Ethan, utterly unaware of what is about to happen, turns the page of his newspaper as Archie shouts. “Pile on!” Before jumping in the air, arms and legs extended like a starfish, right on top of Ethan.
I rush up and dive on top of them while Ethan shouts underneath us, roaring furiously. “I swear to fucking god, I will kill both of you. Get off me!”
A dead weight lands on my back as I realise Rafe has bolted it from one side of the pool to join in. I cough, Archie wheezes, and Ethan is damn near purple with rage, but then a groan of metal and a crack has us all freezing before the sun lounger gives out, and we all drop to the ground in a heap.
Ethan manages to break free and gets to his feet, his chest heaving and his face looking like a furious dad. He points at Rafe. “You, up. Now.” He turns his gaze on Arch and me, still tangled on the floor. “You two. I will not spend the next two weeks as the butt of your pranks-” Archie sniggers at the word butt and I have to bite back my laugh, but it’s soon squashed when Ethan glares at us. “Real mature guys. Come on, Rafe.” He stalks off, and Rafe looks upset at having to leave the two beauties but follows Ethan anyway, muttering about getting dragged into shit.
Archie and I lock eyes, and that’s all it takes before we burst out laughing at all the carnage we’ve caused, but it’s short-lived. The hotel manager walks towards the open door that leads to the pool area. We both scramble up, run to the far side of the pool to another door, and duck inside before running to the lifts.
Archie pants. “Do you think he was coming for us?”
I smash the lift button. “I have no idea, but I’m not stopping to find out.”
**********
We reach our room with no more drama, and as we walk through the door, I think about Hayleigh and how I’m going to keep her smiling these next two weeks before we all meet back up and go home. One thing I like to do is write down everything rattling around in my head, maybe it’s something that can help her, too.
Archie’s eyes zero in on my hand. “What’s that for?” How does he see everything?
I shrug and avoid his eye. “Nothing, it’s a pen and paper. Emmy mentioned Hayleigh was a bit down, and I thought maybe, I dunno, writing her a list would help?” Like it’s no big deal, I head for my room, set on getting ready first.
“Be careful there, Nate.” Archie’s voice reaches me, and I bite my tongue. The last thing I want to do is snap at him. Except that’s exactly what I do. I turn around and throw my hands in the air. “What’s that supposed to mean, Archie?”
He puts his hands up in surrender. “All I mean is that you need to be careful with her. She’s been through a lot, and I don’t think she’s fully come to terms with any of it.” He pauses for a moment. “She had her whole life planned out, and instead of going on her honeymoon and starting that new life, it was all taken away, and since then, well, she looks fine, but her eyes don’t lie. So be careful and protect both your hearts.” He walks past me and into his adjoining room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Archie was my best friend growing up. When his parents died, my parents took him in, and he became my brother. He was the calm to my storm, the quiet to my loud, and the peace to my chaos, and as much as I don’t like it, I know he’s right. Everything Hayleigh has been through with her ex has shapedwho she has become, but I only want to help. There’s something about her that makes me want to protect her.
Before deciding what to do, I focus on showering and getting ready for the family meal we have planned to send Cas and Emmy off on the rest of their honeymoon. I quickly go through the motions of showering, hurrying so I have enough time to speak to Hayleigh before the meal.
I’ve finished getting dressed when my phone rings, breaking my concentration. I press the answer button as I sit on the edge of my bed.
“Nate, Nate. Can you hear us? Oh, Daniel, this stupid phone isn’t-”
My mum holds the phone to her ear, but she doesn’t realise she’s on a video call with me. “Mum, pull the phone away from your ear and look at it.”
She does, and both their smiling faces fill the screen. “How’s Vegas? Is it hot? How’s my Archie boy? What about Rafe and Ethan? I hope you’re not winding them up, Nate Peterson.” She waggles her finger at the phone.
My dad rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Give the boy a chance to respond, May.”
I smile, my stomach turning a little with homesickness. “Of course, we aren’t winding them up. Scouts honour.” I make the universal sign, and my mum tuts.
“You were never a Boy Scout, Nate. Are you having a nice time?” Her brow worries; it doesn’t matter how old we are, she’s always fussing and worrying over us.
As I open my mouth to respond, my bedroom door flies open, and Archie appears. “Did I hear mum?”
“Archie boy!” Mum shouts through the phone as Archie climbs on the bed and takes the phone out of my hand.
I look at him incredulously. “Oh sure, come in, Archie. Here’s my phone, I was done speaking to our parents anyway.”
He smiles back at me. “Aww, thanks.” Before turning back to our parents. “So Nate is trying to woo Hayleigh.”
Thank god I’m out of the camera's shot so my mum can’t see me mouth ‘what the fuck?’ at Archie; he shrugs, and I hear my mother gasp. “Iknew it!I knew there was something there. Is he being gentlemanly?”
I throw my hands in the air before shouting. “Still here, mum, and actually, I am not wooing Hayleigh. I am going to try to keep her occupied and happy these next two weeks.”
She doesn’t even try to hide the disappointment in her voice. “Oh, right, well that’s okay then, but make sure you look after her. She’s a lovely girl, and she’s been through a lot.”
I hold my hand out for the phone, but Archie doesn’t give it back; instead, he decides to take this even further. “I mean, I can practically hear wedding bells, mum, he goes all googly eyes at her when she’s near and-” That’s it. I dive for the phone, but Archie shrieks and holds it out of reach. The phone clatters to the floor, and I can hear Mum tell us to stop fighting before my dad tells her to end the call and phone Ethan instead.
