James handled me leaving better than ever. He kissed me without any tears and waved as I disappeared through the gate. On the flight, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and the promise I’d made. It pleased me to think that in the not-so-distant future we could be married.
But once I arrived at the flat, my conflicted feelings returned. Lyla gave me the grand tour, and then showed me to my room—the room where I’d first made love to Austin and given him my virginity.
“So, what do you think?” Lyla asked. “Better than student housing, huh?”
I smiled. “I think so, although I’ll need to buy a bed for that mattress.”
She scoffed. “You’ll be fine.”
Classes resumed in late February. After collecting all our unit outlines, Lyla and I made our way to the student bookstore. What seemed like the entire student body packed into the store. We scanned the room and made a plan to collect our books, then she grabbed the back of my shirt and we charged inside.
She snatched a basket as we dashed through the door, heading for each bookshelf and scanning for our assigned reading. I grabbed the books, then passed them back to her to dump in the basket. Once we found everything, we joined the mile-long line that circumnavigated the bookstore. We fell silent after the first few minutes as we shuffled slowly toward the checkout.
“This sucks,” she groaned.
“I know.”
Tara popped in front of us, grinning. “Can I cut in line?”
“No,” Lyla and I said in unison.
She ignored us and slipped in front of me. She glanced back past us, and then looked at me. “Okay, you need to entertain me. So, Cadence, I wanna know what’s with all your family’s weird names.”
“Yeah,” Lyla muttered. “I mean, my parents saddled me with Lyla because they had some crazy notion that it was pretty, but my siblings have normal names.”
I giggled. “It’s actually a family tradition.”
“A family tradition to have weird names?” Lyla cocked her eyebrow.
I laughed. “No, as in the girls having musical names. Several generations ago, on my mum’s side, we had the surname Handel, like Handel’s Messiah Handel. Someone had the brilliant idea that the daughters should have musical first names to go with it. So it’s been this way for a while. If you look at our family tree, I’m, like, the third Cadence, and my mum is the fifth Harmony. Harper is the first Harper though. I think my dad came up with that one.”
“Harper?”
“Yeah, like someone who plays the harp.”
“Oh! But what about your brother? Dusty’s not a common name.”
“Well, with Harper and me having unusual names, they didn’t want to give him something boring like Steve. So one day, while Mum was pregnant, they heard Slim Dusty’s rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and decided to call their son Dusty. So, in a way, Dusty’s name is musical too.”
“Huh. Your family is weird,” Tara said, glancing over my shoulder.
I laughed. “My family is awesome.”
We shuffled closer to the checkout, the conversation helping to pass the time.
“You haven’t told me much about the wedding,” Lyla said, giving Tara an odd look as she looked behind us again.
I shrugged. “I’ve told you the important parts. Harper was stunning, Daniel was awestruck, Mum cried, Dusty and Geri hooked up, and my Dad nearly lost it about twenty times.”
“But what did you get up to? Did you get wasted or hook up?”
I shrugged. “Not really, no. As maid of honor, I kept it all under control.”
“Come on, you didn’t even hook up with one of the groomsmen?”
I scrunched my face, poking out my tongue. “Gross, no. Daniel’s brothers and my brother? Urgh.”
Tara glanced back again. “Did you at least join in the bouquet toss?”
“Yeah.” I chuckled uncomfortably. “Harper told everyone I had to catch it, so it was fixed.”
She burst out laughing just as the cashier called us to the checkout. I didn’t think my story was that funny. I turned to see if something else caught her attention, but she patted my cheek hard, stopping me. “Naw, you’re gonna get married.”
“Ouch.” I rubbed my cheek. “That’s just a stupid superstition.”
The three of us set down our books and asked for separate receipts.
“So you caught the bouquet, huh?” Lyla nudged me in the ribs.
“Yeah.”
“But you’re not even seeing anyone. Does she have someone in mind for you or something?”
Tara glanced at me.
“Ah . . .”
The cashier read out our amounts, and we hurried to pay and grab our bags. We turned to leave and came face-to-face with Austin. I gasped—since he’d been right behind us, he must have heard our entire conversation. No wonder Tara was acting so weird.
He smiled as our eyes met. My cheeks could have melted metal as I hurried out the door.
“Cadence, wait up!” Lyla called. She caught my arm as I exited the bookstore. “What was that about?”
