"Kimberley what time do you call this!?"
"I'm sorry Bert, but I need to ask a favour."
"And what would that be?"
"Can you hold off one more day with that story about Cheryl?"
"What!? Why?"
"Because she has the X Factor tomorrow night."
"So...?"
"So... she's goin' to be crushed. How do you expect her to cope with that!?"
"And that's the start of her meltdown kimberley."
I went silent as I thought. I had to change my tactics.
"It won't work that way. I don't think she would let me in if that happened."
"Well... even if I wanted to, I can't stop the story running. It's already been printed."
I sighed while throwing myself down onto the sofa. Two can play at that game.
"Well... I can't and I won't get your story Bert!"
I heard him sigh.
"This better be worth my while because cancelling these prints is going to cost a fortune!"
"It will Bert. Thanks."
"Ok. Goodnight."
"Goodnight. Sorry for waking you."
And then he hung up.
Running into my room, I gathered all of the notes and recordings I had made over the past weeks and stuffed them under my bed. I wasn't going through with it anymore. I was going to tell Cheryl everything.
* * * * *
"Get f*ckin' out!"
The slamming of the door and Ashley begging echoed through the hallway making it easy for me and the rest of the residents to hear.
"Please Cheryl! Nothin' happened..."
Nothing. Cheryl must of been ignoring him.
"Cheryl..." Ashley begged. He was crying.
"Do you think he's cheated on her again?" Nadine asked as she stood next to me.
I turned to look at her, an innocent expression on my face. "I dunno." I hadn't told her that I knew about the pictures.
"Well... it must be bad. Listen to him cryin'!"
I nodded at her in response and then went back to listening.
"Please Cheryl..."
He was pathetic.
It was another half an hour before the begging stopped and we presumed he had left. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to go and see her or to leave her alone. I could only imagine what state she was in.
"Maybe I should go and see how she is," I said, standing up.
"No," Nadine responded, pushing me back down again. "Leave her alone for a bit. She'll need some time to herself."
I knew she was right, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. "Ok. I think I will go for a nice bath." I gave Pixie a pat on the head before getting up and making my way to the bathroom.
* * * * *
Nadine had convinced me to leave Cheryl alone. I hadn't saw her for three days. I often wondered how she was... how she was coping with the paps that waited outside day after day. How she coped with the stories that appeared in the paper everyday without fail. She was reliving the nightmare of the first time this had happened.
Clipping Pixie's lead on, we made our way outside. Just as we reached the entrance door, the sound of flashes began.
"Cheryl!"
I laughed. "Sadly not!" I shouted back, flipping them off.
"Do you know Cheryl!?" one shouted.
I decided to ignore them, walking off in the opposite direction. Thank god for the security gates. After Pixie had done her business, we made our way back.
"Is Cheryl in!?" the same young man shouted.
I walked over to them. "No," I lied. I knew she was in, I had heard her door eariler that day. "She's away back up to Newcastle for a while. She told me she would be back on Friday. You just missed her actually, she left through the side gates. She will probably be at the airport by now." I could see their eyes lighting up. I knew they were hesitating. "Luton, I think." And with that I walked back to the entrance door.
"Where they annoying you?"
I looked up to see Cheryl standing at her door. She looked like sh*t. I smiled at her, sympathetically. "No babe. They were asking questions."
"What did you tell them?" she asked, her face flashing with worry.
"Don't worry, I never said anything bad. I told them you weren't here and you had left a few minutes ago out of the side gate for Newcastle."
She smiled... a sad smile. "Have they left?"
"I dunno, but if they haven't... they were certainly thinkin' about it." Once again, I scanned her body. She was wearing her pj's and she looked as if she hadn't ate in days. "I was just about to make some lunch. Would you like to join me?"
"No thanks."
I really didn't want to bring the subject of Ashley up. "Ok. If you need anythin' you know where I am."
"Thanks." she said. She looked terrible.
Just as I was heading for my door I had a thought. "Ooh Cheryl..."
"Yeah..." She peaked her head around the door and smiled when Pixie tried to run towards her.
"We're having a little party on Friday. Nadine asked Sarah and Nicola to come and I think they are bringing their boyfriends." I winced as I said this. "We would love it if you could come?" I continued, hoping she hadn't noticed.
"I'll think about it," she replied, stepping out of the front door and walking towards Pixie. "Hey baby," she giggled as she began licking her face. "Ooh... you're getting big, aren't you?"
I continued to watch as she made a fuss of her. Her smile was now that of a genuine one. She really did love dogs. "I hope you come on Friday," I smiled. "I've not saw you in a while."
She looked up at me. "Like I said... I have a think about it." Getting up, she made her way back to her flat. "I'll see you later Kimberley."
"Ok... bye babe."
And with that she shut the door. I looked down at Pixie. "Come on you," I said, tucking on her lead gently. "Let's get you a biscuit."
