[Fosswell 01.0] A Brush With the Moon Read online

  “Quite big,” I said, wondering why he was asking.

  “Hmm. I should have known. An old house near Lyall Ridge could only be Lovell Towers. No wonder you were spooked.”

  “Lovell Towers? As in Sebastian Lovell?” God, why did my stomach always knot up at the thought of him?

  “The very same.” He studied my face for a reaction.

  “Oh, this just got interesting,” Beth said as she handed me a glass of wine and then curled up on the nearby chair, clutching her own.

  Justin shrugged. “There’s not much to tell anymore. For centuries, the Lovells were big in the gold mining industry. That’s why they’re so rich.”

  His statement sparked Beth’s interest. “Rich? Just how rich are we talking?” she interrupted, and I could almost see the cogs starting to turn in her mind.

  “Oh, millions,” Justin continued. “Anyway, Sebastian’s great-great-great-great—well, however many greats—grandfather had Lovell Towers built next to the mine entrance to be near the hub of things, and generation after generation of Lovells lived there until the accident when Sebastian’s father was a boy. He now works as a jeweller in the city.”

  I took a sip of wine, and my nerves calmed a little. “What accident?”

  “A tunnel collapsed. Many men were buried alive. Nasty business. Sebastian’s grandfather never forgave himself, and he jumped off a Lovell Towers parapet.”

  “Oh, how awful. But his grandmother… You said the boys had convalesced with their grandmother.” I glanced over at Beth, and she shrugged her shoulders in a don’t ask me way.

  “Shouldn’t think she lives there,” Justin said. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting to. She probably lives in one of the old miners’ cottages on the edge of town,” he speculated, studying his watch. “Ooo, I must go. Mummy’s making lasagne for tea. Can’t miss that.”

  He picked up his jacket and threw it over his arm as he left.

  Chapter Five

  THE NEW WEEK arrived and began without incident. Then, on Thursday afternoon, I had a free period and decided to work on one of my assignments in peace. I found an empty classroom where I wouldn’t be disturbed and set to work.

  My essay on the inner workings of a modern-day expressionist’s mind came along great. It’s amazing what you can get done without interruptions from well-meaning friends. I had almost finished and was mulling over the essay’s conclusion when a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

  Before I had time to protest, Sebastian entered the room. He was still wearing the Ray-Ban sunglasses, but there was no mistaking it was him. My stomach knotted and I struggled to breathe, but I tried to compose myself as I watched him approach.

  “Can I help you?” I asked, trying to appear disinterested.

  “Oh, I’m sure you can,” he answered in a gorgeous public schoolboy accent, soft and smooth like warm chocolate that melted my insides. It was vaguely familiar. Had I heard it somewhere before? I raised my eyebrows, and he continued, “I saw you, you know, staring at me at the tryouts.”

  “I wasn’t staring. I was looking for my friend,” I replied.

  “And you found me. Lucky break,” he said, perching on the edge of my desk. I couldn’t help noticing that the fabric of his jeans strained to contain his muscular thigh.

  My mouth went dry, and I looked back down at my work, willing him to go away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him remove his sunglasses, but I pretended to ignore him.

  “Did you see anything you liked?” He moved closer and leaned his head in towards my neck. His breath was warm and inviting on my skin, but it sent a ripple through me that brought me out in goosebumps.

  I took a deep breath and turned to reprimand him, only to be met by those eyes. The eyes of my dreams. My pencil snapped in two and dug into my hand. I bit back the pain and stared at him, not breathing, wanting to look away but finding that I couldn’t. The eyes refused to let go. It had to be a coincidence. Or was it?

  After a long pause, I struggled to release the words that clung to my throat. “I-I have work to do. Please leave me alone.”

  He held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity. Then, suddenly, as if a switch had been turned off, he broke away from my gaze and jumped off the desk.

  “Fair enough. I can wait,” he said, and he departed to join his cousin, who was leaning against the wall outside, waiting. I watched them disappear down the corridor, laughing and high-fiving as they walked.

