Lucy quickly dragged her phone out to send a text to Ash, "Check the paper,"
"Why? What for?" He answered smartly.
"My picture. I have to turn my phone off soon."
"I will sort this,” he answered.
“You know this girl could be your twin,” the girl next to her piped up again, shaking her head, but still staring intently at Lucy.
“Can I at least have a look at this article?” Lucy asked casually, and the girl handed her the paper.
It was certainly her picture, Lucy realised, as she stared at the paper, and tried not to show her anxiety. It seemed Crystal had been busy on the day that she had visited Icra Falls. Lucy bit down on her lips, to prevent her gnashing her teeth at the hide of her mother.
There were pictures of Lucy and Ash together at the café sitting with Penny. Another picture of her when she was playing football that afternoon for sport. The most incriminating one was when Ash had snatched her into his arms to kiss her behind the storage shed.
Lucy felt a chill run down her spine at how she hadn’t even noticed her mother was flitting around. No, she would have known if her mother was there. Then she forced herself to remember that day, and felt her teeth clench furiously. Once again, it was Rachel. Lucy knew it had to be the spiteful girl.
The article claimed that she was Martin’s girlfriend, who was cheating on her with the guy in the pictures. Lucy didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or throw a fit of rage at her stupid mother.
She clenched her fists, trying to calm herself down, as she handed the paper back to the girl. She grabbed Ash’s CD from her handbag, determined to push Crystal’s deviousness from her mind. She put the CD in the player, and shoved her headphones on.
With a clash of drums, the song began washing everything else away. Tears filled her eyes at the angry sung words, which barely hid the wealth of pain that he must have been feeling. She had hurt him, truly hurt him, and this song reverberated with it. It was powerful, bringing emotions to the surface, and she loved it, as much as it hurt her in return.
"Keep the first song," she sent the text to Ash, as she lined up to board the plane.
"You sure?" He texted back. She couldn’t help it; she had to talk to him. She took off her headphones, and pressed the call button, while she still could.
“I’m so sorry, Ash.” She said sadly.
“Are you telling me to keep the song?” He sounded confused.
“Yes, its… everyone will understand this song, or at least anyone that has even been hurt like that.” She answered, and he was silent for a moment.
“I don’t want to release anything that will upset you,” he admitted.
“This just reminds me not to do it again.” She said determinedly.
“Okay.”
“I think I have to turn my phone off, I’m being glared at.” Lucy said with a chuckle towards the stewardess, who sent her a pointed look.
“Alright, I will see you tomorrow. Love you.” He said his voice dropping to that husky tone that made her shiver.
“Love you, even love that song.” She told him, before hanging up.
She pulled her headphones back on, as she stored her backpack in the overhead compartment. She tucked her handbag in front of her, and let Ash's words carry her away.
She felt the staring eyes once they were in the air, but decided to ignore them. She stretched herself out, and smiled, as she thought over every moment of the previous night. She crossed her booted foot over her other knee, as the original song he wrote for her began to play. A warm feeling spread through her, as she listened to the words, and knew that he meant every one of them for her.
By the time the plane landed, she felt a giddy happiness that she could barely contain. She grabbed her backpack, suitcase, and handbag while heading towards the exit. Her mouth dropped open in shock at the number of people in the small terminal. It was ridiculously full with most of them carrying cameras.
Panic hit her hard in the chest when she realised that this was the after effects of having her picture in the paper. All she could think was how did they know that she would be here? Her phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket irritable with all her happy emotions fleeing with what she was facing.
The trembling began, as she read it ‘See how much I can ruin your life.’ Those ominous words had alarm bells ringing, as the cameras began flashing.
She knew it was from Crystal. This was payback for Ash humiliating her, and sending her away at the party. It seemed it was more than just the photos in the paper, as the cameras flashed again.
Panic threatened to sear her, as her heart fluttered with trepidation, but Lucy raised her eyes defiantly, and faced them with a smile. She would not let her mother win this one.
