Dylan parked his ute on the main street and looked down at his phone. Seb still hadn’t responded to his messages. He understood that his friend was angry but this was becoming straight-out childish. Dylan had asked to meet so they could talk it out and he could get to the bottom of why Seb was so dead against his relationship with Tam.
Seb had said things like they were very different people and that the whole thing was doomed before it started—which was weird and didn’t take in the fact they’d already been together for so long. To Dylan, it sounded like a lot of bullshit. There was something else going on with Seb and he was determined to find out.
It wasn’t just because they’d been friends since they were kids, Dylan had spent more time at the Carringtons’ than his own house. No shocking revelations there, all you had to do was meet his dad and the reason why was clear. The old man was a piece of work and Dylan had decided at an early age to spend as little time at home as possible. Thank God for Seb’s mum, she welcomed him at their house and never once sent him home. At first she’d asked if he wanted to stay for dinner, after a while she just kept setting a place for him.
Dylan scrunched his eyes shut as an image of Estella Carrington materialised in his mind. Her death still hurt. He never said much around Seb, in case it appeared that he was trying to take away from his grief, but Dylan had lost the closest mother figure he’d had. He couldn’t remember his own mum as she’d taken off when he was still a baby. Sometimes he blamed her for not taking him with her but he also understood why she’d run away.
He redialled Seb’s number and waited, but once again the call went through to the message bank.
Dylan sighed. ‘How long are you going to keep this up?’ he asked after the beep.
He shoved his phone into the pocket of his pants. All he wanted was for everyone to get along and be okay with the fact that he was with Tamara and was happy.
He understood Seb was hurt because Tam and his best friend had gone behind his back. But there was more going on, too. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but he knew something wasn’t right. The same way he knew that there was a deeper problem with Tam, who had been so insistent that they keep their connection a secret. He’d spent so much time with the Carringtons over the years, he could tell when they were lying even if they didn’t realise it themselves.
He’d been euphoric that their relationship was finally public. But he didn’t get the same vibe from Tam. She didn’t seem happy about it at all. When he’d asked her about it last night, she said she was happy that the truth was finally out there but she was still worried about Seb’s reaction. He wanted to believe that was all it was. In his own happiness, he’d chosen to ignore the sense he had that something was wrong, to push it under the rug, but something was there, and he guessed it was a whole lot more than just Seb being annoyed.
Dylan got out of his ute and headed towards a house just off the main street. He knocked on the door and waited. After a moment he could hear the tap of brisk footsteps. The door swung open to reveal a middle-aged woman in a dark green dress with her auburn hair pulled up in a bun.
‘Hey, Ms Winter,’ Dylan said with a smile.
‘Hello, Dylan.’ She stood back to let him into the house. ‘Like I said on the phone, I was hoping that you could help me sort out my little office and shelving problem. I didn’t realise you were on holiday. It can wait a while if it’s a problem.’
‘No worries,’ Dylan said as he stepped inside. ‘I need something constructive to do at the moment.’
‘So I was thinking about remodelling a couple of rooms into an office library,’ she said as she walked down the hallway. ‘I knew when I bought this place, I always wanted to combine the rooms.’
‘Sounds good.’
‘I think it will be,’ she answered. ‘I get too distracted when I write in the bedroom or here at the kitchen table,’ she said as she gestured into the open doorway.
‘I understand,’ Dylan replied with a nod. ‘You need a designated place to make you feel like you’re actually going to sit down and work.’
Ms Winter glanced over her shoulder. ‘Exactly. So, the idea is to open up both of these small rooms. They’re both rather small so combining them into one would be a lot more useful.’
‘Let’s take a look.’ Dylan followed her into a room on the left.
‘It’s through here,’ Ms Winter said. ‘Oh by the way, I heard a little rumour about you.’
‘Really?’ Dylan raised his eyebrows. ‘Can’t imagine that it would be very interesting.’
She smiled. ‘A little bird told me that you’re going out with Tam Carrington.’
Dylan stood there, dumbfounded. As far as he knew Tam had only told Seb and the rest of the family. ‘How could …’ he started to say.
‘This town is very good at finding out secrets and spilling the tea. Mind you, I think it’s lovely. You two will make a great match—that is, if it’s true?’ she added with a wink.
‘Um, yes,’ Dylan said. ‘We’re seeing each other.’ He felt compelled to say something because she was looking at him expectantly, the way his English teacher used to when she was waiting for an answer.
‘That’s wonderful! Now, here’s the first of the rooms—do you think it’s doable?’
‘Let’s have a look,’ he said, happy to change the subject.
* * *
Seb was in the cellar when he heard his phone ping. With a sigh, he put down the box of wine and dragged the phone out of his pocket. A voicemail from Dylan. He almost deleted it but then thought better of it.
He was annoyed that his sister and best friend had been sneaking around for a year without saying anything to him. He didn’t think they were right for each other, but he also recognised that he was hurt that they hadn’t told him. He played the message.
‘So how long are you going to keep this up?’
Seb sat down on the nearest stack of boxes. Maybe Dylan was right, giving them both the cold-shoulder treatment was pretty juvenile. The problem was that Seb couldn’t work out how he really felt or what he wanted to say.
He understood why Tam hadn’t wanted to tell him. If he put himself in her place, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to either. Their relationship wasn’t good and it hadn’t been for a long time. He closed his eyes and fragmented images flashed within his mind’s eye. They were out of sequence but all of them were snatches in time where he and Tam were at odds with each other.
On the big things, the important things that had to do with the welfare of the family, she always had his back. But on the general day to day, they snapped and snarled at each other like dogs about to fight.
He’d promised his mum that he’d take care of his younger siblings but when it came to Tam, it was complicated. An uncomfortable thought surfaced, it was the same one that Felix had scratched at recently. The one that said he still blamed her for the death of their parents.
He ran both his hands through his hair. That was ridiculous, it wasn’t Tam’s fault. It was the idiot truck driver’s fault who didn’t know the road and took the bend too quickly. He lost control and slammed into the oncoming car, which happened to be Estella and Ben’s.
Tam had been in trouble and his parents naturally went to help her. It was inept driving and a big dose of bad timing that had stolen his parents away from him, nothing else.
He hated thinking about that day. For his own peace of mind he’d mentally locked it away and rarely let it out. The past was done and no amount of thinking or wishing would ever change it. These were the cards he’d been dealt and he just had to get on and make the best of it. This had basically been his motto ever since that fateful day. And he had to admit, he’d been shouldered with the task of holding the family together but he hadn’t done it by himself. He always had Tam and Aunt Maddie to lean on and he knew that there was no way he’d have done it without them.
He appreciated his sister, she’d given up just as much as he had, including going to university, because she felt she was needed at home. Felix was wrong about him blaming Tam and wanting to punish her. That was plain ludicrous.
Seb stood up and brushed the imaginary dust from his jeans. He’d go and get something to eat and maybe ring Dylan then. He knew he had to get past this thing. Tam and Dylan were going out together and he had to accept it. He started to head towards the stairs when a little inner voice asked, But why was she even at that party? If she hadn’t gone, your parents would never have been on that road.