  Feeling oddly deflated, I tried to finish my assignment, but concentration eluded me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the eyes in my dreams—something I’d done more times than I could remember over the years. I’d always liked to think they meant someone was watching over me, but discovering they were Sebastian’s eyes had filled my head with more questions. Why him? What did it mean? Had I been having some kind of premonition?

  I also couldn’t stop picturing the high-five. It was like a victory celebration. Why would he do that after speaking to me? What was I to him? A game? A bet? A conquest to be had? Ugh. Why were boys so confusing? I had the headache of all headaches coming on, and I needed to talk to Beth.

  Five minutes later, I approached the side entrance of the gym block, opened the door, and collided with Jack.

  “Hey, Sophie,” he said cheerfully, blocking my way through the door.

  “Jack.”

  “Listen, I wanted to say sorry for last Friday. Don’t remember much. Bit pissed. I do remember poking you in the boob, though. Nice boobs, by the way.” He looked down at my chest again.

  “Jack. Quit while you’re ahead.” I squeezed past him to go inside.

  He twisted to hold the door open. “I really am sorry.”

  I felt a shred of remorse and turned to offer him a smile, but over his shoulder I noticed Sebastian watching, so I hurried inside.

  Unfortunately, Beth had already left for the gym, and I had to wait until she came home later that evening before I could tell her what had happened. The hours between gave me ample time to relive the scene over and over, until I’d convinced myself that my imagination had been working overtime.

  “Nooo! I don’t believe it! You’re kidding me!” she shrieked. “He came on to you? You’re so lucky.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say that. I don’t know what he was doing. That’s the problem.” I couldn’t tell her about his eyes. The entire time I’d known her, she’d always dismissed my dreams as stupid and something I would grow out of.

  “Well, it sounds to me like he came on to you…and it’s totally not fair. You’ve had a nightclub owner and the hottest, richest guy in town after you this week, and I haven’t had a sniff. What’s going on? It’s not normal. It’s like the Twilight Zone around here.”

  She was right. Back in Brumpton, Beth had never been short of attention, so I could understand why her nose was out of joint. “Look, I’ve no idea why they singled me out. I didn’t ask for it, and I don’t want it, so they’ll just have to get over it.”

  “Hmm, a shop full of sweeties and you’re not buying? People will think you’re not interested in men,” she joked.

  “They can think what they like. Sweets aren’t good for you. They rot your teeth and make you fat.”

  “Mm-hmm,” she said, her raised eyebrows asking an unspoken question.

  I scowled. “And I’m not interested in women either, before you ask.”

  “Well, I did wonder. You’ve never had a boyfriend, and I did see you checking me out in the shower the other day.”

  “Get over yourself. I was merely wondering if you’d had one crème egg too many.”

  “Ooooh, and she hits below the belt. Round one to Sophie.” Beth giggled.

  The mood lightened, and I started to feel much better. “Fish and chip supper?” I asked.

  “Scraps and gravy?”

  “A given.”

  “Deal.”

  ***

  That evening Mum phoned, and to be fair, in the weeks that I’d been in Fosswell, she hadn�
��t pestered me as much as I’d thought she would. In fact, the last time we’d spoken had been a few days after I moved in, and I now felt quite guilty that I hadn’t rung her first.

  I supposed I’d tried to blank out the past and pretend that it had never existed, and I’d been so busy and preoccupied that I…well, I just kind of forgot.

  Mum spent practically the whole call chastising me for not ringing her, interspersed with a plethora of ‘okay’ questions. Was the flat okay? Was uni okay? Was the town okay? Was I making friends okay?

  Okay! I felt like shouting. Stop asking me if I’m okay! Particularly as I’m not okay. Not that I’d tell Mum that.

  I really wasn’t in the mood for conversation, but I couldn’t tell Mum that I wasn’t interested in day-to-day trivialities when my mind was elsewhere. So I listened politely while she droned on and on, telling me what was happening at home and asking the ‘okay’ questions, but I kept switching off and having to ask her to repeat herself.

  After what seemed like about five hours, but which was in reality about ten minutes, we said our goodbyes, and she made me promise not to leave it too long until the next call.

