Amnesia - The Matlock Pack: Book One
Chapter 19 - Nat

Monday 7 December

~*Nat’s POV*~

“Hi Cody.” Bells’ low voice came from behind me, just as Cody had warned.

I dropped my head to look at the floor, put my hands in my hoodie’s pockets, and took a step to the left. “Zelda. Little brother.”

I could see his feet slow to a stop next to mine, along with two other pairs of shoes.

“Hello again,” he said to me softly. “I’m glad to see that you’re still in Matlock.”

I looked up. Sure enough, he had already locked his kind eyes onto mine. Although I could hear Cody giggling away with Zelda and Tatum talking to Bells’ two friends, my focus was completely on Bells.

“Um, yeah,” I mumbled. “Didn’t really have anywhere else to go…” I shrugged my shoulders.

His only response was a beaming smile. It immediately made me feel more relaxed, exactly like what had happened the other day when he had spoken to me.

“Who’s your friend, Bells?” A gruff voice came from the tattooed man, as he took a closer step towards me, inclining his head in appraisal. “She’s very pretty.” He gave me what I think he considered a playful smirk, but all it left me feeling was uncomfortable.

The smile immediately dropped from Bells’ face as he turned to his friend and glared at him.

“Technically, we weren’t introduced to each other the last time we met, Owen.” Bells furrowed his brow and turned back to face me. “Takeshi said your name was Natsu earlier though, right?”

I smiled at him and nodded. “Owen, was it?” I asked, turning to face the man in question. I stuck my right hand out to shake his. “Hi. You can call me Nat.”

Owen’s face lit up as he took my hand in his, lifted it to his lips, and kissed the back of my hand. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” He winked at me.

I shuddered internally and pulled my hand away from his as quickly as I could without trying to be rude. I really didn’t like how forward he was being with me.

I also really didn’t like the dirty looks I was getting from several other women still loitering in the lobby.

“Nice to meet you, Owen,” I said, trying to wipe the back of my hand on my pants as discretely as possible. I turned my attention back to Bells, nibbling my bottom lip. “And it’s wonderful to see you again, Bells.”

While Owen seemed perplexed that I wasn’t granting as much attention as he thought I should give him, the beaming smile had returned to Bells’ face.

“Likewise, Nat.” He turned to his teddy-bear of a friend, gesturing towards him. “This is Murph.”

The small smile that seemed to be ever-present on Murph’s face developed ever so slightly, as he stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Hi Nat.” There was a small frown on his forehead, like he was taking our entire introduction absolutely seriously. I liked him immediately.

Murph’s handshake was formal and firm, and not prolonged in the slightest. There was absolutely no sign of any attraction, just a simple greeting. It relieved me greatly.

“Nice to meet you, Murph.” I smiled softly at him and was pleased to receive a warm smile in return.

“We should all probably get a move on,” Cody announced, jumping up and off the table. “They did say only ten minutes.” She linked her arm into mine and led me away from the small group.

Zelda and Tatum gathered themselves from where they were sitting and followed us outside, with Bells, Murph and Owen hot on their heels.

