by Paige Toon
‘Why doesn’t she live with her mum?’ I ask.
‘Her mom’s in New York.’ She glances at me and gives me a sad little shrug. ‘They’re not close.’
I can’t imagine having a mum and being estranged from her. Especially not now I know how easily they can be lost forever.
There’s music playing out of a stereo as we walk towards the group. It’s not too loud, and the atmosphere is chilled-out and laidback. I hope I’m not overdressed. I see Charlotte wearing a gold mini dress with a low-cut cowl neck and I relax about my appearance. But only slightly. Lissa and Bryony are here, and I can’t say I’m happy to see them. I quickly check, but I can’t spy Eve. I wonder if she moves in the same circles as this crowd. I doubt it. Eve seems too cool for them. How I hate admitting that.
‘Hey, everyone,’ Agnes says, as we become the centre of attention. ‘You remember Jessie.’
‘Hel-lo!’ Lissa says, freaking me out slightly with her intonation. ‘Here’s Little Miss Jefferson herself!’
What? Uh-oh.
I turn, gobsmacked, to Agnes.
‘I swear, I didn’t say a thing.’
‘She didn’t have to,’ Charlotte interjects, with a smirk, as she gets to her feet. ‘With your blonde hair and green eyes and job as “the nanny”,’ she says mischievously, ‘who else could it be?’
‘Has the press release gone out?’ I try to comprehend what’s going on.
‘Dur. Where have you been all afternoon?’ Lissa says.
‘It’s all over the news,’ Bryony chips in. ‘The social networking sites are going crazy.’
I look around the group to see a few people holding smartphones. Lissa smiles nastily at my discomfort.
Has my cover been blown? What about my anonymity? What about my home? I don’t want bodyguards! No, no, no! ‘Does everyone know it’s me, or just you guys?’ I ask with growing panic.
‘What are you so worried about?’ Lissa asks with a sneer. ‘Isn’t being Johnny Jefferson’s daughter better than being just another one of the millions of girls he’s screwed?’
‘Urgh, shut up, that’s disgusting!’ I snap.
‘Like your mum, I’m guessing,’ she adds evilly, and my mouth clamps shut. I’m too shocked to speak.
‘Back off, Lissa,’ Agnes warns crossly, grabbing the nearest smartphone.
‘Hey!’ complains the guy she snatched it from.
‘Lissa, either cut the crap or go home.’ To my surprise, it’s Charlotte who has said this. They stare each other out for a few seconds, but then Lissa gets up.
‘Whatever. I’m going to refresh my drink.’ She sets off towards the log cabin, snapping over her shoulder at Bryony to follow her. She hesitates only a moment before doing so.
Charlotte rolls her eyes at me. ‘Don’t worry about her. She’s always a bitch, but we love her anyway.’
I realise I’m shaking. How could anyone love that?
‘Hey, don’t freak out,’ Charlotte says, looking concerned as she notices the state I’m in. ‘Your identity’s still safe. Nobody else knows that it’s you.’
‘She’s right,’ Agnes breathes, handing the phone over to me. ‘Your name hasn’t been mentioned. It’s only speculation at the moment.’ I take the phone, feeling like my feet are about to give way.
‘Why don’t you sit down,’ Charlotte says, firmly manoeuvring me on to a log seat. Maybe she’s only being nice to me because of who my dad is, but right now I don’t care if it’s not genuine. I just want someone to look out for me.
I stare down at the phone. The words are blurry, but I force myself to focus and read the comments.
GuessGirl says:
I saw her last night! She was with Johnny at the All Hype gig.
Mousey replies:
I saw her too! I didn’t know who she was at first. Thought she was just another blonde bimbo hanging off his arm.
TreeHugger joins the conversation:
I know. I thought that too. But don’t you think she looked like him?
Mario moans:
I wish I’d taken a picture!
My heart races when Beagle says:
I got one, but it was so dark in there, you can hardly see her.
Beagle attaches the photo and I suck in a sharp breath as I narrow my eyes and peer at it. There I am, standing next to Johnny. But the resolution is grainy and you can barely make out my face, only that I’m small and blonde. I look up at the group, who are all staring at me fixatedly.
