Everybody, say hellooo to Rodrigo! [picture of him on the side]
I stepped off the plane into the soft warm breeze of Alicante.
It was the end of November, but the afternoon sun was still pleasantly warm. I felt groggy as I reached the bottom of the metal stairs leading to a plush cream leather interior coach, provided by the Spanish airport to everyone in first class.
Going through security and collecting the suitcases was conveniently quicker too – maybe it was the fact I’d worked at Manchester airport for five years, but I never liked standing around in airports too much going to and from vacation.
When we walked through the Arrivals’ doors, of course, the first thing we heard was our mother. She was squealing excitedly, jumping up and down manically waving her hands above her head, as if by some miracle we’d actually miss it. My dad stood next to her looking a little sheepish, glancing at the people around him apologetically. I definitely knew where my shyness came from.
We were several feet away when my mum came charging up to us, her arms outstretched. “Oooh my babies! I’ve missed you so much!”
We were choked into her iron grip embrace for a long moment before she finally released us. Her eyes flashed straight to me as she pulled away and her smile disappeared as her face paled. She gave me a once over from head to toe and her face dropped further. “Oh Lol, look at you. Come on. Car. Now.”
I cringed as she turned and stalked towards the exit. Something tells me my current appearance didn’t exactly sit well with her. I rolled my eyes then greeted my dad, pulling him into a more suitable hug. “Hey kiddo.” He smiled, though his eyes looked strained.
“Hey dad.” I tried my best to force a wide smile.
“Dad.” Joey beamed as he pulled my dad in to a quick hug.
“We better join your mum, looks like she’s off on one.”
~
“Lola Rose Rachel Summers, when was the last time you ate?”
My mum was still lecturing me in the car on the way to the villa. I looked out of the window in the backseat, choosing silence to be the best policy. I’ve learnt over the years that the best thing to do during situations like this was let her get everything off her chest at once.
“How much weight have you lost?” she continued ranting, “you look as though you’ve lost about fourteen pounds. That’s a stone Lola, a stone! Your face is gaunt and pale, the bags under your eyes are so tremendous you look like you have two black eyes. All your curves are gone, you’re skin and bones!”
The sound of her voice bounced off the otherwise awkwardly silent car. She turned in the passenger’s seat and I flinched, only to find her glaring at Joey, not me like I’d expected. “And where were you while your sister was turning herself into a malnourished vegetable, hmm? How could you allow her to get herself like that?”
Unlike me, Joey was quick to defend himself. That was the only major difference between Joey and I – Joey had my mum’s flare, whilst I had my dad’s laid back approach to things.
“I force fed her every day!” he complained loudly, “that’s why I brought her out here so quickly, to see if you could knock some sense into her. Because you’ve already pointed out it clearly didn’t work for me.”
“Thanks, Joe.” I muttered sarcastically.
He rolled his eyes at me as my mum turned back to me again. “If I knew you were this bad, I would have brought you out here sooner. Just look at you, Lol. You’re a mess. And all this because of a man! I never pinned you down as this type after a break up, especially after Liam. This one must have been pretty darn special make you act like this –“
“That’s enough, mum. Please.” I begged. I didn’t want this conversation anymore. It wasn’t helping.
She sighed. “From now on, you’re eating three square meals a day in front of your dad, Joey and I. Do you hear me?”
I tutted impatiently. “Yes.”
“Good.” She snapped. “Starting now. Al, drive us to the restaurant. I want Lola and Joey to see the renovations, anyway.”
~
My mother and father’s brand new restaurant was not what I was expecting. Because it wasn’t just a restaurant, it was now also a five star luxury hotel, with a gigantic state of the art swimming pool. Even the outside deck chairs were fancy. Wow, a lot has changed.
“We have you to thank, of course.” My mum muttered sheepishly as I gawped at the most beautiful hotel exterior I’d ever seen.
“Don’t mention it.” I thought I heard myself say.
I’d of course, given my family access to my bank account. And it was great to see my parents had invested some of the money in this place. It was unbelievable.
I’d bought Joey a brand new motorbike – well, when I say bought, I mean gave him my credit card. I also transferred a large amount of money into his own bank account, and the same to Ethan and Emily. They were stubborn about it, but I won in the end. They’ve now bought themselves a new car and house, not to mention spoilt little Hannah rotten. I on the other hand, haven’t bought myself a thing.
