April Fools (9 page)

Chapter
Nineteen

An hour later,
I was already tipsy. I was the definition of a lightweight.

"A
toast" I announced as I raised my glass, "To big brothers and record
deals."

Brody grinned
from ear to ear, "And to awesome little sisters."

"Cheers
to that." We clinked our glasses and took a drink before he went straight back
to watching Lucy. She was stood at the bar talking to some people from her
class but kept glancing over at us. I laughed, "You're staring."

He raised his
eyebrow before turning to face me, "Do you ever worry that I'll forget about
you once I'm famous?"

"Nope."

"Well
you should."

I punched his
arm, which probably hurt my hand more than it hurt him. "Do you ever worry
that I'll sell embarrassing stories about you?"

He winked, "Any
press is good press."

"I have
a question for you."

"For the
millionth time, I don't know why I got the looks and you got the brains."

I rolled my
eyes, "I'm trying to be serious here." He put on his best serious
face which just made me giggle. "Look, I don't know what's happening
between you and Lucy and you don't have to tell me. Lord knows that I haven't
got a leg to stand on but you're leaving soon, will I be left to pick up the
pieces?"

"What
are you asking me?"

"Is she
going to be okay when you're gone?"

"Of
course."

"Please
don't break her heart."

"Are you
going to have this conversation with her too? Are you going to warn her not to
break mine?"

I narrowed my
eyes, "Do I need to warn her?"

She was on
her way back to us before he could answer.

***

"I like
drunk April" Lucy shouted as we stood at the bar.

"And I
like tequila! Two tequilas please."

"Sure
thing" the bartender replied before pouring the shots. He winked,
"They're on the house."

I downed it,
"Thanks."

"Tough
day?" he asked as I winced.

"Tough
life."

Lucy giggled,
"Drama queen."

"Hey! My
house burnt down!"

"Maybe
you could tell me all about it later?" The bartender asked, "I finish
at two thirty."

"Thanks
but no thanks" I replied as I dragged Lucy away from the bar.

"What's
wrong with you? He's hot!"

"I'm not
interested."

"Why
not? Are you still into Lukas?"

"No,
we're just friends."

"Then
why aren't you interested?"

He's not
Isaac.

"He's
not my type."

"Are you
a lesbian?"

"Yep, I
burnt my own house down so I could live with you and spy on you when you take a
shower."

"I knew
it!" she shouted.

"And now
I'm about to dry hump your leg on the dance floor."

***

We went to a
few more bars before hitting a club. We met up with some of Lucy's friends who
had no shame in hiding their feelings for Brody. As soon as he went to get more
drinks, the locker talk began.

"He is
one hot piece of ass."

"Oh, the
things I would do to him."

"April,
your brother is coming home with me tonight."

That last
comment earned a dirty look from Lucy.

"Awesome"
I muttered.

"What?"
Lucy asked, looking unimpressed with her friends.

"Douchebag
alert" I pointed to Dan and Hollie.

"Did you
invite them?"

"Nope."

"Well
let's just hope that they don't see us."

I sighed, "Too
late, they're coming over."

"Ladies,
the party has arrived!" Dan announced.

I ignored him
and smiled at Hollie, "Hey."

"Hey,
what are you two doing here?" she asked.

"Celebrating."

"Oooh,
what's the occasion?"

"Brody's
band has been signed."

Dan lost
interest and began to flirt with some of Lucy's friends.

"That's
awesome, I'll have to congratulate him."

I heard Lucy
mutter something under her breath.

"I know,
it's the same record company as the D-Bags. I can't stop name dropping."

"Woah, can
he get me Griffin's number?"

Griffin. Typical.

"Who the
fuck is Gryffindor?" Dan asked, suddenly interested in our conversation
again.

I rolled my
eyes, "Gryffindor is a house in Harry Potter.
Griffin
is a badass
musician."

"Whatever,
I'm going to get a drink."

I leaned
closer to him, "Just a heads up, I'd stay away from Brody if I were you.
He's stopped taking his meds."

His eyes
widened, "Meds?"

"Yeah,
he's a little unstable right now."

"That
explains the other night."

I nodded,
trying my best not to laugh as he walked away. At least now he might keep his
distance. Brody came back with our drinks a few minutes later.

"Congratulations,
sugar" Hollie said before planting a kiss on his lips.

He wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand before glancing at Lucy.

"I'll be
right back" she announced.

"Are you
okay?" I asked.

"Yep,
just going to the Ladies."

"Oh,
I'll come with you before I find Dan" Hollie added.

Lucy sighed
before walking away.