  ***

  In the dead of night, I awoke damp and shaky. My dream had felt so real. The eyes had been given form now, a face and even a body, and I imagined that I could still feel those hands on my skin, not clawing this time but gentler, stroking.

  It was still dark. In the cloudless sky, the moon was almost full, and it shone brightly through the thin curtains. I was annoyingly awake, so I got up and padded to the kitchen to pour a drink before wandering over to a chair near the back window to drink it. A moving shadow outside caught my eye, and I nervously crept nearer to the glass to get a better look. My vision was partially obscured by the curtain, but I swore I saw a shadowy figure staring up at the flat. I blinked to clear the sleep from my eyes, and when my gaze returned to the street, the figure had disappeared.

  Terrified, I ran into Beth’s room and jumped into her bed.

  She stirred and murmured, “What the hell…?”

  “It’s okay. Go back to sleep. I just needed some company.”

  “Are you sure you’re not gay?” she asked drowsily.

  “Yes, I’m sure, Beth. Are you sure the door’s locked?”

  Chapter Six

  SEPTEMBER PASSED quietly. I kept my head down, enjoying my studies and my new uni life. October brought a sudden change in the weather, and on a rare sunny lunchtime, I took my chicken sandwich outside to eat at a picnic bench and passed the rest of my break idly sketching a student sitting on the low wall near the path, reading a book. Nearby, a couple were making out against a cedar tree.

  My mobile buzzed in my pocket. It was Mum. Great. I let her do all the talking.

  “You promised not to leave it so long between calls, darling. It’s been a month.”

  “Sorry, Mum.”

  “So. What have you been up to?” she asked excitedly.

  “Studying,” I said, studying the amorous couple.

  “I hope so. And?”

  “Nothing.”

  I could feel her exasperation oozing down the phone line. “I miss you, sweetheart. I’d really like to see you, spend some time with you, and speak to you properly instead of listening to one-word answers.” She paused, waiting for a response, but I didn’t have one that she’d want to hear. “And even though I know he’d never admit to it,” she continued, “Todd’s missing you too.” Missing me doing his homework, most likely, I thought as she carried on. “Could you not spare us some of your precious time? Haven’t you got half term coming up?”

  “I’m busy, Mum.”

  “Busy doing what?” Her voice now held an edge of anger.

  “Look, I’ve got to go. Class is starting. Bye, Mum.” I snapped my phone shut and threw it onto the grass.

  Beth skipped up to join me. “Making yourself jealous?” She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head in the direction of the ardent pair. “Or are you watching him?” She turned to scan the grassy mounds. “Oh…he’s gone.”

  “Who’s gone?”

  “Sebastian. I swear he was over there, under that weeping willow, and definitely staring in this direction. You must have seen him.”

  I hadn’t, and because it wasn’t the first time he’d been caught staring at me without my knowledge, I found it quite disconcerting. Beth thought it was amusing.

  “Anyway, guess what?” she said. “You’ll have a great opportunity to get to know him better in a couple of weeks.”

  My stomach lurched, and I started to feel weak and nauseous. What on earth was she talking about? I listened open-mouthed as she continued.

  “Lovell Towers is going to be the venue for the annual Halloween fancy dress ball, and I have it on good authority from Marie that Mr Lovell Senior has offered to hire it out for free. He’s going to have the great hall fitted out with a stage, and there’ll be a live band and fancy decorations and everything. Isn’t that great?”

  Great wasn’t exactly my thought. Actually, I was thinking that I might be about to reacquaint myself with my lunch, and also, that there were already enough cobwebs in that place not to necessitate any Halloween decorations. But Beth didn’t wait for an answer.

  “Obviously I’ve bought us some tickets,” she said.

  Wonderful. I hated dressing up, and I had no inclination to make a fool of myself. I had about two weeks to come up with an excuse not to go.

  “Speaking of nights out, can you take a break from studying and come out with us tonight, please?” Beth grabbed my hands together in hers and fluttered her eyelashes emphatically.

  “Okay. Okay. Just stop doing that. People are watching.”