Four generously filled chicken tikka wraps were shoved on a plate in front of me, and for the first time in weeks, my stomach grumbled. My mum smiled triumphantly as we all sat at a table by the pool, overlooking the view. My parents really did live in style.
My mum babbled along while we ate, but I could only manage two wraps before I was completely full. My mum scowled, but let it go. Joey happily polished off my leftovers as well as the giant steak and chips he had.
Just as everyone had finished eating, the outside and inside tables were becoming increasingly occupied. “Wow, looks like this place is popular.” I noted, watching a family take their seats at a nearby table.
“Sure is.” My dad grinned proudly. “Again, that’s thanks to you, kiddo.”
I frowned. “What?”
Right on cue, the family who had sat down near us began to make louder noises.
“Oh my god, that’s Lola Summers!” a teenage girl chirped to her sister. The whole family blatantly turned in my direction and stared.
I smiled back, a little bewildered, and the two girls rose instantly. “Could we please have a photo?”
I got to my feet and grinned as best I could. “Sure.”
“James, come on.” One of the girls signalled for a guy who looked a bit younger than me to come over.
He blushed then looked away, cursing under his breath.
“My brother really likes you.” One of the girls whispered in my ear, making me laugh.
“He has a giant poster of you over his bed.” The other girl added, so only I could hear.
He got up from his seat and rose, glancing up at me nervously. I smiled at him as warmly as I could manage, and I received a shy smile back.
“Mum, can you take the photo please?”
The girl’s mother took a camera out of her bag and stood up, grinning broadly. “Ready?”
I smiled widely at the dim flash.
“One more.” The dad said cheerfully, raising up himself.
“Why don’t I take it, so you can get in too?” My mum appeared, beaming. She sent me a look full of an adoring parent, even her eyes looked teary. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. She was a drama queen, but I loved her.
The lady thanked her and handed her the camera.
“Okay guys and girls, say cheese!”
After chatting to the family for a further few minutes, my mum took my hand and dragged me inside while Joey had a beer with my dad, telling me how many people she wanted me to meet.
She led me straight into a large busy kitchen, compact with a full group of gourmet chefs in their swanky uniforms, the lot. They all stopped what they were doing when we entered, every one of them smiling widely at me. I smiled back shyly as my mum babbled on, introducing me. I’d have to come back to learn their names, my mum was speaking so fast I hardly caught a word.
She whirled me back through the swinging doors and up to every waiter and waitress. I shook my head as everyone seemed to gawp at us, we must have looked crazy but my mum definitely didn’t care. I was stopped several times by diners who recognised me, but my mum didn’t seem to mind that, either. She smiled proudly the whole time.
“Now, I’ve definitely saved the best til last.” She chuckled excitedly as she led me towards the bar. “Now for the barmen.”
We’d walked maybe half a step closer to the crowded bar, when I saw him. On the other side, juggling two liquor bottles and impressively catching them and balancing them on his forearm in front of a bunch of young, giggling girls, was a mouth wateringly attractive male. He was tall, dark and handsome. Very handsome.
I could tell it was him my mother was rushing us towards, because no offence to the other two short middle aged gentlemen tending to the bar, this other guy could stand out in a crowd of male models.
My mum stopped us at the end of the bar and lifted the flap, waving vigorously in the direction of the very busy working men. The two older gentlemen spied us and stopped what they were doing immediately, walking up to us with wide smiles. “Hola Senorita!” they both beamed, shaking my hand in turn.
“Hola!” I greeted them back as best I could on the spot.
“Ah, Louise, we finally meeting ze beautiful LolaRosa!”
“Si si!” my mum chirped back. “Lola, this is Paco and Abel.”
Thankfully, they were both wearing name tags so I knew which one was which.
“El gusto es mío!” Paco exclaimed.
I laughed shyly as the friendly barmen beamed back at me.
“Sorry, we won’t keep you.” My mum smiled, hinting for them to go back and serve. The bar was becoming increasingly heaving, after all.
They resumed their earlier serving and my eyes flitted back to the third barman. And this time, I got a proper look at him. He was tall, very tall. At least 6’3. He had thick but short perfectly groomed dark hair, and a bronzed skin tone. He was laughing along with the punters, and he seemed just as energetic and polite as the other two.
All three were dressed smartly, with long sleeved white shirts and a black tie underneath a grey silk waistcoat and black trousers. I turned towards my mum to see she was eyeing the younger of the three in a way I didn’t really find appropriate. “Mum.” I complained, shaking my head.
