Page 45 of Somewhere Only We Know

The man was so surprised that he didn’t even put up a fight.

‘You’re being ridiculous,’ I said, putting the bat behind my back. ‘Give your daughter some credit; Colin is a lovely boy. I’d have been delighted if my daughter had brought him home. Why don’t you get to know him instead of trying to knock his head off? Please translate for me, Meena. Now excuse me, I’m in a hurry.’

I sidestepped him, shuffled through the gate and ran across the yard, leaving the man stunned into silence. Gosh, I could be brave when the situation called for it.

‘Maggie is a literal goat!’ I heard someone shout, which was a bit rude.

I made it to the bathroom just in time, dropped the cricket bat and launched myself at the loo. Through the locked door I heard the others whistling and cheering and I let out a laugh which turned to a sob as the adrenaline of the last hour seeped from me.

What a day. Maybe I’d sleep tonight, despite the lumpy mattress that was almost impossible to get comfortable on. What I’d give for a bath and a chance to relax and a little bit of peace and quiet, but I had another week of this.

It dawned on me in that moment that I had the freedom of choice. Nepal had been a blast, the people were lovely, I’d made memories to last forever, and being away from home had been the tonic I hadn’t known I’d needed. But I was done here.

I’d had enough of fighting my way in and out of the mosquito net, plugging my ears so as not to hear the scuttle of cockroaches across the bedroom floor. I’d had enough of waiting for the bathroom to be free and wading across a heap of sodden towels to get to the shower. This place would have been perfect for Brontë; she would have flourished and grown in confidence. But this sort of travelling belonged in my past, when everything was new and exciting and I’d been open to having adventures. Tiff had said that I shouldn’t simply tick boxes on this trip, it should be about what I wanted. The truth was that I was not the wide-eyed and carefree adventurous girl I’d been at twenty-two. And right now, I had a sudden yearning for home.

Chapter 14

Maggie, Bali, 2000

I kicked off my flip-flops, unzipped my denim cut-offs and waded straight into the ocean. The water was smooth, hardly a ripple. The sun, still not quite risen, had painted stripes of pink, orange and blue in the sky.

The pictures in the brochure I’d been shown at uni had not done this place justice at all. Our accommodation was right on the beach. I had never been anywhere so beautiful, seen skies as blue, or waters so clear. I was twenty-two years old, high on sunshine, giddy with the freedom that lay ahead. All the part-time jobs I’d had over the last few years to pay for this had been worth it. For a whole month, I’d be based here, in a coastal village in southern Bali, fulfilling a long list of dreams, volunteering on a turtle conservation project.

I dived, taking long strokes along the ocean bed. Then with my lungs screaming for air, I powered my way back up to the surface, sweeping my hair back from my face.

I turned onto my back and floated like a starfish, relishing the sensation of warm water on my skin. The last time I’d been in the sea had been swimming off the rocks in Wales with Kat, my dad sitting morosely on a towel fully dressed, an umbrella over his head while we swam in the rain. It had been our last family holiday. Mum had refused to leave the caravan, sulking because she’d wanted a week in Greece. I’d lasted approximately ten minutes before hypothermia had begun to set in. Mum still hadn’t been to Greece. Dad had kept the caravan when they split but never invited Kat and me to stay in it with him again. Anyway, I had a whole month away from home and I wasn’t going to waste a single second dwelling on my parents.

Instead I closed my eyes and let the sun warm my face.

‘Paradise,’ I said aloud.

It was my first day and I’d woken early. The other three girls in my dormitory were still sleeping, but I had been too excited to wait for them. By the time I’d arrived last night, tired and sticky from my long journey, the daylight had all but faded. And once we’d been shown our rooms, and I’d been allocated a bunk, the view had been all navy sea and sky and a million pinpricks of starlight. Very lovely, but hard to get my bearings.

‘Cool, huh?’

Startled, I spun around, planting my feet on the ocean bed to see who’d spoken.

There was a boy wading towards me, brown eyes twinkling and a friendly smile revealing white teeth. His body was lean and toned, the waistband of his boxer shorts visible above the top of his shorts. He was beautiful.

‘Very cool,’ I squeaked. I mean, literally squeaked.

He dipped below the water and bounced back up again, shaking droplets of water from his hair. ‘D’you arrive last night?’

I nodded. ‘And I’m in love already.’

‘Is that right?’ He flexed an eyebrow and grinned.

‘With Bali? Yes, of course.’ If he was trying to embarrass me, he’d got the wrong girl – I’d happily match him for boldness. I ducked down into the water, kicking my legs to move away from him. ‘I’ve never been this far from home.’

He swam after me. ‘Australian?’

‘With this complexion?’ I indicated my pale skin. ‘British.’

He pressed his hand to his forehead. ‘I get that wrong all the damn time. I’m Jackson from the US.’

His accent was gorgeous.

‘Maggie. Pleased to meet you. And seeing as you asked nicely,’ I teased, ‘you may join me for a swim.’