Scars of Your Love

An hour later, the party was in full swing. Just over a hundred people had turned up and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I got so many presents it was ridiculous. The whole cloakroom was filled with them. “Shona, this is awesome,” someone called. I turned round to see Hannah, a popular girl from our year holding out a present. “Thank you so much,” I grinned, giving her a hug. I didn’t know Hannah that well. She went out with Bolt a little while ago but she seemed nice enough. “I love your shoes,” I gasped. “Thanks, I love you earrings.” She looked amazing in her gorgeous red dress, her matching fiery red hair flowing loosely over her shoulders. Bolt came over and snaked his arms round my waist, resting his head on my shoulder. I turned my head to give him a kiss. “It’s time for your present,” he said quietly. I grinned as he handed me a simple white envelope. I slid my fingers under seal and pulled out two bits of card. It was hard to read in hall lit only by strobe lights and a disco ball. “Me and you are going to Ibiza,” he said.
“Ohmigod, you are kidding,” I cried, wrapping my arms around him.
“Nope, we’ve got to be at the airport at 10am tomorrow!”
“Bolton, I love you. How the fuck did you afford this? How did you get my dad to agree to this? I’m never gonna be packed in time,” I cried, everything racing through my head at once.
“Babe it’s okay. I checked with your dad; he said it’s fine. He even paid for half of it. Vegas and Will chipped in too. We’ll get up really early and pack a suitcase. We’re gonna have an awesome time.”
“This is the best present ever,” I gasped, leaning in for a kiss.

“Shona, we need to go!” Bolton said for what must have been the hundredth time that morning. “I’m coming!” I yelled back, shoving the last few things in my suitcase and zipping it up. Bolt had packed his bag the day before and stayed with me last night. “You got your passport?” he asked as I came out into the lounge.
“Yep.”
“Your ticket?”
“Yep.”
“Euros?”
“Yes.” My dad had covered all the euros for buying food, drink and anything else we might need while we were away. Vegas, Bolt and Will had paid for the rest. Little had I known, they’d all been saving some money each month from their part time jobs. “Alright, the taxi is here. Let’s go.” We rushed out of the apartment and got into the taxi. “Heathrow Airport,” Bolt told the taxi driver. It was quarter past nine and I was so excited. “So what do you fancy doing tonight?” I shrugged.
“We could go to a bar or something.”
“Officially, you have to be eighteen to get into nightclubs and bars so I’ll get in fine and you look older than you are. They’re not that strict anyway so we’ll probably be alright.” Bolton had turned eighteen a few weeks ago. I felt a twinge of guilt: I’d taken him to Chessington for the day. It didn’t seem like much compared to this. “Sounds good.”

Five hours later, we arrived at the hotel. The walls were made of stone and the floor was tiled. Behind the check-in counter stood a woman about Bolt’s age staring intently at the computer, looking like she’d rather be anywhere than at work. She forced a smile and quickly stood up when she saw us. “Welcome to the Sunshine Bay Hotel, how can I help you?”
“We’ve got a room in the name of Jones.” The woman typed something into the computer and then said, “Level 2, turn right, room twenty three is on your left.” I guessed there must have been about fifty rooms. We followed the woman’s instructions and headed towards the lift. When we reached the room, Bolt slid the pass into the gap and the door opened. We were standing in a spacious bedroom. Along the right hand side of the room lay a double bed with a small white wooden cabinet either side. There was a mirror-fronted wardrobe to our left and beyond that, a door leading to the en suite. On the far side of the room was a set of double doors leading to a small balcony overlooking the gorgeous sandy beach and the sea. Bolton put the suitcases down on the bed and looked around. “This is beautiful,” I smiled, gently sitting down on the bed. “I know right,” he said. We opened up the suitcases and quickly unpacked everything into the wardrobe. By the time we had finished, it was quarter to three. I opened up the double doors, picked up a book and went to sit on the balcony. A few minutes later, Bolt joined me. “Since when do you like reading?” he asked, gazing out to sea.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m starting to like it.” He shrugged. “Sure, at the moment I enjoy drinking and clubbing and messing around but in a few years’ time, we’re gonna have to look after ourselves. Besides, I’ll never be a counsellor if I don’t read.” He nodded.
“Come here,” he said. I closed my book, got up and went to stand next to him. He wrapped his arms round me and I buried my head in his chest. “I think we should go to the beach tomorrow,” he said. I looked over the edge of the balcony. A little to the left, the beach was crowded with tourists and noisy but right below us, it was secluded and empty apart from a few seagulls. The sea was calm and the waves lapped softly against the sand. “We should,” I agreed, “Right now, let’s go for a walk.”
“Alright then,” Bolt said.
“First, I need to get changed.” I went over to the wardrobe before quickly changing into a coral coloured bikini. I slipped some denim shorts and a top on top. Bolton handed me my Michael Kors Tristan sunglasses and then we left for the beach. (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=47620526&.msg=BQcCAAAAAQQDAAAABAoLU2V0IHVwZGF0ZWQAAAAHY29udGVudAoENTAwMAAAAAhkdXJhdGlvbgoDbXNnAAAABHR5cGUIgQAAAAlmYWRlX2F3YXk )