I looked back towards him at the same time he finally turned and spotted us.
“Hello!” he called out cheerfully as he made his way towards us. I heard a harmonious groan coming from the other side of the bar as he did so, and realised the girls who were dressed to the nines that he’d been tending to didn’t like the fact his attention was no longer on them.
His eyes were brightly lit up as he held out his hand to me. It was then that I saw those dark green eyes framed with long, dark lashes. He was beautiful.
“Lola Rose?” he said as I took his hand. Whoa, his hands were huge! “Your mother has told me so much about you. How do you do?” he had a gorgeous accent, but his English was very clear.
“Lola, I’d like you to meet Rodrigo.”
“Hi Rodrigo.” I muttered shyly as we released our hands.
“It’s a pleasure.” His eyes crinkled as his grin widened, showing a perfect set of sparkling white teeth. “Would you like a drink?”
That wasn’t actually a bad idea. “I’d love one, thank you. But I’ll wait to be served –“
“No, silly.” My mum giggled like a teenage girl. I turned and looked at her vacantly.
Rodrigo soon grabbed my attention again. “I’ll do you my best cocktail.” He beamed, his sparkling teeth dazzling me.
I smiled. “Okay, thank you.”
My mum picked up a bar stool from by the door on the other side of the bar and placed it next to a couple of young guys stood only a few feet away. I glanced in their direction to see them staring at me with wide eyes. As soon as I made eye contact, I flushed slightly and looked away. There really were a load of good looking men here.
“Are you okay sitting here while I sort a few things out? We’re a lot busier than we thought we’d be, your father and I may need to help out.”
“I can help, I don’t mind –“
“No.” She shook her head dismissively. “You’re here to relax.”
“But –“
I was cut off by her walking away without another word. Charming.
I put the flap back down and sat on the seat next to one of the young men. They both turned to face me as I did, and all three of us blushed. The guy I’d sat next to cleared his throat quietly. “Uh, sorry. Are you – are you really Lola Summers?”
I smiled, I was so used to that question by now. “Yes.”
“Whoa.” He turned completely in my direction. “I can’t believe we’re actually meeting you! I’m Theo, this is Lucas.”
“Hello.” Lucas smiled politely, holding out his hand. He was Spanish, but the other guy was definitely English.
“Hey,” I smiled back.
“You’re just as beautiful in person.” Theo smiled, holding his hand out.
I laughed, not sure what to say. “Thank you.”
“Can we get you a drink?” he asked politely.
“One Mai Tai, Lola Rose.” A tall glass with coral coloured liquid inside, perfectly decorated with an orange slice, a cherry and a red umbrella was placed on a coaster in front of me. I looked up to see Rodrigo grinning down at me.
“Thank you.” I said quietly, picking up the glass and taking a welcome sip through the straw.
“On the house, of course.” He grinned again before turning to serve one of the young ladies who was batting her eyelashes flirtily across the bar.
“So what brings you to Spain?” Theo asked casually, taking a sip of his beer.
“I’m just visiting my parents,” I said, “what brings you here?” I was eager to change the subject, I hated talking about myself.
“I moved here with my parents when I was eight, so I live here.” He chuckled. “And of course Lucas has lived here his whole life.”
“Oh, nice!” I chirped, before talking a longer sip of my cocktail. It was heaven.
“Are you staying at this hotel?” he asked eagerly, his eyes brightening.
“Er, I don’t actually know.” I answered truthfully. My parents hadn’t even mentioned anything. But they had a villa close by, I just assumed we’d all be staying there. “Are you?”
“No, we live down the road. But we come here a lot. It’s the best bar around.”
I smiled proudly as I thought of my parents. They were definitely keeping with the times.
“It sure is, isn’t it?”
I suddenly felt an arm sling round my shoulder, and turned to see Joey glaring at the two guys I was engaging in conversation with. I rolled my eyes. “Yes?”
“Is everything okay here?” his eyes remained on the pair of them.
“Yes.” I breathed in a sigh. “Do you want a drink?”
I turned to face the bar anyway, in time to see Rodrigo walking up to us. “What can I get for you?”
“Could I have a Becks please?” I looked down at my nearly finished cocktail. “And another one of these.” I smiled sheepishly, holding up the glass.
Rodrigo remained directly in front of us as he started on the drinks.
