Chloe (Chardonnay Series Book 1)

by Hollye Davis

  He looked at her a long time then said, “Chloe, there is something you need to know about me,” but before he could continue his phone rang. He walked out to the deck to talk. He seemed upset while he was out there but by the time he came back in to tell her he had to run, he acted carefree. He gave her a kiss and told her he wouldn’t be over to stay the night. As usual she didn’t ask questions. She knew the time was coming to where she would have to break down and ask him what was going on. She was frightened because innately she knew what Edwin was going to tell her was going to change their relationship forever. Not to mention that Edwin didn’t like questions anymore than she did.

  That night she didn’t sleep well. Edwin’s departure played over in her head. What was it that he was going to tell her, what did she not know about him except everything? Something was wrong and had been for a while.

  Her stomach lurched again when Edwin didn’t arrive to take her to school, not wanting to bother Cole she boarded the bus.

  Her stomach was worse than she ever remembered, feeling nauseous at the same time as if those stones were rolling over and over again. The more she thought about Edwin, the more she worried. She clutched her stomach as Jeff shot worried looks her way.

  To her surprise, Kim was waiting for her at her locker when she usually didn’t see her until Art class. She looked as ill as her but Kim’s was laced with anger. Kim waved Jeff off,

  “I need to speak to Chloe privately.”

  After Jeff was out of hearing distance, Kim asked accusingly, “You don’t ask a lot of questions do you?”

  Chloe was confused, she shook her head, “No, I don’t like questions.”

  “Your boyfriend, have you ever asked him what he does?” Kim had her hands on her hips. A defiant glint in her eye, it made Chloe nervous.

  “Well no, he doesn’t do anything but go to college and I think help out with father‘s business.”

  “Right,” Kim mumbled getting angrier.

  “You told me his name was Edwin Corbin.”

  “Right,” Chloe leaned on her locker for support, feeling weak, wondering when Kim would get to her point.

  “Have you seen his drivers license?” Kim asked.

  “Why would I?” This was pissing Chloe off now.

  “Let‘s go.” Kim started dragging her but she wasn‘t allowing her.

  “Wait, what’s going on, why are you angry?” Chloe demanded. Wanting to cry, why was everyone always so angry at her?

  “I’ll have to show you,” Kim said softly, her eyes softening to concern.

  Chloe looked around, noticing several people watching them. She decided it would be easier to go with her then argue in the hallway in front of people who would take amusement in their disagreement, mainly Britney.

  Kim dragged her into a computer lab where she plopped down at one of the units and opened the Web Browser. She went to a search engine and typed in “Jason Edwin Corbin McRoy,” then she clicked “Images.”

  Chloe’s mouth went dry. Dizziness began to assault her, it couldn’t be.

  Kim looked over her shoulder at her, “Is this your boyfriend?”

  Chloe couldn’t answer as she stared. There were over 3000 images of her boyfriend and several with Christoph, Sandra, and others she didn’t recognize.

  “What is this?” she asked, swallowing down bile. The pain in her stomach intensifying if that was possible.

  “You seriously don’t have a clue do you? That bastard!” Kim was very angry.

  Chloe looked back at the screen reading the captions out loud, “Stars from hit drama series “Chardonnay” hit the clubs in Los Angeles.”

  “Star Jason Edwin Corbin McRoy suspected dating co-star and on-screen lover Victoria Bouche.” Victoria was a gorgeous, blonde who was kissing Edwin. Her Edwin.

  Pictures and pictures of Edwin with women, Edwin lead actor, fan pages swam before her, waving as she felt her body sway.

  Kim sounded far away, “I don’t know what kind of game your boyfriend is playing but he is the most famous movie star our age.”

  She felt hot and cold all at the same time. When she looked at Kim she was blurry and tilted. The last thing she remembered was Kim saying, “Hey are you okay?” before everything went dark.

  I was fighting. I was fighting to get somewhere, anywhere. My eyes wouldn’t open. I heard voices but no one I recognized. I strained to hear. I must have died. - Chloe’s Diary

  Chapter 13

  Hospital

  “That girl has caused quite a stir. She has some very famous friends.”

