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My jaw dropped, and I spun around. “Don’t.”
He scrunched up his face. “Fuck, I’m just having a little fun, Natalie,” he said, throwing his hands in the air. He backed up angrily, before pushing his way through the crowd.
Marni chased him back to our table and whispered something in his ear. He looked back at me and smirked, then pulled out his hip flask and poured some of the contents into her cup. He continued to share throughout the night and it wasn’t long before Marni was more than tipsy and Jake was verging on drunk.
My classmates asked if I could sing a few numbers with the band and I jumped at the chance. Not only did I need practice in front of a larger crowd, I needed a break from my table.
“Haven’t you had enough guys ogle you tonight?” Jake whined, pulling back my arm as I rose from my chair.
I screwed up my face. “What are you talking about? They just asked me to sing.”
“And you just had to say yes.” He gripped me tighter.
I shook him off, and grimaced at the red mark that remained. “No, I wanted to say yes.”
“You never say yes with me,” he grumbled like a spoilt child.
I angrily pursed my lips. I wanted to yell at him for being such a brat. I wanted to scream at him for ruining my night. But most of all, I wanted to punch him in his pretty face.
But instead, I silently turned around and left for the stage.
* * *
I channelled all my anger into the performance, and sang like none of it mattered. When I heard the crowd sing along to the songs I had written, my heart burst and I almost dropped my mic in astonishment. This was what I craved.
Everyone was on their feet dancing, except the two seated at the back of the room. They were drinking and laughing together, and didn’t once look in my direction. Marni whispered something into Jake’s ear, and his eyebrows rose. He discreetly adjusted his pants and left for the bathroom, whilst Marni relaxed back into her seat with a satisfied giggle.
I finished my last song and returned to an empty table. I scanned the hall and decided Jake must have gone out to his car to fill up his hip flask again, giving me the perfect opportunity to break it off with him.
Stepping out of the hall and into the crisp night air, I hitched up my dress and cautiously made my way through the muddy car park.
My heart started to pound as I approached Jake’s car. Condensation slowly trickled down the windows and I froze. Through the fog, my eyes confirmed what my gut had been telling me.
Jake’s hands were intertwined through Marni’s auburn curls, both lost in a world of drunken lust.
Instead of creating a dramatic scene in the car park, my instinct was to flee. So I ran. My dress dragged through the mud, but I didn’t care. I was never going to wear it again. I was halfway through my long journey home when the realisation began to seep in.
I clenched my jaw as I replayed it over and over in my head. My boyfriend and best friend were fucking each other in the back seat of his car. How could I have been so naive? I knew Marni had a thing for Jake, but so did every girl in town. I never thought she would act on it…and deceive me like that.
Although I intended to break up with Jake, I never expected it to end like that. It was humiliating. How could I face either of them again, or the town once the news broke?
Continuing on in a daze, I trudged down the dark roads, my heels dangling from my hand. I still had a fair way to go and my dress was already mud-stained and torn. I cut through farms and took back roads to avoid any unwanted attention from passing cars.
The bushland suddenly lit up around me, leaving me no time to formulate another detour before the oncoming car spotted me.
I sighed heavily as I listened to a familiar truck roll to a stop behind me. The door creaked as it opened.
“Blue!” Luke yelled. “What are you doing out here?”
I kept walking and gravel crunched as he jogged up beside me. “Blue!” he repeated louder, breaking through my haze. He tenderly grasped my shoulders and brought me to a standstill, dipping his head to meet my eyes.
Pain seared through my heart, and I gazed up at him through tears that were yet to fall. “You’re so right about this town, Luke,” I croaked. “I need to get out of here.”
His frantic eyes searched mine. “What happened?”
My lower lip began to quiver and without hesitation, Luke pulled me into his strong arms. For the next few minutes I cried hopelessly into his protective embrace. Instead of asking me any more questions, he swept me into his arms, and carried me to his truck. Once he safely buckled me up in the front seat, he took off his woollen jumper and tucked it around my shivering torso.
He returned to the driver’s side, started his ignition and drove. Luke remained silent until I was ready to speak.