“And whatever these two are having.” I added, smiling victoriously as Joey’s arm dropped from my shoulder. I knew he was only looking out for me, and yes, I’ve recently been shattered to pieces. But seriously? I was having an innocent conversation in a crowded bar. They seemed genuinely polite, not sleezy at all. He really needed to give me a break.
“This is my brother, Joey.” I said to Theo and Lucas, but it was Rodrigo who spoke. “Joey!”
“Rodrigo!”
Joey grinned as he shook hands with Rodrigo. I frowned, then realised Joey had been here more recently, when I was with... him.
I shook my head as I tried to clear my head of all thoughts of Nathaniel, but it was too late. A heavy feeling of dread weighed down my chest, and I swallowed harshly to get rid of the lump in my throat. I took one look at my cocktail and downed it in one through the straw. I was feeling dizzy all of a sudden, and unfortunately it wasn’t because of the alcohol.
I looked up again to find both sets of boys in their own conversation. Rodrigo was now shaking up my next cocktail as he chatted animatedly with Joey, who had considerably lightened up.
I couldn’t be in this environment anymore, I was no longer feeling cheerful. Rodrigo handed me my second cocktail with a warm smile which I returned, before taking it and excusing myself.
Joey was obviously set for the night as he took my vacated seat and continued to chatter to Rodrigo, turning his back on the two guys I was previously talking to.
I turned and bumped directly into my dad, just the person I was looking for.
“Hi Lol – are you okay?”
I nodded and stepped into him, putting my head briefly on his chest. He put one arm around me as I looked back up at him. “Where’s the villa from here? I need to go.”
“You’re staying here, chuck. Your mother and I have put you and Joey in the master suites. Do you want me to show you?”
I nodded. I just needed to be on my own.
He led me through the bar and up a small flight of stairs before stopping outside the elevator. I didn’t even look around, I couldn’t lift my head up from the floor. As soon as we were in the elevator, my dad spoke.
“You’re on the eighth floor,” he pressed the number eight then turned to face me. “Is everything okay?”
I sighed. “I’m just tired. I’m not really in the mood for much tonight.”
I was glad it was my dad I was speaking to. He wasn’t like my mum, I knew he’d understand.
He put his arm round me. “You’ll be okay, you know. But I’ve never seen you like this, it scares me.”
I looked at him, his eyes were tense. Guilt suddenly added to all the emotions I was feeling right now. “I’m sorry.”
The elevator pinged and the doors opened. We stepped out and I followed him. “Don’t be. He made you the happiest you’ve ever been, your mother and I understand that. But you must understand that it pains us to see you this way. It’s so unlike you.”
“He was special.” I murmured, keeping my eyes on the ground. I wasn’t entirely comfortable having this conversation with my dad, even if he was the more understanding one. So I left it there.
“I know,” he soothed, stopping in front of a dark wooden glossy door. “This is your room, your things have already been brought up.” I was glad he changed the subject. I knew he knew I felt uncomfortable talking about it.
He opened the door and we walked in. I took a look around, and knew normally, I’d gasp with delight. It was lovely in here. But right now, I just wanted to curl up in bed.
The room was brightly lit and white, with a huge king sized bed. The furniture was made of wicker and complemented the theme of the room perfectly. The back wall was made of glass, leading out to a huge balcony. I winced at the sight of the glass wall, the littlest things reminded me of him. But still, I smiled.
“The bathroom is in here,” he said, opening the door to the en suite to our left.
“Thanks.” I smiled weakly.
“Come down to the restaurant for breakfast tomorrow morning, your mother and I will be there.”
“Okay.”
“Goodnight, princess.” He kissed the top of my hair.
“Night dad.”
He left the room, and I suddenly felt more alone than I’d ever felt. I sat on the bed and finished my cocktail, then remembered I hadn’t switched my phone back on after we landed.
“Damn it!” I shouted in frustration as I fished my phone out and switched it on. I was expecting a call from Melody.
I gritted my teeth impatiently as I waited for it to power up. When it finally did, I called Melody immediately without checking for any voicemails or messages.
She answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“Mel!” I almost shouted. “I’m so sorry, it’s been none stop since I got here, I completely forgot to switch my phone back on, I –“
“It’s okay, don’t worry. Joey told me.”
“Good, because – wait. What?”
“Uh... well I got worried you weren’t answering your phone, so called him to see if you were okay.”
