THE DRIVE INTO TOWN IS SHORT, but I feel instantly car sick with Alex’s jolty driving. As soon as he parks, I leap out of the car, and greedily gulp in the fresh air, waiting for my churning stomach to settle.
‘You okay?’ Hunter asks, materialising at my side in an instant.
‘A little car sick, but I’m fine.’
‘Do you want my help?’ he asks, pointing at his wrist.
I shake my head, nauseas from the drive, but also a little bitter about everything that is going on between us. I hate how distant he feels right now, especially after what happened in the kitchen this morning. The fact that we can’t give in easily and continue to grow our friendship. Relationship. Whatever it is. I understand that he knows it will quickly develop into something more, and he doesn’t want to alter my life forever, but doesn’t he realise it already is? The bond has already formed. There is no going back now. I don’t understand why he wants to torture us both. Especially when we keep having these slip-ups . . .
‘No,’ I say sourly. His eyes scan my face, frowning. ‘Thanks, though.’
As we walk downtown, I distract myself with our new surroundings. I’ve never visited this part of Australia, and though it was always on Mum’s bucket list, it was never achievable.
I try to keep my mind off Hunter, but as usual, I fail. My blood warms at the thought of his mouth on me. I break out in a light sweat, thinking of how good he felt touching me, kissing me . . .
‘I’m going to do some investigating,’ Hunter says. He points to his ears. ‘I’ll be close by if you need me.’
‘Roger that,’ Alex says, even though Hunter isn’t addressing him.
‘Anyone keen for a beer?’ Cas asks.
‘No,’ we all say simultaneously before Hunter peels away from the group, drifting toward a couple of teenage guys leaning against the wall of a barber shop. Cas doesn’t seem to care, heading off in the opposite direction, hands in his pockets as he hums to himself.
‘Let’s go in here,’ I say to Alex, nudging him with my shoulder, directing him toward a cosy boutique.
‘No way,’ Alex protests.
‘Don’t pretend you’re not interested in this. You wear more rings and bracelets than I do.’
Alex rolls his eyes, but I ignore him as I make my way over to the table of rubies. It’s my birthstone, so I’ve always worn ruby jewellery. I used to have a necklace with a ruby charm that I wore religiously. It meant so much to me. I had always been jewellery-obsessed, but never able to afford anything worth any value. My mum bought it for me on my sixteenth birthday, and I swore to never take it off, until I lost it one day at the beach, either buried in the sand or swept out with the waves, lost to me either way. I cried for three days.
Suddenly, I gasp when I notice one necklace almost identical to the one I lost. Leaning in so close that my nose grazes the display glass, I study it. It isn’t the exact same, but close enough. My eyes move to the price, and I baulk, backing away from it.
‘Damn,’ I mutter.
‘What?’ Alex questions, frowning.
‘Oh, nothing. I just love that necklace,’ I say, gesturing to the one I was just looking at.
‘Why don’t you get it?’
I point at the ridiculous figure on the tag beside it, and Alex lets out a low whistle. ‘Bloody hell, does it come with a diamond, too?’
Letting out a snort, I elbow him as the cashier shoots a glare in our direction. We keep looking through the store, but I quickly lose interest as the prices grow further and further beyond our budget.
Alex’s phone pings, and I watch as he pulls it out of his pocket, and frowns down at the screen. Peering over at it, I see a selfie of Cas, holding up a beer.
‘Very helpful of him,’ I mutter. ‘And since when did you exchange numbers?’
Alex shrugs, pocketing the phone, eyes on his feet. I’m still watching him from the corner of my eye as we exit the store when my shoulder roughly barges into someone. I stumble back, almost falling on my ass when two hands shoot out, steadying me.
‘Oh my god,’ the guy blurts, blinking at me. ‘What are you doing back here?’
‘Huh?’
‘Who’s this?’
Alex steps between me and the stranger.
The guy smiles. He’s tall, with fair hair, and a five o’clock shadow on his face. His eyes are kind and crinkled at the corners as he grins at me like we have met before.
‘Who are you?’ Alex says rudely.
His friendly smile doesn’t waver. ‘An old friend of Cora’s,’ he answers. ‘I didn’t realise you were back in town.’
I feel the colour drain from my face as my heart jumps into my throat. I take a step back, short of breath. My head spins so violently, I feel like I’m about to pass out, and I reach out to Alex for support. The guy grabs my elbow in concern.
‘Cora? What’s wrong?’
‘Cora?’ Alex says slowly, looking at me. ‘He thinks you’re Cora . . .’
‘You know my sister?’ I whisper. ‘You’ve met her?’
The guy looks taken back as he glances between us. ‘Wait . . . You’re not her?’ His smile falters.
‘No.’ I shake my head. I step closer to him, grabbing his arms and shaking him. ‘Where is she?’
‘I don’t know!’ he exclaims, trying to shake off my tight grip on his arm. ‘I thought you were her, so obviously I don’t know where she is.’
‘When did you meet her?’ I demand.
‘Uh . . .’ His eyes drifted over my shoulder, suddenly looking dazed.
‘Hello?’ I say loudly.
His eyes snap back to me suddenly. ‘What were we talking about?’
‘Cora!’ I reply, unable to contain my impatience. ‘When did you last see her?’
‘Uh . . .’ he says again, the same thing happening, as if someone is dangling something behind my head that has captured his attention.
‘He’s been compelled,’ Hunter says.
I yelp when Hunter appears out of nowhere, and I clutch my hand to my chest as I whirl around to face him.
‘Don’t do that!’ I hiss.
‘Sorry,’ he says, not even glancing at me as he studies the guy standing in front of us, who is still looking dazed. ‘He’s not able to answer when he last saw her because he has been compelled to forget.’
The guy blinks at us. ‘I’ve been what?’
‘How do you know Cora?’ I demand.
‘Umm . . .’ His eyes shift from mine, going misty once more.
‘Answer me, God damn it!’ I yell into his face, shaking him so drastically that his head bobbles back and forth. People walking by us glance over with curious expressions.
Hunter rests a hand on my arm and the panic and frustration I was feeling moments ago blends into a much calmer, rational feeling.
‘He can’t answer, Raya.’
Sighing, I throw my hands up. ‘What does this mean?’
‘It means your sister has been here. She’s alive!’ Alex says, spinning me around, fingers biting into my skin. ‘She’s alive, Raya.’
Tears well in my eyes, burning as they release in blurred lines down my cheeks. I sniffle and smile, letting the tears flow.
‘She’s alive,’ I whisper.
‘And she has been here,’ Hunter says, touching his hand to my back, drawing me toward him. Tilting my head back, I gaze into his silver-grey eyes. ‘We are one step closer to finding her.’