“What are you doing at a premiere of all things?” Her mother’s laugh was high and snide.
“My boyfriend won tickets.” Lucy said defensively.
“Oh, and this is… oh my. Do you really think that this guy would want to go out with you?” The woman asked with disdain, while eyeing Ash sharply.
Ash felt his anger swell at this woman’s rudeness. She was watching him with the same look that he received from some of his fans. Greedy, obsessive eyes raked over him, as he stood up and looked down at her.
“Lucy is my girlfriend, why wouldn’t I want to go out with her?” Ash asked in a deceptively calm voice. The woman’s eyebrows rose, as she glanced between them.
“You look like you should be on the arm of someone more important than my...”
“Yeah, Mum, why don’t you just tell him not to date your ugly daughter,” Lucy spat the words out, before storming away.
“At least she tells it like it is,” The woman said with a vicious grin.
Ash just stood there watching her in shock. How could any mother treat their child this way? His parents might be a bunch of money hungry back stabbers, but they would never treat him with such contempt and scorn.
“Is everything okay?” Sam walked around the palm trees to look at the two of them. Ash just nodded at him, and he disappeared back into the crowd.
“Lucy is more beautiful on the inside and out than a lot of other girls that I have met,” Ash said determinedly, but the woman only chuckled harshly.
“I have to wonder how well you actually know her,” The woman said snidely, as she swished her hair out of her face.
“Obviously better than you,” Ash fired the words at her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.” Ash turned to walk away from the hateful woman.
“She could never be someone who could suit the likes of you.” Her nasty words hit Ash, and just as he was about to argue with her, a hand grabbed his.
“Don’t, it’s not worth it,” Lucy said quietly. “Just grab your bag, and let’s go.”
Ash quickly picked up his bag. Without another glance at the rude woman, he turned and walked over to the mouth-watering popcorn and chocolate selection. Lucy stayed quiet, while Ash worried to himself. He felt unsettled after meeting Lucy’s mother. He wanted to go back, and tell her exactly how wonderful her daughter was. How she made him happy when nobody else had.
“Sorry about her. Sorry about calling you my boyfriend, but I, uh, didn’t know what else to say. She always does that to me,” Lucy choked the words out around her tightened throat. Her finger rubbed along her chin, before she quite deliberately fisted her hand and dropped her hand away.
“Belle, why on earth are you defending her? You had a go at me for defending my stupid brother. There is no way you should apologise for her behaviour. That was rude and uncalled for,” Ash told her in exasperation.
“You know that she would act a lot different if she knew who you were. She would’ve treated you like a king.” Lucy whispered, while looking at the floor
“What did she do to you, Belle? That’s not you. You're a fighter. I’ve never seen you back down from anything. Why her?” Ash persistently questioned. He saw a teardrop fall from her down turned face, and felt horrible for badgering her, “Shhhh, come here, Belle.”
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and it took a moment for Ash to realise that they were creating a scene. Curious eyes watched them, waiting for the scene to unfold. He cursed under his breath, until he noticed George and Sam standing in the crowd, with George gesturing dramatically on his cell phone as usual. Ash marched over to them, being careful to hold Lucy securely, and not let anyone see her distress.
“Get the car now, we’re leaving,” Ash told the men quietly, and Sam nodded to him seriously, while George looked at Ash in complete confusion.
“Do I know you?” George asked, finally looking away from his phone.
“Dammit, George, you’ve known me since I was a kid. You helped make that get up true.” Ash hissed, and the man’s eyes went wide.
“Sorry, Martin, I’m not used to you looking like that,” The man mumbled.
“It’s Ash, and I need to go now. Get the car, and meet us at the back entrance of the theatre.” Ash told them both in a whisper, and they both nodded at him.
“No, we don’t have to go, Ash.” Lucy said croakily, still refusing to look at him.
She looked broken, as if someone had taken the girl that he knew and snapped her in half. He couldn’t stand to see her this distressed with no will to fight back it was too disturbing.
