Lucy was staring out the window in homeroom, her mind still whirling over how she could make it up to him. Ren was jabbering on about something, trying to cheer her up, when Rachel walked smugly into the room. Lucy grimaced; she had turned up early hoping to avoid all the staring eyes that had surrounded her all week.
Though no picture of her had ever turned up in the paper, everyone knew that she was Ash’s girlfriend. They also knew that she would have the answers they wanted. Lucy had promised Ash a long time ago that his secret was safe with her, and she would never go back on it.
“I’m guessing from that look that you two broke up,” Rachel said with a snigger, breaking in on Lucy’s thoughts. Lucy let out a sigh; she had wondered why it took Rachel so long to start attacking her about it.
“It's not really your business, Rachel,” Ren snapped at her.
“Your mother is so stupid. She wanted to know where Ash lived, and I had no idea why, until I saw the article. Like really? Ash being Martin James – what a joke!” Rachel exclaimed, as she let out another giggle.
Lucy never realised that she had stood up, and stalked across the room towards Rachel. It was the wide-eyed, expectant look on Rachel’s face, which caught her attention. The girl sneered at her, but Lucy could see her fear.
“You were the one to rat him out,” Lucy stated fiercely, through the barely contained rage that rushed through her.
“Oh, get over yourself, Lucy. You really think your ex-boyfriend is Martin James?” Rachel asked snidely, and Lucy bit her tongue so she wouldn't respond.
“Come on, Lou. Sit back down,” she heard Ren say from behind her. She let him pull her back to her chair, and she automatically sat down.
“I miss him,” she whispered, now desperate to keep the tears at bay. “Why did I say that to him, Ren?” She turned to her best friend, who appeared uncomfortable.
“Lou, you never told me what happened.” Ren said softly, as he wiped a stray tear from beneath her eye.
“I’ll tell you this afternoon, if you want to meet at Jolee’s.” She whispered, as the teacher walked into the room, and he nodded at her.
The day dragged on endlessly, and Lucy developed a headache from trying to stop the tears from falling. As the last bell rang, she felt relief that she could go home, curl up in a ball, and cry for as long as she wanted.
She let out a groan, she had promised to see Ren and Col, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. She sat in the café staring at the menu blankly. She had been hardly eating all week, and now the thought of her usual milkshake left her feeling sick with despair.
“Are you alright, Lucy girl?” Jolee asked, as she approached the table and Lucy automatically nodded. “You know Ash was in here not that long ago. He looks just as bad as you, if that cheers you up any,”
“What? He’s here?” Lucy asked, her voice filled with hope, and Jolee hated to disappoint her.
“Was, lovey, he said he was heading back to the city soon.”
“Oh, well, at least that explains where he’s been all week, I guess,” Lucy replied weakly.
She looked down at the scratched tabletop, and tried to compose herself. It seemed like he had gone back to his old life, and that she was no longer a part of it. She took in a gulp of air, and sucked back a sob. She was the one that had blown it this time.
“You want the usual, Lucy?” Jolee’s voice finally penetrated her sadness.
“No… no, I’ll probably never have that again.” She muttered sadly.
Everyone stared at her. When chocolate couldn't cheer her up, it was a very bad day indeed, and they all knew it. Over the radio came the song that Ash had wrote for her, and she couldn’t hold the tears at bay anymore.
“Oh, God, I blew it! I’m such an idiot. Please turn this song off, Jolee, I can’t listen to that and stay sane.” She uttered through the sobs that engulfed her.
“Um, Lucy, that’s not the radio.” Jolee replied in shock.
Through her tear-filled eyes, she watched him walk into the café, with his guitar in his arms, lightly strumming out the melody. His golden eyes looked directly at her, as he sent her a tentative smile. The whole café stared in astonishment, and Lucy felt such intense hope burst through her that she couldn’t stop blubbering.
“Belle.”
