Part 28

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After countless weeks of training, the time had finally come for us to pack up and fly over to Perth for the Rottnest Channel Swim. We were arriving in Perth a few days before the competition so we could explore a bit of what the city and Western Australia had to offer, as many of the boys hadn't been there yet. Competing in the swim were Hoppo, Deano, Maxi, and myself, and two of the boys had decided to come to cheer us on and stay on the boat with us during the race. We had rented out a condo for all six of us, and we were excited, to say the least. I would be splitting a room with Deano and Whippet, and the other three boys, Bisho, Maxi, and Hoppo, would be in the other room. 

First on our list of things to do in Perth was to head out to the Pinnacles desert and sandboard, as well as take a dip in the Indian Ocean. We had rented a car and began the two-hour drive to the Pinnacles, and we were all gleaming with excitement. I was curious to see how the boys would do sandboarding, and I asked, "Anyone ever been sandboarding?" The boys all shook their heads, and I smirked. "Have you?" Whippet asked, catching me smiling next to him. I replied, "Yeah, I went up to Straddie during Uni with some of my friends - it's so fun."

Those two hours flew by, as we talked about different things at Bondi and in Sydney, as well as about our families and just joking around about the silliest things. We arrived at the Pinnacles, and the views were amazing. We had rented some sandboards in Perth before we left, and we all began sandboarding down the dunes in the middle of the Western Australian desert on the Coral Coast.

 We had rented some sandboards in Perth before we left, and we all began sandboarding down the dunes in the middle of the Western Australian desert on the Coral Coast

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After a little while, we cut over to the coast to the small town of Cervantes. We ended up paddling out into the Indian Ocean and swimming around a bit, and after a few hours catching waves and swimming, we decided to head back south to Perth.

About a half an hour into the car ride, I was driving and Deano was in the passenger seat. Whippet was awake behind Dean, but everyone else was out. Hoppo was behind me, snoring as he leaned his head on the window, with Bisho sleeping against Maxi's head, which was resting on the elder's shoulder. As we had a long stretch of desert road ahead, Deano made some conversation. I knew it was coming.

"Did you tell Liam you're in Perth?" He asked, and I saw Whippet perk up at the mention of my brother's name. I sighed and replied, "Yeah, I did. We arranged to meet up tonight at his place to talk things out... I'm really nervous."

I had been over the moon excited for this week out in Perth with the boys, but I wasn't looking forward to seeing Liam. It had been almost a year since we had spoken last, and I had no clue how our meeting was going to go. I had no clue how I would react. Would the anger resurface? Would it finally sink in how much I really missed him?

Whippet chimed in, saying, "I think it'll be really good for you to talk things out, even if this is just a start... Don't expect things to go back to normal overnight. It's been a long time - you're just getting back to normal with your dad, so it may take some time."

I nodded, and Deano pleaded with me, "Just give him a chance, Charlie. Let him say his piece and tell you the whole story. I think it'll change how you think of everything."

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