This is so weird. Here I am, surrounded by a bunch of people I hardly know – or even like. I should be with Natalie or Libby or Em, or even Dougie or Aaron. Or Tom, I think with a pang. They should be comforting me and helping me through this. I stare back down at the phone in a surreal daze.
‘I’ll get you a drink,’ Charlotte says. ‘What do you want?’
‘I’ll just have a Coke or something,’ I murmur, and then it hits me that I wish Jack were here, more than anyone else, and the thought makes me ache inside.
I take a deep breath and try to inject some normality back into my voice as I pass the guy his phone back. ‘I’m Jessie, by the way.’
‘I know,’ he replies calmly, and I look around to see that they’re all still staring at me.
‘Feel free to tell me who you are,’ I say flippantly.
‘I’m Peter,’ he replies with a grin, cueing off a round of introductions, not that I’ll remember all of their names. There are three guys and six girls here, not including Agnes and me.
Agnes sits down next to me, and Charlotte returns with our drinks. Someone turns the music up.
‘How long are you in LA?’ Peter asks me while Agnes and Charlotte catch up. He’s got very short, dark hair and brown eyes and a shadow of stubble on his jaw. He looks like he should be tall, but he’s sitting down so it’s hard to tell.
‘Not for much longer,’ I reply distractedly. ‘I’ve got to go back to school at the beginning of September.’ I’m not in the mood for small talk, but I try my best to be sociable.
‘Bummer,’ he says.
‘How do you know Charlotte?’
‘We work together.’
Oh my God. I’ve just realised who he is. He’s Zachary from Little Miss Mulholland! He plays Macy’s long-lost brother.
‘Are you . . .’ My voice trails off. ‘I recognise you. Sorry,’ I say, my face heating up.
He laughs. ‘Don’t apologise.’
‘How’s it all going? On the show, I mean? Back in the UK you’ve only just started.’
‘Yeah, it’s going great. I love it. I’ve got this killer storyline coming up.’
‘Can you tell me about it?’
He grins over at Charlotte, who has started to pay attention.
‘I’ll keep your secret as long as you keep mine,’ I joke.
‘That sounds fair,’ Charlotte interjects with a smile. ‘This guy is going to be huge.’
As Peter fills me in on the show’s gossip, I start to feel better. Lissa and Bryony venture back outside, but I manage to ignore them, and it’s not too hard with Peter, Agnes and Charlotte distracting me. I’m still taken aback by how nice Charlotte is being, considering she practically ignored me the last time I came here, but even if she does have an ulterior motive, it won’t kill me to be friendly.
I hear the sound of a car coming along the drive and look over my shoulder, along with everyone else.
‘Your bro’s here,’ Lissa says to Agnes in a singsong voice, her eyes darting towards mine. My stomach cartwheels and I quickly avert my gaze, trying to think of something to say to Peter so I’m not looking at Jack when he arrives. But I can’t think of anything. I hear car door after car door slam – how many of them are there? Is Eve here? Now my stomach churns, but I force myself to focus on Peter. I rack my preoccupied brain.
‘Have you always wanted to be an actor?’ I ask.
‘No, I only got into it recently, actually. I was scouted on Santa Monica beach.’
‘No way? That�
��s so cool. Did you have your abs out?’ I ask cheekily, trying to sound light-hearted.
He laughs, then shrugs. ‘Might’ve done.’
‘Just as well you can act, then, hey.’
‘It’s pretty lucky.’
The paparazzi shots of me with Johnny at the fairground come to mind. Will he secure an injunction against getting them printed?
‘What’s up?’ Peter spies my expression, so I tell him, aware of Agnes, Charlotte and a couple of others getting up to greet Jack and whoever else has just arrived. I steal a glance at him to see he’s with Miles and Brandon.
‘I wouldn’t worry. As long as they don’t print your name and address back home, no one will suspect it’s you.’
I turn back to Peter. ‘I hope so. Thanks.’ I smile gratefully at him, and then his attention is diverted as Jack reaches down to shake his hand. He sees me and freezes.
‘Jessie,’ he says with shock.
‘Howdy,’ I reply, staring up at him directly.
Damn him, he’s still sexy as hell.
