Hello everyone. I don't know why the chapters get harder and harder to write as the story progresses but I'm trying though haha. Please do tell me what you think as always. You might find a good amount of cheese in this chapter. I hope you don't hate me and please please please vote. it helps my story get noticed. Thank you :)
CHAPTER 23
I have watched a number of movies in my lifetime and one thing I absolutely hate is the cliché phone call that rolls through the scene to add a dramatic pause. Never in my wildest dreams did I think one would roll into my life during a moment where silence is key.
My hands go to work as I tiptoe to the middle of the room. In my pocket, I find my earphones which I plug into my phone and swiftly place into my ear. I am trembling but I manage to answer the call with a steady tone. It's Mrs Ainsworth.
"Hello."
"Katie dear."
"Yes Mrs Ainsworth." I respond. The hairs at the back of my neck begin to rise and I'm almost certain someone has entered the room. The pair of earphones I have are the type that cancel-out external noise so I don't hear footsteps or the sound of the door opening further – but I'm positive that someone's in the doorway. I however ignore the urge to turn to look keeping my eyes on the scenery outside the wall of glass.
"Are you on your way home?"
"Not yet." It's an odd question for her to ask. "Why? Is everything okay?"
"Oh yes dear. We just met Alyssa and she asked to tell you that Ashton requested for an empty house." An empty? That's odd given that 2 people can live in this big mansion for a decade and not realise each other's presence.
"I'm sorry?"
"Yes dear. That's why we're all here. Are you sure you don't want to join us." No wonder Alyssa wouldn't stop pestering me about the movie this morning. If I hadn't thrown in the Emma card I'd be on my way to watch yet another Avengers movie. Don't get me wrong I love the franchise but an early finish means I can get back to my daughter before her bedtime. I cannot believe I fell asleep.
"Yes I'm sure. I'll leave immediately so that Mr Bevilacqua doesn't find me here." I throw in Mr Bevilacqua hoping that whoever is behind me believes that I've been unaware of their presence and the argument. My plan is to end the call and quickly turn on my music so I can pretend that I've been listening to tunes rather than their dispute.
"Hurry up dear, Ashton is very particular." She doesn't have to explain what she means by this because I understand. "Bye dear." Once the call ends, I'm swift with my movements and in no time at all, I'm listening to Adele's new ballad.
Humming, I turn away from the direction of the door and head for the suit rack. Just as I comb through them, a hand grabs my shoulder and violently turns me around.
My shock isn't pretentious. It's Francesca. She towers over me so I have to take a step back and tilt my head to look at her closely. Her mouth's moving but I hear nothing. The music pulls me back from the blow and without a second thought; I roughly pull my earphones and let them hang.
"I'm sorry."
Francesca rolls her eyes and throws her hands in the air. "I asked what the f*ck you're doing here."
"Hey that's not needed." I follow Ashton's voice only to curse my heart for starting into a heavy rhythm. His hair is wet and his shirt's unbuttoned all the way down. I stare longer than needed and the heat of my embarrassment wets my forehead instantly. I don't know what to do with myself so I stand there awkwardly until the silence is broken.
"I asked you a question." She says through gritted teeth.
"I uh." I utter, stepping to the side. "I was just cleaning." I shuffle along the shoe shelves to get further away from her making sure I don't make eye contact. "I'm done. I'll be out of your way." I don't know how I make it to the door in such a short time but before I disappear from Ashton's closet, I hear Francesca question him.
"Since when do you have the maids organise your closet."
I'm out of the room in one second and flying down the stairs the next not bothering to take the lift. Once I'm sure of my safety, I walk but briskly and head for the closet that holds my handbag and jacket. With the bag in my hand and the jacket over my arm, I turn straight into a body. The Ashton sensors in my body spark to life as my breathing halts.
"Sorry." I step to the side as if to let him pass but there's no way forward. I'm very aware of the closeness and unfortunately stepping back isn't an option.
"Why are you running?" he questions not making any moves to widen the space between us. He is so close I can smell his shampoo and aftershave. I want him to give me space to breath but then – I don't. "Star struck again?" I look up to encounter the laughter in his eyes.
"No." I try to match my smile to his but the nervousness in my system won't allow it to happen. "She's kinda scary." Ashton laughs bowing his head which touches the tip of mine. He falls back in his original position and speaks.
"I'm sorry." My smile drops as I search his eyes for answers regarding his apology. "I had to leave for a few days." I'm confused. Why does he have to apologise when it's part of his job to travel?
"Why are you apologising for that." I query, keeping my eyes on his. This is the longest I have been able to look him in the eye without breaking contact within seconds. I'm happy to know that I'm making progress.
"The paparazzi, the stories. All of it." I nod, and then look down because I don't know exactly what to say or do. He doesn't really have to express his regret since he doesn't run the media. "I cannot say that I didn't expect it to happen."
My gaze travels to him again. "Then why?"
This time he's the one to look away. "I had to reshoot a few scenes in Italy and -" I cut him off because the answer he gives isn't what I was looking for.
"No... I meant why the dinner. You must have known that it would cause you problems with the media and y-your girlfriend." I say the last word with the energy of a wet tissue. I hate to admit it but him having a girlfriend ticks me off. They are so perfect together in the media and I know deep down that what I heard in the room is not the whole story. Maybe Ashton said what he said in a fit of anger.
"What did you hear up there?"
I look down to avoid his question but the silence that follows tells me that it won't be enough to run away from this.
"Nothing."
