--- RHIAN ---
As they walked down the gravel driveway towards Amy’s parents’ house, Rhian was glad they’d chosen Kat to be in the band. Rhian was discovering they had a lot in common. They were both the oldest girls in large families; were both desperate to escape their remote hometowns; neither of them were English (what with Kat being from Poland and Rhian being from Wales); and both of them had an overbearing parent. Kat hadn’t gone into much detail about her dad yet, but the little she had said, implied he wasn’t an easy person to be around.
“Wow, your home is lovely,” said Kat to Amy, as they approached the front door.
“It’s my parents place,” clarified Amy.
“It’s really kind of them to help you out,” said Kat.
“Hello, girls,” trilled Christine, as Amy opened the door.
“Kat could start right away so we brought her straight back,” said Amy. “Hope you don’t mind, mum.”
“No,” tutted Christine with a tight smile. “And we’ve got another guest as well.”
“Alright, babe,” said a familiar Welsh voice, giving Rhian the shock of her life. She couldn’t believe who was stood next to Amy’s mum, munching on a slice of cake and dropping crumbs all over her luxurious beige carpet.
“Kyle! Oh my God!” gasped Rhian. “What are you doing here?”
“You invited me, remember?” he smiled.
No she hadn’t. How did he even know where she was? The last time she’d texted him, had been when they’d been living in Muswell Hill.
“You said it’d be alright to pop in if I came up to London. Well, here I am,” said Kyle, as he stuffed the last bit of cake into his mouth.
Kat didn’t have a clue what was going on, but Rhian could feel the glares from the others boring into her. They obviously thought she had invited him.
“I meant we could meet up in town or something,” stumbled Rhian.
“Well, Mrs Anderson said it’d be alright to stay over for a night or two.”
“For one night,” corrected Christine. “Seeing as you’ve come such a long way.”
“Great stuff,” smiled Kyle. “So tell me about this band of yours then, Rhi. Made any money yet?”
Rhian saw Amy and Jadine share a look. Kyle was clearly living up to the low expectations of what she’d described.
“Rhian, why don’t you and your friend go through to the conservatory,” clipped Christine. “I need to finish making dinner. There’s a pot of tea already in there.”
“Got anything stronger Mrs A?” grinned Kyle.
“Rhian isn’t old enough for anything stronger. And I suspect neither are you,” said Christine tartly.
“Fair enough,” said Kyle.
“Would you like us to come with you?” asked Molly. She clearly thought Rhian needed back-up.
“Maybe in a bit,” mumbled Rhian. She wanted to get Kyle on his own first and find out what the hell he was doing here.
“Okay,” said Jadine, following Molly’s lead. “We’ll get freshened up and then join you.”
“Kat, I’ll show you to the room you’re sharing with Jadine,” said Amy, fixing Kyle with a stern gaze before she headed upstairs.
“What’s their problem?” grunted Kyle, as Rhian steered him towards the conservatory.
“What are you doing here?” hissed Rhian.
“I thought you’d be pleased to see me?” grinned Kyle as he plonked himself in Maurice’s favourite chair in the corner of the conservatory. “Last time we texted you said you missed me.”
“The last time we texted you called me a frigid bitch!” shot back Rhian.
“That’s only because you got me so worked up. I thought you wanted to see me and then you told me to piss off!”
“I told you, Sherri wouldn’t let us have boys stay over. How did you even find me?” asked Rhian.
“I’ve got magic powers,” smirked Kyle.
Rhian wasn’t impressed. “Did Gareth tell you?”
She’d kill her older brother if he had.
“Nah, I got Matt’s girlfriend to find out and tell me. Her and Matt are always round at your mum’s hanging out with Gareth.”
Matt had a new girlfriend? How come her mum hadn’t told her? She had to admit that she hadn’t given Matt much thought since she’d left Penarvon, but she’d was disappointed to think that his crush on her had faded that quickly!
“Awww, jealous that dull-boy has moved on from you, eh?” gloated Kyle.
“No,” shot back Rhian. “Matt’s not my type.”
“I know that,” smiled Kyle, as he got up and moved in closer to her. “You like a bit of rough don’t you?”
Rhian felt a bolt of electricity shoot straight through her. How could Kyle Jackson still turn her on so easily? She backed away.
“That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”
“Things were getting tricky back in Penarvon,” said Kyle. “I needed to get away for a bit.”
“Is Jonno with you?” asked Rhian.
“Nah,” said Kyle, turning away. “He’s banged up.”
“He’s been arrested?” said Rhian. “What for?”
“It’s a stitch up. He didn’t do anything.”
Rhian didn’t believe that for a second.
“What for?” she repeated.
“A bit of burglary,” said Kyle. “And a couple of other things.”
“Were you involved?”
“I was just helping out a mate,” said Kyle.
Rhian started to panic. “Kyle, if the police are looking for you, you can’t stay here.”
“Don’t worry, Rhi,” said Kyle, moving in close once more. “It’ll all blow over.”
Rhian hoped that it would. Although she didn’t want to be with Kyle, she didn’t want him to go to prison.
“But the only thing that’s kept me going these past few weeks is thinking about you.” Kyle got out his phone. “I saved all your texts, you know.”
Rhian blushed as she remembered some of things she’d written to him.
“And not just the sexy stuff,” said Kyle, scrolling through his phone. “The other stuff too.”