Chapter 27
I stay where I am as he bends down and kisses my cheek, his right hand clasping my head, and then Agnes tugs him backwards.
‘Hey!’ he exclaims crossly.
‘Leave her alone,’ she warns teasingly, smacking him on his arm before going over to speak to Miles.
Charlotte hooks her arm around Jack’s neck and peers up at him. ‘What do you want to drink?’
‘What’cha got?’
‘Soda?’ she suggests.
‘Whiskey?’ he counteracts with a grin.
‘I can get you a beer – that’s the best I can do.’ She lets go of him and turns to Brandon, who raises one eyebrow at her. I have a feeling there’s something going on between those two. ‘Beer?’ she asks him. And then Jack crouches down beside me and all of my attention is on him. He’s wearing another cool printed T-shirt and his hair is falling across his forehead.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asks, and I wish I could tell what he’s thinking.
‘Agnes brought me.’
‘Agnes?’ We both glance over to see her laughing at something Miles has said.
I try to keep my cool. ‘She nicked my number from your phone,’ I reply casually. ‘She said she wanted to get to know me for some strange reason.’
‘Have you guys met before?’ Peter interjects, and Jack starts. I’d forgotten he was there, too.
‘Once or twice,’ I say drily, not taking my eyes from Jack’s face.
‘Of course,’ Peter says, holding up his phone as he remembers the social networking sites. ‘You were at the All Hype gig with Johnny last night.’
‘That’s right.’ I lean back and force myself to include him in our conversation. ‘Did you go?’
‘I missed it, unfortunately. I was filming.’
I want to say, ‘you didn’t miss much’, just to wind Jack up, but that would be cruel, as well as a lie, so I say, ‘Shame,’ instead. ‘They were good. Johnny and his mate Christian thought so, too.’
Jack’s eyes light up. ‘Really?’
‘Really.’
Charlotte hands a bottle of beer down to Jack and goes over to chat to Brandon.
‘Where’s Eve tonight?’ I ask.
‘I don’t know. Haven’t seen her today.’ He looks awkward as he takes a swig of his beer, and when he stands up my heart sinks. He’s going to go and talk to someone else and I really want to go home, now. But he pulls over a log seat instead and I hate how much my mood instantly improves.
‘So the news is out?’ He nods at Peter’s phone and Peter hands it over again.
‘Yep,’ I reply curtly as he scrolls through the comments. ‘They don’t know who I am, yet, though.’ He returns Peter’s phone and Peter gets to his feet and stuffs it into his back pocket.
‘Gotta take a leak,’ he says, wandering off towards the cabin.
Jack pushes his hair back and leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. He glances at me, a flicker of doubt passing across his face. ‘Sorry,’ he mutters, his lips downturned. ‘I was being a dick.’
‘About what?’ I ask sweetly, and he has the grace to look embarrassed.
‘Anyone with half a brain can see that you look just like Johnny. I don’t know what I was thinking.’
Is that all he has to apologise for? I take a sip of my drink and look away.
‘I’m sorry about Eve, too,’ he says quietly.
‘Is she your girlfriend?’ I have to ask.
‘No.’ He frowns. ‘But it’s complicated. We’ve had this . . . thing going on.’
Ouch. It hurts even more to hear these words come out of his mouth.
‘She’s the lead singer of the band,’ he continues, looking a bit helpless. ‘When we fight, it makes things difficult. For all of us.’ He looks over at Brandon and Miles, then back at me.
‘Yet it’s so easy to be with me and her at the same time?’ I say sarcastically.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says again. ‘I screwed up.’ I look away from him. ‘But I’m glad you’re here,’ he adds.
‘I won’t be for much longer,’ I reply facetiously.
Agnes skips over and pulls me to my feet. ‘Come dance with me, Jessie,’ she says, sticking her tongue out at Jack as she leads me away. I want to stay with him, but I know it’s for the best if I don’t. So I try to have a good time, even if I can’t help but know exactly where he is at any given moment over the course of the next hour.
Johnny texts me after a while, wanting to know where I am and if he should send Davey to collect me.
‘I’ll take you home,’ Agnes says when I mention it to her. ‘I need an early night, anyway.’ She turns to say her goodbyes and I do the same.