“We are going, Lucy.” He told her firmly.
Thankfully, people had turned away. The pair of them no longer created interest, once everyone realised that there seemed to be no celebrities involved. Ash felt relieved that the eyes were off them. He slowly escorted Lucy to the back door, as the stars of the movie stood on a podium to answer questions from the reporters lined up. Only one sent them a sly, haughty expression, but Ash was too busy to notice.
The back door was clear, and the car waiting so Ash ushered Lucy into the rear seats. Without even a peep, she slid onto the smooth leather interior. She slipped off her high heels, and curled herself tightly into a ball to stare blankly out the window. The car drove smoothly away, and she was thankful to be away from the entire ruckus.
“Belle, you need to talk to me about this,” Ash declared, as he reached over to clasp her hand, but she only pulled further away from him.
“I… can't,” she whispered, as she seemed to fall even deeper into herself.
Ash sat there feeling uncertain. Questions swarmed his mind, but he didn’t want to disturb Lucy. She seemed fragile and vulnerable, so he knew he would have to be patient. Waiting for her to come back to the Lucy that he was getting to know and care for deeply would take time.
Meanwhile, the theatre hushed, as the actors talked about the movie. All the stars were pleasantly surprised, as the hideously annoying Crystal walked back out to where the red carpet was.
Crystal had watched her daughter from the moment she had first spotted her. One of her intuition feelings had been plaguing her about the gorgeous boy who was posing as her daughter’s boyfriend. The fact that he had talked to that top agent George Carten as a friend. Then that bodyguard Sam had looked out for him, it all hinted at a deception that she wanted desperately to uncover.
She scoured the area looking for anything different to what a normal premiere would look like. The mass of teenage girls holding up plaques smothered with the name 'Martin James' caught her eye. Then better yet, a familiar face from the past. The raven haired girl looked furious, while Crystal tried desperately to remember her name.
“Rachel, what brings you to the big bad city?” Crystal asked, as she approached the girl who sent her a defiant look.
“Your stupid daughter, Crystal,” Rachel told her heatedly, her eyes narrowing to slits.
“Ah, you wanted to be the one that went with that guy, huh? How did Lucy pull it off?” Crystal threw questions at her, while forcing her voice to sound friendly.
“How would I know? Day one of school, and she already had him up singing in front of everyone. God, he’s infatuated with her. The guy is completely blind.” Rachel babbled angrily.
“Singing, huh? Tell me, do you know where this Martin James guy went?” Crystal had a brief triumphant moment, which she kept hidden from the younger girl.
“Ugh, I dunno. Personally, his music's a bit soft for me. He walked up to the theatre and disappeared. Lucy came here to get an autograph. What a sap she is.” Rachel ranted a bit more, not noticing the smug gleam in Crystal’s eyes.
“Thanks, Rachel,” The older woman said with a smile.
“For what?” Rachel sent her a glare.
“Tell me something, how would you like to get back at Lucy for what happened years ago, and maybe we can work on her downfall together.” Crystal let out an evil little cackle, and Rachel was willing to call
this woman, who she had hated for years, her friend.
“So badly that I can taste it.” Rachel replied, with an evil little grin of her own.
“Good, let’s go and talk. We have a lot of planning to do.”
They walked off together, filled with their own plans on how to bring disaster down on Lucy’s head. Crystal could only wonder whether she was correct in her assumptions. If she was right, than the small town of Icra Falls maybe in for a very big surprise about who was living amongst them. She rubbed her hands together, almost tasting the expose that would not only completely humiliate her daughter, but also destroy her relationship with her possibly famous boyfriend.
Chapter 11 – Scary but true
The limousine was quiet, with only the hum of the engine making any noise. Ash watched Lucy carefully, afraid that he would say the wrong thing. All she did was stare out the window. He wanted to hold her, tell her that everything would be fine, but he couldn’t fathom what she was thinking.