Tara trotted up beside her, giggling.
“You knew he was there, didn’t you?” I pointed at Tara. “He totally heard everything.”
“So?” She pulled us to a halt, and my cheeks heated up again.
“He thinks I’m a nut case.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I need to talk to him.”
She marched away before I could stop her. I hurried after her, but when he stepped out of the store, she made a beeline for him. I ducked behind a corner, and Lyla crashed into me.
“You’re into someone?” Lyla asked, pushing off from me. “Since when?”
“Hey,” I heard Tara say in a cheerful voice.
“Hi, Tara,” Austin answered, making butterflies fill my stomach.
“Cadence?” Lyla hissed, her eyes sparkling.
“What do you think of Cadence?” Tara asked.
“Ah, she’s . . .” I bit my lip, pressing my forehead against the wall. “Has she said something about me?”
Tara chuckled. “Maybe. Why? Because she thinks you think she’s crazy.”
“Ah . . .” He laughed uncomfortably. “No, I don’t think she’s crazy.”
“Okay, good.”
There was a break in the conversation, and then he said, “Hey, wait!”
Tara appeared around the corner a moment before Austin. My eyes jumped up to his as he stared at me. I started backing away, but Tara caught my arm and brought me forward.
“Cadence and Lyla here are flatmates, and we totally hang out all the time. You should join us sometime.”
His eyes never broke contact with mine as he answered, “I’d like that.”
My cheeks flared again, and he smiled.
“So, you guys are in the same course?” he asked, motioning to me and Lyla. “Tara told me that’s how she met you, Cadence.”
Lyla looked at me to answer. I stared at my feet, trying to force my blush to fade away.
“We’re in the same course,” Tara replied, pointing to me. “But Lyla is doing something else. What was it again?”
Lyla opened her mouth to answer, but Tara continued. “Cadence is brilliant. I’ve never had a better partner. Hey, Cadence?”
I nodded and chewed on my lip. “I have to go.”
With a sharp yank, I pulled myself free and hurried away.
“And there she goes again,” Tara said.
Lyla rushed up beside me. “What was that about?”
“It was that guy,” I muttered. “We’ve been having this thing going on where we exchange looks and he always smiles at me, but he totally heard our entire conversation because he was right behind us in the line.”
“Whoa, whoa! Rewind!” She stopped me as we stepped through the doors to the parking lot. “This is news to me.”
I kicked at the footpath. “I thought you noticed at the Christmas party we went to with Tara.”
“Uh-uh. You guys were ogling then?”
My face burned. “He started making moves on me, and I freaked out. Now he thinks I’m a nut case.”
She glanced back. “I definitely didn’t get that impression.”
I hurried on. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated.”
She didn’t follow as I headed toward my next class. I thought about James and the promise I’d made to him. What was I doing? When I was in Sydney with James, he was the obvious choice, but now, back in Perth with Austin, he felt like the obvious choice. I needed to do something, but I had no idea what.
James called as I walked home from the bus stop. I shifted my bag onto my other shoulder and answered.
“You sound out of breath,” he said.
“I just want to get home before it gets dark,” I replied.
“Where’s your friend? Lyla, right? I thought you bought a car together.”
“She has a late lecture, so I caught the bus.”
I rounded the corner and a rat about the length of my forearm scurried into the storm drain. I screamed.
“What?” James’s voice became panicked. “Cadence, are you hurt?”
I rested my hand over my racing heart. “I did not know rats got that big.”
“A rat?” He burst out laughing. “You scream bloody murder over a rat?”
“Shut up. It was huge.” I started walking again. “Don’t you have something with Melanie tonight? Shouldn’t you be there?”
“The guy’s a douchebag,” James mumbled.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re only saying that because he’s dating your sister.”
“Mum and Dad are totally in love with him.” He snorted, apparently disgusted. “He’s just Brian all over again.”
“I doubt that.” I reached into my bag for my keys as I approached the flat.
“Uh-huh. You haven’t seen him. He kinda looks similar, and he oozes sleaze.”
I unlocked the door. “Obviously, she has a certain taste in appearance, but I think you’re being too quick to judge. Brian wasn’t sleazy, just kind of . . . confused.”
“Don’t stand up for him,” he said as I pushed the door open. “He was into you—”
A mouse scurried across the living room, and I screamed again.
“What, what?”
“A freaking mouse! You’ve got to be kidding me!”
