Observers

“What the fuck is she doing?”
“Who’s that then?” Jade murmured, not bothering to look up from the book she was reading
“Evelina”
Surprised that Cass would even care, Jade glanced up to regard her friend.
Clad in a pair of baggy grey cargo shorts and a dark green bikini top, Cass was sat on a nearby beach towel, with her bare legs drawn up in front of her. The tan she had acquired on Fernando’s had long since faded while she had been away, leaving her skin with an almost lily-white luminescence in the dappled shade where they were sat, beneath the spreading palm trees that towered overhead
The large pair of jet-black sunglasses that she was wearing made Cassandra's expression hard to read, but Jade could tell from the set of her mouth that she wasn’t happy, and following the line of her sight, she could easily see why
“She’s probably just trying to convince Jay to let Jaxx come down here” Jade said dismissively
“Yeah, but in that bikini,” Cass wrinkled her nose unhappily “and with that perfect body?”
Jade snorted
“You don’t do so bad yourself; and besides: I’m sure that Jay’s got things other than her body on his mind right now”
“Yeah, like, oh I don’t know... Max and Katrina? – Or did the idiot cow just forget what happened?” Cass sneered vituperatively
“Hard to say” Jade said, trying to keep things neutral. She could tell that, in her own way, Cass was smarting from the loss of Katrina and Max. They all were
Pushing her sunglasses back up her nose, Cass scowled at the scene unfolding before them out in the shallows
“Fuck’s sake” she grumbled “It’s like some sort of clumsy seduction attempt”
“Jay’ll put her straight”
Cass was quiet for a moment
"I guess so" she conceded eventually "Otherwise I'll have to tear her a new arsehole. I've not forgotten that she was a Canary too"
Jade grimaced – That was something of a point
“I dunno” she murmured, choosing her words carefully “She’s obviously concerned about Jaxx...”
“He’s a fucking killer” Cass retorted bluntly, her gaze never wavering from Jay and Evelina “For Jay it’s the fact that he turned against us, but for me...”
She glanced briefly at Jade before returning her attention straight back to the scene unfolding before them with a shake of her head
“Anyway what do you mean about me 'not doing so badly'?” Cass asked
This made Jade smile “Oh so you heard that did you?” she teased
"Might have"
“Well... Just look at you!” Jade nodded at Cass “You look great”
Turning to regard Jade with a look of incredulity on her face, Cass gestured vaguely at herself “No”
"Oh, for pity's sake" Jade rolled her eyes “You’re gorgeous!”
Cass shook her head and turned her attention back to Jay and Eve, her lips compressing into a thin line
“It's not enough” she murmured
Jade sighed, wincing inwardly “Hey...” she said gently
"Do you think I should go and intervene?" Cass asked suddenly "Things look like they're getting heated out there"
True enough, Jade could hear the strains of raised voices drifting over on the warm breeze, making Cass quickly uncoil from the floor to scramble to her feet
"I wouldn't..." Jade warned "Jay's a big enough boy to fight his own fights"
Uncharacteristically indecisive for a moment, Cass dithered; her brow knitting as she frowned at the developing altercation, her hands unconsciously balling into fists by her side.
In the end, there was nothing she could do.
Evelina turned abruptly away from Jay and hurried back to the shore, her arms folded defensively in front of her and her head bowed; and while it was hard to say for sure from this distance, something about her body language suggested that she might be in tears
"Oh dear" Jade said in a low voice
Cass took a tentative few steps out into the sunshine, wondering whether or not she should go and speak to Jay, but he plunged forward into the sea to begin swimming out into deeper waters
"Fuck's sake" she sighed, wistfully watching him for a moment before turning back to Jade with a sad shake of her head "I wish there was something I could do. I hate feeling so useless"
"Just be there for him"
"Yeah I know" Cass sat back down on the beach towel and reached forward to scoop up a handful of white sand, which she sifted through her fingers "It's all any of us can do" she said gloomily, idly wriggling her fingers as the last of the sand trickled out
Stirring a finger around in the sand for a reflective moment, Cass finally glanced back up at Jade, her eyes lost behind her sunglasses
“I’m going back to the ‘bug to grab a beer” she grunted as she clambered to her feet “Maybe two. And then I’m going for a stroll around to check this place out. Want to come?”

<tag / tbc />