The two of us walked down the street, hand in hand. It was boiling hot so we dashed into a shop to buy some drinks. “This is so nice,” I smiled as we walked along the promenade, lined with palm trees that swayed in the cool breeze.
“I know, it’s so hot though,” he laughed.
“Yeah, so my dad was really okay with this?”
“It took a lot of persuading but in the end he was okay.”
“How much persuading exactly?”
“Um…nah, he was fine. I just said that you hadn’t been on holiday for ages and it would save him money if us three paid for half of it. I said that he could trust me and I would look after you and so on.”
“Oh.”

The next day was even hotter than Saturday. “Do you want anything to eat?” Bolt asked as he laid out some towels on the sand. “I fancy a beer,” I said. He nodded and headed up the beach towards the promenade. I put my sunglasses on and lay back on the towel. Bolton soon came back and sat down next to me. We both sipped our beers. My phone rang and I quickly answered. “Hey dad,” I smiled.
“Hey sweetie, are you having a good time?”
“Yeah, this is amazing. Thank you so much.”
“No worries. It’s the least I can do after missing your birthday.” I laughed.
“Anyway, you better go; you don’t want to run up the phone bill.”
“Alright then sweetie, I’ll speak to you soon.”
“Okay then, bye.”
“Bye.”

The week flew by and Saturday soon came. Bolton and I were in the room stuffing everything into our suitcases. We had had an amazing week partying and clubbing and chilling out on the beach. “I’m gonna go for a walk, okay?” I said, zipping up my suitcase.
“Do you want me to come?”
“Nah, I won’t be gone long,” I said, giving him a quick kiss.
“See ya in a bit then babe.”
“Yeah bye,” I smiled as I walked out the door. I rushed out the hotel and headed for the beach. Slipping off my shoes, I stepped carefully along the sand. The warmth made my skin tingle as I walked slowly towards the sea. The waves lapped gently against my toes. I stood still for a few minutes, staring out to sea. Home was so far away and I didn’t want to go home. It was so nice here and for once, I had stopped thinking about mum. I didn’t care that she wasn’t here anymore. I had Dad and Bolton and Vegas and Will and Dotty. I didn’t need anyone else. I forced myself to think about something else before I changed my mind again and realised I needed her. Heading back up the beach, I put my shoes back on and headed back towards the hotel.

When I got back, all the suitcases were packed and the room was pretty much empty. Bolton was out on the balcony, on his phone. He hadn’t noticed I was back.
“Look Den, I’ve got to go, Shona will be back soon.” There was a pause while Den replied.
“No, she will not be cool with it. She would kill me. I do not want her to find out, you get me?” Alarm bells rang in my head. What was going on? What couldn’t I find out? All feelings of happiness left and I suddenly felt nothing but panic and worry.
“You don’t want me to find out what?” I asked, standing next to him. He swallowed hard.
“Den, I’ve gotta go,” he said, quickly hanging up.