Christmas Eve, eight years ago
Gemma’s brother pulled the car over and parked on the opposite side of the road from the Henderson place.
‘Are you sure about this?’ he asked as he turned his head and looked at Gemma.
‘Why?’ Gem responded defensively.
‘It’s just …’ Jace looked back out the window. ‘Never mind.’
Tam grabbed her bag but remained seated. She was getting a little apprehensive because everyone seemed to think they shouldn’t be going. Maybe she should stay in the car and get Jace to drive her back home.
Gem flipped down the mirror behind the sun visor, checked her makeup and fiddled with her blonde bangs. She was pretty and had an almost otherworldly, elfin look about her.
Gemma looked over into the back seat at Tam. ‘You ready?’ She scrunched her nose when she saw that Tam looked far from excited. ‘Oh come on, it’ll be fun.’
‘Just remember I don’t want to stay late,’ Tam reminded her. ‘I told Mum that I’d be back around six or seven.’
Jace looked at her in the rear-vision mirror. ‘You told your mum that you’re going to the party?’
Tam shook her head. ‘No, I told her that I was hanging out with Gem at your place.’
‘Right.’ Jace turned his attention back to his sister. ‘Listen, you’re not going to tell Dad about the other day, are you?’
Gemma shook her head as she looked over at the Henderson place. ‘No, I don’t break my word.’
Tam noted that Jace stared at Gemma for a moment too long as if he was seeing her for the first time.
‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind driving you and Tam out here. But I really don’t think it’s a great idea.’
Gemma’s head snapped back to look at him. ‘What do you mean?’
Jace’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘They’re trouble, Gem. Maybe not all of them—but Taylor …’
‘I know,’ Gemma replied quickly. ‘But that’s not Blake’s fault.’
‘No one said it was,’ Jace continued. ‘But I really don’t think that you should be hanging out here. Besides, you said that a heap of people are going but I don’t see many people, do you?’
‘Maybe Jace is right, Gem. Perhaps we should go back home.’ Tam leant forward from her seat. ‘We can catch up with the others after Christmas.’
For a moment Tam thought Gemma was wavering and that maybe she was beginning to see sense, but then two cars rolled up and parked outside the house. Half a dozen of their school friends piled out of the cars and headed inside.
‘See, we were just a bit early,’ Gem said triumphantly. ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Honestly, you two.’
Jace nodded. ‘All right, but I’m going to Bendigo with Matt and Jenny, I can’t pick you up until later tonight. If you need to get home earlier, you’ll have to work something else out.’
‘How late do you mean?’ Tam asked before Gem even had a chance to open her mouth.
‘We’re spending all afternoon there so probably not until six or something like that,’ Jace said.
‘We’ll be fine,’ Gem said. ‘I’ll give you a call around then, okay?’
‘All right,’ Jace said.
‘Come on, Tam—let’s go.’
Reluctantly Tam started to get out of the car. ‘Thanks, Jace,’ she said before she closed the back door. She had also just shut off her only route of escape.
Jace called out to his sister, ‘I’ll see you later, Gem. Don’t do anything stupid.’
Gem frowned at the word but stopped long enough to give him a wave goodbye.
‘Can you believe him?’ she exclaimed as she linked arms with Tam. ‘Just because he’s older, he thinks that he can boss me around.’
‘I think he’s looking out for you,’ Tam answered as they crossed the dusty dirt road towards the house.
Gemma looked surprised at the idea. ‘No,’ she said with a tone of disbelief. ‘You don’t really think that, do you?’
‘Actually, I do,’ Tam said.
Gem was silent as she tried to digest what Tam had said. They walked until they were by the old fence where a scraggly rose vine clung and wound itself through the broken wire. There was a dilapidated iron gate which opened onto the paddock next to the side of the house. The grass was beginning to dry off and the only shade came from a stunted peppercorn that stood by a rusting shed down the back of the block. Several cars in various stages of disrepair were scattered around the shed’s perimeter, along with a stack of tyres and assorted doors, panels and engines.
The party was set up in the middle of the paddock. The scent of cooking onion filled the air as the summer sun warmed Tam’s back. She scanned the people to see if there was anyone she knew. A group milled around a small gas barbecue next to a couple of trestle tables and several eskies. Music thumped out of a small speaker as two girls she didn’t know danced not far from the barbecue. She strained her ears but she couldn’t place the song.
Tam glanced at Gemma. She tried with all her might to push down the panicky feeling that had started to bubble within her. She only recognised a handful of people, which was a much smaller number than what Gem had promised.
Another car pulled up nearby and several more people got out of it.
Gemma grinned and waved at Dylan Petersen and Will Griffith, before she leant in close to Tam and whispered, ‘See, I told you that Will would be here.’
Tam nodded, relieved that Dylan and Will had arrived. Dylan was Seb’s best friend and something about that made her feel better. Even so, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she shouldn’t be here.
‘Yeah. Now you can tell him that you like him and ask him out, so we can go home.’
‘Shhh,’ Gem bit back. ‘God, Tam—he’ll hear you.’
Unless Will possessed exceptional hearing, she doubted it. It took another minute before the new group walked up to where they were standing.
‘Hey, Tam,’ Dylan said with a nod. ‘Didn’t realise you’d be coming. Gemma.’
‘A last-minute thing,’ Tamara replied. ‘Seb didn’t come.’
Dylan leant against the fence, the bright sun shining down on his golden head, illuminating the different shades of blond and gold. It wasn’t until that moment that Tam realised just how pretty his hair was.
‘I didn’t think he would. You know how he feels about Taylor,’ Dylan said.
‘I thought you felt the same.’ Tam looked into his blue eyes.
‘I thought I’d stop by anyway.’
Another car pulled up. ‘See,’ Gemma said to Tam, ‘I told you that heaps of people were coming.’
‘So, why are we hanging around here?’ Will asked as he flashed a smile at Gemma and held out his hand. ‘I’m starving, let’s get something to eat.’
Gem shot a look at Tam before stepping forward and taking his hand. ‘Yeah, let’s go in.’
Dylan stood back to let Tam walk through the gate before falling into step beside her.