Vanishing Act by M L Davis

Author:M L Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amelia Davis

Now - Austin

They agreed they would go back to Bath before heading to Manchester. Get some rest, do some research on Dean Tallon and his business. Hopefully he would be easy to find. Austin called Sam and asked if he could borrow his car for the journey, so they could leave early in the morning without having to wait for the train. Ever the supportive friend, who rarely asked questions and was as generous as he was kind, he said yes.

‘Let’s go to the beach before we go back to yours,’ Amber suggested.

Austin raised his eyebrows, surprised, but was more than happy to oblige. The sun was still high in the sky, the evening darkness at bay for a few more hours. And he was starving, eager to find somewhere that sold fish and chips.

It wasn’t hard to find a chippy, and before long Austin and Amber each held a steaming paper bag filled with salty chips, the rich vinegar seeping through and making their hands greasy. Austin shoved fistfuls into his mouth, burning his tongue, while Amber picked at hers as they made their way to the seafront, the air ringing with the jingle of an ice cream van and the screech of gulls.

They walked off the promenade, over the stony surface of the pebble beach and right up to the water’s edge. Amber slid off her shoes and stood where the lapping waves could tickle her toes. Austin moved his gaze from her and stared out across the sparkling blue of the ocean, a weight settling in his chest. He’d not realised it, but he longed for home. Not Bath, but Melbourne, the home that was so, so far away.

He’d always loved the beach and Australia made that love effortless and impossible to diminish. He could picture it, the miles of golden sand, the glittering waves that lifted the surfers as they rode into the shore. The crystal clean views and meaty aroma of BBQ smoke. It was nothing like that in Portsmouth.

Sharp shards of rock littered the shore where the sand should be, shingle and shells greeting the sea instead. The surroundings were moody and grey. Old navy bases and ugly brick buildings that Austin guessed were apartments, even though they looked like prisons.

And yet there was something charming about it. He loved the way the pebbles crackled as the waves swept back to the sea, the quaint sailboats dotting the horizon with white peaks. The way Amber stared at her bare feet as the ocean lapped against her white skin, and her toes wriggling against the shells.

‘I never want to forget how this feels,’ she sighed, smiling up at him, the sun catching her eyes and turning them the colour of honey.

‘Forget how what feels?’

‘The sea. The shells. The sun. All of it.’ She laughed, but only for an instant. She snatched the sound away, burying her smile and facing the floor with her face screwed up.

‘You’re allowed to laugh, Amber. You don’t need to feel guilty about it.

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