Deep Wate - Sarah Epstein Page 0,86

at him, trying to keep her voice steady. ‘As many as it takes until you tell me the truth.’

‘You want the truth?’ he says. ‘We stayed together way longer than we should have, Rina. I was never with anyone else. I just didn’t want to be with you.’

‘Mason,’ Sabeen gasps. Rina looks down at her hands.

‘Hey,’ Raf says. ‘Come on, mate …’

‘She keeps accusing me of cheating on her,’ Mason says. ‘If she wants the truth, there it is.’

‘Really?’ Tom pipes up.

Mason slides him a wary glance. ‘You calling me a liar too?’

I lean forwards in my seat. ‘So you weren’t driving your car out in that storm?’

‘For god’s sake, no!’ Mason cries. He picks up his fork, tapping it like a microphone. ‘Is this thing on?’

‘Mason?’ Liv calls from the kitchen. ‘You okay, love?’

My backpack is already in my lap, my fingers on the zipper. Raf looks from my hands to my face and back again. He shakes his head quickly: No, no, no.

‘You should probably leave,’ Tom says, rubbing a hand across his chest and wincing.

Mason scowls at him. ‘Should I, Tommy? Would that suit you?’

‘Is everything okay?’ Liv says, from behind the counter.

‘We’re cool, Min. We’re cool,’ Raf assures her, one hand on Mason’s forearm, his attention still on me.

The zipper is open. My hand is inside the backpack. Rina mumbles something under her breath and puts her head in her hands. Sally clangs pizza trays out of the oven and Sabeen jerks her head towards the sound.

Raf ’s eyes beg me not to do it. I can tell he doesn’t want this to escalate. But it might be the only way Mason will drop his guard and admit to knowing more than he’s letting on.

I toss the green hat into the middle of the table.

‘Know anything about this?’ I ask Mason.

It takes him a split second to register what he’s seeing. The green fabric is charred and puckered with holes, some edges completely burned away. The embroidered number seven is untouched though, clear as day.

Raf ’s hand shoots out and grabs the hat. He pulls it into his lap under the table, frowning at me. ‘We’re not doing this right now.’

‘What is it?’ Rina asks.

‘Nothing.’ Raf gives me a pointed look. ‘We’ll talk about it later. When everybody’s calm.’

‘It’s Henry’s hat,’ Mason says, his voice hoarse. He reaches over the table. ‘Give it to me, Raf.’

Raf closes his eyes. ‘Listen. I think we should—’

‘Give it to me!’ Mason half-stands, shoving Raf in the shoulder and knocking him into the back of the booth.

‘Hey!’ Sabeen says, reaching for Mason’s arm. He shrugs her off.

‘Give it to me!’ Mason growls. He suddenly thrashes in his seat, trapped beside the window like a bear in a cage. Liv and Sally are already rushing over from the kitchen.

‘Calm down!’ Rina says, shrinking into her seat on the opposite side of the booth. Tom is standing, backing away from the table. I stand too, giving Liv and Sally room to move in.

‘Let me out, Sab,’ Mason says through gritted teeth, his breathing laboured like he’s about to blow up. Sabeen quickly slides out of the booth.

‘Mason, love, what’s going on?’ Liv says, her eyebrows crushing together. ‘How can we help?’

‘I’m sorry. I need to leave.’ Mason comes face to face with me as he climbs out of the booth. Looming over me, he says, ‘You really hate me that much?’

I don’t understand what he means.

Tom steps forwards.

‘Oh, what Tom? What?’ Mason says, turning on him. ‘You in on this little ambush too? I always thought you had my back. What a joke.’

‘That’s it,’ Tom says. ‘I’m out of here.’ He strides over to the door. ‘Sorry, Sally. Sorry, Liv.’ He shoves the door open and is through the ribbon curtain in a blink.

Mason walks towards the back of the restaurant and disappears through the rear door.

‘I’m leaving too,’ Rina says, hitching her bag over her shoulder. ‘This was such a bad idea.’

Sabeen’s expression is a mixture of hurt and helplessness. ‘I just thought we could all—’

‘Stop trying to force it,’ Rina says sadly. ‘Can’t you see we’re not those kids anymore? Everything’s different now.’ She shakes her head and walks away, leaving through the same door Tom did.

I stand in stunned silence with the Nolans.

‘Well,’ Sally says to her wife. ‘I don’t know what we put in the drinks tonight, but I think I need a stiff one myself.’

‘Hope you’re hungry, Rafi,’ Liv says as she and Sally head back to