It looked like our little group of four may have just increased to seven.

~~~

“Okay, everyone,” Takeshi boomed out across the yard we had all gathered in.

We had gathered at the rear and off to the side of all the campers. Cody stood to my left, with her arm hooked into mine, and Bells was standing to my right with his hands in his pockets. Murph and Owen were joking around to the right of Bells, and Tatum and Zelda had embraced each other at Cody’s left. We made up the largest grouping by far; most other attendees had paired up or were in small clusters of three or four.

Takeshi waited for the noise to die down before he continued. “I’ll email you all each week’s timetable every Sunday afternoon and pin a copy on the noticeboard in the foyer every Monday morning, so there is no excuse for anyone not to know what is going on.”

“Lunch is due to start in about an hour and a half,” Takeshi went on. “You’ll all have a choice of activity after lunch, but until then, let’s get everybody over to the open arena for some team building.”

I could hear some groans from around the campers, but the general vibe was positive. I followed everyone over to the large, flat, grassy area with Cody’s arm still linked in mine.

There were four multi-purpose courts painted onto the lawn. Each one seemed to have different balls off to the side; one court had basketball hoops at either end, another had a volleyball net strung up in the middle. A third had hockey nets set up at each end, and they had left the last one empty of everything. I assumed it would be a multi-purpose catch all court for anyone not interested in any of the other options.

Cody pulled me along to the volleyball court. “Ooh… Can we do this? I haven’t played in so long!”

I looked around at everyone else to see that they all looked eager to play.

“Um… Cody,” I leaned down to whisper to her. “I’m not sure if I know the rules…”

“None of us do, Nat.” She looked at me with as much of a serious face as she could muster. Even so, there was still a hint of a smile on her face. “The only thing we all try to do is keep hitting the ball back over the net to the other side, and don’t let the ball hit the ground on our side. We’re just here to have fun. Don’t let a silly thing like the rules get in the way.”

“Okay… If you’re sure.” I looked around uncertainly. Tatum and Zelda were still acting like a loved-up couple, not paying attention to anyone else. Bells, Murph and Owen were already over at the other end of the court.

“Who’s going to referee?” Cody asked everybody, as she stepped away from me and picked up a volleyball from the side.

“I will,” Zelda answered.

That news disappointed Tatum. “No, hon! Why?”

“Because you cheat and you know it,” she replied, pecking him on the lips, then heading to the side of the court. Cody bounced the ball one last time before tossing it to Zelda.

He pouted. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do,” Bells taunted him from the other side of the net. “You’ve been a filthy cheater at every game since you were three.”

“Only because I learned how to do it from you, dear brother,” Tatum teased back.

Bells grinned wickedly at him but remained quiet, taking his jacket off and tossing it to the side of the court, next to Zelda, who was now repeatedly flipping the ball into the air and catching it. Murph took up a spot at the rear of the court, whilst Owen decided to take his top off to reveal the extent of his tattoos. They wound up both pale olive arms, trailed around his torso, before shifting to his back. They were a heady mix of tribal designs and wolf-related imagery. He threw his t-shirt over to the side of the court to join Bells’ jacket.

I rolled my eyes at the blatant attempt to get every woman’s eye on him, but I couldn’t deny that it seemed to work. As my own eyes shifted away from Owen, I noticed several women stop and start to visibly drool at the sight of the now topless man. Were women really that shallow?

Looking over at Cody, who had stopped in her tracks and was currently doing her own staring and salivating, I concluded that yes, women really could be that shallow. I shook my head in exasperation.

As was my usual instinct when he was around, I let my gaze wander over to Bells, only to notice that he was chuckling at me. I cocked an eyebrow in question, and he shook his head.

“I’ll tell you later,” he told me, with a wave of his hand.

I nodded once to let him know I had heard him, and that I was going to make sure that he was going to fulfill that promise at lunch.

Tatum took up position on my side of the net, with Cody joining him. I was happy to stand at the back, as I didn’t have a clue about what I was supposed to be doing. I guess I’d have to figure it out as time and the game went on.

“You want to go first, Murph?” Cody asked.

“Sure.” Murph shrugged and caught the ball that Zelda tossed to him.

“Everyone clear on the rules?” Zelda called out. I frowned. Hadn’t Cody just said not to worry about the rules?

“The ball is in play until it hits the ground, yeah?” Tatum asked.

“Yup,” Owen agreed. “First team to get to twenty-five points wins.”

I blinked. Sounded easy enough, but I still had one question. “Uh… Sorry for asking, but how do you get a point?”

Murph bounced the ball a couple of times. “You get a point by making the ball hit the ground from over the net, or if the other team fumbles the ball and lets it hit the ground on their side.”

“So, make sure the ball is always either in the air on our side, or on the ground on their side, okay?” Cody turned around to me and asked.

Hmm. I could do that. It sounded simple enough. “Okay.”

Tatum cracked his knuckles. “Ready to lose, big brother?”

“You wish,” Bells responded, cracking his own knuckles with a smirk.