“Oh.” I said, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Sorry about that. He didn’t even tell me you called.”
“Honestly, it’s no big deal. How is it over there?”
“It’s lovely. Look, er... can we just cut to the chase? Sorry, but it’s killing me now.”
“Of course. Everything’s okay. Mr Hart has seen to it. Leticia’s now one of the most hated females out there. She’s even catching up to Paris Hilton.”
Amazingly, I managed a grin. “Ooh, harsh.”
She giggled. “But more to the point, Nathaniel denied everything. Hundreds of tabloids are requesting your statement though. Do you want to get that sorted out now? That is if you want to make one.”
I blinked several times. “But – are you still my agent?”
She paused. “Yes,” she said as if she was highlighting the obvious.
“But – but that means – crap! I need to start paying you –“
“No you don’t. Mr Hart made that clear. He said he knew you’d say th- oops. You didn’t hear that.”
“He said that?”
“Lola, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that. I’ll text over the statement, okay? I have to go. Sorry.”
“O-okay –“
“Bye.”
She hung up.
I stared at my phone in bewilderment. What the hell? Why was he still paying for Melody to be my agent? I’m just one big guilt trip to him, aren’t I? No, I won’t accept that.
A text off Melody came then, and I opened it up with shaky hands.
Melody Connor
28 Nov 2012 21:48
In the light of recent accusations, I must wholly deny any physical connection between Leticia Lee and I other than the nature of business. Although the reasons for these absurd allegations are unclear, it is unfortunate Miss Lee would fall to such levels in an attempt to calumniate and vilify my relationship with Miss Summers. I have not, and will not be rekindling any type of relationship with Miss Lee, nor do I intend to.
There it is. Let me know if you want to make a statement of your own. M x
I read the words over and over, until I was sure I’d memorised it word for word. I suppose I should have felt happy he’d denied it, but I couldn’t feel anything. I was once again back to that empty shell. I got up and brushed my teeth, then decided to have a shower.
When I was done, my mind felt a lot clearer. I put some night clothes on and slumped onto the pillow, shutting the lamp off and lying there in the dark. All I could seem to think about were two things. One, unless he’d released a separate statement, he hadn’t confirmed that him and I were no longer together. And two, I couldn’t help but worry what Leticia’s backlash would be. I knew her well enough to know there’d be one, and I couldn’t stop my mind wondering to the blackmail Melody said Leticia had over him. According to Melody, some serious things were about to come out about my Nathaniel, and that just made me want to rip Leticia’s head off and play football with it.
I searched blindly for my phone and got hold of it, bringing the text back up. The sudden light from the screen made me wince, and I replied squinting at the screen with one eye open.
28 Nov 2012 22:15
I think he pretty much nailed it so I don’t need to say anything. The fact he didn’t confirm we’ve broken up is bugging me, but I take it you can’t tell me why he’s done that? X
28 Nov 2012 22:16
You’re right, he covered everything. About that, I don’t know myself. He didn’t even mention your break up when we discussed it. M x
I sighed. I suppose I expected him to be secretive about what’s going on in his head. He’s only given Melody what she needs to know. That’s so typical Mr Violet.
28 Nov 22:17
Thanks Mel. Speak to you soon. X
28 Nov 22:17
Chin up xxx
I put my phone on the side and closed my eyes, though I wasn’t expecting sleep to come for a while. Before I could stop myself, once again I was thinking about Nathaniel and our happy times.
That beautiful smile of his when he saw me sitting at the counter when he’d come home from work...
...The way his vibrant tanzanite eyes darkened when he was thinking. Those big, bold mesmerizing eyes...
...The feel of his zingy touch on my skin, how one touch seemed to send my whole body on fire...
...Our times lounging around in the tv room after dinner...
...His severely bossy, but cute behaviour...
...The little tantrums he used to pull over the phone at his staff...
...The first and only time he ever cuddled me tenderly on the early hours of my birthday, asking me to move in with him, never to leave him...
...The necklace he gave me. I didn’t even have it with me.
I rolled over sobbed into my pillow, no longer having the energy to stop the tears from falling.
I missed him. I missed him so much my whole body ached.
I don’t know how I was going to survive all of this. One more day without him didn’t bear thinking about. I couldn’t live without him, not this time. It’s only a matter of time before I broke completely...
And with that, I turned over and once again cried myself to sleep.