Crystals

by Theresa L. Henry

  There were no endearments. No words of love, but he knew she had cared for him in the only way she had been able. His father and brother had put her through too much. By the time he came along, she didn’t have any more love to give. And it hurt him. It hurt him more than he would ever admit to another living soul.

  ~~~

  Crystal – Age Twenty-One

  “Crystal-Grace,” her mother called from downstairs.

  Gwendolyn was home early. Something had to be wrong because that never happened. Scrambling around, Crystal attempted to hide all the papers she had laid out on her bed. If her mother got wind of what she was doing, historical records would show that their house was where Armageddon began.

  Crystal Buchanan was twenty-one years old and she was making her bid for freedom. The papers that surrounded her were the documents that stated she was now the proud owner of a small two bedroom house.

  When she started university, she had lucked out by finding a job with an interior designer that was just starting up. By some quirk of fate, the hours fit neatly around her studies. Always a talented artist, she had wanted to study art at university, but her mother wouldn’t allow it. By the end of her three-year law degree, she knew exactly where her career lay.

  Saving had been easy because her mother paid for all her tuition. The only mini battle she won was what university she attended. Fortunately, the college she chose had a law division with a reputation for excellence, so her mother had agreed.

  By the time Gwendolyn knocked on her bedroom door, Crystal was sitting on her bed leafing through a magazine.

  “Come in, Mother.” Gwendolyn refused to answer to anything other than Mother.

  “Crystal-Grace, what have you been up to today? I hope your day was productive rather than spent wasting your time reading those ridiculous interior-design magazines.”

  As usual, there were no endearments from Gwendolyn, she just got straight to the point.

  Crystal was the only child of a successful single mother who gave her the best of everything. Gwendolyn Buchanan had moved steadily up the judicial system with seeming ease. After working as a Barrister for twelve years, she was appointed Queen’s Council. A position which placed her just below that of a judge. Her aspiration was that her daughter follow in her footsteps. Only one problem stood in the way of all the decisions that had been made for her. She had already chosen an entirely different career. And the only way she would realize her dreams was by putting distance between herself and her mother.

  “Um…”

  “Um is hardly an eloquent response. What have you been doing today?” Gwendolyn asked as she advanced further into the room, “Have you reached a decision about where you are going to study for your Masters?”

  This was the moment Crystal had been waiting for to inform her mother of her decision. Looking down at the colorful pamphlet in her lap, she attempted to gather her thoughts before telling her mother that she wasn’t going to do her Masters.

  “What is this?”

  Her eyes darted up to see Gwendolyn holding one of the letters she’d received regarding her new home.

  “I’m waiting for an explanation, Crystal-Grace!”

  Crystal felt perspiration break out on her back as anxiety took hold. She wasn’t afraid of physical chastisement, Gwendolyn had never laid a hand on her. She just didn’t want to go through the guilt-trip her mother always put her on. This feeling was familiar to her, she had experienced it all her life, and three years away at university hadn’t changed a thing.

  Having come this far, she knew she couldn’t turn back. “That letter confirms that I now own that house.”

  “Why am I just finding out about this?”

  “Because I wanted it that way.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “I wanted it that way. I knew if I had told you about the house, you would have tried to stop me. I would have carried on anyway and we would have ended up having an argument.” Crystal held her breath as she waited for her mother’s response.

  “Actually, I think what you’ve done is quite industrious. Investing in rental property is extremely sensible, not to mention lucrative in this financial climate.”

  “It’s not an investment property. I’m moving out this weekend.”

  Gwendolyn was quiet for so long, Crystal began to run scenarios through her mind as to what her mother would say next and how she would counter it.

  “So, you think you can use my hard earned money to purchase a property without informing me?”

  “I didn’t use your money. I worked and saved every penny of my deposit myself.”

  “You ungrateful, conniving girl! After all I’ve done for you. Bringing you up on my own. Giving you everything you could possibly want or need and this is the way you repay me!”

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I just need my own space.”

  “Space… space to do what, run around like your cousins and end up living with some good-for-nothing man who treats you like rubbish?!”

  “It’s nothing like that.”

  “Then explain to me why you are doing this!”

  Something snapped inside her. Crystal knew she had two choices. She could sit here and become embroiled in an argument she wouldn’t win, or she could be completely honest. She decided on the second option. “I admire you. I always have, but I don’t want to be you. I’m not going to do my Masters. I already have a job with an interior design company. In fact, that’s how I got the money together for this house. It’s small, but it’s all I need.”

  “Do you have a boyfriend, Crystal-Grace?”

  “Not yet,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “What did you just say,” Gwendolyn snapped.

  “I said no, I don’t have a boyfriend. This has nothing to do with a man.”

  “You’d do better to forget about boys and concentrate on your studies. Take it from me, I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  “Like I said, I’m not you. My father left you not me.”

  “How dare you speak to me like that. After all–”

  “I know, Mother. After all you’ve done for me.”

  “I tried, God knows I tried. I pulled myself up from nothing when I arrived from Jamaica, and I took you and your father with me. And what do you both do, run off as soon as I turn my back!”

  Crystal said nothing because for the first time in her life, she finally got some insight into what her mother truly felt. Gwendolyn was frightened of being alone. The desertion of Crystal’s father was Gwendolyn’s only failure in life, and eighteen years later, she still hadn’t gotten over it.

  Crystal had made her peace with her father’s death from a sudden heart attack ten years prior. It seemed her mother had not. But that was something the older woman would have to work through for herself.

  “I’m only moving to East London and you will always be welcome in my home.”

  Gwendolyn stared at her daughter in silence for a few seconds before she tossed the letter in her direction. The action was meant to be a dismissal, but as she turned away, Crystal saw the evidence of her real feelings—unshed tears glistened in her eyes.

  Chapter 2

  Crystal – Age Twenty-Three