  “Did you see her aunt? She was screaming at Jason McRoy that this was all his fault.”

  “Yeah and Christoph Campbell looked as if he was going to hurt somebody.”

  “Do you suspect that she is Jason’s girlfriend?”

  “No way, he is dating Co-Star Victoria. They have been dating for months, all the papers say so.”

  Bile rose in Chloe’s throat and she began choking. A pan was shoved in her face just in time for blood to come rushing out of her mouth.

  “Call the doctor,” the nurse shouted. She lost consciousness again.

  Crying, she heard crying. Was that her? No, no she wasn’t crying. She blinked, opening her eyes, blinking trying to focus. It was her aunt, her aunt was crying. She hated the sound of it. She hated it more than anything. She struggled some more to focus. Aunt had her head buried in her bed.

  Chloe asked the first question that came to her, “I’m going to die aren’t I?”

  Aunt jerked up and blinked a few times wiping her tears with her hands. “Oh precious baby, no you aren‘t dying,” she touched her face with unsteady fingers. She looked horrible, like she hadn’t slept in days.

  “You have ulcers,” she explained, “they have bled internally since you were assaulted at school. You almost died.”

  Aunt went on to explain. Evidently stress, combined with a kick to her stomach, were an unhealthy combination for someone who has always had stomach troubles. They had pumped her stomach of the blood and given her medicine to help her heal and rest.

  “I’m so sorry, Chloe, I should have told you,” her aunt kept crying.

  “Told me what?” She asked confused. Aunt wouldn’t have known she had ulcers.

  “I should have told you about Edwin.” Aunt swallowed looking sick, Chloe still didn’t understand until Aunt said, “I knew. I knew from the first day I met him who he was. He begged me not to tell you. He said that for once he would like to be normal and have a real relationship. I understand what these young stars go through, so I agreed. After things got so serious between you two I begged him to tell you, but he thought you had enough on your plate to deal with at the time. He was supposed to tell you when he got back. He says he was going to tell you tonight but I had heard it all before.” Aunt waved her hand at the hospital bed.

  Chloe was numb. Not even her stomach hurt for the first time since she could remember. But she was numb. God she really was an idiot.

  Everyone lied to her. It had all been a lie. Her entire life had been a lie. Her love a joke, their relationship a joke, all lies and jokes. She hoped someone found it amusing because she didn’t.

  Chloe lay staring at the ceiling stunned, silent. The only person who told her the truth was Kim.

  “Where’s Kim?”

  “She had to go back to school, you’ve been unconscious for two days.”

  More shocking news, she had lost two days without ever realizing it. She sorted through everything that was ever said to her. Was it really all a lie? Edwin’s love, her friendship with all of them, was it all because she was a project, amusement? Some weird girl who was so naïve that they could pretend to be whoever they wanted?

  Suddenly the urge to need to know the answers overwhelmed her. She looked over to Aunt who was wiping her wet eyes with a tissue and asked her where her cell phone was because she would like to call Edwin.

  Aunt said wearily, “Edwin is here.”

  “What?�
��

  “Edwin is here, he has been here the entire time. The staff set him up a room to stop the press from hounding him. I think the public relations team told the press that Edwin got food poisoning or something to keep your identity secret.”

  Chloe was shocked once again. She didn’t know what she was shocked more about, that he stayed here the entire time or that he had to lie in order for the press to leave him alone.

  “I would like to talk to him.”

  Aunt looked worried, “Oh, honey do you think that is a good idea? You just woke up and all.”

  “Do I look that hideous?”

  “No, honey, you look beautiful, as always.” Chloe hoped she was lying because she didn’t want to look beautiful. She wanted to look as disgusting as she felt.

  “Send him in,” Chloe said with determination. She had to know about the lies.