Questions bombarded her from all corners when the reporters recognised her face. Their lack of truth was the only thing that kept a smile on her face. She rang Ash, as she casually stepped through the throng.
“It seems like we’ve got more than one problem, Ash,” she told him over the noise of the questions thrown at her.
“What’s going on, Belle?” He asked sounding worried.
“My mother somehow knew that I was coming back today. She sent me a nasty text as well.” Lucy said quietly, so nobody else could hear her. Ash swore vehemently for the next few moments.
“She’s going down her own rabbit hole tonight,” Ash hissed the words. “Hang tight, Belle. Just try to find your parents, and get the hell out of there.” He advised, which she agreed with, as she hung up.
She scanned the area looking for anyone familiar, and wasn’t surprised to see her mother watching her triumphantly from against the far corner of the building. Lucy went tense, before forcing a smile on her face, and approaching her mother. She chanted in her mind that she could do this; she could stand up for herself, and maybe drag Crystal down, while doing so.
“Hi, Crystal, imagine seeing you here,” her voice dripped with polite venom.
“See what happens when you try to thwart me,” Crystal sent her a fierce, smug grin.
“What tell people the truth?” Lucy asked with a laugh. “By the way, can I have a copy of that picture of Ash, my boyfriend, kissing me? I loved that one.” Lucy stated confidently, and Crystal’s mouth flopped open.
“Wait! Are you telling us that guy isn’t someone you’re cheating with?” One of the reporters demanded from behind her.
“No, that guy is my boyfriend Ash,” Lucy answered loudly. “My mother, Crystal Weinburner, just wanted to annoy me by making up some story.” Lucy pointed at Crystal with a broad grin, and almost as one, the reporters began hounding the older woman.
Lucy walked back through the crowd feeling amazingly confident, and proud of herself. She finally had something over on her mother. With a snicker, she looked back to find her mother surrounded. She sent her a small wave, as she headed towards her worried looking family.
Her father sent a savage glare over to the cowering Crystal, as Lucy explained what was going on. He went to march over to her, but Lucy grabbed his sleeve, and shook her head. Crystal had left a bunch of reporters with no story, which was a lot worse than anything her father could do.
“It won’t stop me having a word with her,” Daz almost spat out the words. “She is harassing you, stalking you, and threatening you. I can arrest her on those grounds.”
Daz threw off Lucy’s resisting grip, and headed over into the throng of reporters. Lucy watched him walk away with a sigh, and then followed him. She grinned to herself at all the female attention he received, but never once noticed. He was in his cop mode, and Lucy knew that nothing would deter him from that.
“Oh, Darryl, thank goodness,” Crystal said with relief, as her son approached, but he just let out a sardonic laugh.
“You must be kidding me! You think that I’m coming over here to save your sorry arse?” Daz asked with contempt.
“Why else would you be here, dear?” Crystal asked sweetly.
&n
bsp; “To protect my sister,” he told her clearly, and Lucy grinned, as her mother’s face fell.
“You do know that he’s a cop now, right?” Lucy asked, as she approached them. The panic that Lucy was used to feeling around her mother, reflected back to her in the woman’s eyes.
“No, my little, Darryl would never be… no!” Crystal snapped sharply, appearing both scared and intimidated at the very thought of it. Daz just pulled out his badge to show her. Crystal’s face paled, her eyes flashing from panic to fury, and back to an increased alarm.
“We’ll be putting out an AVO on you, so you can have no further contact with Lucy.” Daz stated simply.
“I still know the truth!” Crystal made one last, desperate effort, and Daz shook his head.
”What’s the use of the truth if nobody believes you. Lucy’s boyfriend is Ash Martin, and the photos that were taken prove that.” Daz gave her an elegant little shrug.
“What? You know?” Crystal’s eyes went wide.
“Most of the town knows, but we can all keep a secret. A bit like you, and what happened with Lucy’s accident.” His voice went ice cold, and Crystal’s eyes filled with dread. “You should run along now. You wouldn't want to be arrested for harassment and stalking, now would you?”
