Miss Spelled (15 page)

Eventually, after Aiden’s thorough soaking and scrubbing with the soapy sponge and my lips, Sergeant Walnut dismisses us and in my dreamy fog, I turn and bump directly into Aiden.

‘Sorry,’ I blurt. ‘I was in a world of my own.’

‘Was it a better place than this world of physical hurt?’ he asks with a mischievous smile.

Oh, you have no idea!
The sponge bath scenario is forced to the back of my mind, for retrieval later. ‘Yes, it was actually. The bath was dreamy.’

Shit! Did I just say bath? To Aiden? Please don’t let me have said that he was in that bath
.

‘You’ll need one after tonight. He pushes hard, doesn’t he?’

‘My entire body is killing me already. I don’t think I can even make it to the car,’ I say.

He smiles at me, his golden honey eyes crinkling at the edge just slightly.

‘Do I know you? Are you part of the team?’ he asks, tilting his head to the side.

‘Yes, we work at the same place. At the bank,’ I say, willing him to recognise me as his true love, and not just as the minion of his nemesis, but he seems genuinely vague.

He nods and says ‘Right, I thought you looked familiar.’

I am much more than familiar. I am intimate. Please remember me
.

But his expression tells me he is only being polite, that he can’t quite place me but doesn’t want to be rude and say so. After all, he did scrape me off the boardroom floor. He couldn’t have forgotten me completely in that time. Perhaps this spell has had a wider effect than just Hunter, because it appears that Aiden’s short term memory of me is wiped as well. Great.

‘I guess I’ll see you at work then,’ he says as he walks off.

‘Yes, I’ll be there,’ I say, and watch him and his sexy legs walk to his car.

‘Well, at least he spoke to you,’ Mel says.

‘It’s a start,’ I say.

We crawl back to the car and wince as we attempt to get in.

‘So, did you get his attention, apart for your little conversation just then?’ Mel asks.

I shake my head. We are both covered in mud, sweat, grass-burn, grazes and welts. Our clothes are a complete write-off, and we smell so offensive that the upholstery of my car may never recover.

‘You mean to tell me that we’ve barely survived an hour of absolute torture and you didn’t get in front of him?’ she says, her voice rising.

‘I tried, but he was so focused on the exercise. I even ran in front of him and pretended to fall over…’

‘Pretended? That stumble lasted for 20 seconds. It looked like you were falling but just didn’t have the strength to hit the ground. You looked like a 12-legged beetle,’ she laughs.

I think about it, and decide that her version of events is probably more truthful. We both laugh.

‘It’s probably better he didn’t notice me like this. If he did, it would have been for all the wrong reasons,’ I say.

‘I don’t know about that. You did provide some spectacular comic relief tonight. That pole run was hilarious. Your feet were dangling in mid air each time we changed shoulders,’ she laughs. ‘And your burpees and lunges— I don’t think Sergeant Walnut was impressed with your falling over and then getting back up again,’ she drifts off in hysteria. ‘You Mudder!’

‘He really is in need of a good speech therapist, isn’t he?’

‘And a maths and grammar tutor,’ she says.

We both laugh as hard as we can before the pain hits.

‘Thanks for doing this, Mel. You really are the best.’

‘Yes, I am and don’t you ever forget it,’ she says.

My eyes spring a leak.

‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ she asks.

‘I just don’t know how to get Aiden’s attention. It’s really hard, you know. We were so in love and now I’m invisible.’

‘Hey, it’s all going to work out okay. You’ll come up with something, I know it,’ she smiles.

I wipe my face on my sleeve and try to perk up a bit. ‘Of course it will all work out. We’re meant to be together. There’s no giving up or feeling sorry for myself. Just make it happen. I’m a Mudder after all.’

‘And don’t you forget it,’ Mel says.

‘Come on, let’s go, before my muscles seize and I can’t turn the key in the ignition. We’ll go home, have a shower, a drink, a pizza and wait for the crippling pain to hit,’ I say.

* * *

‘Lou! Lou, darls, your alarm’s been going off for five minutes. Why don’t you turn it off?’ Mum asks as she storms into my room, takes my phone and switches the alarm off.

‘Because I can’t move,’ I mumble.

‘You what?’

‘I can’t move, Mum. My entire body has seized up after that training last night. Can you help me up, please?’

