Betrayal Read online

  When I awoke the next morning, I sat up in bed and thought for a minute. What would happen when we saw each other again after this? I tried to stop myself from thinking about it. I had to get ready to go in to see how Dad was doing.

  When I looked out of the window, I noticed that Megan had parked my car back in its little spot outside of my house. I probably was too tired to see that last night. Stepping out into the daylight, I found I must have had a worse night's sleep than I imagined. My body sore and my eyes winced in the light. At the hospital, I walked in to find Dad sat in bed with Mum by his bedside.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “Hi, love. Come on in.” Mum said in a brighter voice than she’d had the day before.

  Dad was awake now, but he had an oxygen mask on. It was scary to see my Dad like that, but he was smiling and that was a great thing. I made my way closer to the bed and sat next to Mum.

  “How are you?” I asked him.

  His voice was quiet when he spoke, as though he had no energy. Mind you, what he had just been through was probably the reason why.

  “I’m fine. What have you been up to?” he replied.

  “Oh, nothing much. Just the usual.”

  I suddenly flashed back to last night and the kiss with Russell. Feeling uncomfortable, I carried on the conversation. “Have they told you anything yet?”

  “No, not yet; but hospitals aren’t ones for rushing, are they?”

  After an hour, Sam walked in, Russell hanging off her arm.

  “Hi, Dad! How are you?” she said.

  “I feel better now,” he said, smiling through the mask.

  “Cool. Well, I’m here for another reason, too. Russell needs to go back home for a couple of weeks.”

  When she said this, I looked up at Russell, then switched my gaze to Sam instead.

  “Oh, that’s a shame. Why’s that?” Mum asked.

  Russell said, “My mom needs me to help her out with some things.”

  “Don’t worry, Mum, he’s coming back,” Sam said.

  “Well, that’s some good news at least. Hurry back, won’t you Russell?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll try.”

  I flicked my eyes over to Russell, and he smiled slightly at me. I suddenly felt a little sick.

  We all stayed in the hospital room for a little while. Every now and again Russell and I would flick each other glances.

  “Right; I’d better go, then, Dad,” I said.

  “OK, Beth. Thanks for coming.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll see you later. Love you.”

  “Love you too, kid.”

  I bent down, kissed him on the forehead, said ’bye to everyone and left the room. Walking out the hospital doors, I turned round when I heard someone call my name.

  “Bethenny.”

  There he stood. The wind was blowing hard, making his hair wave back and forth in front of his gorgeous eyes.

  “Oh. Hi, Russell.”

  “Um… Look, I just wanted to apologise for what happened the other day. It was stupid and I took advantage of you when you were down. It won’t happen again. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Don’t worry, OK? It was my fault just as much as yours.”

  “Thanks, Beth.”

  “So why are you going back then?”

  “Well, my mom is having a problem with Grandma. She has to put her in a home and it’s a lot of work, so she asked me to come help her.”

  “Oh, right. Well, good luck. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  “Sure, thanks.”

  With that, I turned back and walked to my car, still thinking about him. I knew that this feeling would not go away on its own. I had to do something to stop myself from thinking about him constantly. I suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. I would go and book myself a holiday. I hadn’t had a holiday in a few years.

  The drive home was good. Thinking about where to go took my mind off Russell. As I got out the car, I had an epiphany. I had always wanted to go skiing, and now was the perfect time to go. I ran in and flicked the computer on. I thought the Alps might be good. When a website for Swiss tourism popped up, the pictures were amazing. This was definitely where I was going! Swinging ’round, I picked up the phone and dialled Megan’s number.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Hi, it’s only me, Meg.”

  “Hiya, Beth. What’s up?”

  “I’m going on holiday. Do you wanna come?”

  “What? Why?”

  “I’m just fed up. Bored. You know how it gets. Look, do you fancy coming or not, Meg?”

  “Yeah, OK; why not? Where and when?”