“But you wouldn’t… I am your mother.” She pleaded desperately.
“Don’t tempt me. For all the suffering that you have caused Lucy over the years, you deserve the rest of your life in jail, if I had my way!” Daz told her furiously, and Crystal's lip trembled.
“But…”
“Go!” Daz demanded, and to Lucy’s surprise, her mother scurried off.
Daz was shaking with rage, and Lucy hesitantly reached out a hand to touch his arm. He swung around to her abruptly, a determination and ferociousness in his expression that she had never seen before. He softened when he realised who was standing there. He gathered her in for a reassuring hug, which she appreciated. It seemed to finally dawn on the reporters that there really was no story here, and they began to hustle away.
“Martin James isn’t your boyfriend?” One of the more persistent reporters remained, and Lucy turned to him with a big grin.
“I never said that. What I did say was that the guy in the pictures was my boyfriend, and his name is Ash.” She told him decisively. She turned away, pulled on her brother’s arm, and walked back over to their worried looking family.
They were driving home chattering together when her phone rang. She was relieved to see it was Ash. She was dreading knowing that her mother had her phone number. She reassured Ash that everything was fine, and that they had made it out of the airport without too much drama.
When he asked to talk to Daz, she felt surprised. Cryptic comments seemed to spill from her brother’s mouth into the phone, and Lucy’s curiosity grew. He handed her back the phone without a word. Ash refused to tell her what they had talked about, and when she finally hung up, she felt quite frustrated, especially when Daz wouldn’t crack either.
Her family knew how much she hated secrets, and things kept hidden from her, but nobody would tell her anything. She had a feeling that her whole family was in the loop with whatever Ash was doing. She could only wonder at what they were all up to.
Chapter 30 – Truth or dare?
Everyone was still keeping quiet about whatever Ash was doing. Lucy felt resentful to everyone keeping secrets, and by the end of the day, she was feeling beyond frustrated. When they all sat her down in front of the television later that night, she felt a bit worried.
“What’s going on?” She asked curiously.
“You need to watch this,” Daz said quietly, and Lucy sent him a frown.
“Look, I know Ash is going on some show tonight, and telling the world who he is,” Lucy informed them, which sent a shock wave through the group.
“Really? I thought he wasn’t going to tell her,” Penny said to the rest of the family, who all sent her a look.
“Well, I kind of forced it out of him.” Lucy said with a shrug.
“Not all of it.” Daz muttered, as he pushed on her shoulders for her to sit back down, as she went to stand.
The music blared for the show, as the blonde haired announcer, introduced the show excitedly. She was bubbly, vivacious, and flaunting her body as much as she could. Lucy had to grit her teeth to stem the jealousy, knowing that this girl would be talking to Ash soon.
Up flashed pictures of Ash as Martin, and then of course the pictures in today’s paper. Lucy let out a groan, and put her face in her hands when she realised that all her friends would see this. As she thought of Ren and Col’s reactions, she was sure that she heard their voices. She looked up, as they walked into the room, still puzzled by their appearance.
“What the heck?” She asked with a raised brow.
“Ash told us to be here,” Ren said with a shrug, as he plopped onto the couch next to her. She rolled her hand for more information, but he just sent her a smirk and stayed quiet.
“Look TV,” Col exclaimed dryly, pointing with his evil little smirk in place too.
Lucy let out a sigh, and turned back to the TV show. The first ten minutes covered entertainment news from various sources, before crossing to a studio with lounges and chairs lined up. The bouncy presenter shouted out Ash’s name, and couldn't contain her excitement, when he actually walked into the room.
“I still can’t believe that is someone we know,” Col pointed and shook his head.
“Try being his girlfriend,” Lucy muttered, and Ren let out a laugh.
“Touché.” Col chuckled.
“Shut up you three, this is important,” Bill huffed from his seat on the recliner, and everyone went quite.
“Wow, Martin, it’s so great to have you here,” the presenter bubbled over with enthusiasm, as she went to hug him. Ash evaded it politely, as he sat down on the couch opposite her.