‘Oh, lovey! Here, let’s get you out of bed.’ She slips her hands under my shoulders and attempts to guide me up.

‘Darls, you’ve got to bend. You’re as stiff as a board,’ she says, straining to hold my weight.

‘I can’t bend. It hurts too much.’

‘Rodney!’ Mum screeches. ‘Rodney, come in here please.’

Dad enters the room. ‘What’s wrong, Dee?’

‘It’s Lou. She’s gone all stiff after that silly bloody training last night. Help me to get her upright, will you, darls.’

Together they manage to get me into a sitting position. Every muscle feels as though it has been surgically removed with a shovel and replaced with a jagged, rusty iron bar.

‘Hang on, Lou. I’ve got just the thing for you, love,’ Dad says as he disappears out of my room.

He returns moments later with a pill the size of Tasmania.

‘What’s that?’ I ask. I hope it’s not a suppository.

‘It’s a Brufen, an anti-inflammatory. They give them to athletes. Takes away all the pain,’ he says.

‘I’ll be into that,’ I say. It takes a bit of work, but I manage to swallow it with a few mouthfuls of water.

‘Now, let me help you into the bathroom. A nice hot shower will make you all better,’ Mum says as we lurch off together. She runs the shower and soon the room is filled with steam.

‘Do you need any help, darls?’ she asks.

‘No, thanks Mum. It’s alright,’ I grimace.

The hot shower does work wonders, or maybe it’s the Brufen kicking in, because even though my body is still shattered with pain, it’s less stiff. There are also some lovely stars and rainbows floating about under the water, and a Pegasus jumping through golden hula-hoops. They are very pretty.

An hour later Mum drops me at the train station, because she doesn’t want me to drive under the influence of Brufen. It’s probably a good idea because the stars and rainbows are still with me, as is a feeling of calm. On the negative side, though, my memory seems to be affected by them as well. I can’t remember what was for breakfast, or even if I’m on the correct train.

‘Next stop is Central,’ the PA system announces.

Wow, that was a quick trip today! Here already.

Within ten minutes I am at my desk, awaiting Hunter as he enters the office, from probably another night of relentless shagging the Botoxed one. The beauty of my screensaver has never come to my attention before now. It’s a masterpiece, all that swirling and twirling galaxy stuff. There’s no way my attention will be able to focus on anything else today, until…

‘Lou, I need a coffee and breakfast…’ Hunter says.

‘Yep, right on it,’ I reply. ‘Sloy yatte and high-fat, low-protein…thingymajiggy.’

‘Are you alright?’ Hunter asks.

‘Of course I am! Better than alright, in fact. Thanks for asking, it’s very kind of you. See, you’re not such an arsehole, after all.’

‘Excuse me?’ he says, his thick eyebrows shooting upwards.

‘I said, you’re not such an arsehole after all.’

‘Ah…did you just call me an…’

‘Yep, sure did. I’m a Mudder and you’re an arsehole,’ I say, poking him in the chest. ‘Mmmm, nice shirt. Pity the colour’s so girly.’ He cocks his head to the side and glares at me. ‘I’ll just go and get your breakfast. Back in a jiffy,’ I giggle.

Navigating the lifts and remembering which buttons to press is a challenge; however, the Mudder in me comes to the rescue and pretty soon we are landing on the ground floor. After my visit to Legal Addictions, Hunter’s coffee has the contents of some colostrum capsules in it, the same as his omelette and smoothie. I lose count of how many I’ve used, but there aren’t too many left in the bottle, so maybe a little more than usual. Meh, it’ll be okay.

With a Brufen-induced cheeriness that is lost on him, I serve Hunter his breakfast and float back to my desk to settle in for the rest of the day and watch the beautiful screensaver.

* * *

By mid-afternoon the Brufen has worn off, or so every nerve cell in my body is telling me. My arms have forgotten how to bend, my thighs feel as though they’ve been shredded and my bum hurts so much that I fear it’s broken. My calves are thankful to be in high heels today because if they were expected to stretch into a flat foot position, they would snap and launch themselves, rubber band style, out the nearest window. If this is what beautiful people go through in order to be beautiful, they can keep it.

But Aiden wafting past my door, his cologne teasing me, reminds me that all this pain is worth it. He has to notice me and fall back in love with me by Sunday. Tall order, sure. Some may even suggest an impossibility, but not me. True love will win out and in four sleeps’ time, he will be back in my aching arms.

