Discovery Ch 04 10

*** Authors Note: Any similarity to real persons or places described within this story is probably not an accident, although I've made the effort not to expose anybody too much. The story circulates around a girl I met once, who told me some of her story. I will always regret not having spent more time with her. Enjoy & please leave your comments, good or bad! ***

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With shaking fingers I started the process of unravelling whatever shit storm must have broken overnight.

I scrolled through the calls first in order. Last night there was one from Robbie, my brother, then from Davo, my boss at Halligans. Then this morning there was one from my mother and two from Kelly, all in the last hour or so.

I didn't look at the texts before I made a quick decision and called my brother back first. He answered on the first ring.

"Sam, what the hell was going on last night? You're all over the internet with your bits showing on the balcony of the pub you work at! And mum knows about it too."

Oh. My. God. What the hell has happened? My first thoughts went back through the events of last night on the balcony with Conor.

"Sam?" Robbie's voice brought me back to the present.

"I'm sorry Robbie, I'm not sure what's happened. Can you tell me whatever you know? Slowly now. From the beginning."

"Well Johno called me last night and told me he seen you naked on Instagram. It's gone all over school and I've got so many messages from my friends this morning. At least, it really looks like you. And I can see your bits...well, you know your..." I decided to cut him off and relieve him of the challenge of elaborating on that last line at least. Robbie always treated me like a princess, unlike most siblings from what I hear. I could well imagine how hard this was for him from the preview he had already given me.

"Yeah OK, I get the picture. All over school eh?" I closed my eyes and swallowed deeply. "Sneaky little shits" I thought to myself. What better fantasy for a bunch of pubescent boys than a picture of a naked former senior from their high school? What pic? It couldn't have been someone from my old school out in the Western Suburbs surely. But who knows how the internet cut its links between one social world and the next?

"What else?" I figured I needed to know the whole spectrum before I could come up with anything to help us both deal with it.

"Well did you see my texts?" he said back to me straight away.

"Not yet. Hang on a moment" I replied. I dropped my phone from my ear and quickly navigated to Robbie's last text and scrolled through several that had arrived between last night and this morning. They basically just described in brief what he'd just told me with desperate requests to call him back. Poor lad must have been up all night.

I clicked the link that was embedded within his first text that arrived around 9 pm last night. My browser opened and up popped a post from some social media site that must have been flavour of the month for teens. And there was me facing Conor on what was clearly the balcony of Halligans, my dress hiked up to my waste and a strikingly pale breast exposed from under one shoulder strap of the yellow sundress. Damn. Straight away I knew I was busted and there was no way I could claim this wasn't me to anyone who knew me. The image was slightly fuzzy and looked like it had been taken from a mobile phone on high zoom.

I zoomed in to my face and then scrolled down. The picture was too fuzzy to pick out much detail and the poor quality thankfully rescued me from too much detail when I zoomed in on the bits that mattered.

Then I looked at the post that accompanied the photo: "Halligans barmaid gets her ginger pubes out for the man of mystery!"

Well now. More auburn than ginger surely!

"I'm sorry Robbie, I don't know what I can say. The guy I'm with is really lovely and I guess we got a little carried away. I don't know what else to say."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone while Robbie was no doubt trying to process (or more likely trying not to) the idea with me doing naughty things with a boy. Then: "Sam. Mum's already on the phone again this morning. She's talking to everyone she knows and saying things like 'that's not how I raised my daughter' and 'she's a little slut' and stuff like that.

"She came home raging from The Rissole last night where she must have first heard about it and was giving Dad all kinds of grief about his 'slut daughter' and stuff. Dad just sighed and went to bed and he didn't get up to pick up his truck this morning.

"Sam, I'm really scared! I don't want to go to school on Monday".

Shit. How did a little wee fantasy with one man on a balcony get to this? I needed to do something about Robbie's situation first and then worry about myself later. I mentally put myself in a 15 year old boy's shoes.

"Robbie, you need to do something for me. Or really, for us OK?"

"Yeah OK Sam whatever. What do I need to do?"

"Your mates and all the other arseholes around you are only interested in some fucking gossip to liven up their little boy days. You need to spin this around to give them all a good kick up the arse and maybe they'll move on to the next thing OK?"