Brody downed
his drink before starting on another one, "You better keep Dan away from
me tonight."

"Why do
you hate him so much?"

He raised his
eyebrow before pointing to the bar. Dan had his hands all over two random girls.
"There's your answer."

I laughed,
"I get that he's a dick but it's like you can't even stand to be in the
same room as him."

"Um, what
does it look like I'm doing right now?"

"Having
a staring contest with him" I leaned in closer, "But it only counts
if the other person is looking."

"I don't
like how he treats women." He cleared his throat when I finally stopped
laughing, "What's so funny?"

"Oh come
on! Pot meet kettle."

He scowled,
"No, I am
nothing
like him. I don't hurt people."

I had a
feeling that he knew more than he was letting on. "Do you know something
that I don't?"

"Lucy
told me a few things last night. He was a complete dickhead to her the other
day."

"When?"

"She
said they were at the pub and he got wasted. He's lucky that I haven't knocked
him out."

"Yeah
well keep it that way, maybe we should go to another club to keep you out of
trouble."

Brody raised
his empty glass, "Or maybe we should have another drink."

Chapter
Twenty

One hour and
two glasses of wine later, I was in a taxi on my way to Isaac's. Brody kept
insisting that he didn't want me to leave on my own so I took him to the side
and explained that I wasn't going back to Lucy's. 

I knew that I
was taking a risk by coming here when the bar was still open but I was too
drunk and horny to care. I asked the taxi driver to drop me off around the back.
I punched the code into the door and then opened it an inch to check that nobody
was there. When the coast was clear, I ran inside and straight up the stairs to
his apartment. I started to panic when he didn't answer. Maybe I should have
called to check that he was home first. What if somebody saw me up here? How
would I explain getting past the bar? I crossed my fingers and knocked again. I
felt a huge sense of relief when I heard his voice, "Just a minute"
he shouted.

I flattened
my dress down and leaned against the doorframe, trying my best to look
seductive. When I realised that I just looked like an idiot, I straightened up.
My whole body cried out for him when he opened the door wearing only a towel. A
drop of water fell from his hair onto his chest before making its way down the
ridges of his six pack. "What a nice surprise" he purred.

"I think
that should be my line." I stepped inside before closing the door behind
me. "Drop the towel."

He smirked, "Seeing
as though you asked so nicely..." It soon became clear that I wasn't the
only one who was turned on. I lowered myself to my knees. "Is this a
dream?" he asked as I gazed up at him.

"I don't
know, does this happen in your dreams?" He growled when I began to tease
him with the tip of my tongue. "What happens next?"

"You
open your sweet little mouth."

"There's
nothing sweet about what I'm about to do."

I paused when
his house phone began to ring.

"Don't
stop, baby. Do you know how much it turns me on, seeing you on your knees?"

I shook my
head innocently before taking him in my mouth. He threw his head back and I
moaned at how good he tasted. His phone carried on ringing until the answer machine
picked it up. The sound of Abbie's voice filled the room, completely killing my
mood. Why was she calling him this late at night? I stopped and looked up at
him questioningly.

He held his
hand out to me, "Come on, I need you in my bed." I took his hand but
something that Abbie said caught my attention. He wrapped his arms around my
waist and began to kiss my neck, "Your lips are perfect. So soft, so
sexy."

I pulled
away, alarmed at what Abbie was now saying -
"Are you going to tell
her?"

Isaac tried to
lead me to his room but I let go of his hand. I turned around and walked over to
the answer machine.

"Just
ignore her" he said.

Abbie carried
on,
"Do you want to make a fool out of her?"

The
adrenaline began pumping through my veins. Isaac was about to pick up the phone
when I held my arm out, "Don't you dare."

"She's
not going to be happy when she finds out our little secret..."

I felt sick.
My gut was telling me that something bad was about to happen. Was I the one who
was dreaming? Was this a nightmare?

"Do
you think that innocent little April is going to stay with you when I tell her?"
She laughed,
"Actually, I don't need to tell her, I can just show her."

My heart
stopped when I heard her say the words that I knew would haunt me forever -
"Do
you think that she's still going to love you when I show everybody the tape?
You can stop this now before she finds out, before she gets hurt."

I couldn't
listen to any more. I turned and ran straight out of the door. Isaac followed
me down the stairs but must have realised that he wasn't wearing any clothes. I
didn't stop running until I was inside the petrol station opposite the bar. I
bent down, trying to catch my breath.

"Are you
okay?" The cashier asked, looking concerned.

Don't cry,
don't cry, don't cry.

"I'm
fine" I replied, my voice shaky.