  “I’m flipping baking. Come outside with me please?” Crystal pleaded with her cousin as she fanned herself in an attempt to disperse the sticky air in the packed club.

  “What… no! Dizzy’s coming over,” Fern shouted above the sound of the booming music.

  “He’s had two hours to acknowledge your existence. If he’s finally coming over after all this time, now seems like the perfect time to let him chase you.”

  “You can play all the games you like. I intend to get my man,” Fern replied without looking in her direction.

  She followed Fern’s gaze. Dizzy was no closer to them than he’d been two hours earlier. There was no getting away from it, the man was gorgeous. He was six-feet, dark complexioned with a hard muscular body. He
had a bald head and his clean-shaven face had been pulling admiring glances all night. She saw the way he kept throwing furtive glances her cousin’s way, but for some reason, he never approached her.

  “He knows you’re here. Come outside with me for five minutes. He’s not going anywhere,” she pleaded in another attempt to help her cousin get some perspective where Dizzy was concerned. Fern was watching the man like a lovesick puppy. While Crystal felt a little embarrassed on her behalf, she also admired her determination.

  “I already said no. If you want to be single all your life, that’s fine with me. I intend to be married in the next two years, and Dizzy’s my future husband.”

  Throughout her off-handed insult and declaration of intent, Fern kept her eyes glued on the muscular man. Crystal was sure he knew they were talking about him because he wore a look of such self-satisfaction, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

  “What kind of stupid name is Dizzy anyway?”

  “Why don’t you go outside and cool down; and while you’re on your way out there, take a look around. Maybe your fussy backside will see at least one man you like!”

  Crystal shook her head as she walked away. Dizzy wasn’t the first man her cousin had set her sights on, so she’d heard it all before. How they were so close amazed her. They looked enough alike to be mistaken for sisters as their mothers were, but their perspective on life was completely different.

  They were both five-five. While others referred to Fern as beautiful, Crystal fell just short of the mark. They both had a dark brown complexion with big, brown slanted eyes, and slightly turned up noses. On Fern, that type of nose looked cute, on Crystal, it gave the impression of being aloof. Their lips were full and more often than not, etched in a smile, which added a seductive nature to their expression.

  Crystal, always a late bloomer was still waiting for her hips to fill out and her chest to develop. But she knew what she had, was all she was going to get. Thank goodness she had good legs.

  Walking through the crowded club she tuned out the suggestive comments that followed in her wake. Passing a speaker that boomed music that literally shook the floor, she scarcely managed to escape without perforated eardrums.

  Moments later, with the back of her hand stamped for reentry to the club, she stood outside in the blissfully cool night air.

  The club, Hi-Low, was situated on a side road in the West End of London, just off Oxford Street, an area well known for its nightlife. Through the milling crowd and late night revelers, one establishment in particular, caught her attention.

  The sign above the door read, Curves. Mainly groups of men came and went in various states of inebriation. Two women stood outside wearing long dresses and gravity-defying platform shoes; smoking cigarettes and chatting. The club was obviously a strip joint and curiosity got the better of her. Following the cobblestoned path, Crystal headed towards the club.

  On her walk toward Curves, the women disappeared inside. The two men standing guard remained outside. One, an enormous black man who wore his hair in a high-top cut, reminiscent of the eighties looked strong enough to be good at his job. The other guard a white man did not. He was tall at around six feet. He had dark hair and the thickest eyebrows she had ever seen. But to Crystal he looked way too skinny to be guarding anyone’s door.

  Both the guards’ gazes followed her every step. Never one to back down when her curiosity was piqued, she raised her head and walked up to them, smiled and said hello.

  “Good evening, Miss,” High-top replied politely.

  Eyebrows said nothing so Crystal zoned him out.

  “Is there an entry charge?” she inquired.

  “Yes, there is, Miss.”

  “Okay, thank you,” she replied politely, as she moved to walk past them and enter the club. She had never been inside a strip club and her curiosity was getting the better of her.

  Eyebrows stepped in front of her and blocked her path. “This place ain’t for you. Go back over the road.”

  Pissed off at his order, Crystal looked him up and down and narrowed her eyes. “Well suppose I want to go into this place?”

  Eyebrows didn’t reply. He just took his time looking her up and down. When his gaze finally met hers, the sheer force of his golden eyes commanded her complete attention. Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach and goosebumps danced along her arms and back. He, on the other hand, was looking at her as though she hadn’t spoken.

  Ignoring him, she turned her attention to, High-top, who stood silently observing their standoff. “Mr. Hi… umm, may I go in?”

  “I already told ya no,” Eyebrows broke in.

  “Well, fortunately, I wasn’t speaking to you, so go on with your business of looking… grim.”

  High-top laughed. Eyebrow’s expression didn’t change.

  Just then the door opened and two other bouncers barreled through with men in headlocks. Crystal had never seen anything like it. In her fascination with what was taking place, she didn’t realize she was standing directly in the path of four struggling men.

  Coming to her senses as one of the men kicked out a leg, Crystal saw she was about to take a direct hit, but could do nothing about it. She braced her body for a blow that never came. A strong arm surrounded her waist and pulled her out of harm’s way. It was Eyebrows. Crystal found she had to revise her earlier impression. He might look skinny, but he was strong. And on closer inspection, as his scent surrounded her, there was no denying it, he was really hot!

  “Now will ya go back where ya came from?”

  “Crystal!” A voice called.

  Reluctantly, she pulled her gaze away. Turning she saw Fern hurrying towards her, followed closely by no other than Dizzy. Obviously, she’d been cramping her cousin’s style for the last two hours.

  By the time Fern and Dizzy reached her, the scuffle was still going on. Swearing and grunts spewed from the grappling men, all backlit by the sounds of police sirens drawing ever closer.

  “Get her out of here, Dizzy!” Eyebrows demanded.

  Crystal didn’t object when Fern took her by the arm and pulled her away from the entrance of the strip club. Once they were across the road, she look back and saw that even more men had spilled out onto the street. By now, Eyebrows had joined the fray and appeared to be giving a good account of himself.

  Shane, his name was Shane Tierney. She had noticed his badge as her cousin led her away. And for some unknown reason she was worried about him.