All she heard was her name over the haunting sound of his guitar. She was out of her seat and running over to him. He placed his instrument on an empty table, and held his arms open for her.
“I missed you, and I’m sorry for saying such a stupid thing to you,” he told her softly, until she placed a hand over his mouth and frowned at him.
“Don’t say that! You did nothing wrong. I’m the one that’s sorry, but you disappeared and I couldn’t tell you… and Rachel was the one that told Crystal… it’s been the longest week ever without you. I’m so sorry,” she finished abruptly, as she was enraptured with those golden eyes that filled with warmth and love, just for her.
“Daz told me to give you space, so I did. With those vultures hanging around home, I went back to the city.” He said with a shrug.
“Why didn’t you ring me?” She accused.
“Why didn’t you ring me?” He repeated her words back to her.
“I wanted to tell you in person; it wouldn’t have been enough to say it on the phone.” She whispered back, as she finally reached out a shaky hand to touch his face.
“There is no way that’s true!” They heard Rachel exclaim from nearby, and they turned to look at her. She had been peering at his newest guitar that Nick had given him to try to cheer him up. He knew that his name was written on the front, but he hadn’t really thought about it before.
“Believe whatever you want, Rachel.” Ash stated, as he reached out, and took his instrument from her hands.
“But your hair is different, and those eyes,” Rachel stared intently at him, as he tucked Lucy under one arm, and his guitar under the other.
“Did you tell Crystal about me?” He turned accusing eyes to the girl who twitched a little under the glare of his gaze.
“Um, maybe, but I thought that you were just Ash Martin. I didn’t ever think you were… him.” She smiled adoringly at him, as she stuttered through her explanation. She reached out a hand to touch him, and he sent her a fierce frown. He moved away from her, and towards his friends, and Jolee, who were shell shocked.
“Are you telling us that newspaper article actually had some truth in it?” Jolee managed to ask, as they stared at him. Ash wordlessly handed her his guitar, which she almost dropped when she read the name “Holy cow! And you wrote a song for Lucy,” Jolee exclaimed, and Ash just nodded silently.
“It’s not the only one that I’ve written for her,” he said as he steered Lucy back to the chair she previously sat in. He then reached into his backpack, and pulled out a CD. “This is how a week without you affects me.”
He handed it to Lucy, who gasped at the cover. It was Ash, his golden eyes shining, his brown hair flying in the breeze with his full name on the cover.
“You can’t be serious about this?” She turned to him with a nervous look.
“Which part? The outing myself to the world, or the fact that I completed a whole album in a week.” He asked curiously. Ren reached over, and snatched the disk from her hands, which she protested fervently.
“So, you’re really Martin James?” Ren asked bluntly, what everyone else had been hinting towards, but was not brave enough to state.
“Yeah, I am.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ren asked in exasperation.
“I was trying to live a normal life, but some people…” Ash turned to glare at Rachel, who immediately dropped her eyes, “keep trying to take that away from me. I’m decided that I'm giving up. I’m not hiding anymore. I’m going to live here, finish high school, and not give a damn about the reporters at my gate.” He told them firmly, and Ren seemed to appraise him for a moment, before grinning and handing the CD back.
<
br /> “At least you came to the right place with the right people then.” Ren said, before slapping a rather surprised Ash on the shoulder.
“Hey, what about the Mindy Taylor chick and the giant cake?” Col asked, his eyes not quite cool, but getting close.
“Lucy was sitting right next to me that night.” Ash told him honestly.
“That’s true she pulled that stunt, and then I said ‘where is the real cake’. I’ll tell you now she wasn’t at all impressed with me.” Lucy said with a laugh, and she saw Col thaw a little.
“That argument when we were playing footy, what was that about?” Col persisted with his questioning, and Lucy rolled her eyes.
“A different Mindy Taylor moment,” Ash answered honestly. “That girl keeps persisting in claiming me, but she’ll never have me. Lucy’s my girl and nobody else.” Ash assured him and Col finally softened.