"Really?" He takes a step closer taking up the space between us along with my ability to breathe. I'll be hyperventilating in a second if he doesn't move back.
"Your g-girlfriend i-is upstairs." I stutter. He's too close and she can walk in any moment. Imagine how she'd feel.
Silence plays out before us once again.
"Is that what it sounded like?" Once again I'm tempted to look up at him but the shelf behind me makes it impossible. I must say though that I'm grateful for the disadvantage.
"What?" I question.
"Did it sound like we're a relationship?"
My mouth goes dry but I manage to speak through it. "C-couples fight all the time so-"
"So you were listening." He cuts me off. As my head snaps back to look up him, it rams into the shelf behind. The pain shuts my eyes and sends my head forward but as soon as it touches Ashton's chest, I straighten it to avoid further connection.
"You okay?" Ashton questions between a laugh. When I open my eyes, there's a bit of space between us.
"Yes." I say, struggling to swallow my pain. His eyes are in view now and hold the laughter of his lazy smile.
Ashton takes another step back and folds his hands over his chest. It makes me wonder if he does it deliberately to block the exit.
"So what did you hear?"
"I told you. I didn't hear anything." My voice is stern. I know that my previous comment gave me away but I'll stick to my story until I get out of here.
"Hm." The amusement is still embedded in his eyes. "So what did you do after your nap?"
I'm dumbfounded. "My nap?" I play stupid but I know exactly what he's talking about. Where's Francesca when you need her. Ashton has been downstairs interrogating me for about 10 minutes now – she must be wondering where he is. Why hasn't she landed to look for him yet?
"Yeah." When the stupid look on my face doesn't drop, he continues. "The one you took in the closet." His smile is back in full force mocking me. I could die right now.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I look away. The skin underneath my jacket begins to sweat profusely. I want to tear it off my arm but I need to make a swift getaway so all my belongings need to be on me.
"You're sticking to that story huh?"
"Yes. I woke up and began to clean WITH earphones in my ears. I didn't hear anything."
"Nothing at all?" he questions looking askance. "Because right before Francesca walked in, that book was still on your face."
I gasp and he laughs, clearly entertained. "I didn't hear anything."
Scrunching his nose, he responds. "Sure you didn't"
The room is quiet again and I'm curious to know what Ashton's thinking.
"It wasn't a publicity stunt." His words take all my attention to him. His teasing gaze has shifted to one of seriousness. I don't know why he tells me this but I'm glad Francesca's words won't be playing on my mind making me wonder if it's true or not.
Now that he's serious I wonder if I should drop my act. I settle on not letting this conversation go any further.
"I uh. Have to go." It's tough but I manage to squeeze past him but before I can exit the small space his voice stops me.
"You're running again." I cannot tell if his words are mischievous or if they hold another meaning. I however don't take another minute standing in his presence to find out. I'm out the front door in a jiffy feeling the effect of his closeness all over me. My palms are sweaty, my eyes are blurry and my heart beats through my ears.
I hate to admit it but Ashton seems to have a hold on me.
***
I carry my daze all the way through the weekend and if it wasn't for the fact that I'd told Emma that she'd be meeting her Aunt officially today, I would have cancelled this whole thing.
The temperature outside is so high it's enough to boil fish to the surface. Emma and I made it to the park about 40 minutes ago to find Alyssa ready with a teddy bear the size of our whole apartment. She and Emma hit it off immediately and now I sit on the bench watching them from a distance.
After a while, I stand with my picnic basket and head for the shade forming underneath a large tree. Here, I straighten out the blanket and place a rock at each corner to prevent it from flying off in the wind. Emma will soon be exhausted, hungry and in need of a nap.
A couple of minutes roll by and on schedule Emma runs towards me with Alyssa behind. She falls into my lap panting and a little sweaty.
"Sorry Katie, she just ran off." Alyssa's out of breath too. She's dressed in a yellow skater dress, converse and has her curls in a thick bun. I need to remind her to wear a pair of jeans next time because running after a child in a dress is not the most comfortable thing.
"Yeah. She does that." I laugh wiping Emma's face with wipes. She must be exhausted because she would be talking up a storm right about now.
Once I'm finished with cleaning her hands, she reaches for a tuna sandwich and begins to munch on it without a word. Alyssa watches her with amusement and it warms my heart.
I push what I packed for her lunch before her along with a drink then start on my serving.
"Oh Katie you didn't have to." She says sweetly. I still cannot get used to her being nice to me but I prefer this side to her livid one.
"When you have a kid, you eat when they eat and sleep when they do so eat up." I giggle. "You have a long day ahead of you."
"Thanks." And she's back to staring at Emma and occasionally commenting on how beautiful and adorable she is.
***
"Why are you keeping this a secret?" I ask. A moment ago after finishing her sandwich, Emma crawled to her new teddy bear and went to sleep. Alyssa has been watching her without saying a word and to break the silence I decide to have a serious conversation with her. The subject of Ashton is one I try to avoid but today I'm curious.
Alyssa looks at me and appears to think for a moment before she responds. "Nona made me realise that it wasn't mine to tell." I wait for her to add onto her statement but she doesn't. "I will say this though... Ashton hates being lied to."
I'm quick with my reply. "Don't we all?"
"It's different with him. I mean most people get over it after a while but with him, it's... it's... I don't know." After a wave of silence, she says. "I'm worried about him finding out." Her eyes travel to Emma as she lets out a deep breath. "He might never forgive us for this."
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