The Camera Never Lies

4. The Shirt

“First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost” –William Hazlitt

I was stood in a fantastically white gallery by myself. The white floor melted into the walls like liquid chocolate interrupted only by framed snapshots of my work. “No, not my work,” I had to remind myself, “My hobby...” Nevertheless, this sad realisation didn’t deter my mood – it was too peaceful. I came across my beautiful night sky work. The night sky bled into the sombre buildings, while the moon lit the frame. ‘Clack, clack’ I heard in the distance. Ignoring it, I turned around studying my next shot: there was that flash of blue again. ‘Clack, clack, clack, clack.’ The sound got closer and I was annoyed. This was the piece I’d been looking for. ‘Clack, clack, CLACK, CLACK!’ The sound was impossibly close and giving up I groaned turning around.

With a flash, the white walls disappeared and I was surrounded in a dark room where the only light was the sunlight escaping from the corner of the sun blind. The ‘clacking’ sound did however continue. It took for a moment for me to place the sound as the sound of high heels against the marble floors outside.

Wanting to investigate, I slowly nudged Damon’s arm away from me and looked around the room to find his shirt. That being the only piece of clothing I wore, I slipped through the door as quietly as a thread through the eye of the needle. Padding across his apartment I started when I found an impossibly stylish woman sipping tea as she flicked through the papers.

“Uh, hello? I’m sorry who are you?” I asked – feel increasingly abashed at my chosen attire next to her.

Her long blonde locks spun in a circle as she spun around to look at me. “Shouldn’t I ask you that?” She laughed. “I am his sister after all,” she explained.

Understanding, it to be my turn I began hesitating, “Well...” Not sure really where we stood I said, “I’m his neighbour...”

“I was kind of hoping we were something more,” a scratchy voice came behind me.

I flushed turning to face Damon sauntering towards me. Raising his eyebrow at me he went on, “So that’s where my shirt went.”

I flushed as he pulled me towards him and dropped a light kiss on my lips. Forgetting myself completely, I pressed myself towards him further when we both froze as we heard a tiny ‘Ahem’.

Embarrassed, I burrowed my face into Damon’s bare chest while he turned around and grinned sheepishly at his sister, “Sorry Sam, I completely forgot...” Then gesturing at me he went on, “This is Jenna... She’s my girlfriend.” Confident as his words were, I felt the hint of a question merged in his introduction; I smiled and nodded a fraction. “Girlfriend,” I could live with that.

His sister’s smile was almost as enchanting as his; she extended her hand towards me, “Sam Beech – the black sheep of the family”

I grinned, “Jenna Lee, I’d have preferred to have met Damon’s family with more clothes on, but I’ll take what I can.”

----

That Saturday morning was so unbearably stifling; it felt as though the whole world was slumbering -I had to work: family reunions simply presented too many opportunities to pass up. But that was exactly what it was: a family reunion. Though their annual thirty-grand-a-year education was shown not to have gone to waste as they were both polite enough to pretend to enjoy my company; I could sense them awaiting my goodbyes. Unperturbed, I brushed the tangles out of my hair in the bathroom mirror. Satisfied it was the best I could do presently I walked out to find Damon cooking and Sam sat in the living room flicking through his widescreen.

I crept up behind Damon and hugged him from behind and pecked him on the cheek, “I was thinking I should really get back, I have to edit some of my pieces.”

“At the rate you’re working you’d be the best journalist in London!” he complained while I grimaced behind his back. ‘Journalist’ – that’s the closest I could get to the truth without sending him running. I smiled, “Well since you asked, I have my eggs over easy.” Laughing, I began to set the table. I waited for Damon’s back to be turned and quietly pulled a tiny device out of my pockets and secured it under the table. Saying goodbye would be only too easy now, but I reminded myself that I’d have to find a more permanent solution soon.

Quite sure, I’d eaten enough to last me days, I said goodbye to Damon. Kissing him I whispered, “I think I’m going to keep this” as I fingered the grey shirt. “It looks better on you anyway,” he smiled against my lips. I rolled my eyes at his cheesy lines, and said goodbye to Sam. Her personality was so infectious I couldn’t help but agree when she begged to make plans soon. Shaking my head at the siblings I shut the apartment door behind me.

I counted for ten seconds exactly, slowly making my way to the staircase and then rushed upstairs. Plugging the twin to the device earlier into my laptop, I waited as I listened to the apartment below.

----

“I want to go back Damon; I want to see my family again!” A woman’s anguished voice cried.

“I’m your family Sa-”

“You know what I mean Damon!” She cut across him. “I want to see Mum and Dad. I want to go home!”

“I’d love to help – I would, but Dad...” He trailed off.

She interrupted again, “Dad would listen to you!” Sensing he was about to protest she cut him off, “Don’t try and pretend otherwise you’re the ‘Golden Boy’ remember,” she said making quotation marks in the air sarcastically.

No one spoke then. “Sam I’m sor-”

“Don’t bother Damon, it’s not your fault,” She said shortly. “Look: You abandoned his life’s work to pursue acting and take after me and still he absolutely adores you – of course he’ll listen to you!”

Another silence.

“Fine,” his voice came back clipped, but then softened a little, “Why do you want to go back though Sam?”

Her voice seemed tired: like a child’s repeating memorized verses of Shakespeare for the hundredth time, “I don’t know baby bro, I’ve just turned thirty and it’s really hit me...” She took a deep breath, “Look the whole thing was years ago, I want to move on, I’ll say whatever I need to to Dad,” She hurriedly finished.

“Fine, I’ll talk to them this weekend then...” He sighed. There was a scraping of chairs and a scuffle.

Her voice sounded a lot lighter as she exclaimed, “So ... Jenna. I’ve never seen you this happy!”

I slammed the laptop lid shut. I knew the boundaries: a professional always does.

----

A/N A huge thank you to Andrea97 for the cover she has made for The Camera Never Lies. Please check her out at http://www.wattpad.com/user/Andrea97 and read her stories if you can :)