“What’s on here exactly?” Lucy interrupted, as she pointed to the CD.
“It’s my next album obviously, Belle. It’s not quite perfect yet, but I want you to listen to it.” He sent her that heart-thumping smile. There was a hint of vulnerability to it that she wasn’t quite expecting.
“Okay.” She replied, as she tucked it into her handbag.
“Listen to it tonight, because I have to go back to the city for the weekend.” He tried to soften the blow with a squeeze of his hand in hers, but he could see the disappointment on her face.
“But you’ve been gone all week.” She protested.
“I know, but I’ll be back on Sunday early, I promise. I just need to tie up some loose ends.” At that point, he sent a fierce look towards Rachel who cowered away.
“What time are you leaving?” Lucy managed to whisper.
“Pretty much now.” He bit his lip, and Lucy sighed.
“Okay, let me drive you where you need to go,” she requested, and he went to protest. “Please?” She begged, and he gave in.
They were driving out of town with a surprisingly comfortable silence in the car when Ash reached for her hand. She was immensely glad to have him back, and now her earlier heartbroken tears threatened to shed as happy ones.
“Are you really giving up Martin?” She finally asked, and he nodded.
“It's been a long time coming. I feel like a fraud when I’m him now. It feels like he is someone else, and not me. Plus, all those songs I wrote them for you, not him, but me Ash,” he finished with a wave of his hand.
“I get it, Ash. Back when this town all thought I was a thief, I prayed to be someone else for a while, so I can understand why you want to be you,” she said seriously, and he smiled at her.
They chatted for the rest of the trip. When the airport came into sight, Lucy felt her heart lurch, she wasn’t sure if she could watch him leave her with her emotions this unstable.
“Stay, please stay.” She choked on the words, as they walked into the small terminal together. He turned her to him, and stopped the traffic behind them who all started grumbling.
“You have no idea how much I want to,” he whispered into her hair. “But this has to be ended once and for all.” His voice went hard, and Lucy saw a determination that she had never seen on his face before.
“What does?”
“You’ll understand, okay. Just watch the Daily Report show on Saturday night.” He said as he lightly kissed her lips.
She moved her whole body closer to him, as she kissed him back. Fiery with a hint of sadness overwhelmed their kiss, as they clutched at each other. With a groan, he finally pulled back. He rested his forehead on her, and tried to catch his breath.
“I’ve got to go, beautiful. I love you, and I’ll see you on Sunday.” He said softly.
She couldn’t choke out a single word, as she watched him walk away. As curious as she was about what he was going to reveal on the talk show, she couldn’t hide the anxiousness she felt at being away from him the last week. To have him so close only to walk away from her was heartbreaking. She sucked in a breath, forced herself to get a grip on things, and went to walk back out of the terminal.
Chapter 27 – Dinner and a movie…again
She turned, as the doors slid open to send her back to the real world. He stood there watching her with a small cheeky smile on his face. She couldn’t leave, she just knew in her heart of hearts that she couldn’t leave him here to walk away from her.
“I can’t go.” She whispered across the space between them.
He held his arms open, as he dropped his bags. She felt her heart lift with joy, as she raced back across the room, and threw herself at him. He almost lost his balance, but managed to right both of them, as a chuckle escaped him. She was kissing him reverently all over his face, as his arms tightened around her.
“You can’t leave me here,” she muttered, as she nuzzled her nose into his neck. His citrus tang aroma surrounded her, and she took a deep, refreshing breath.
“Lucky there’s a spare seat,” he teased, his eyes gleaming at her. "I have to send you back in the morning.”
“Without you?” Her question was heartbreakingly intense.
“Yeah, Belle, without me.” He let out a sigh, and scrubbed a hand through his hair.
“Are you going to tell me why?” She asked seriously, and he shook his head.
“You need to trust me that it’s not something you need to be here to see,” he warned, as he handed her a ticket. “Let’s go.”
