Page 38 of Someone in the Water
‘Of course he would! You’re one hundred per cent his favourite.’ I don’t add that the rest of the team think it’s juicier than that, that Izzy and Raphael are sleeping together, and that’s the sole reason she kept her job.
‘I don’t know,’ she mutters. ‘He seems to love Jack. Christ knows why.’
‘Maybe I could say something then?’ I suggest, changing tack.
Izzy sighs again. ‘No, it’s fine. I don’t want you to get involved. But it’s for your sake though – you do understand that?’
‘Yeah, I guess,’ I say, trying not to feel offended that Izzy doesn’t trust me to keep her secret.
‘There you are!’
I look up at the sound of Dom’s voice.
‘Been searching for you everywhere.’ He twists, shouts into the crowd. ‘Hey, Harriet! I’ve found them!’ Then he turns back. ‘Are you coming to watch the band? I was thinking of attempting a crowd surf when they play “You Raise Me Up”. Do you get it? Raise me up?’
Despite what Izzy has just told me, the corners of my mouth lift into a smile. Dom beams back.
‘Hey, look who I spotted in the crowd,’ Harriet says as she appears, arms linked with Archie on one side, and Jack on the other. ‘The fireworks are starting soon, so we should head back to the marina, get the best view of them.’
‘Not until they’ve sung “Flying Without Wings”,’ Dom says, shaking his head with mock seriousness. ‘That’s our special song, isn’t it, Frankie? Damn, it gets me right here.’ Dom punches his chest.
‘Oh for fuck’s sake, Dom!’ Izzy pushes forward, turns to face him. ‘I’m so bored of this! Frankie doesn’t like you, okay?’ she shouts. ‘She slept with you because she was drunk, and then regretted it as soon as she woke up the next morning. Which isn’t surprising because you’re a fucking idiot. So stop hassling her!’
I hold my breath. Nobody moves. Izzy is just repeating what I’ve told her, at least the sentiment if not the words. But it sounds so much worse outside of our room. Am I mad with her for telling him? Or grateful?
‘Is that true?’ Dom finally asks, his voice suddenly quiet.
As I turn my head towards him, I take in everyone else’s expressions. Sympathy on Archie’s face, curiosity on Harriet’s, bemusement on Jack’s. Only Izzy’s is unreadable.
And finally, my eyes reach Dom. His cheeks are glowing pink and there’s a moisture in his eyes that wasn’t there before. Izzy’s words were harsh, but their meaning was accurate, and I owe him the truth.
‘I guess so,’ I say quietly. ‘But not about …’
But it’s too late to finish the sentence. Dom has disappeared into the crowd.
Frankie
29th July
I walk along the uneven path and stare at the rucksack on Dom’s back as he leads us towards the waterfalls. How can I have let things get to this? The last two weeks have been excruciating. We speak without eye contact, put on a show of camaraderie for the guests, but work in terse silence when they’re not around. After Bastille Day, I tried to apologise, to explain, but Dom shut me down every time. Izzy told me to stop trying, that Dom just needed to grow up a bit. But it’s hard. Even if I didn’t want anything more, I miss our friendship.
After all the acrimony of the last few weeks, I don’t really understand why we still spend our day off together as a group. But here we are. Maybe people cling to what’s familiar when they’re away from home, or it could just be habit.
‘How much further?’ Harriet whines from behind me. The sun is beating down hard, and the temperature must be at least thirty degrees despite the tree cover around us. We’ve been walking for nearly an hour, and the only thing that’s keeping me going is the thought of diving into the promised pool of fresh water. It sounds like Harriet feels the same way.
‘I’m pretty sure we’re close now,’ Dom calls out without turning around. ‘Izzy, I assume you can’t remember the route.’
‘Correct,’ Izzy calls back merrily.
It was Dom’s idea to spend the day at the waterfalls. Dom and Izzy were the first of the waterfront team to arrive at the resort, back in May when the hotel was still quiet. On their first day off, Raphael brought them out here, along with two of his cousins who were visiting from the mainland. Izzy has never given the outing more than a passing mention, but Dom loved it, and he’s been trying to get us all to visit ever since. I was the first to say yes when he suggested it this morning – another attempt to thaw his anger with me – but he didn’t even register that I had spoken.
The path veers left, and Dom disappears for a minute. When Izzy and I catch up, he’s standing still, staring at the view. And I can see why. The path has brought us to a stunning oasis of dark cliffs and plummeting water. A semicircle of tapered waterfalls splutter and dance towards the promised rock pool, and madly, a mix of pink and lilac wildflowers curl up through the cracks in the rockface. There’s a border of conifer trees across the top with the sun shimmering through the branches.
‘Pretty special, isn’t it?’ Dom says.
‘It’s beautiful.’ I watch Dom start to smile at my words, then change his mind.
‘Wow, what a view!’ Archie says as he and Jack catch up with us. ‘God, that water is calling my name.’