They pulled up outside his apartment block, and Joel rushed to open the door for him. Ash just waited for any response from Lucy, but still nothing. He leaned over and picked up her sparkly heels that Mark had made her wear. She moved further away from him, until she was almost hugging the window.
“C'mon, Belle, let’s go inside.” He reached out a hand to her, but she pushed the door open and quickly moved out of the vehicle on her own.
Ash was starting to feel fierce panic an hour later when Lucy hadn’t moved from the couch. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, as she stared into space. He was starting to wonder whether he should take her to the hospital, when he first thought to call Daz.
He scrambled through Lucy’s handbag, with no protest from her, and felt relieved when he found her mobile. He went into his bedroom, hating to leave her, while praying that her brother would answer, as he rang the number.
“Hello?” He heard Daz’s voice, and Ash let out a sigh.
“Daz, its Ash. Look, I’m not sure what happened, but we saw Lucy’s Mum this evening. Now Lucy is... she’s completely spaced out, and she won’t respond to me. What do I do? I’m really worried that I might make whatever happened worse.” Ash quickly blurted out the words making Daz curse long and loud for a few minutes.
“Sorry, mate, I’m not angry at you about this, but that woman is a nasty piece of work,” Daz stated angrily.
"I noticed. How do I help Lucy?” Ash persisted in asking.
“This is going to sound cruel, but it’s always worked for me before.” Daz replied hesitantly.
“Fine, tell me.”
“You need to slap her,” Daz said firmly, and Ash let out a gasp. "It doesn’t have to be hard, but it’s the only thing that will snap her out of it.”
“No, I can’t do that! What even caused her to…. what happened?” Ash demanded.
“Lucy needs to explain that to you. Do you know how your last girlfriend let rip with some crazy lies?” Daz asked him softly.
“Yeah, like I’d ever forget that.” Ash answered him sarcastically.
“Our mother did something similar to Lucy. It broke her for a while. Luckily, she came back fighting, but sometimes… this is her way of coping she just shuts down.” Daz went quiet and Ash just sighed.
“Okay, I’ll try it, and get back to you if I don’t have any luck.” Ash told him.
He hung up the phone, and ran a nervous hand through his hair. He walked back into the lounge room to find that Lucy still hadn’t moved. He felt his chest tighten, as he approached her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he sat next to her on the couch, and considered things. Lucy remained completely unmoved, and he felt anxiety creep into him that he may have to do as Daz said.
“Belle, I hate this. I don’t know what to do,” he couldn’t help but talk to her, hoping that she would hear him. “Please come back to me.”
He wrapped his arms around her tight, while she just sat there woodenly. It was as if she had completely left her body to go somewhere else, so he did the best thing he could think of, he kept talking to her.
“You know, Belle, ever since I’ve met you, every song I write is about you. This is actually one I will be releasing soon,” he whispered to her, as he hummed the melody that he had worked on the afternoon she had spent in detention. “Whatever that woman said to you Belle, it’s wrong.” He said after a long silence where she didn’t respond. “You are so beautiful. I would change nothing about you, even what’s happening right now. I’m scared. I'm really scared that I will have to do what Daz told me to get you back to normal. Please don’t make me do that, Belle. I need you to come back to me.” He told her honestly.
He leaned over and gently touched her lips with his. For a second there was nothing, and he felt his heart plummet. Until her eyelids fluttered against her cheeks, and she peered up at him with a strange expression on her face.
“Ash?” Her voice was tentative and unsure.
“Yes, Belle, are you alright?” He asked in concern, as he brushed her curls back off her face.
“What happened?” She asked in confusion
“Um, I don’t know, but you kind of spaced out,” he replied, and she expression turned utterly mortified.
“Oh, no, please tell me that I didn’t do that,” she said in despair, as she dropped her head into her hands.
“You really had me worried.” He told her as gently as he could.
“I’m sorry.” She replied quietly.