The good news is that, via questionable methods and a good amount of eavesdropping, I have been able to find out what he does with his spare time. Tonight is working back late, Thursday is yoga, and Friday is the rehearsal for the wedding, so at least my social life is sorted for the next three nights.

My daydream is shattered by Hunter’s voice.

‘I need you to go and get my dry cleaning,’ he says, as he clutches his stomach again and leans forward onto the desk.

‘Are you all right?’ I ask, standing to help him, wincing at my own pain. A large dose of guilt sneaks up on me. Putting lactose in his food is nasty, awful and horrible. It’s so unlike me it’s hard to comprehend that it is, in fact, me who is doing it. But what alternative is there? He needs to go so that Amelia will take over and Aiden will be able to put his plan into action. Then he’ll fall in love with me again and everything will be just as it should be.

‘Yes, fine. One side effect of constant travel is different water supplies, even in the bottled waters. Unfortunately, it seems to wreak havoc on me from time to time.’

I nod, unable to say anything for fear of my nose taking on a Pinocchio-like appearance.

‘I noticed you walking strangely today,’ he says.

‘Oh, that. I got carried away at a personal training session last night and I’m in a bit of pain.’ I always wondered what it was like to say that.

‘You work out?’ he asks.

‘Yes, regularly,’ I lie.

He scrunches his face up as he looks me up and down. ‘Hmm, who’d have thought? You may want to look at getting a different trainer. By the looks of it, the one you’re using clearly doesn’t push you hard enough.’

By home time, I have worked up the courage to approach Aiden and test the waters to see if he should be made aware of my cunning plan. Apart from wanting him to know that he has someone else on his side, I am dying to be near him. To smell him. To see the way his shirt sits on his shoulders, the way his trousers crease when he walks. To have his voice caress me and watch his lips move as he speaks, remembering what they feel like on mine. The laugh lines around his eyes and mouth that are exaggerated with each smile.

It’s unbearable to be so close, to hear his voice, his footsteps down the hall and not be able to even speak with him. The closest I’ve come to touching him is to follow in his footsteps and try to place my feet exactly where his were, only seconds before. Beautiful memories of the night he proposed to me flood back into my mind. Making love against the skyline of the city, our fingers intertwined.

Full of false bravado, I make my way to Aiden’s office. My stride is confident, purposeful, which is a complete contradiction to the composite of nerves, nausea, heart palpitations and dry mouth that have engaged my body in a tug-of-war.

His door is closed and it’s not until I stand in front of it, ready to knock, that I hear voices from inside.

‘Oh, Aiden! I know you’re going to miss me, but it’s only for a few days. Besides, isn’t it bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?’

Urgh
. It’s Geneva. All courage has left my body and is currently falling 16 storeys to the ground floor.

‘Isn’t that just on the morning of the wedding?’ Aiden asks.

‘Oh well, think of how much extra luck we’ll get from not seeing each other for three-and-a-bit days.’

‘But we don’t need luck. We’ve got each other,’ he says.

‘I promise to make it up to you on our wedding night,’ she purrs.

Their wedding night? Oh God. Waves of nausea crash over me, only there’s no rest in between each wave, like at the beach. It’s a constant barrage.

‘Geneva, I never get to see you. You’re always out and about.’

‘Oh, Aiden! Of course you get to see me. You get to see so much more of me than anyone else,’ she giggles.

With the exception of Hunter and any other good-looking, wealthy man who walks her way
. It’s pretty clear that Geneva’s definition of monogamy is different to everyone else’s.

‘Now, I’ve got to be off. There’s still so much to do before Sunday. Loads of honeymoon outfits to buy, lingerie, shoes, and…’

Suddenly, there is no talk anymore. Just the sound of heavy breathing and lips squelching. It’s enough to turn my stomach knowing that on the other side of this door, my fiancé is kissing another woman— the woman he is going to marry in only a few days. It’s an effort not to beat the door down and separate them. It’s not Aiden’s fault he’s with Geneva. It’s mine. There is no one to blame but me.

‘Come over tonight, please?’ he says.

A short pause and then, ‘Oh, alright. Just for a little while though. I’ve got so much to do. A girl needs her beauty sleep in the days before her fairytale wedding. If I’m going to marry the sexiest man on earth, then I need to be just as gorgeous for you.’