting for me in the hallway, her hair scraped back in a professional bun, "Shaun is on his way."

There's a horn sound from outside. I give Aunt a quick grateful squeeze, "Bye!" I launch myself into the passenger seat of the Chevrolet and Shaun revs the engine and we start down the road. "So, we're going swimming?"

I nod, "Look at the weather. I haven't seen it so beautiful since I left Santa Monica. How could I let it go to waste? Should we call Jay and ask him to go with us, too?" I turn in my seat to face Shaun. His eyes darken.

"We can't. I met his mom in the morning and he's gone out with his friends." Shaun reels off as we turn into a parking lot.

"Oh." I deflate, "Oh well. Guess it's just the two of us, huh?"

Fifteen minutes later, Shaun and I are standing on the edge of the outdoor pool, looking down at the clear, cool water. "You first." I say.

"No, you first." Shaun counters. I sigh and look down at the water and then at Shaun. I grin mischeviously and push Shaun into the water. As he connects with the water, a huge splash erupts and a few drops hit me. As he surfaces, I dive in myself, missing him by inches, surfacing to take a deep breath and push my soaked hair back. Shaun grins at me, "You're so gonna pay!!"

I grin back, "We'll see!" I skim my hands across the water, splattering him with the water. He gasps and grabs my waist, dragging me down under the water. I kick myself free, swimming a few feet away from him to safety and resurface, gasping for breath. Shaun surfaces beside me and we both squeal with laughter, clutching our stomachs. After messing around for longer, I begin to notice the people staring at us from the indoor pool, so I suggest we just swim around lazily. We grab floats and spread ourselves on them, staring up at the clear sky.

"This is nice." I say and turn my head to look at Shaun.

He looks at me and nods, "It is nice. We should do this more often."

"What, this?" I reach over and tip his float over, sending him into the water. When he doesn't surface, I look around, panicking. "Shaun?" I call out, "Are you okay?" I glance around the empty pool, biting my lip so hard, I draw blood. My heart pounds. What have I done?? I was only messing with him. What if something happens to him? "Shaun?" I call again, looking around frantically.

A huge force pushes my float upwards and I topple into the water, remaining underwater until I bounce back up to the surface. I look back to where the float was... instead, Shaun is there, grinning at me, his hair sticking to his scalp. "Gotcha!" He exclaims, laughing a deep, booming laugh. I swim over to him.

"I can't believe you did that, Shaun!" I look at him, my eyebrows drawn together. His smile fades away and I grab his head, forcing him underwater. I can feel him struggling and then he's gone from beneath my hands. I feel hands around my legs and then Shaun surfaces. Somehow, he's maneovred himself so I'm on his shoulders. He holds his hands around my waist, supporting me. I grab them, "Shaun, put me down! Shaun, I'm going to fall! Please!" I tighten my grip on his hands.

"Let you go? Okay." Shaun lets go of me, letting me fall back into the water with a splash. I surface, strands of my hair smothering my face. I go under again and force myself to open my eyes. I spot Shaun and wade over grabbing hold him and wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, pushing my head over the water. He turns his head to the side, "Piggyback?"

"You got it!" I grin. For the next fifteen minutes, Shaun swims around the pool with me on his back, as if I'm on a float. Then he turns on to his side, making me slip off his back and back into the water. "Okay." I say as I surface, "I surrender. Let's get out of here." Shaun nods and we wade out of the water. I grab my towel and dry myself down. I throw the towel to Shaun and then while he's drying himself, I push him back into the water. He surfaces, looking at me as if he can't believe his eyes. I grab the towel and dash away. I hear the slip slap of his feet behind me and turn up the speed.

The soles of my feet are still wet and I slip on the towels, rearing back. I expect myself to fall slap bang on the floor, but then I'm being held up by someone. I open my eyes to look up into Shaun's. He hauls me up into a standing position. "Thanks." I say breathless, handing over the towel without another word.

We dress into the change of clothes we brought; Shaun, some jeans and a top, me, a green and white striped sundress and tennis shoes. As I tie the laces, Shaun offers, "Piggyback?"

"Sure." I shrug and jump onto his back. He grips my legs and then strides out of the building into the customer parking lot. We get to the car and I jump off, slipping into the car seat. Shaun switches the engine on and turns on the stereo. I smile at the song. We Will Rock You. As we travel home, Shaun and I wind the window down and sing along, getting the verses wrong and going off on our own words, then coming together to belt the chorus off.

We're both chortling with laughter as we pull up to the house. Shaun insists on dropping me to the door. I turn to face him, "It was really fun today. We should do it again, definitely."

"Why not?" Shaun smiles expectantly.

"Thank you for everything." I say and reach up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, "I had a great time." I smile at a dazed Shaun and then open the door to go inside. I collapse on a sofa in the main room.

Aunt smiles at me, "Did you have a good time?"

"You have no idea."