Jealous Storm by Jack Stroke (book recommendations .txt) 📕

the owner’s cottage, Amber let herself into cabin three. Top-notch security was not one of the cabin’s strong points. Ellis had only just moved in and yet somehow he had managed to create a considerable mess. Clothes and possessions were spread everywhere.

Amber needed his phone. She checked the table and beside the bed. No luck. He had it just before. Where could it be? Amber moved clothes about, careful to put things back where they were. No way he would notice, but no point taking that chance. Where was this stupid thing? He wouldn’t have taken it to the beach with him, would he? Then again, it was Ellis. So there was little point in assuming rational thought went into his actions. Finally she found it, shoved in the pocket of his pants. Amber was about to leave when:

“Ellis?”

Dammit. Megan knocked. “Hey, Ellis. You in there?”

This was a disaster. Amber had absolutely no reason to be in here. Getting caught would cause no end of trouble.

“Ellis?”

Could she squeeze under the bed? Did she have time to even make it to the bed? Fortunately, Megan realised he wasn’t home and kept moving.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Amber waited a minute and let herself out. Of course it was possible Megan was still outside the door. Unlikely though, patience not one of her strong suits.

Amber hurried back to her cabin with the phone. Checking in the privacy of her own space seemed far more sensible than hanging about cabin three. Much easier to simply return the phone at a later point.

She fired up the old device and entered the pin she had observed Ellis entering half a dozen times at breakfast. She went directly to messages. Heaps of messages to and from Megan. Amber didn’t bother to read any of those.

There was plenty from another number, no name. Amber flicked through them. Exactly what she suspected. Messages to and from another woman. The most recent message was only from a few minutes earlier. Disappointing, although not remotely surprising.

“Gotcha,” Amber said.

The question was what to do with this information. The texts were explicit - a mix of dirty photos and a whole bunch of really bad sexting. Painful to read. The most recent one was from just before Ellis hit the beach.

‘Can’t wait. CU tonight, at 10’ it read, followed by an address. Amber fed the location into her own phone. A cheap motel appeared on screen. The Park Inn, not too far away.

Typical Ellis.

27

Twenty years earlier

Amber practised her speech, sitting in her crappy little Corolla.

“I know, I know.” She nodded sympathetically. “It is bad, isn’t it? Megan, I’m so sorry.” She paused, the other part of the conversation playing out in her head. “I know. It’s not you, it’s him. Totally. None of us could have known. Come here. No, don’t cry, Megan. Give me a hug.”

Amber’s butt had fallen asleep. She had been sitting on her cracked vinyl seat for too long today. Everything was cracked in her canary yellow Corolla - the seats, the dashboard, the side mirror. It was a continuing miracle the car made it anywhere.

She had spent her day on a mission. Staking out Megan’s boyfriend, Ellis. The guy was a total sleaze bag. They had been together since Phillip’s twenty-first. That was fine. Amber didn’t care. Megan could see whoever she wanted. Except the other night he had been super sleazy. The three of them, Amber, Megan and Ellis, had got drunk at Megan’s place when Joan and Pablo were out. Whenever Megan left the room, Ellis had been, like, all over her. It was yuck.

Of course, he acted completely different when Megan was around. There was no telling Megan stuff like this. She would blame Amber meaning she was stuck. Until it occurred to Amber if Ellis was like that with her, there was no way he wouldn’t be with other girls as well. A sleaze is a sleaze. Plus, he was always coming up with those dodgy excuses for not being able to see Megan. So after some blatant lie, Amber decided to follow him. And she was glad she had.

Sitting in her car, she went over her speech once more. She hated having to say it. No way Megan would want to hear it. But she had to tell Megan what she had seen, no matter how tough. That’s what friends do.

Megan flicked through her Cleo magazine, half-listening at best.

“Megan?”

“What?”

This wasn’t the reaction Amber had expected on any level. Where were the tears? She could at least be upset. All she seemed was bored. It was getting on Amber’s nerves.

“Did you hear me?”

“Yeah. Some rubbish about Ellis.”

“It’s not rubbish. He’s cheating on you.”

“And you know this how exactly?”

“Because I saw it. I saw him.”

She’d explained all this. She’d spotted Ellis leaving his house with some girl. They were all over each other.

“What, you are just walking down Ellis’ street and you happen to see him? And you thought, ‘Oh, there’s Ellis…’”

“No, not exactly.”

“How did it happen? Exactly?”

Amber hadn’t practised this part. Right about now she wished she had. Whatever she’d been doing, it was for Megan. To help her.

Except Amber never got the chance to respond.

“You were right,” Megan said.

A surge of hope rose in Amber… until she realised Megan wasn’t talking to her. The cupboard opened and Ellis stepped out. Amber couldn’t breathe. He’d been hiding in there? Listening?

“Just like you said,” Megan went on, shaking her head.

Amber did her best to speak, but it came out as noise, not actual words.

“I told you, Meegs. She’s obsessed with me. It’s not healthy.”

“I’m not…” Amber tried.

“You weren’t following him?” Megan asked. “Hiding outside his house? The girl you saw? That was his sister, you stupid cow.”

What? Was he? A flicker of doubt rumbled Amber. But… No. This wasn’t any sister Amber had seen. If it was, they had a very messed up relationship. Dammit. Ellis must’ve spotted her. The Corolla. That was probably it. The thing was too noticeable. Bright yellow.