"Yeah OK Sam, that makes sense. So what do I tell them all?"

"You tell them this. You post this as soon as you hang up! You listening?"

"Yeah OK. Hang on while I go on speaker and type. Go".

"Sam says all you boys at Badgery's State High better enjoy coz it's the closest any of you will get to tapping heaven!"

I heard his fingers stop flicking across the screen as he finished typing and then a pause as he was obviously re-reading the line over and over.

"Sam." He whispered after a minute. "I can't write that! Mum will go ape-shit!"

"Well Robbie, it's true. Mum can go fuck herself. Dad will understand once I get a chance to talk to him.

"Whichever way you cut it, the whole of Western Sydney just doesn't matter anymore to me. Except for you and dad Robbie, OK?"

I paused then and just listened to his breathing. "Sam. Are you sure?"

"Yeah Robbie, I'm sure. Trust me on this one. I'm guessing within a couple of hours you'll be off the hook".

"Sam?" I almost wept as I felt his pain melt through my whispered name. He was clearly terrified of leaving the house or going to school on Monday when the next term was starting. I was taking a gamble with what I asked him to post, but with a little bit of luck he might end up as the kid with the cool older sister at school once that post got around.

"Send it Robbie. I call you in a day or so either way, but make sure you get to me first if things go badly OK? Right now I have to go and sort out a few things."

"I reckon you do Sam. OK It's done. How long before mum is beating on my door do you think?" The last add-on was the most painful to me. What hell would my mum put him through? I'd just have to rely on dad on that score. I knew he would only let mum go so far, before he'd intervene.

"Just keep your head down kiddo and ignore the guys from school. They'll have forgotten all about this in a couple of weeks once they're back at school and footy season starts up again."

"OK Sam, I'll try. Bye."

"Bye mate."

I hung up and went back to the opened photo in my browser. I had a quick think about the angle it must have been taken from and pretty quickly realised where it was taken. Through the glass from across the road at the Tavern. That would also explain some of the fuzzy quality of the image. Someone had looked up, seen what was going down and zoomed in with his camera phone and taken the shot. I'm saying "his" camera because it was almost certain this was the handy work of a bloke. I'd been so taken in the moment and protecting my back from the patrons on the balcony, I hadn't spared a mind of what you could see from the bar across the street. The unfortunately lucky placement of the camera was such that the railing of the balcony of Halligans perfectly dissected my body, thus exposing the top and bottom parts of my body that mattered, given what Conor and I were up to.

You could see the back of Conor's head - a shock of black hair, with his hand clearly between very white thighs almost perfectly framing my thick patch of red hair. Likewise above the railing his other hand had cupped the bottom of my pale round breast almost as if he was offering it up to whomever was behind the camera.

"Fuck me twice!" I thought to myself. How lucky was this fucker with his timing. He must have had his phone in his hand or was already watching us to have been so quick with his happy snap. The whole moment couldn't have been more than a minute or two.

How was Conor going to respond to this? At least apart from the "man of mystery" part of the post, something which only a local at either of the two pubs would say, there was no other indication as to Conor's identity or any clear angle on his face.

I made a very quick decision then. Kelly could wait. I guessed from what she must have also seen, she'd understand. I scrolled back through my missed calls and hit reply on the one from Davo. Right now I thought I needed to save my job first.

A single ring. "Sam? This had better be good!" Davo was seriously the best boss I have ever had to this day. Right now he sounded kind of "pretend" pissed off.

"Dave, look I'm sorry. I just got off the phone from my brother. He's 15 and beside himself. I don't know what to say to you! I saw the photo and I..." I paused then as the emotions of the last couple of days caught up with me.

"Sam, stop stop! Fuck the photos. Jaysus, you've probably added 20% to my revenue for the next month. Social media is going nuts with this. Who knew what a hashtag red-bush Halligans could do!" The last was blurted almost apologetically.

He continued then. "More importantly, I've got Kelly's dad all over my arse about how I let this happen. You know you guys aren't allowed to drink in here and now you know why! He's super mean at the moment.

