✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

45. Day of Rest

"She says fine," Tess quickly skimmed a message from Ffrances. "You'll have to tell that Adam guy if you're not coming back tonight, and then call Ffrances if you need somewhere to crash again. And if I'd called her a few minutes sooner, she would have offered to give us a lift into town."

"That's great. Do you mind if I get a quick shower? Like five minutes, I should of got cleaned up before you got here but I had too much energy."

"That's cool," she said. He quickly showed her where she could wait for him, and she spent the next couple of minutes checking in with friends on Clatter. Her phone barely stopped buzzing, and there were plenty more people she could have carried on chatting with when Spike appeared again.

His hair was still wet, and he had what looked like another new shirt on. It was strange seeing him like this; somehow a change of clothes made him look more sophisticated. Perhaps it was just that she'd gotten so used to seeing him in the same three or four outfits for most of a year, and she knew that it was kind of a big deal for him when he could afford something new.

"Nice shirt," she smiled, and concentrated for a second to make out the letters behind the creases. "One Finger Death Punch?"

"It's a game, I think," he answered. "They got a bunch of clothes here, take your pick. People show up who've been kicked out of home or whatever, and they got nothing with them. Adam said they've had a few guys with amnesia staying in the office. Like guys who don't know who they are, so they haven't got a change of clothes or anything. Ffrances bought in like a pallet of assorted casual clothes from some discount retailer, whatever they had left at the end of the season, so temporary visitors can grab what they feel like. I think anything that's unclaimed from the hospital laundry ends up there too."

They quickly found Adam, sitting behind a desk this time, and signed a visitor register to say that Spike was discharging himself. It seemed to be just a formality, and Tess could see that the two guys were already developing some kind of friendship, but apparently this was the kind of place where you had to fill in forms so there was a record of who was where. If they were used to dealing with people suffering with amnesia or all kinds of mental health issues, Tess could understand why it was good to have an objective record of what people were doing; although it still felt a little too formal. Then they were leaving through the hospital, catching a bus to Raybridge. Kim was going to be in town, and possibly hanging out with her new boyfriend Evan, so Tess had suggested they could meet up and chat for a while. It was always good to meet more people, and she felt like it would be good for her to do something normal after the last couple of days.

"So, your cousin..." Spike mumbled, once they were on the bus. "I gather she doesn't like me. You know anything about that?"

"No. I thought she might be okay meeting a friend, but... Ugh, I think she thinks you're my boyfriend or something. And she can't get over treating me like a little kid. Like, maybe it's... how I look. But I think she's still wishing we could go back to when she used to babysit, like ten years ago. Like, she got this obsession with wishing she was a teenager, I think she might be having a midlife crisis a bit early."

"Well, if she's legally responsible for you, I can see her being a bit OTT to start with. Give her some time, maybe."

"Yeah. And Ffrances said you look like her ex or something, so she might just be reacting emotionally. I'll get my dad to talk to her next time he calls, then maybe she'll try a bit harder to trust you."

"I'm glad Ffrances could help me out. Think she's a very understanding person. So is she your cousin's girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah. Surprised me, I hadn't heard about her until the first weekend I got home and she was there. But they're both fun people now they accepted me. I'll be glad to get back to normal, though."

"Did something happen? Do you need–"

"I'm fine. Just had some fun yesterday. Something... something Gabby asked me to do, to help her do something she wanted without having to admit to her girlfriend how much she wanted it. And it was... well, not as scary as I thought. But more scary for a different reason. But that's scary like a horror movie, or a fairground ride. The kind of thing where you're terrified to even try it, but you know you're going to."

"Sounds interesting. But I get the impression you'd rather not tell me what it is yet. Just know, if you want to share, I'd be happy to join you exploring whatever's got you so excited."

"Yeah. But like I said, I need some normal today. It's been a bit overwhelming. Especially after... well, you know. I'm sorry, I'm keeping so many secrets."

"You don't have to tell me everything. I'll help if I can, but I'm not your babysitter."

Tess thought about yelling in outrage, and she thought about punishing him in the arm. Either would have been reasonable, and they flashed across her mind for the briefest fraction of a second. But in the end, unable to decide what an appropriate reaction should be, she just laughed.

"You never said something like that before. You always stayed away from..."

"Oh, I'm not calling you a baby. I wouldn't do that. But you know who I mean when I say babysitter, and I think it's funny she's acting that. Plus, there's something new. If you don't mind me picking up on little things you didn't actually say."

"Huh?"

"Want me to explain, or drop it? Your choice."

"I have to know, after something cryptic like that."

"Fine," he smiled, and rested his head on the bus window for a second. Looking to see how soon they would arrive, or perhaps gathering his thoughts. They had just passed through Bullocksfeel, last of the small villages on this route, so Raybridge wouldn't be long now. "You said before about how she acts like she's your babysitter, her midlife crisis. And when you talked about when you were little, you were half smiling. Like you thought her behaviour is weird and annoying, but it's weird in a way you can laugh at. And that made me think... last year, you would have been so angry saying that. The thought of you being a little kid, even when you're talking about ten years ago, would have made you mad. So maybe you managed to disconnect all the negative thoughts. Like, it made me wonder if jerks treating you like a kid is something you can laugh at now."

"I'm still not a child," she said. "But... well, maybe. Gabby calls me a baby, you know? I don't think she even realises she's doing it. And where I'm staying... well... it's absurd, really. Like something out of a sitcom, not a drama. Like the whole situation is so weird that I can't get mad about it. The only thing I could do is laugh, and maybe that's helped some. I still hate being called a kid, maybe even more than ever, but now it's got so over the top that I can't take it seriously."

As the bus stopped and they got to their feet, Tess realised that she'd said more than she meant to. She'd mentioned her room, when that had never been something she wanted to share, and had come close to hinting at what they'd been doing the day before. She didn't need to worry, because this was Spike she was talking to. He'd been bullied for pretty much the opposite reason when he was younger, so if anyone understood her discomfort he would. And when she thought back, she'd been ready to tell him about her room on Friday night, before Gabby had interrupted their casual chat. She didn't know if she would still be ready to say it now, but she knew she didn't need to worry about any details that slipped through by accident.