“I can't, I haven’t even got anything to take with me, and I’m in my uniform.” Lucy protested, while Ash sent her a glimmer of a smile.
“That’s sorted, here.” He handed her a small suitcase, which he had been carrying besides his own.
“Hey, wait a minute! You knew that I was coming with you!” She accused, and his smile broadened.
“No, Belle, but I sure as hell hoped you were. Belinda and Penny packed that for you this morning,” he gestured to the suitcase, and Lucy’s mouth popped open in surprise. “Which brings me to the question of, where were you when I came over?”
“I stayed with Milly in town.”
“Oh, okay, well you had better go and get changed then, the flight leaves soon.” He gestured to the bathrooms, she smiled at him, and she went on her way.
When she stormed out a few minutes later, he knew she realised that he had been conversing with her family, without her knowledge. If she knew exactly how much they had been talking, she might be a bit worried as to why, but he was determined to keep that quiet for as long as he could.
“You talked to them,” she poked her finger into his chest.
“Yep, are you ready to go?” He looked her up and down, and sent her a heated glance that wiped all thoughts from her mind.
“Um, yeah.” She said a bit dazed. She had missed the intimate way he looked at her. It took her breath away, and sent tingles through her whole body.
Only on the plane did Lucy wonder where they were heading. Ash was keeping it all very quiet, and no amount of persuading seemed to change his mind. All he did was send her little mystery grins whenever she asked, which was driving her mad.
She looked out the window, and felt fortunate that things had turned out for the best. She leaned into his side, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders reassuringly. She snuggled up against him, relishing his warmth, and the very essence that was her Ash.
They arrived back into the city, to the bustle that threatened to overtake her joy of the day. Ash had her settled into the passenger seat of a small sports car at the airport, and they were driving into the late afternoon light. The last week without him had been wearing on her soul, and exhaustion was threatening to claim her.
“Have a rest, Belle; we’ve got a while until we get there,” he told her, as he reached across to grasp her hand.
“I missed you, and I really missed this,” she muttered, as his fingers gently squeezed hers..
“I know. I missed us too.” He admitted.
“Then don’t let me do something so daft next
time.” Her voice was faint on the edge of sleep, but he heard it, and a small laugh escaped him.
“Like I could ever stop you,” he stated, sending her a quick glance, before returning his eyes to the road “You’re far too stubborn for your own good, Lucy McConnell.” He stated, and she frowned. She blinked her eyes open sleepily to give him a glare.
“Shush you! Stop insulting me, and let me sleep.” She put her fingers against his lips, which he kissed lightly. She snuggled into her seat, and murmured contentedly, as she drifted into sleep.
She awoke later, feeling disoriented, and wondering why she felt like she was moving. When the smell of citrus drifted around her, she remembered every facet of the last week. Tears began to threaten, until the details of the afternoon occurred to her. Ash was with her, right? She decided against opening her eyes, just in case she was wrong.
“I know you’re awake, Belle, so stop pretending,” Ash's voice was welcome and wonderful, so she opened her eyes to see his warm smile and tawny eyes.
“I missed you,” she said on a sleepy little sigh.
“That’s good to know. We are almost there.”
“Almost where?” She pulled herself up with the seat belt until she was sitting upright. “It’s really dark; we must have been driving for a while. Where are we? ” She mumbled, as she woke up more fully.
“It’s a surprise.” He told her with a wink.
“Okay, what is it?” She asked a bit more excitedly.
“That would totally spoil the fact that it’s a surprise if I told you.” He said sarcastically, and she elbowed him lightly, making him grunt.
He sent her a look to behave, which just made her grouch at him. She settled back in her seat, and peered curiously out the window at any glimpse of where she was. He watched her with amusement knowing that she would never be able to guess where she was.
When he finally stopped the car, she went to get out, but Ash kept a hold of her arm. She sent him a grumpy glare, which he replied with a cheeky grin.
I Met Her On the Balcony Page 28