After the Cabin Read Online Free Page A

out tonight?”
    “About how you'd expect. For a moment I thought she'd bolt the door and I'd have to climb down the drainpipe from my room.”
    Smiling, I look out across the crowd. The club's lights are constantly flashing and changing, and there's a part of me that expects to suddenly spot Jennifer or Christian or one of the others staring this way, like some kind of cliched nightmare dredged up from my subconscious mind. I guess coming here was a way of challenging myself to see if I can be normal, but so far I actually feel better than I felt at home. At least in the club I'm not constantly flashing back and seeing brief moments from my time at the cabin. I haven't had one of those moments since I got here.
    “I think Matt and the others just arrived,” Karen says, waving at someone I can't see. A moment later, however, I spot a hand waving back from the far side of the crowded room. “Come on,” she adds, “let's go find some seats. If you're up for it, I mean.”
    “Why wouldn't I be up for it?”
    “I don't know, just...” She pauses, before offering a smile. “Sure. Sorry, I'll try to stop doing that.” She turns to push through the crowd.
    “Do they know about me?” I ask, grabbing her arm. “About what happened, I mean.”
    “I haven't told them,” she replies, glancing back at me. “I wondered whether I should, but I figured it wasn't really my place. I mean, the whole thing was pretty big news when it first happened, everyone was talking about you, but most people have the attention scan of a goldfish's scrotum. I could give them a head's-up, though, if you want to make sure no-one says anything dumb. Wait here and I'll just -”
    “No, it's cool,” I continue, glancing down at my chest to make sure the stuffed bra is still in place beneath my shirt. Such a stupid, vain thing, but it makes me feel better. “It doesn't really bother me either way. I just wondered. I don't want any special treatment or weird looks.”
    “They're really laid-back,” she tells me, as we fight our way through the crowd. “Don't worry, I think -” Before she can finish, there's a burst of loud guitar feedback from the stage. “Oh God,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Brace yourself. Here comes the so-called music!”
     
    ***
     
    “It's like the drummer's playing a completely different song,” Matt says with a smile, leaning toward me as we sit in a booth. “How the hell do people like that end up getting paid to play shows?”
    “They're not paid,” Karen mutters. “They pay for the privilege. It's basically the musical equivalent of a pyramid scheme.”
    “That explains a lot,” he continues, keeping his eyes fixed on me. “So Anna, are you new around here?”
    “Not really,” I reply, forcing a smile. I can see Karen keeping a watchful eye on me, waiting to jump in if I need help. “I've just been away for a while.”
    “Cool. Like, at uni?”
    “Just doing some other stuff.” Damn it, why didn't I anticipate these questions and come up with better answers? “I'm back now, though,” I add. “A lot's changed while I've been away.” I pause, trying to think of something else to say. “I'm kind of looking for new stuff to do,” I tell him. “I need to get back into the scene.”
    When I turn to Karen, I can see the smirk on her features. She gives me a wink, but I turn back to Matt and find that he still seems focused on me, to the extent that he's ignoring the other people he came with.
    “So what do you like doing?” he asks, leaning closer so I can hear him better. “Apart from coming out to listen while chronically poor so-called musicians attempt to torture people from the stage, obviously.”
    I flinch slightly at the description, but I quickly tell myself not to be so sensitive.
    “I'm just getting used to being out in town again,” I tell him, before realizing that the padding on the left side of my bra is slipping slightly. I try to straighten it with my arm, but I think it