"Were
you running away from someone?"

"No,
it's just cold outside." I pulled my phone out of my bag and ordered a taxi.
After cancelling Isaac's incoming call, I rang Brody. "Something's
happened, I'll be at Lucy's in ten minutes."

"Are you
okay?"

"No."

"Has Isaac
done something?"

"Yes,
I'll explain when I see you."

"I'm
getting a taxi back to Lucy's now."

"Okay.
Brody? Don't let him near me."

I turned my
phone off, ignoring the voicemails from Isaac.

When I got
into the taxi a few minutes later, I looked over and saw that his car was gone.
Was he out looking for me or had he gone to see Abbie?

Chapter
Twenty One

I'm not sure
which one woke me up first, the pounding in my head or the barbed wire in my
throat. I had the hangover from hell. I ached all over, it even hurt to blink. I
made a vow to never drink again. Then I made a vow to stop lying to myself.

After a good
few minutes of feeling sorry for myself, my heart broke all over again when I
remembered what had happened last night. The physical pain in my chest was way
worse than any hangover. I would rather have a hangover every single day for
the rest of my life than feel this kind of pain.

I turned over
and nearly had a full on heart attack when I saw Isaac sitting in front of the
bedroom door. I sat up way too fast and immediately regretted it. I allowed the
dizziness to subside before I took a proper look at him. He looked exhausted. I
was about to shout for Brody when I remembered where I was. Regardless of what happened
last night, Lucy couldn't know that Isaac was here.

"What
are you doing here?"

"Brody
let me in."

Traitor.

"Why? I
told him to keep you away from me."

"I know
but I need to talk to you."

"Talk to
me or hold me hostage?"

"Whatever
it takes for you to listen to me."

"The
damage has already been done."

"April,
I swear that nothing happened between me and Abbie."

"Save
your breath, I heard what she said on the answer machine."

"Yes and
you didn't give me a chance to explain. Instead you jumped to conclusions and
ran away."

"What
was I supposed to think?"

"You
were supposed to think that she's a lying bitch and I'm your boyfriend who you
trust."

"You
have five minutes to explain."

He sighed,
"Remember when my mum rang me on the way back from the lake house?" I
nodded. "Well she wanted me to go and pick Abbie up from the police
station. She was questioned about the fire."

"Because
of what I told them? About our disagreement?"

"Well
that's what I thought until I found out she called Lukas on the day of the
fire, asking what number house you lived at."

"What?
Why would she do that?"

"She made
up a story, said she wanted to go and talk to you about something."

"How do
you know?"

"Lukas
told me, I went to see him on the day that he got out of hospital."

I frowned. That
was the same day that
I
went to visit him. My thoughts drifted back to
when I was walking down his street and saw a car similar to Isaac's. Could that
have been him? I remembered the phone call where Isaac had been acting strange.
He said that he was busy and couldn't talk. Was that because he had been with
Lukas at the time?

He stroked my
hand, "It's okay, I know you went to see him too. You arrived just after I
left."

I couldn't
help but feel guilty. He knew that I went to see him all along but hadn't asked
me about it. He must have thought that I was keeping it a secret. "I'm
sorry, I didn't want to tell you over the phone and then Brody turned up and it
just didn't come up. I know how it looks but I didn't keep it from you on
purpose."

"I know
you didn't. I'm sorry for keeping things from you too but I wanted to protect
you. After seeing Lukas, I asked Abbie to tell me the truth but she swore that
she had nothing to do with the fire. Of course, I didn't believe her but I
didn't want to get on her bad side. A couple of days ago, she turned up at my
place, a total mess. The police had interviewed her boyfriend, who told them that
he wasn't with her the night of the fire. He was supposed to be her alibi."
My mind was racing as he took a deep breath, "That's when it all
started."

"When
what started?"

"The
blackmail. She wanted me to tell the police that I was with her before the
fire, before I gave you a ride to your house. She wanted me to lie to them.
That's when I knew that she did it."

I felt like I
was going to throw up as the reality of what he was saying kicked in. "She
set my house on fire?"

"Yes."

"Why
didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell the
police
?"

"April...she
had a tape." Her words from last night started running through my head. "She
had a tape of me and you. She threatened to show everybody including the
University if I didn't help her."

I shook my
head, "But how? What kind of tape?"

He placed his
head in his hands, "The stockroom."

I shook my
head, "No..."

"I'm so
sorry."

I took a
couple of deep breaths, "So you had CCTV in the stockroom and you let us do
that
?"

