31. Birthday dinners and goodbyes

"Get away from my sister." Alec took a few steps forward and quickly re-buttoned his shirt. "Chloe, get your hands off him," he seethed through gritted teeth.

Finn and Chloe stayed frozen to the spot, neither one of them moving as they peered up at Alec, their mouths agape in shock.

"Away." Alec gripped his sister under her armpits and pulled her to her feet. After his rough action, his face paled with guilt and he ran a soothing hand over her arm.

I stood, my back glued to the wall as my face prickled with second-hand embarrassment.

"Can't believe it. I don't need to ask either of you what's going on as this-" he waved his hand towards Finn- "speaks for itself. How long has this been going on?"

"How long?" he screamed after no one answered. His unusual aggressive demeanour caused us all to flinch. Unease crept through my pores and my mouth was suddenly parched.

"A month," Chloe said as Finn answered back with, "a week."

"Which one is it then a month or a week?" Alec snapped, glaring at Finn.

Chloe's eyes welled up as she glanced over to a fidgeting Finn. He readjusted himself in his seat and crossed his arms. "Does it really matter at this point?"

"Yes, it matters. I need to know how long my so-called friend's been messing around with my little sister while he has a girlfriend." Alec tugged Chloe into his arms and rubbed her back as she held back tears.

"We only shared a brief kiss maybe a month ago. I can't remember when it was. But nothing else happened. I told her I was with Abby. Then a week ago, Abby and I got into a massive fight-" Finn leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees and ran his hands over his face- "Chloe was there for me and we slept together," he mumbled the last few words.

Chloe hid her face into Alec's chest and let out a loud sob.

"I swear. It was that one time, and she kept coming on to me. Trying to get me alone. That's what this is." Finn stood up to face Alec and squared his shoulders.

"Liar!" I shouted, pushing myself off the wall as I finally found the courage to speak up. "You've been texting her, you have been chasing her. You were here two weeks ago, hoping to sleep together. Stop lying. Falling for your lies and letting you use her were the only things Chloe did wrong. You were the one with the girlfriend."

"You knew about this?" Alec said as he glanced my way, his voice void of all emotions.

I bit my bottom lip and nodded, lowering my eyes to the floor.

"It's not her fault, Alec. I made her promise not to tell you. I was going to tell you. I swear," Chloe stammered. She gripped Alec's shirt and peered up at him through her eyelashes. Her shoulders shook from the tears she tried to stifle. Once her breathing calmed, she turned to Finn and kicked him straight in the shin. "You piece of shit. A week? You've been sleeping with me for weeks and I have all the messages proving it wasn't one-sided."

"Ouch, you psycho! I thought I told you to delete them. It was just sex. Alec, come on. You know what it's like."

Chloe growled at his comments and lunged forward, her fingers ready to claw his skin. Alec yanked her back before she could make contact and shoved her my way.

"Can you take her to her room or the annexe without my mum seeing her? I need to talk to Finn on my own." Alec pinched the bridge of his nose and released a deep sigh. I extended my hand to stroke his arm, but he shuffled just out of my grasp and gave me a tight smile. "We'll talk later."

I hugged Chloe to my side and climbed the stairs out of the basement, peering back into the room every so often. My heart constricted as sadness clouded Alec's features.

***

"Are you okay, Chloe?"

"I really don't want to talk about it." She dragged herself to the edge of her bed and tugged at the zip on her dress.

Without speaking, Chloe and I moved in sync as I helped her out of it and into a more comfortable outfit.

She lifted her duvet and nestled underneath it. I positioned myself behind her, stroking her hair and shushing her sobs as she drifted off to sleep.

A few hours must have passed since we left Alec with Finn. The sun had set; the moonlight cast a low light through her open curtains. I carefully edged away from Chloe's sleeping form and stretched my stiff limbs out. I had fallen asleep shortly after we laid down.

My silver heels in one hand and my hair freed from its updo, I crept through the farmhouse and across the courtyard. The party was over.

Pushing the door of the annexe open, I caught sight of Alec sat on the living room sofa, his head in his hands. The noise from dropping my shoes to the floor caused Alec to glance up. I closed the door behind me and walked over until I stood between his legs.

Alec gripped my wrists and rested his head on my stomach. My fingers racked his scalp as his arms wrapped around my back.

"What happened with Finn?"

"He tried to worm his way out of it, blaming Chloe. He didn't realise that would make me angrier. I packed his bag up and drove him straight to the train station. Afterwards, I paid Abby a visit to deliver the news. She deserved to know," he answered, squeezing me tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Alec. I should've said something," I mumbled, closing my eyes. "To you and to Abigail."

"Why didn't you then?" He shuffled over in the seat and patted the space next to him.

I sat down and mirrored his previous position by covering my face with my palms. "I promised Chloe. Whichever way you look at it, I was deceiving someone. She assured me she would tell you before it got this far. I didn't realise they were already sleeping together. I didn't know what to do."

"I know she's my sister, but do you know who I'm sorry for the most? Abby. She didn't deserve any of this," he said as he leant into the sofa.

Nodding, I glanced over at Alec. His features were closed off. "I feel awful. I'll go see her tomorrow." I set my hand over the one placed on his lap and he looked up to me.

"Come here." Alec pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. "Finn's to blame in all this and to some extent, Chloe. She shouldn't have put you in that position, but at least she knows you're great at keeping secrets and helping her when she needs you."

I let out a laugh through a sob that caught in my throat. "That's one way of seeing it. I'm sorry," I said through a few sniffles.

"Let's grab some food and leftover cake from the party and head to bed. I bet you're as knackered as I feel." Alec towered over me and held his hand out. I accepted it and followed him into the main house.