  ~~~

  Shane – Age Twenty-Three

  After the incident outside the club, Shane couldn’t shake Crystal’s image from his mind. Unable to help himself, he went to High-Low and asked Dizzy if he would introduce them properly. Shane and Dizzy weren’t exactly friends. They only knew each other from the security work Shane sometimes did for him and Curves when he needed extra money. At first, Dizzy had been reluctant but Shane had finally managed to talk him around.

  Knowing when Crystal would next be at the club, he arrived early and took up a sentinel position at the bar. When Crystal finally turned up, he spotted her right away and the sight of her standing by the door twisted something inside him.

  It was the same feeling he’d experienced at his first glimpse of her. It was almost as though his subconscious recognized her. Yet, at the same time, an insistent voice infiltrated his mind, repeating that she wasn’t for him. That voice caused him to wipe all expression from his face. And the insistent thump of his heart prompted him to order another drink.

  Her comeback at him when he’d told her she couldn’t go into the strip club had almost made him smile. She was right, he could be a grim-faced bastard, but that was the way he liked it. That was how he kept people at bay. The question was—did he want to do the same with her.

  Somehow he’d managed to miss the fact that Crystal wasn’t alone. Her cousin Fern stood beside her searching the crowd.

  Dizzy had told him that he was now dating Fern and Shane hoped he hadn’t told her about his attracti
on to Crystal. Normally self-assured when it came to dealing with women, in this instance, he wanted to ease into getting to know her. Having an audience wasn’t going to make that easy.

  From out of nowhere, Dizzy appeared beside him. Shane felt his presence, turned, took up his beer and downed it in five deep swallows. Gas and air exploded from his mouth just as the women reached him.

  Nice one, Tierney, good first impression, Shane reprimanded himself. To their credit, the cousins ignored the loud sound.

  “Do you ladies want a drink?” Dizzy enquired after giving Fern a hello kiss.

  “Sure,” Crystal answered for them both. “But for goodness sake don’t get us whatever he’s drinking!”

  Shane’s embarrassment was complete and heat rushed into his face.

  “Relax Shane, I was only joking,” Crystal smiled and rubbed his arm to lessen the impact of her words.

  Her touch, although light, sent a rush along his spine. And for some reason he wanted her touch to continue.

  Another thought hit him. “How do you know me name?” The question came out harsher than he’d intended, and he immediately regretted it as she withdrew her hand. “Sorry,” he apologized hoping he hadn’t offended her.

  He knew she heard him, but she didn’t glance his way. He took hold of her hand and it happened again. That little tingle that accompanied their touch. She must have felt it too because she gasped and their gazes collided. Shane withdrew his hand as though he’d experienced an electric shock.

  “Sorry,” he said again seriously thinking about leaving. At least that way he would escape his embarrassment.

  “You’re cute.”

  “Cute!”

  Okay, so far he’d managed to snap at her, and sound like an absolute idiot. Shane knew his being here was probably a mistake. But Crystal thought he was cute, so that was a start, even though the word made him feel like a pet kitten.

  “I know your name because I saw it on your badge when you were working the door at the club. I’m glad you came out of that brawl okay. I have to admit I was a little worried about you.”