  “Ooo, goody. You’ll get to meet Tom.”

  ***

  Tom turned out to be a tousled blond surfer dude with a very buff body but not much going on upstairs. Beth had met him the previous weekend on a day trip to Abertreath and had decided to bestow her ample charms upon him. Their relationship was a purely physical one, but then Beth’s usually were.

  As it transpired, Tom was capable of only one topic of conversation, surfing, and I was no Gidget. I didn’t know my nose from my tail, and I had certainly never had a Chinese wax job. Bored, I got up to dance with Justin, and we were having a whale of a time for a couple of songs before suddenly…

  “Mind if I cut in?” A voice I was hoping not to hear spoke behind me.

  “Don’t leave me,” I mouthed silently to Justin, but he ignored my plea.

  “I’ll just let you two lovebirds get to know each other better,” he said annoyingly as he flounced off.

  I turned to smile at Vincent. “Actually, I was about to visit the ladies’. Excuse me,” I said before disappearing quickly through the side door and crashing headfirst into Sebastian. He caught me adeptly and swiftly swung me against the wall, out of the way of more approaching revellers. I steadied myself, and my breath caught as I felt the strength of his hard muscles through the fabric of his sleeves.

  “Sorry. I-I…” The words wouldn’t come, and if he hadn’t been pinning me against the wall, I think my knees would have buckled.

  “Yes, I saw,” he said. “I don’t like seeing you with Vincent Reith. Not that I’d enjoy seeing you with any other man, but particularly him.”

  He studied my face, and as I stared into his eyes, those eyes, I thought for a moment that I saw something, a red flicker, perhaps, deep inside, but then it was gone. I concluded it must have been the lighting.

  He angled his head and moved slowly closer, as if to kiss me.

  So far, my experience of kissing had been extremely limited and mainly unpleasant. Old, slobbery relatives eager for a taste of youth, or boys grabbing me at the school disco, mumbling ‘Give us a kiss, Soph’ before welding their saliva-filled mouths against mine. I longed to experience a tender kiss, like the ones I saw in the movies—soft and sensual, full of warm tingling sensations and passionate longing in a man’s eyes. I hoped it wou
ld happen one day…just not yet.

  Summoning all my strength, I pushed Sebastian away to make my escape. “Let me go. I’m not interested,” I said, then hurried towards the bathroom.

  “Yes, you are, Sophie. You just have to admit it,” he called after me.

  In the bathroom, I stared into my own almond-shaped hazel eyes, and they stared back at me. You can’t fall for him, Sophie, they seemed to say. I knew they were right, but… Oh. My. God. It had felt good in his arms: warm, comforting, safe, and, well…just…right. It could obviously never happen again—even with only a couple of years between us, and him being the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met—it just couldn’t. We were too different, and then there was the eye thing I didn’t understand, and the high-five with his cousin. I had to keep that in mind. I’d already decided I must be some form of amusement for him. Why else would he pursue someone like me? He couldn’t possibly fancy me.

  I studied my reflection again and had no idea what Beth had been talking about. What did I have that Sebastian might find attractive? My nose had always been too big, my chin too pointy, and even my hair had gone redder recently, with slightly sun-bleached ends. It definitely wasn’t a good look. So, if it wasn’t my appearance—and it couldn’t be my sparkling personality, because I didn’t have one—then it had to be some kind of joke.

  Well, the joke would be on him. I splashed some refreshing water over my face, removed a smudge of mascara from my cheek, and headed back to my friends.

  A slow song was playing in the main room.

  Making my way back to the booth, I glanced towards the dance floor, where Sebastian was dancing with Lara, draped all over him like a rash. A horrible feeling sank to the pit of my stomach, and my legs turned to lead. I couldn’t move. Maybe I should have just let him kiss me. That could have been my neck he was nuzzling, and my ass he was holding. My resolve faltered. Would it really hurt to let him play his game, if I got something out of it, too?

  His head lifted slightly from Lara’s shoulder, and he looked up at me with a sly grin. Comprehension dawned. He was playing the jealousy card. Clearly, nobody had told him that that was so last year.