‘Come hang out with me again soon, OK?’ Charlotte says, hooking her arm around my neck. She has really bad beer breath. ‘I still need to hear all about Johnny,’ she slurs into my ear. ‘What’s he like? He is so freaking hot.’
I grimace. Now I know the real reason for her being nice to me – she has a crush on my dad. Ew!
Jack detaches her. ‘See you later, Lottie. Might be time you quit drinking.’
‘You can talk,’ she snaps after him, as he leads me away. My heart is racing as he turns to Agnes.
‘Can I hitch a ride with you?’
‘Really?’ Agnes asks with astonishment as we follow her to her car. ‘Not like you to leave a party early.’
Jack shrugs and Agnes gives me a significant look over the car roof as he climbs into the backseat behind her. I get in and shut the door, looking out of the window to see Lissa talking to someone on her phone at the back of the log cabin.
Agnes beeps her horn as we drive off, and Lissa’s head shoots up to see us leaving. She looks panicked, I don’t know why.
‘What’s up with Lissa?’ I say out loud.
‘She’s always a bitch. Don’t worry about her,’ Agnes says, brushing me off.
‘No, I mean, she looked shocked to see us leaving.’
‘She was probably shocked to see Jack leaving,’ Agnes points out, raising her eyebrows at her brother in her rear-view mirror.
‘And who could blame her,’ Jack bats back. I look over my shoulder at him and he stares straight back at me, a smile playing around his lips. The car feels a lot smaller than it did on the way here.
Agnes turns the volume up on the stereo and we drive for a while without speaking.
‘Which way is it?’ she asks out of the blue.
Er, I don’t actually know.
‘Left,’ Jack directs her. Phew. At least he knows where we’re going. I haven’t really paid attention since Davey’s been taking me most places. After a while, I start to recognise where we are.
‘Jack . . .’ Agnes says uncertainly.
‘What?’
‘Are we being followed?’
He and I both look behind us at the same time. There’s a black vehicle tailgating us. ‘Take a right here,’ he says warily, but as s
he indicates, he suddenly shouts, ‘No! Keep driving!’
And then I realise what he’s seen. Paparazzi. Dozens of them. Waiting in the bend of the road leading to Johnny’s gates. Agnes swerves and goes around them, but in doing so, she gets their attention.
‘Jeez!’ Jack curses as he peers out of the rear window. I follow the line of his sight to see a hoard of men with long-lens cameras manically climbing into their cars and screeching away from the curbs in pursuit of us.
‘Cover your face!’ Agnes shouts at me.
‘What with?’ I exclaim, looking around.
Jack unclicks my seatbelt and squeezes my waist. ‘Climb back here,’ he says with urgency. I don’t hesitate, half clambering, half being pulled between the two front seats to the back. I bury my head in his chest, his arms wrapped around me as he holds me tight.
‘Where will we go?’ I ask, my voice muffled against the warmth of his T-shirt.
‘Back to ours,’ he says loudly enough so Agnes can hear.
It’s a frightening journey. I don’t look up, but I can hear Jack’s commentary as paparazzi pull alongside us, and even though I’m pressed against his chest, I can still see the camera flashes going off as they try to catch a glimpse of me inside the car.
‘It’s OK, sis, you’re doing good,’ Jack says in a low voice at one point, and his caring concern for Agnes, the way he’s holding me to him, protecting me, makes my stomach swirl with jittery nerves. Despite how hairy the ride is, I don’t want it to end.
It does, though, and when we’re safely inside the gates of his mum and stepdad’s property, his grip on me loosens. I slowly pull away and look at him. My vision is blurry from squeezing my eyes shut, but his proximity makes my heart flip.
‘OK?’ he asks, his blue-grey eyes coming into focus and increasing the flight speed of the winged creatures in my stomach. He’s staring at me intently.
I nod quickly. ‘Yeah.’ My voice is barely more than a whisper. His right hand is still on my stomach, his left around my waist, and his touch is making me feel breathless.
Unfortunately he lets me go to lean forward and rub Agnes’s shoulder. She glances at him in the rear-view mirror and exhales loudly. Then she looks back at me.