  “The Swiss Alps and as soon as possible.”

  “OK, you see to the details and we’ll go.”

  “Right. I’ll ring you back when I’ve found out about it. ’Bye.”

  Putting the phone down, I printed some pages about the Alps. I had a feeling that this was going to be very good for me.

  CHAPTER 3

  My tickets were ready and my luggage was packed. Now, I was just waiting to board the plane. This trip was the best idea I’d probably ever had. We were going to a place called Valais in Switzerland. By all accounts, Valais was full of wooden lodges and snow. Lots and lots of snow. It sounded just like what I wanted and needed.

  Finally, they called for us to queue up. It took 30 minutes for us to board the plane and take off, but eventually, we got there. The sight below was amazing. Everything was so small and delicate. The flight took two hours, which wasn’t that bad. If only Meg hadn’t been eyeing up all the men on the plane!

  The apartment we were staying in was nice, but not very big. It was a wooden cabin. Everything inside was wood, too. It was perfect. We had separate bedrooms, as Megan had a tendency to snore.

  At last, we were unpacked and ready to ski. Walking out to the slope, the air was cold and crisp, but the sun was beating down on us. I thought we looked funny with our padded suits on and rosy cheeks. Still, we carried on until we found our skiing instructor, Peter.

  “Hello, ladies. Are we ready?” He had a Swedish accent, which I’m sure Megan appreciated.

  He was about 5 foot 9 inches tall. He had ash-blonde hair cropped short and a beaming smile. I saw that she had perked up upon seeing him. I just rolled my eyes.

  My bones were aching after our first lesson and I was grateful that we could go to the bar for a drink. Walking into the bar, there was a warm feeling. There were lamps on in all the booths. Everywhere that you looked, there were people with red faces chatting like there was no tomorrow. Finding the nearest booth, we sat down. A waitress sauntered over.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked brightly.

  I said, “Yes. I’ll have an Irish coffee, please.”

  “I’ll have the same, thanks,” Megan replied.

  The waitress nodded her head and walked back to the bar. I looked at Megan and started laughing.

  “What?” she asked.

  “My bum is so sore!”

  “Mine too!”

  We both began to laugh again. This was the best. I hadn’t thought about Russell at all. Until just then, that was. This holiday was going to be an excellent tonic.

  The waitress returned with our drinks.

  “These are being paid for by the gentleman at the bar.”

  When she had finished her sentence, we both looked towards where she had pointed. A young man, grinning, raised his drink to us. Megan did the same to show her appreciation. I smiled and looked away. I wasn’t here to pick anyone up. I carried on sipping my drink.

  “Did you see me when I fell that second time?” I questioned.

  “Yeah that was so funny! I think your feet actually did go right over your head.”

  “Then there was you. Oh my god, you were worse than me.”

  “I know. Oh, that bloke that bought the drinks…” Meg trailed off.

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, he’s on his way over, with his friend
.”

  “Oh, no! What are we going to do?”

  “Just relax, Beth. He’s pretty cute.”

  Sure enough there he was, wearing jeans and a jumper. He was nice-looking but I wasn’t here for that. I was on holiday to forget that sort of thing.

  “Hi. Would you mind if my friend and I join you?” he asked, smiling.

  Megan was in like a shot.

  “No, not at all. I’m Megan and this is Bethenny.”

  “Pleased to meet you. My name is Jason and this is Scott. So what brings you here?”

  “Boredom. And it’s always nice to get away.” Meg took a large sip of her Irish coffee and smiled angelically. I just shook my head. Jason looked in my direction. His eyes twinkled as he flashed his bright white teeth at me in a crooked smile.

  An hour or two later the conversation ended. I couldn’t really believe that we’d talked for that long. I eventually thawed out and their company was really quite nice. I didn’t want to enjoy it, but we had so much in common it was hard for me not to. By the time we reached our cabin, Jason had won another date with me. He was a conversational wizard!

