Trouble (11 page)

Quentin
introduced them and told them that Byron would come for a sleep
over in the weekend.

At that
point Quentin’s sister walked in from the car park and Byron’s
heart also missed a beat.

As
Quentin introduced Chloe to Byron, he mentioned that he was coming
for a sleep over.

“
That’s great Byron,” she said as she came over and gave him a
friendly hug.

Byron’s
face turned read and he felt weak at the knees.

He sat
back on the bench feeling quite embarrassed as Chloe went out to
get something she had misplaced. Matt came over to him and
whispered good naturedly, “I’ll let her know that you don’t like
getting hugged.” He pretended to go after Chloe. Byron took hold of
his arm rather too quickly. “I love hugs.” Byron was slowly
appreciating him. He was the brother he never had. There was some
dried blood around his nose and lips. He felt a pang of guilt at
his violent nature which he didn’t realize he had coiled up inside
him.

“
Everything should be okay,” he said sensing Byron’s concern.
“I’m used to the hard knocks. Used to learn kick boxing and
wrestling in Indiana.”

Byron
looked surprised.

“
It was a hobby to help me deal with my tensions. I couldn’t
use it on you because I’d said when we first met that we were
brothers. So I allowed you to punch me up.”

“
After all the awful things I said to you, you’re the real
hero,” he said with conviction. “You’ll have to teach me some
boxing and driving lessons.”

“
Oh that’ll be great. I’ll have my chance to punch you up,”
Matt joked.

“
That’s fine,” Byron couldn’t help wincing, “so long as you
don’t punch too hard!”

“
You’ll have to teach me some social skills. I notice that
every time I opened my mouth I came up with howlers that didn’t go
down well.”

Byron was
not sure if he was joking. He felt that they matched each other in
the number of howlers they produced and they certainly antagonized
each other!

It was
Matt’s turn to be pleasantly surprised when Byron hugged him. Matt
looked so happy that everything seemed to be working out well.
“You’re really been good for me.”

“
You’re smiling from ear to ear,” Natalie said.

“
Why shouldn’t he when he gets the girl in the end,” Byron
teased.

“
Now you behave yourself Lord Byron,” Natalie chided him
gently. “We are all good friends.”

Natalie’s
mum came by and hugged her. She said she was on the phone to her
dad and her face brightened up after that. He’d come around in the
weekend to see them. His dad realized that he missed Natalie
considerably.

Matt’s
grand dad came in and immediately noticed the change in him. This
pleased him greatly. “I’ve had a very long chat with your dad. A
heart to heart talk,” he told Matt, looking very pleased. “He
understands that he’s treated you shabbily. He’s going to call
you.”

“
That’s great news.” Matt introduced him to Natalie’s mum. They
got along very well.

“
I told Nat that I had forgiven dad and it was as if a great
weight had come away from me. I felt so great.”

Grand dad
was happy that Matt had found a girlfriend so soon after coming to
Tracey High. They held hands looking into each other’s eyes. It was
as if they were made for each other.

Byron was
no longer feeling jealous or bitter.

Natalie
had made her choice and he was happy for her.

“
That was really kind and brave of you,” Quentin said from
behind him.

Byron
looked quizzically at him.

“
I saw everything on the ramparts. You really loved her but she
loves you like a brother. That’s why she went for Matt.”

“
Oh I didn’t see you.”

“
As he came up the ramparts, I could see your thoughts whirling
like a tornado. You wanted to hurt him by kissing her again
passionately. But deep down you’re a sincere guy. You couldn’t
bring yourself to do that,” Quentin smiled.

“
Please don’t make me cry,” Byron smiled. ”There was precious
little I could do short of forcing myself on her and that’s not my
style.”

“
You were so noble about it. I found it very touching. You’re a
great guy because you’ve gotten over it. The best part is that
you’re able to have this conversation without feeling angry or
sad,” he paused. “That’s what I like about you. In your own way,
you’re wise.”

“
Or suicidal,” Byron said trying to be witty.

“
She really had a hard time saying ‘no’ to you.”

“
I guess it helps that I’m not a serial dater,” Byron
said.

“
You’re not.”

“
Do you really believe the brother thing, that she does not
love me because I’m like a brother?”

“
To be honest too much of a good thing can be bad. She felt it
was for your own good and hers to move in different directions.
That’s my own view.”

“
I think it was for the best too,” Byron smiled. “Quentin what
would you have done if you were in love with the prettiest girl in
school?” he asked as he saw Matt and Natalie exchanging
pleasantries and laughing from where they were.

“
I’d have done exactly what you did. On the other hand I would
have screamed (here he pretended to scream in a low tone) ‘My name
is Quentin and I love you Natalie. Please die in my arms.” He
pretended to faint on the bench.

It
suddenly occurred to Byron that Quentin also loved Natalie. The
jigsaw puzzle was beginning to fit slowly.

Quentin
got up and faced him sensing what was going through his mind. He
was not smiling. “Don’t take this too personal Byron.”

“
So all this was a smokescreen. I mean you wanting to know me.
All along you also had your eyes on Natalie. That was one reason
why Russ attacked you.”

“
It’s complex Byron. I wanted to get to know you better and
still do. I think you’re a great guy. Everyone could see that she
was leaving Russ. And we could all see that she saw you as a
brother. Love is blind Byron.”

“
You mean every one could see that a mile away except
me.”

“
Don’t take it too hard. She’s the ideal girl friend; very
pretty, intelligent. She has all those qualities that any teen
would die for. I also tried to win her love.”

“
I don’t blame you.”

“
I would have won her heart had I stayed and defended her in
the woods. I regret that,” he looked directly at Byron. “Do you
think I was wrong trying to win her love?”

“
No. It just took me by surprise.”

“
I want to be your friend Byron. Can we shake to it and bury
all this?”

Byron
smiled, “Sure. That’s cool.”

Quentin’s
sister came by and sat with Byron.

“
You have an interesting name,”

“
He’s named after Lord Byron,” Quentin said
cheekily.

“
I’m sure Byron can explain himself without the PR support.”
She looked at him. “Looking forward to seeing you in the
weekend.”

“
I’ll take him hunting in the woods.”

“
And I’ll do the swimming part,” she said quickly. They sat
together and spoke with gay abandon.

“
Before you take Chloe’s phone number I want to make something
very clear with you,” Quentin said gently. “You are going to
respect her and if you hurt her, you’ll have to answer to
me.”

“
Of course. I’d never dream of hurting Chloe.” Byron
smiled.

From
where he was standing chatting to Natalie, Matt’s phone buzzed. His
face lit up. It was his dad.

“
Hi Matt. I miss you. I’ll drop by on Friday to talk things
over.”

They
exchanged pleasantries and his dad could sense the subtle changes
in his son. “Dad, I know you’re busy and I can always see you
later.”

“
No son. I’m making time for you. You’re now going to be an
important part of my life.”

Matt was
speechless with happiness. Natalie looked closely at him. He tried
very hard not to shed tears of joy again. He’d been crying too much
lately. She hugged him, “My crybaby, I won’t mind if you cried
again. I know you’re so happy,” she said as gently as possible
knowing that he was trying not to lose face in front of
everyone.

“
I don’t want to cry because I get touchy feely in front of
you. I might end up embarrassing you by kissing you again so
passionately.”

“
Maybe if I punch you in the mouth you might cry,” she said
smiling.

“
You’re impossible,” he said.

Everything seemed to have worked out well in the end for
everyone.