"Sam please do me a favour and call Kelly real quick. She is really worried about you seeing all this and doing something silly. Don't worry about the job. I can sort things out with her old man if she's OK. Just call Kelly OK?"

"Shit, Davo. I had no idea going out with no undies on last night would lead to all this. I'm really sorry mate."

"OK then. Don't worry about your shift tonight and over the weekend. We need a few days for this to blow over. Now, call Kelly and we'll chat whenever. Later eh?"

"OK bye mate." The line went dead. At least the next call would be easier as I had a good idea where Kelly was going to take the conversation once I'd reassured her I was OK.

The phone ringed once, then her voice spraying words like she'd been practicing for this call all morning. "OK girlfriend this had better be good because by the end of this call I better know you are OK AND I want girly satisfaction! My fingers are poised!"

Did I somehow forget to mention how much I love this woman?

"Ah shit Kell. Look I'm fine. I've seen the photo and a pretty nasty post and I'm not about to go jump off the Harbour Bridge or anything."

"OK girl thank God for that. I know how super-sensitive you can be to this kind of thing. But holy fuck girl, getting your floss out all over the interweb! You telling me that didn't shake you up?

I took a deep breath then. I knew where this was going. On she went "I'm guessing apart from that you must have just had the night of your life coz in the 3 years you've lived with me, you've never ever not come home. Now I've got public pics of that forest I keep telling you to fell AND Davo AND my dad on my back. I'm not letting you get off this call until I have all the juice AND at least 3 orgasms under my fingers or we are never speaking again!"

Forest? Strange that of all the stuff she just dropped over the phone, this was the line that stuck the most. OK, so my pussy regime isn't a nice neat strip like Kelly maintains, but a Forest? Bitch. And that's just how I started my reply.

"It's not a forest. Holy cow, is that what the internet is saying?" Then she just started laughing.

"OMG Sam." Yes she literally said it like 'OMG'. "You nailed the holy grail of manhood on the Lower North Shore and he had to wade through your tangling brambles to get to virgin nirvana. Shit sorry babe, 'brambles' was a bit harsh. Anyway, given you didn't deny it straight up, I'm assuming the 'big V' is no more?"

I just sighed then before I replied.

"Kelly, when I saw all the messages this morning and first looked at that pic, I just jumped to thinking my lovely little comfortable life was about to end, real quick. In the last 5 minutes I've realised my little brother is about to become the most abused OR coolest kid on the block, that Davo is really only worried about his job and I'm not sure if you are more interested in my virgin status or pissed about the fact I wouldn't let you shave me that time a couple of months ago!" I took a deep breath.

"OK Sam. For one, don't worry about Davo and my dad. Dad is just worried about you, not about you getting your boobs out in one of his pubs. Remember this is the guy that seeded me with my mum on the boardroom table of one of the most..."

"...prominent merchant banks in Sydney." I finished the sentence for her. "Yeah, yeah Kelly, I told you I never wanted to hear that story again."

I couldn't help but finish that line for her given I had heard it so many times out of her mouth, but I still giggled as I said it.

Kelly came back to me: "I spoke to Davo though I've been avoiding my dad's calls. I think there might be something more about Conor that both of them haven't told me about and they're a bit pissed that maybe 'I let it come to this'.

"Don't let that worry you Wortho. I reckon you've probably got some other stuff to sort out right now eh?" She said that with a real virtual sigh that I'm sure she did her best to hold from me.

What to say. The basics I guess. "You better believe it Kells. There's a man downstairs waiting for me what lives in the biggest fucking house you've ever seen and I think his housemate wants to strangle me!"

"Ohhh, tell me more. Girl or Boy housemate?"

"Girl. And she's kind of hot. You know the brunette with the ponytail and the tight arse we saw up at the pub a couple of times talking to Conor?"

"OH, OK. Shit. I thought you were just supposed to stake him out, now you've fucked him and you're talking up his hot girlfriend. You're losing control chicky! Maybe she'll help you get your overgrowth situation under control?"

"Yeah not funny Kell. OK, I'm out of here. I have some awkward conversations to have here, yet alone back in my real world!"