Kyle showed her one of her messages…
Missing you loads. Wish we could still be together xx
She’d sent that one during her first week away.
Then he showed her another…
Recorded a song called Candy Kisses 2day – made me think of u!! J
Rhian blushed. It was true – it had made her think of him!
Kyle scrolled to another one…
My pussy is wet & ready 4u big boy. Cum & get it
“I didn’t send you that one!” said Rhian.
Kyle checked his phone.
“Shit! Sorry, that was from someone else,” he muttered.
Rhian turned away and stared out of window.
“It was from some girl Jonno’s been shagging,” said Kyle. “She sent it to me by mistake.”
“Yeah, right,” said Rhian. She could feel tears prickling at her eyes, from the shame of almost being duped by Kyle again.
“Look, why would I come all this way to see you if I was interested in someone else?” he said with a touch of anger.
“So you can use me for a hideout,” moaned Rhian.
“So why would I keep your texts, eh?”
Rhian spun round to face him. “And why did you keep that other one if it was from Jonno’s girlfriend or whoever she is?”
“Because it was funny,” said Kyle. “But it doesn’t mean anything. Look, I’ll delete it if it makes you feel better.”
Kyle pulled out his phone again and deleted the offending message.
“See? Gone! Happy now?” he spat.
Rhian felt a lot of things, but happy wasn’t one of them. How come Kyle still had the power to make her feel bad about herself even when she hadn’t seen him for weeks?
“Look, I’m gonna clear off,” grumbled Kyle. “You don’t need me messing up your life. You’ve got a good set-up here.”
Kyle grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and started to put it on.
“Maybe see you back in Penarvon…although I hope I don’t. I mean, I hope you make it as a singer. You’re bloody good enough.”
“Really?” asked Rhian, the question popping out of her mouth before she could stop it.
“Course. Everyone back in Penarvon’s rooting for you.” Kyle stopped and looked at her. “Including me.”
They held each other’s gaze, before Kyle broke away to check his wallet. “I’ve got enough to get back to London. Then hopefully I can find somewhere to squat for a couple of nights.”
“You can’t squat,” said Rhian.
“I’ll have to. Don’t have enough money to do anything else.”
As Kyle headed down the corridor towards the front door, Rhian couldn’t help herself.
“Wait,” she cried, following him. “I could give you some money.”
After the split with Sherri, her mum had paid £2,000 into Rhian’s bank account. It was more than her parents could afford but at least it was helping Rhian follow her dream.
“I’d have to go a cash point and get it though,” she said.
“You don’t have to do that,” said Kyle.
“I can’t give you much,” continued Rhian. “But enough to get a proper room somewhere for a couple of nights.”
“That’d be great, yeah,” smiled Kyle. “Thanks Rhi.”
Rhian blushed at what seemed like the first genuine smile Kyle had given her since he’d arrived.
“Are you alright Rhian?” called Amy, eyeing up Kyle as she bounded down the stairs.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” smiled Rhian. “Kyle’s leaving, but I need to nip into Woking with him first.”
“Oh,” frowned Amy. “Dinner will be ready in five minutes. Why don’t you go after that?”
Rhian could feel herself weakening. She turned to Kyle.
“Do you fancy staying for dinner?”
“Nah, I’d better head straight off.”
“Suit yourself,” said Amy, clearly happy that Kyle wasn’t going to be around for much longer. Amy gave Kyle a cursory nod before heading towards the kitchen.
“Fine, I’ll come into Woking with you,” said Rhian. “And get what we talked about.”
She didn’t want Amy to know she was giving Kyle money. Kyle didn’t want to be overheard either and pulled her outside.
“Look, there’s no need for you to miss dinner. Give me your bank card, I’ll get the money, come back with your card and then head off into London.”
“But that means an extra trip for you,” said Rhian.
“But you’ve had a long day,” said Kyle. “Whatsherface’s mum told me you’ve been auditioning all day. You must be knackered. Plus I don’t think they’re too happy about you spending time with me.”
Kyle looked across at the kitchen window and Rhian saw Amy and her mum straining to catch a glimpse of them.
“They obviously think I’m no good for you,” said Kyle.
“And they’d be right,” said Rhian. “But I wish they weren’t.”
Rhian couldn’t help it. No matter how hard she tried, Kyle was under her skin. She looked at his messy hair, furrowed brow and the slight curl of his top lip and wished that he’d grab her, slam her up against the wall and kiss her hard.
“Look, I’ll be back in a bit,” said Kyle, with a glint in his eye. “We can say a proper goodbye then, eh?”
Rhian blushed slightly. “Okay,” she muttered.
She went back inside for her bank card and wrote her pin number on a scrap of paper. As she handed them over to Kyle, she said, “you can take out £200.”
“Thanks Rhi,” said Kyle.
Then he leaned in close, kissed her softly on the cheek and lingered for a moment as he let his hand brush against her breasts and give her a gentle squeeze. Rhian felt her nipples harden and she took a sharp intake of breath. Maybe she should go with him after all? Perhaps they could go for a coffee or maybe a walk? They might be able to find somewhere secluded and then…
“See you in a bit,” said Kyle, breaking her out of her fantasy. “You’re still a hot piece of work, you know,” he added.
A shiver of pleasure coursed through Rhian’s body and she couldn’t wait for Kyle to return.
But Kyle didn’t come back. And when she checked her bank account online, all that was left was £7.54.