Page 56 of Chasing Shadows
Ronnie laughs and slaps him on the chest. “Not a chance, Romeo.”
He pouts, and Lachy smacks him over the back of the head. “Learn to hold your liquor,vecchio uomo.”
“Who you calling ‘old man’?” Jordan spits back.
“Get out of here,” I chuckle. “Jesus, nothing’s changed with you two, has it?”
Jordan smirks as Ronnie pulls him through the crowd towards the kitchen and I’m left with Ivy and Lily.
“Where’s Conrad?” I ask Ivy, taking a pull of my beer. “I haven’t seen him since I got here.”
“He’s around.” Ivy’s eyes dart to Lily before meeting mine. It’s subtle, but when you’ve known someone since you were five, you know how to read them.
“If he’s got a problem with me being happy,” I say, my hold tightening on Lily’s waist. “He can fuck right off.”
Ivy sighs. “He doesn’t have a problem with you, Harley. He’s just struggling with everything going on with your dad being in hospital. God, he’s offering to give up an organ to save a father who basically ignored him for twenty-three years. He’s trying to come to terms with what this all means for you, him, and Tom.”
Bile rises up the back of my throat. What the fuck is wrong with me? Dad’s laying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, and I’m singing and laughing with my mates and giving Lily multiple orgasms to try and stop her from leaving me. How could I be so fucking selfish?
Feeling me tense up, Lily turns and tilts her head up to look at me. “Hey, it’s okay. This is a really tough time for everyone, but there’s nothing you can do to fix it tonight.”
“Lily’s right,” Ivy says quickly. “Forget I said anything. Tonight’s your night.”
Untangling Lily’s arms from me, I step away from them. “You know what? I think I’m going to get another drink after all.”
Lily calls out to me, but I ignore her, shoving my way into the kitchen. I grab a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard and take it outside with me. Taking a swig straight from the bottle, I head for the large oak tree in the back corner of the yard. I sit on the cold, hard ground, my back leaning up against the tree, and tilt my head up to look at the stars. My breath fogs the air around me, but I can still make out the Southern Cross in the clear night sky.
Movement catches my peripheral vision, and I tilt my head down to look back towards the house only to find Conrad standing a few feet away. I lift the bottle to my lips.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
Conrad doesn’t say a word but closes the distance and sits down next to me. “I got appendicitis when I was eight.”
I glance over at him. “I’m not interested in your life story.”
“I had to have blood tests. The surgeon was Bill’s best mate. That’s how he found out I wasn’t his son.”
“Sucks to be you.” I swallow another mouthful of whiskey.
“Do you know what it’s like to come out of surgery to find the man you thought was your dad has completely turned on you? From that day, he made my life miserable. He completely ignored me, going to all of Wes and Ryker’s footy games and always finding a reason to miss mine. He’d constantly critique my game, comparing me to my brothers and always pointing out where I came up short. If I got into trouble at school, he’d come down so much harder on me–banning me from practise, taking my iPad or my PlayStation, finding harsher and harsher penalties each time.”
“At least you had money for an iPad and a PlayStation,” I mumble bitterly.
His laugh is humourless. “I would have given either of them up for a dad who gave a shit about me. Instead, I got two that didn’t care at all.” I have nothing to say to that, so I just sit there in silence. “Sam may have made some mistakes in his life, but at least he was present in your lives. Bill was around, but he’d checked out of mine when I was eight. I was still a little kid. Who even does that?”
“What’s your point?” My words lack their usual bite, though, as I’m starting to realise I don’t really know a thing about what Conrad went through growing up. And I never really thought to ask.
Conrad sighs. “When Tom called to say Sam was in the hospital, I wasn’t going to come. Why should I? The man hasn’t made any attempt at getting to know me in twenty-three years. But I called Ellie, and she talked some sense into me. I know I wasn’t exactly the friendliest towards you–”
“You beat me up for dating your sister,” I scoff.
He palms the back of his neck. “Yeah, I never said I wasn’t a dick. Anyway, Ellie reminded me that it’s never too late for second chances. If I didn’t go to the hospital to see what I could do to try and help Sam, then I’d always live with the resentment, bitterness and regret, and eventually it would eat me up inside. I don’t want that. I’m in a good place with Ivy, and I don’t want to risk that by not working things outwith your family. You’re Ivy’s best friend, and she cares about you. She hates that we don’t get along.”
“They’re smart girls, your sister and your girlfriend,” I say, fighting the small smile tugging at my lips.
“That they are,” he agrees with a small smile “I’m willing to give Sam a second chance and do whatever I can to help him, but I’m also hoping thatyou’rewilling to give me one.”
“What?” I choke out, coughing and spluttering as whiskey spills down my chin.