“It’s great to be here, Zoe,” Ash enthused, but his smile never rose to those bright green eyes of his.
“You know that I am such a big fan of yours, and I have so many things that your fans want to know about you.” Zoe sent him a seductive grin, and Lucy laughed at the almost pained expression on his face.
She spent the next few minutes talking about the success of his latest single. Then she asked him about Mindy Taylor, and all the other gossip that had been surrounding him recently, although she ignored the stuff from today’s paper. He answered everything she asked, but at the same time, he appeared edgy to Lucy, and she could only wonder why.
“You know, Zoe, I chose your show; because my fans always tune in, and I have a few things that I need them to know,” Ash sent her an intense, serious look and the girl appeared thrilled.
“You can tell us, they are all listening,” she encouraged him, while the audience cheered and screamed encouragement.
“I think that I will have to start with the most shocking first,” he told her, and the girl's exhilaration only increased. When he pulled out a contact box, and a glass case, she peered at him with a puzzled expression, “You see, Zoë, my real name is Ashton Martin James.” Ash said with a hint of a grin, as he began to take his contacts out before stopping abruptly.
“Most of us already know that." Zoe said with a barely perceptible frown on her face.
“Yep, I know, but I’m pretty sure there’s only one of my fans that know my eye colour isn’t green,” he turned to face the screen with a grin. “Hi, Penny, there’s a CD in Belle’s handbag. When I’m finished here I want you to listen to it, and tell me what you think.”
Penny let out an excited squeal from behind Lucy and shouted out the word, ‘Gimme!”. The silence in the room broke with a few scattered chuckles.
“When he’s finished." Lucy insisted, which only made Penny grumble.
On the screen, Ash had removed both his contacts, placed them back in their case, and began pulling his glasses on. Zoe’s gasp was ridiculously loud, as she stared in amazement at Ash.
“I
guess you’re telling me that Martin James has yellow eyes?” Zoe asked in disbelief.
“I have it on good authority from my girlfriend that they are gold.” Ash said, his tone amused at the girls bafflement.
“And you wear glasses?” Zoe sounded astounded, but with a hint of disgust in her voice.
“Very true. This is also not my natural hair colour.” At this statement, he pulled off his wig, and ran a hand through his mussed up honey brown hair.
“Well, that’s a bit, um… unexpected.” Zoe fumbled for words, as she stared at him.
“As I figured it would be. Now, anyone that saw today’s paper can attest that Ashton Martin James was the one in the pictures. By the way, the girl I’m kissing, that is my girlfriend. Nobody is cheating on me.” He had turned directly to the screen, and ended with a wink.
“That girl in the pictures is your girlfriend?” Zoe asked incredulously.
“Yes, she is.” Ash agreed readily.
“But, she looks, um, rather grubby.” Zoe tried to give the impression of being in control, while she floundered. She just looked perturbed, which made Ash just laugh. Lucy meanwhile, felt her insides twitch uncomfortably hoping that he wouldn’t mention her name.
“She had been playing sport in a muddy field, so of course she was.” Ash answered as though it was apparent.
“Oh, I see.”
“I guess that you’re not a big fan of playing football?” Ash asked her, and the shock on her face turned to horror. “I guess not.” He finished with a chuckle, while Zoe opened and closed her mouth rather aimlessly.
“You must like adventurous girls then?” Zoe asked, trying to regain her equilibrium.
“Only if they are my Belle.” He said warmly to the camera.
They went to a short commercial break after that, and Lucy sat there not sure what to feel. Everyone now knew exactly who her boyfriend was. She could never deny it again. She took a deep, hopefully soothing breath, before turning to look at her family. The expressions on their faces told her that there was more to come, but she couldn’t even guess at what it could be.
“Hello and welcome back! We have Martin James in the hot seat tonight, and we hope that he has a lot more to reveal,” Zoe said chirpily, as she turned back to Ash. “So, what else are you going to divulge tonight?”
I Met Her On the Balcony Page 31