  Meg and I walked into our respective rooms and fell onto our beds. I was exhausted! It had been one of my longest and most wearying days in a long time. As I drifted off to sleep, Jason found his way back into my head and I wondered what tomorrow’s date would bring.

  After a very restful sleep, I was raring to go. The sun was shining, and I could hear birds singing their various songs to each other. Jumping out of bed, I walked over to the shower and switched it on, so it could warm up. Megan was still in bed.

  I went into the kitchen and filled the kettle. The water was finally warm in the bathroom, so I pulled my hair down, dragged a brush through it and entered the condensation-drenched shower cubicle. When I had finished, I could hear Meg in the kitchen, singing in her loudest operatic voice.

  I rubbed the towel over my dripping hair and then wrapped it around and flicked my head back into an upright position. The kettle had boiled and the water poured into two mugs with teabags in them. Megan was busy making some porridge for breakfast. She must have seen the face I made as she responded with, “Don’t moan. We need a good breakfast if yesterday is anything to go by!” I added lots of sugar, held my nose and dug in. We had our second lesson of the week in an hour. I had just enough time to finish getting ready.

  “So, what do you think of Jason and Scott?” Megan squealed, a bit too excited.

  “Yeah, they seem really nice,” I replied trying to calm her. I didn’t want things to get out of hand.

  “Well, that’s not how it looked to me last night, or Jason for that matter.”

  “I was only being friendly after he bought us those drinks.”

  “Hmm. Well, that’s not how it looked.”

  “Please don’t do that today, Meg.”

  “Do what? I’m not going to do anything, except have fun with Scott.”

  “All I’m saying is, don’t involve me in your ‘fun,’ OK?”

  “Yeah, whatever.” She then walked away in a huff. She was such a child!

  We walked out into the sun in our snow clothes and headed to the beginner slopes. As I walked, I noticed people building snowmen and having snowball fights; all in the middle of spring. It was a very surreal experience.

  When we reached our destination, Peter was waiting in the same spot as yesterday.

  “Ladies. You came back.” He was smirking. I didn’t like that he was getting pleasure out of our pain. “OK, then,” he said, “let’s go.” He started off with long strides. We couldn’t keep up with him.

  Everyone else we saw was gliding down his or her chosen slopes. I spent most of my time on my bum. Again, Meg was almost running to keep up with Peter’s lightning steps. I padded on behind them both, not caring how far they were in front.

  Finally, I reached the beginner slopes where Meg and Peter were waiting. “Right, ladies. Can you remember what I taught you yesterday?” he asked. We both nodded our heads in unison “Good. Then off you go. I’ll be watching, so no being lazy, OK?”

  We started down the snow-blanketed hill. Meg wasn’t too bad. I, of course, was on the ground after two minutes. However, I got up and started again.

  The hour didn’t take long to end, which was unfortunate, as that made it time for our double date with Jason and Scott. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I was a little worried, really. I didn’t want this misconstrued as anything else than just a friendly date. However, from what Megan had said earlier, that was the last thing on Jason’s mind.

  Because of that problem, I really didn’t know what to wear. Eventually, I settled for my red dress. It was pretty without being over the top. Slightly sparkly and hemmed just above the knee. My makeup was understated but I did use my red lipstick. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I also didn’t want to look too plain. As I put my heels on, Meg was dragging me out of the door.

  Walking through the doors of the restaurant, I could feel myself shaking slightly. Meg must have felt something also. She looked in my direction, so I just told her that it was because I was cold. She seemed to accept that. Megan walked up to the reception and asked for our table in the name of Scott Raymond. The girl behind the desk called for one of the waiters, who showed us to our table.

  As I turned the corner, I could make out that our dates had already arrived. My heart hammered so much, I was sure that everybody could see it. Still, I walked up to the table with Megan. She was so full of confidence. I really wondered how she did it. As we got closer, Jason and Scott stood up from the table. Well, if all else failed, they had manners, and that was always good. They were both dressed in jeans, but Jason had on a black t-shirt and Scott was wearing a casual short-sleeved shirt. I was beginning to feel a little overdressed.