"Dooooon't you worry about the real world babe. You deal with the one you have right there in front of you. The real world can wait another couple of turns of the moon. Hey, by the way, did you know last night was like a once in a 150 year Blood Red, Blue moon all at once kind of shit?" There was a long pause then while I processed that. Then something that was way different from her and I didn't pick up at that very moment. "Don't forget me Samster. I love you very, very much, whatever happens OK? I'm right here waiting for you. Oh shit, I'm out." Then a dial tone.

And with that she was gone and I was doing the staring at a blank phone thing. I had no idea what a 'blood red blue moon' was, but it brought me back to my conversation with Sarah this morning and my recollection of how big the descending moon was over the Parramatta River this morning. I sure as hell don't believe in religion or anything like that, but right then I was definitely wondering what my fate was.

After all, women are meant to lose their shit over full moons and stuff right? Well, if nothing else, "I'll claim a women's biology in court when I end up killing someone" I thought to myself.

Right now, whatever was left on my phone could wait. I needed, more than anything else in the world, to feel that last night had actually happened. I needed Conor's arm around me again and his smell in my nostrils. Everything else could wait.

So, I turned to the landing outside his bedroom and wandered down the stairs. As I turned the two turns from his room and away from the front door towards the back of the house I started to hear voices, one of which was definitely not familiar to me.

"No. No. No. I'm not going out until you tell me why you made Auntie Says cry!" This in a high pitched little girls voice and then, just as I reached the entrance to the back area. "And who is she?" This was coming from aforesaid little girl, whom I saw as I pulled up in the open doorway.

Sarah and Conor both swivelled from their obviously pre-engaged conversation with the source of the young voice and kind of raised their hands in my direction and started to mumble garbage at each other and me all at the same time.

OK then! By now I think I was so disparate from any kind of new surprise that I just ignored them and stepped in towards the little girl, hoping to take some initiative for the first time in the last 24 hours.

"I'm Sam. Who are you then?"

Tiny arms crossed over a tiny wee body before she responded, just as confidently, with her arms crossed and mirror matching mine "I'm 'Eefa'. Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

I moved further into the room and bent down towards her. "Well now 'Eefa'." I stumbled over the name as I had never heard it before. "That is a lovely name. But tell me, how do you spell that?"

The little girl rolled her eyes and I was immediately struck by something. Her hair was jet black and curly. Her eyes were ice grey and immediately very familiar. Then she spoke again.

"A.O.I.F.E. Eeeefa, duh! Auntie Says always tells daddy he should have bought another vowel, but I don't get it!"

My mind was going nuts to say the least. "Daddy"? Auntie Says"? I stood up from the naturally crouched position that folks assume when they are talking to little people and slowly let my eyes pan from the faces of Sarah to Conor.

Then wee girl spoke again, suddenly, as she apparently lost interest in the current turn of events and looked up a Conor. "She's nice! Are we going to Whinnie's daddy. I'm ready to go!"

Conor sighed then and his shoulders dropped. Any pretence of a 'man of mystery' faded right then and there. Instantly.

Have you ever watched a strong man just give in? You know that 'in the midst of a situation kind of "there is no recourse" sudden understanding? It was that thing. It was the ultimate sound of indecision and defeat and inherent "I'm fucked and I can't do a damn thing about it!" I recognised it instantly and understood it even though I had never been seen it before that moment.

Again, my naturally rapidly rising fears and apprehensions threatened to overwhelm me. I couldn't do anything else at that moment in time, but reach out and grasp his arm and give him my best blessing kind of look. I'm not sure exactly what that look appeared to him as, but it must have given him some comfort.

He looked at me and then across to Sarah, then back down to the little girl still tugging at his other arm.

"Sarah, I have to take Aoife off to play date and then I should probably go to the office for a bit. I, ahhh..." he paused, looked from Sarah to me and back into the little girl's expectant eyes and then back up at mine. Then back to Sarah. "Can you do something for me Sarah? I think I need you to tell Sam everything, before I get back."

I think Sarah was expecting something very different, so her surprised gasp and a quick pause followed with "Everything?" scared me a little.

I instinctively started processing it as bigger than your vanilla 'guess what, your new boyfriend has a daughter' kind of feeling attached to it.