***

Ten days after the disastrous cocktail party, I was back at home, getting ready for Rosie's birthday dinner. I brushed the knots out of my hair while staring out of my bedroom window. Rosie and Daniel sat in his dad's car. He was early, but it seemed she didn't mind as she practically straddled his lap and thanked him for the birthday present he had handed over. I smiled at the scene in front of me.

Rosie and Daniel were off to uni in a week's time, and their relationship was stronger than ever. Neither of them scared of being in separate places once their new life started. They had both decided they would use the accommodation their universities provided and wouldn't live together this year. The date Alec returned to university loomed, and we had yet to broach the subject.

A pair of warm hands on my shoulders nudged me out of my daydreaming. "Stop spying on your sister and hurry up. We're going to be late," Alec murmured into my ear.

"I'm nearly ready. Daniel's just ridiculously early." I set my hairbrush on my dresser, grabbed a cardigan and my shoes, and headed down to the living room to wait for everyone else.

The morning after the blow-up with Finn, I called in on Abigail so I could check up on her. Alec had already broken the news about his sister and his friend messing around behind her back. When she opened her front door, mascara streaks ran down her cheeks and her jet black hair stood up all over the place.

Initially, she threw herself at me and explained what had happened. When she found out I knew about it but kept it from her for Chloe's sake, she shrieked for me to get out of her house. I felt awful. I spent the next ten days calling and texting her to make up for my mistake. She had yet to answer any of them, but it didn't stop me from trying. I even called Hope a few times. She told me to give her some space to get over Finn and assured me everything would be back to normal once she did that.

My phone buzzed with an incoming message as I gripped it in my palm.

"Is that her?" Alec asked as he peered over my shoulder while we sat on the sofa.

I checked the message and shook my head. "No, it's Sian. They're running late as usual. They'll meet us there." My mum walked into the room, her blonde bob perfectly styled, her make-up immaculate. "You look amazing, Mum. I might have to borrow that top."

She did a twirl, showing off her black tailored trousers and champagne coloured halter neck top. "Not bad, hey." She did a small curtsy and bowed her head, making us laugh.

"Very glam. Can Alec and I jump in with you guys? Sian can't pick us up now and Alec walked here. Is Dad meeting us there?"

"Of course, you can," my mother said as she rummaged through her handbag. "Your father thought it was best he didn't come tonight. We'll have a meal, just the four of us this weekend. Don't give me that look, Natasha. He wants to try."

"Didn't say a word." I held up my palms. "Come on, we better interrupt the lovebirds."

During the drive to the restaurant, Rosie excitedly told us about her move to Scotland. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Alec glancing my way a few times when Daniel mentioned how weird it would be not seeing her every day. His hand lay over mine as we sat in the car's backseat and gave it a brief squeeze every so often.

Daniel parked up around the side of an old converted barn with a black cladding exterior. The sun was low in the sky and the fairy lights in the nearby trees sporadically twinkled as we rounded the corner to find the entrance. In the middle of the gravel courtyard stood a spectacular oak tree surrounded by thousands and thousands of lights which bounced off the tall arched glass front of the building. The whole layout was beautiful, but nothing compared to the rustic interior.

Alec took my hand as we made our way to our table. More lights gleamed around the exposed beams of the high ceilings. A large bar stood in the centre of the room with circular tables spread across the open plan dining area.

Fifteen minutes after we were seated, Sian and James joined us at the table. Rosie and her had bonded on our girls' night out and on the camping trip so wanted them at her birthday dinner.

The evening was filled with laughter and went by in a flash. My mother had never appeared so relaxed and I couldn't help feeling excited at the prospect of a new relationship with my mum, one that wasn't tarnished by my father's toxicity. She joked, smiled at our silliness and even encouraged my sister to have a drink now she was eighteen.

Alex laughed alongside us, but I knew something else was on his mind as I noticed him fiddling with his napkin and vacantly staring at the other diners. When I caught his eye, he would flash one of his beaming grins and join back in with the conversation.

On the drive home, he sat there in silence, gazing out of the window.

Alec held me back as everyone else strolled into the house. "Can we go for a quick walk?" He whispered into my ear as he pulled my back against his chest.

"We'll see you in a minute," I shouted over to my family, waving to my sister as she closed the front door. "Are you okay? You haven't been yourself tonight."

Alec grabbed my hand and headed down the road towards the play park. "I'm okay. I just want to spend a few minutes alone with you before we go inside."

We sat down on the swings, both of us facing the small country road that led into our village.

"Your mum seemed happier tonight, less stressy." Alec lightly rocked back and forth, gripping the rusty chains.

"Yeah, crazy how the last few months have changed."

"Mmm-" The swing stilled and Alec let out an audible sigh. "Rosie sure has changed too. Reckon her and Daniel really are okay being separated next year?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess so. It can't be easy. They've been together for a while now and she doesn't exactly have lots of friends besides him, so that's bound to make it difficult. But who knows? Could be the best thing for them. Don't they say distance makes the heart grow fonder?" I half-heartedly laughed to ease the tension radiating off him. I had an inkling I knew where this conversation was heading, but I tried to deny it as I gazed into the distance.

Turning in his seat, Alec stared at the side of my face and reached over to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Is that how you feel? That it's for the best? Rushed visits on the odd weekends and maybe on the occasional holiday? But while they're apart, they live separate lives with other people?"

I studied his expression for a minute as he kicked a few loose stones out with his shoe. His eyes darted to the floor the longer I stared, his forehead furrowing as he concentrated. "Why the sudden interest in Rosie and Daniel's relationship? You've never mentioned it before. Are we still talking about them?"

Alec stood in front of me and clasped my hands to pull me up. He cupped my face in his palms, leaning in. "Come to Cambridge with me. Move in with me."

***