  “You look lovely, Bethenny.” Jason must then have realised that I wasn’t alone. “You both look lovely,” he amended. You could tell he was just saying it to Meg to be polite. He didn’t take his eyes off me. Somehow, I don’t think it bothered her. She had already gravitated to Scott. We all sat down at the table.

  “We ordered drinks. I hope you don’t mind; it’s red wine.”

  As he said this, I grabbed my glass and downed the burgundy liquid in one. Realizing what I’d done, I looked up to three faces staring at me.

  I said, “Sorry. Nervous.”

  Jason laughed and said, “Me too. A little bit.”

  I smiled and started to relax. I looked over at Megan and Scott. They were huddled close and talking as though they had known each other for years. This only added to my tension.

  “So, what have you been doing today?” Jason asked.

  “I had another skiing lesson. We have them every day; it’s like an intense course, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I know. So how did it go?”

  “Well, I’m still going down on my bum a lot, if that’s what you’re asking.” I gave him a short side grin just so he knew that I was joking. Gradually the atmosphere got easier. “What about you then?”

  “Oh, nothing, really; just did some sightseeing. You know, the usual tourist-y thing.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “Up through the mountains. It was gorgeous. You’ll have to go up there. You’d really love it.”

  “Yeah, maybe I will.”

  Just then, the waiter walked up to the table, his shiny shoes squeaking all the way.

  “Are you ready to order?” he asked.

  Jason looked at me. “After you.”

  “I’ll have pea soup to start, then beef stroganoff and the Neapolitan for desert, please,” I said.

  “Sounds good. I’ll have the same,” said Jason.

  He looked towards Megan and Scott.

  “Sir. Madam. Are you ready to have your order taken?”

  Meg started and said, “Oh yes, sorry, we were miles away. I’ll have the kottsoppa then the pyttipanna and then the apple pie.”

  Reading these words off
the menu was so frustrating. We must have sounded stupid. Scott went for the things he could read.

  “Um, the pea soup, the potato casserole and the waffles with ice cream, please,” he said.

  “Any drinks?”

  “No, thank you; not yet,” Scott told the waiter.

  With that, the waiter took the menus and walked back from where he came. I looked round to see Jason smiling at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just glad that you said yes to coming on this date.”

  “Me, too.” I actually meant it as well. I was really beginning to enjoy myself.

  After that, the evening went smoothly. When we had finished the food, it was getting quite late. We decided to say our goodbyes and go home. Jason pulled me to one side. My heart started to pound again.

  “Beth, can I see you again tomorrow? I could take you to the mountains, if you like?”

  I thought about it for a bit. Then thought, Why not, he’s really quite good-looking and a nice person. I should be enjoying myself for a change.

  “Yes, sure. About three?”

  “Cool. ’Bye.”

  “’Bye.”

  He let go of my hand and walked away. I suddenly had butterflies in my stomach. I liked this feeling. It made me forget about Russell. Perhaps the saying was correct: “out of sight, out of mind.” Again, I went to sleep thinking about Jason.

  When I woke, I was determined to get the skiing lesson out of the way without any bother. Today was going to be a good day. I got up and got ready in my usual routine. We managed to get to our skiing lesson by half past 10. As normal, Meg was her flirty and wonderful self.

  We finished up at around quarter to 12, which I was quite glad about. After this holiday was over, I didn’t think I would ever want to go skiing again. Getting back to the cabin at 12 gave me three hours to have lunch and get ready to meet Jason.

  “Your starting to like him, aren’t you?” Meg asked me.

  “Yes, I am. He’s lovely, Meg. I didn’t come here to meet anyone, but he’s different. He actually seems to have time for me. Like he wants to listen to what I’m saying to him.”