Face the Music

Chapter 4

My eyes were closed for less than a minute before I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a text from Collins.

GOT AN EARLIER FLIGHT - JUST LANDED. WHERE ARE YOU STAYING?

I hit reply and typed, ON THE BEACH UNDER THE PIER.

BE THERE IN TEN, he said.

I shoved the phone in my pocket and sat up. Soon, I saw Collins walking up the beach towards me. His confident gait was unmistakable. His skin was suntanned from years of vacation spent fishing in his home town in Georgia. He was ten years older than me but the only way to tell was by the tiny wrinkles that creased the skin of his face. His maturity level hadn't shifted much from how I imagined it had been during his college years, and he walked and talked like a college kid so much so that he could have passed for one.

I stood and said,

"Hey, pal. Long time no see."

"It's been all of two days, ya bum." His familiar southern drawl made me grin. I slapped his back and sat back down on the towel. He was right, it had only been a few days, but I'd missed having him there to back me up. He glanced around. "Nice place you've got here, Benny boy."

I frowned at him. "I'm Danny today, not Ben. I didn't want to waste any money on a hotel. By the way, you bring cash for me?"

Collins rolled his eyes and pulled a wad of twenties from his pocket.

"Yeah. Here, you gold digger. How'd you spend so much in just one day?"

I shrugged, trying to look indifferent. "I ate out and tipped too much. There was a cute waitress."

"Just once?" He looked doubtful.

"Twice."

"Two cute waitresses? Damn, that's perfect. One for me, one for you."

I shook my head, "I ate at the same place twice. Only one cute waitress."

"Ain't that a shame." He said. "So one for me, and I suppose you can be our best man," he said. I chuckled. "So why aren't you in her bed right now?" I rolled my eyes. "Did you at least get her number?"

"No, but I got a date for Friday night." I told him.

"A date?" Collins frowned. "That doesn't sound like a good idea. What about Loretto?"

"I can find Loretto and still have fun while we're in town. No big deal." I was an accomplished liar, but Collins saw through me right away. He shook his head.

"No way, Ben. There's something else. What is it?"

I stayed quiet, trying to decide how much to tell him.

"I'm not sure, Collins." I said, "There's something about this girl. She's scared of something. Not just scared - terrified. She's like 23, tops, so what does she have to be so afraid of? I just can't figure it out."

"Maybe you're just misreading her." Collins didn't believe me. "She's probably trying to scare you off without having to straight up tell you she isn't interested."

"Collins. She tried to bash my brains out with a rock." Collins blinked at me, mouth open.

"I reckon that's her way of telling you she doesn't want to go out with you on Friday night."

I shook my head and proceeded to tell him about her running past me while I was under the pier, and about our confrontation on the path to her house. I didn't tell him about the part where I discovered the house. I didn't even tell him where the footpath was. She was trusting me with that secret and I wasn't going to blow it.