She stood up, and walked over to the windows, to peer at the darkened skyline filled with city lights. She had stood in this building only a few hours ago, and knew that she was falling for him. Now, she could only wonder if they could even survive this night.
Doubts flooded her mind. Ash had seen her crazed behaviour, maybe now he wouldn’t even want her. Apparently, it was some form of coping mechanism, but Lucy knew that it just put her into the category of weird. She hugged her arms tightly around herself, and waited for the inevitable blow. She knew Ash would say that he didn’t want to be anywhere near her.
“You need to explain this to me,” Ash said from across the room, while Lucy just shook her head, “Please, Belle, I need to understand this.”
“I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have done this. As soon as I found out who you were we should have never gone any further,” Lucy muttered to herself. “We should never have gone out on one date let alone two.” Ash paled at her words, as panic hit that she would leave right now flooded him.
“Look, whatever that was just now, it doesn’t mean the end of us. Just tell me why that happened.” He demanded while walking over to her.
“Don’t you see, Ash, we can’t be together. As long as my mother is like that… it just won’t work out.” She muttered again, as her phone started ringing.
She quickly grabbed her bag, and snatched her phone out of it. Ash watched, as she marched around the room talking. At one point, she sent him a deadly look, but Ash stared her down, until she looked away. He wasn’t going to let her end this due to her tactless mother, no matter what she said. She finished the conversation and looked like she wanted to throw the phone across the room. Instead, she calmly sat down on the couch, and turned to face him.
“You told Daz,” she accused him, sending him a glare.
“I didn’t know what to do, Belle, so yes, I rung your brother,” Ash answered quite readily.
“He said you sounded really worried.”
“I was. That totally freaked me out.” Ash once again agreed with her.
“Why would you want to still go out with someone who goes totally troppo like that? God, Ash, you should be sending me to the loony bin, or at least out of your house.” She stated seriously, making him frown at her.
“What would make you think that I would want to send you anywhere away from me?” Ash asked in a clipped tone; as his anger rose at Lucy’s constant put downs of herself.
“Ash, I just completely zoned out, and I’m guessing that you had to hit me
to get me to come back to things.” She explained her reasoning deftly, and he just rolled his eyes.
“No, actually, I kissed you.” He stated simply.
“What?”
“I kissed you.” He repeated.
“Why would you do that?” Lucy muttered almost to herself.
“Hell! Obviously, I didn’t want to hit you. Stop being so daft.” He said, as he plopped down on the couch next to her.
“And that worked?” She asked in amazement.
“Well, you’re sitting here having a conversation with me, so it must have.” He rolled his eyes at her again, while Lucy just stared.
“There you go.” Lucy said softly, as she looked at him with shock evident on her face.
“Are you going to talk to me about this?” Ash asked, as she began fiddling with the hem of her dress.
“Could it wait? I really don’t want to think about her right now.” Lucy told him in a whisper and he relented. He didn’t really want to talk about her mother either.
“Okay, just answer me one question. Are you fully alright now?”
“Yes, I’m fine. She just always seems to say something that sets me off. It’s sad but true.” Lucy shrugged, but the sorrow in her eyes reflected in the sad smile she tried to form.
“How about we just sit and watch a movie here, huh? I can order some pizza.” He offered, trying to distract her from her morbid thoughts.
Lucy couldn’t understand his reaction. She was used to people never speaking to her again once they saw her black outs. He was just sitting there as calm as ever, like nothing had changed.
“Sure, but you’re not worried or freaked out anymore? Are you sure you still want me here? Daz has told me about what it’s like when I, uh, zone out. Apparently it’s pretty, um, freaky.” She finished the words on a bare whisper.
Surprise filled her, when he just sent that warm smile her way. He reached out a hand to her, and she tentatively let him hold hers. He ran his thumb in tiny circles over the back of her hand, making her shiver.
“All I want is to know that you’re fine. I don’t want you to leave. We all have demons, Belle, and I can cope with yours if you can cope with mine.” He told her honestly.
I Met Her On the Balcony Page 11