  Aunt left. It was only a few minutes before Edwin walked slowly in. He looked like hell. She had never seen him look so bad in her entire time of knowing him. His eyes were bloodshot like he had been crying. Guys don’t cry though so it was probably just an illusion – like their relationship.

  He also looked scared, good. He should be.

  He sat down in her aunt’s chair and reached for her hand. She moved it away. He fisted his hand and drew it toward him. The pain she saw in his eyes made her heart break. He put his head down.

  “God, Chloe, I….don’t…I can’t…I’m sorry,” he choked out. She looked away tears filling her eyes. She loved him so much but he hurt her worse than any person before. She rather be beaten than suffer this pain.

  He looked up at her and said, “I just wanted to be normal and with you I was normal. Every time I thought to tell you, I couldn’t give up our life together. For once someone cared for me and only me. I was selfish, I know. I just didn‘t want the press to taint our relationship.”

  “You selfish bastard!” Chloe yelled, surprising herself, shaking violently. She wished she could throw something. She looked around and found nothing. Damn hospital.

  “I am. I’m that and so much worse. I should’ve never held anything from you,” he said.

  She was crying uncontrollably. Her heart hurt and she couldn’t take it. She had to force out what she was going to say next.

  “Just get out. We are done,” she said sobbing. Forget the answers. It was too painful. She just wanted him to go away. This was not a good idea.

  “No! NO, Chloe! I will not give up like that!” He shot up, knocking the chair down. He was angry and desperate, “What we have means that little to you?!”

  “What we have?! What we have!” She yelled incredulously. Not giving him a chance to answer the words spewed from her mouth, “What we have is a big fat lie, an illusion, nothing!” She ranted, “God, the pictures, the pictures of all your women. The nurses said… they said you were dating Victoria! Some beautiful co-star I’m sure…and you lay in my arms every single night, except those you are in hers! Your obligations?! What is that? Your girlfriends you have situated all over the world? Your groupies? You..you bastard! You are nothing but a liar and a player. I was just another game to you! I saw the pictures online. I saw you with thousands of women. I was so stupid. You played me, no wonder you’re such a superstar, you sure fooled me with your acting! Of course I was probably your easiest conquest, the easiest to manipulate as dumb, stupid, and naive as I am.”

  “NO!” he yelled back, “NO, there’s no one else, NEVER! Victoria is my co-star and on the set we have this love/hate relationship but it’s just acting. The media loves twisting things and Victoria is a publicity stunt to get ratings up. Victoria is not even my friend! Those pictures are ridiculous like everything in the media. It’s all lies. You were never a game to me. I love you more than life itself. Tell me to give up acting, the show, whatever, and I will, for you!” He begged.

  “So you want me to believe that what we had wasn’t lies, yet you tell her your whole public life is a lie?!” She was hurting but the anger surged up quickly over taking the hurt. “I TOLD YOU EVERYTHING and now I sit here realizing what a stupid little idiot I was. I never asked questions. I bet you LOVED that, a girl who never asked questions. You know why I don’t ask questions? Because my father would beat me when I did! My father’s abuse allowed you to abuse me, too!”

  With those words he broke down. He put his head on her legs and started crying. He fisted the sheets and cried. She had never seen a man ever cry and it made her cry harder.

  “I can’t, Edwin. I just can’t. It is over between us, I’m sorry. When my parents left me in that apartment that night I promised myself I would never try to make people love me. I would rather live alone than be abused and lied to again.”

  Chloe reached and pressed the lever for the nurse and shakily asked that she be left alone. Edwin was forced to leave. As he was walking out he said, “Chloe, please don’t do this. I can’t live without you. I love you. Please forgive me.” The nurse gasped and looked at her. She looked away. When the door closed she rolled in a ball and cried. When Aunt came in she ran over and sat on her bed. She rubbed her back and said everything was going to be all right. Chloe knew better, how can it be all right when her heart left with a man who did nothing but lie to her?