"Some
stock went missing a few months ago so we installed a camera in there. I
completely forgot about it. I didn't know that she checked the tapes."

"So she
burnt my house down because she was jealous? She nearly killed Lukas because
she saw us in the stockroom together?"

He didn't say
anything. He didn't need to. I didn't know whether to scream or cry. "We
need to tell the police."

He pulled
something out of his pocket. I stood up and took a step closer to him, "What's
that?"

He pushed a
button and Abbie's voice filled the room,
"What do you want me to say,
Isaac? I've already said that I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry for burning
April's house down. What more do you want me to say?"

"I want
you to tell me why you did it" Isaac asked.

"I've
already lost Sienna, I can't lose you too."

"Abbie,
you nearly killed an innocent person. Lukas nearly died because of you."

"I
didn't know he was going to turn all knight in shining armour, did I? I didn't
know that he loved her that much."

"Did you
think that April was in the house?"

My heart
stopped as I waited to hear her response. After a long silence, she began to
cry,
"Please don't hate me, Isaac. You know that I'm not a bad person
deep down. I had a lot to drink and I wasn't thinking straight."

"Answer
the question."

There was another
long pause.

"Yes,
I thought she was in the house."

My legs gave
way as I began to sob quietly. Thank god that I wasn't in the house. Isaac sat
down next to me and pulled me into his arms. We stayed like that for a while
until I managed to calm down. "I want to hear the rest."

"Are you
sure?"

I nodded so
he pressed play.  

"Why are
you blackmailing me?" he asked Abbie.

"Because
you've left me no choice. I wouldn't have to blackmail you if you actually wanted
to help me. After everything that we've been through, you should want to help
me."

"What
would you want me to tell the Police?"

"Tell
them that I was with you the night of the fire. I don't care about the details,
make something up."

"So you
want me to lie, even though I didn't see you at all that night?"

"Yes."

"And
what if I say no?"

"Then
I'll release the tape. Trust me, it's not going to look good on April's CV."

The recording
ended.

"About
twenty minutes after that, she was arrested for arson and attempted murder."
My whole body was shaking. "I won't let anybody come close to hurting you ever
again. I will spend the rest of my life making sure that you're safe and happy
if you'll let me. I know that I haven't been acting myself lately but I didn't
want to involve you. You've already been through so much, I didn't want to put
any more stress on you. I knew that I couldn't let her release that tape. We've
come so far and I wasn't going to let her ruin it all for us, ruin your chances
of getting the career that you want. I'm sorry for keeping things from you."

I shook my
head, "Isaac, you don't need to apologise. I should be the one
apologising. I'm so sorry for doubting you last night, I feel like such a fool.
You were trying to do the right thing and I was too busy jumping to
conclusions."

"Look at
me. We were
both
fools. I should have told you everything from the
start. From now on, we need to be completely honest with each other. We're a
team. Good or bad, we will work things out together. We need to focus on our
future. Abbie's going to prison for a very long time."

"What
about the tape?"

"I have
it."

"How?"

"I took
it from her apartment before the police arrived."

I shook my
head, trying to process everything. "How did you persuade Brody to let you
in here?"

"I told
him everything...after he finished pushing me up against the wall."

"Does
Lucy know that you're here?"

He nodded,
"She was with Brody the whole time, I didn't know what else to do."

"So she
knows?"

"She knows
that I'm more than just your tutor but she doesn't know everything."

I took a deep
breath, "I can't believe it." He held me in his arms for a long time
before we finally left the room.

Brody and
Lucy were sitting on the sofa. He stood up when he saw me. "Is everything
okay?"

I nodded.

"How are
you feeling?" Lucy asked.

"Like
I've been run over...several times."

She stood up,
"That's tequila for you. Do you want us to go out and get some breakfast?
Give you two some time alone?"

"No, I
want you to stay." I turned to Brody, "What time are you
leaving?"

"In
about an hour but there's been a change of plan. Isaac's giving me a ride home
instead. I'm keeping my bike at the bar while I'm away."

"Why?"

"So
Isaac can ride the death trap. He may as well get some use out of it..."

My eyes
snapped to Isaac's. He laughed, "Calm down, I'm not as cool as your
brother."

"Sis, do
you really think that I want to leave my bike at home? Mum would probably sell
it to buy more booze."

"I'm
going to make pancakes" Lucy announced.

"I'll
help" Isaac added before following her into the kitchen.

I turned to
face Brody, "Are you sure it's a good idea to let Isaac take you home?
What about Mum?"

He wrapped
his arm around my shoulders, "Don't worry, she's still in rehab."

"Then I'm
coming too."