He laughed again.
“Stop laughing. It’s one thing to see vermin in the street, but in here, it’s something else entirely.”
“Just kill it.”
“Ew.”
“Stop being such a girl.”
“I am a girl.” I darted into the kitchen, shuddering. “What do I do?”
“Get traps or poison.”
“That’s so disgusting.”
“It’s better than having them in your place.”
I scowled, imagining waking up to a mouse in my bed. “How do I have a mouse and you don’t?”
“Canis.”
“Good point.” I moaned, scanning the kitchen for more little demons. “What do I do?”
“Just go to the store and get some traps.”
“But then I’ll have to get rid of the bodies. That’s so gross.”
“Cadence, stop being a baby.”
I pouted. “Shut up.”
He chuckled. “Just keep me on the phone while you go.”
I headed to the end of the street and caught a taxi. On the way, I had him fill me in on the details of his evening meeting Melanie’s boyfriend. From what Melanie and Geri had told me, he was a really nice guy, but James made him out to be a huge jerk.
As I headed into the store, he ranted about how he’d apparently given James a suspicious look.
“A suspicious look?” I asked, finding the aisle for insect repellants and pest control. “What do you mean?”
“He was sort of staring at me, like he was daring me to take him on.”
“Um, okay.” I found the traps on a lower shelf. “How do I know what to use?”
“Huh?”
“Mousetrap.”
“Oh, just a spring one will do. They’re usually a couple of bucks. A cheap one is fine.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I said, grabbing a box of three.
“Anyway, he’s going to need a serious talking to. There’s no way I’m letting another Brian into her life.”
“It could be worse. It could be another Robbie.” I probably shouldn’t have said that . . .
“That’s it! She’s breaking up with him.”
“James.” I pressed my hand against my hip. “You sound like my dad.”
“Maybe your dad is onto something. Guys are scumbags.”
I shook my head. “James.”
“Melanie obviously has terrible taste, and I need to protect her.”
“She doesn’t need you protecting her,” I said firmly. “I’ve talked to her and Geri about him, and I really think you’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?” He snickered. “She’s my sister, and she’s proven she can’t pick ’em. He’s bad news, I just know it.”
“You weren’t exactly squeaky clean. I took a huge risk on you.”
He hesitated. “I can’t believe you went there.”
I groaned, rubbing my brows. “Just let it go. She’s a big girl. She can make her own decisions, good or bad.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking her side.”
“James—”
“Well, I’m not standing for it. I can’t believe you’d turn against me on this.”
“James—”
“I have to go deal with him. Bye.”
He hung up.
“Ugh.” I typed out a quick text to Melanie to warn her, and then headed to the checkout.
At home, Melanie called me. I answered, putting it on speaker as I struggled to set up the mousetraps.
“Cadence, talk to your stupid boyfriend. He’s trying to ruin my life.”
“I am not ruining your life!” James yelled in the background.
I sighed as the two argued and hung up after a few minutes.
I glued a chocolate chip onto the trap with peanut butter, because according to the Internet, mice like chocolate. Go figure. The mouse peered out from behind the fridge as I worked. I glared at it, and it ducked away.
“You’re dead,” I muttered, setting down the trap near where it had disappeared.
My phone rang again. It was James.
“Tell Mel she’s being stupid,” he said.
“Absolutely not,” I replied, leaning back against the counter.
“I can’t believe you!” Melanie yelled in the background.
“Cadence, a little support,” James said shortly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you insane?” he yelled. “She’ll get pregnant again, or worse!”
“Don’t talk to her like that!” Melanie interjected. “No wonder she went all the way over there to get away from you.”
I winced as the line fell silent.
“Low blow,” James said softly.
“James, I’m sorry,” Melanie pleaded.
“I should go. Bye, Cadence.”
“James, wait—” But he hung up.
I groaned, heading to my bedroom to change. As I pulled on my pajama pants, I heard a snap. I stumbled to the kitchen, tying my pants along the way. The trap had flipped over as the mouse’s leg twitched underneath.
“Eww!” I grabbed a plastic bag. Cringing, I carefully scooped the dead mouse and the trap into the bag and carried it outside to the trash. When I returned back inside, I mopped the floor, then scrubbed my hands and arms to my elbows.
I texted James: Mouse dead. Please don’t be mad at me.
He didn’t respond.