  The cheap spackle that fixed my soul when I moved to California has chipped away leaving even bigger holes. I don’t think I can ever be repaired again. - Chloe’s Diary

  Chapter 11

  Recovery and Discovery

  Chloe was released from the hospital the next morning. She walked into the cottage and went to her room where she laid down staring at the ocean until she fell asleep. The next morning she refused to leave her room. Her aunt brought in bouquets of flowers but she forced her aunt to remove them. They were from Edwin or Christoph or one of her so-called liar friends.

  Kim came to visit her later that afternoon crawling in the bed to lie next to her. She told Chloe how everyone at school thought she overdosed on drugs because Britney was giving her a hard time.

  Chloe groaned. All she needed was Britney thinking Chloe really cared that much about her. At this point she cared nothing and regretted everything.

  Kim sighed and asked, “So all the flowers in the living room? There has to be hundreds of bouquets.”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care.” She rolled over on her side opposite of Kim.

  “I tried to call you on your phone, where is it?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care.” She did know - it was in her sock drawer turned off after Edwin kept calling. She didn’t have the heart to throw it in the ocean…yet.

  “Chloe, look at me,” Kim ordered. Chloe rolled over and looked at her.

  “You can’t do this, you can’t go away. I know what he did is unforgivable but I need you. I need you to be Chloe,” Kim pleaded.

  “I can’t.” She rolled over again closing her eyes.

  “I was there, you know,” Kim stated “When you arrived at the hospital, your friends showed up almost immediately. I had never seen a group of people so frantic and distraught. They wouldn’t let me near them of course, but I saw Edwin talk to your Aunt. When she told him why you were there, I can’t describe what he looked like but he was so distressed. I want you to know that whatever the reasons they had for not telling you, it wasn’t because they don’t love you, it was obvious they do. In fact, if I didn’t know you were dating Edwin, I would think you were dating Christoph because he was just as emotional. In fact Christoph nearly attacked Edwin, blaming him for your hospitalization.”

  Chloe didn’t answer. She didn’t want to hear any of it. They were distraught because they got caught and that their game was over. Guilt makes you do desperate things.

  She pretended to sleep but after a while of pretending she actually did fall asleep. She had no idea when Kim left but when she woke again Kim was blessedly gone.

  After a while, she couldn’t stand to lie around anymore. Rising slowly she got out of bed, amazed at how weak sh
e was, and went to take a bath. She usually showered but she wasn’t sure she could stand that long, besides she was in no rush to go anywhere.

  She sat in the bath watching the reflection of the water dance on the ceiling. She sat there until the water-cooled and she couldn’t stand it anymore. The bath didn’t put her to sleep like she wanted.

  She toweled herself slowly and walked into her bedroom noticing piles of homework left probably by Kim on her nightstand. Ignoring it, she walked out to the living room to find her aunt sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. She looked horrible. Chloe sat next to her and touched her back tenderly. Her aunt’s sleep-deprived eyes searched Chloe’s face.

  “Are you okay honey?”

  “I’m just groovy,” Chloe said mildly sarcastic.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this but Edwin has called about 10 times in the last hour. I don’t know what to tell him. He is so distraught. He says you broke up with him.” Tears instantly filled Chloe’s eyes nodding her affirmation.

  “I’m sorry honey, so sorry. I feel horrible, I should’ve told you right away…” Chloe held up her hand stopping her aunt from continuing on.

  “It wasn’t up to you tell me Aunt, it was up to him. Please stop apologizing. We are all human and I know that you were only doing what you thought was best.”

  Aunt cried putting her arms around her, “Oh God, Chloe, please PLEASE forgive me.”

  “You don’t need my forgiveness, you only did what you thought was best.” Chloe patted her back thinking if it was only that easy to forgive Edwin.

  Later that afternoon, she was feeling better but restless. She looked out the giant glass windows and decided to go for a walk on the beach.

  Once on the soft sand she tried hard not to think about Edwin but it was impossible. Everything reminded her of him. If it weren’t for Aunt she would have left for Texas the day she got out of the hospital. It was cowardly but very tempting. She had her farm, she could make her house livable. She could finish her last semester of high school and get a scholarship somewhere.