The Byron Journals Read Online Free Page B

people’s lives, so he probably deserves everything he gets.’
    â€˜What have you got against lawyers?’
    â€˜They’re the scum of the earth.’
    He laughed. ‘You’re joking, right?’
    She shook her head. For a while, neither of them spoke and Andrew was relieved when he heard the first rumbles of thunder—clouds the size of mountain ranges colliding in the south. There was a pattering of rain, then nothing. Moments later, the clouds broke open and great streaks of rain fell and shattered on the roof.
    The sound dragged Heidi out of her thoughts and she smiled again. ‘I love it when it rains like this. It’s just so Byron, so changeable and melodramatic. You wait—in half an hour it’ll be sunny again.’
    And she was right—by the time they left the café, the sun was shining. Steam curled off the hot, wet roads as they walked back to her house.
    â€˜Why don’t you stay for dinner,’ she said when they crossed the train tracks. ‘I’ve got some leftover curry. And there’s a DJ playing in town later that I want to check out.’
    Andrew paused. ‘Sounds good…but my clothes are still back at the apartment and…right now…I really don’t want to go back there.’
    â€˜That’s fine.’ She studied him a moment, then looked away. ‘Just borrow some of Tim’s. He won’t mind.’
    She took his hand and they walked the rest of the way in silence. As she unlocked the front door, he looked at the soft skin of her neck and wanted to kiss her. But he held himself back. What if he had it wrong? There was so much about her that he didn’t know, and it made him nervous that he couldn’t guess what she’d say or do next. Why had she made it so easy for him to avoid going back to the apartment? And why hadn’t she asked him for an explanation?
    She opened the door and he followed her inside.

three
    A bass-line stretched and wobbled within a tight drumloop as they headed up the chipped concrete steps. The bouncer waved Heidi through but stopped Andrew to see his ID. Heidi glanced at him and suppressed a smile as they went through the doors. He wasn’t sure, but she didn’t seem to care that he was a year or so younger than her.
    In the club’s dim, reddish light, people danced, talked and pushed towards the bar. The air was stuffy with body heat, sweat and alcohol, and the music was overbearing—too loud for conversation. Heidi took his hand and dragged him forward. He spotted Tim and Jade on the dancefloor, hands all over each other, and pointed them out to Heidi. She looked away and placed her hand on Andrew’s lower back. When they reached the bar, Heidi mouthed the words: what do you want? Andrew shook his head, hoping she wouldn’t judge him for it .
    She shrugged, turned and ordered two Cowboy shots for herself. She banged them, looked around the club with disgust and pointed towards the exit.
    â€˜Ugh,’ she said, as they descended the stairs. ‘That was way too crowded.’ She smiled at him. ‘Why don’t you drink? Are you religious or something?’
    â€˜No.’ He hesitated. ‘My parents are heavy drinkers.’ ‘How heavy?’
    â€˜They’re not hopeless alcoholics or anything. They’re both quite successful professionally—but they drink to deal with the stress.’
    The music faded as they walked up the street towards the beach.
    â€˜And what do they do when they’re drunk? Do they fight?’
    â€˜They have enormous fights.’ He laughed. ‘Mum recently chased Dad around the kitchen with a steak knife. I was practising piano in the living room so I—’ ‘You play?’
    He nodded. ‘Yeah, I’ve played most of my life. Anyway, they were shouting at each other but I was so used to the noise, I didn’t even realise what was happening until Dad told me about it a