Chapter 10 #3
‘I wish you could talk, Merlin.’ Briony rubbed the dog between the ears as he dropped his head on to her leg.
It wasn’t a ‘Woody’s Words of Wisdom’ day, but suddenly she had an overwhelming urge to go online and talk to her followers.
Usually, she planned these things out carefully.
She made most of her income from her online presence, and she knew how easily she could lose it all if she said something that could be interpreted the wrong way and alienate her followers, or go viral for all the wrong reasons.
Except this time, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from clicking the button on her phone that opened the Instagram app and selecting the option to go live.
She had no idea what she was going to say and five minutes later she was still talking, but if someone had asked her what she’d said, she’d have had no idea.
Then the words she’d never expected to say came out.
‘You all know me as Holly Day.’ She was staring into the camera, a tiny part of her realising that it wasn’t too late to stop, yet somehow she didn’t.
‘But that’s not my real name. My real name is Briony Deyes.
I chose the name Holly because when I was a kid, I was very dramatic and it earned me the nickname Hollywood. ’
She paused for a moment, before continuing. ‘It was also because I really wanted to be an actress. Me and my sister used to make up storylines for films all the time, and I was convinced that one day I was going to be an actress, but it wasn’t meant to be.’
Giving a small shrug to prove to her audience that she really was over that dream, she smiled at the memory of all the times she and Bex had made up stories and brought them to life in a little world of their own, while their mum was working at least two jobs to keep a roof over their heads.
They’d been the happiest days of her life, she’d just had no idea at the time, and the thought made the smile melt off her face. She had to finish her confession.
‘You might wonder what made me want to become Holly Day? I suppose it could just have been to give myself a great name as someone who spends their time telling the world about the freedom and joy of van life, but it wasn’t that.
Sixteen years ago, I did something really stupid and it blew my world apart.
I thought I was saving my sister from making the worst mistake possible and marrying a complete idiot, by showing her who he really was, but instead I hurt her in an unforgiveable way and made her hate me.
I haven’t seen her since and that breaks my heart every single day. ’
The comments were pinging up fast and furiously now, but she couldn’t bring herself to read them, even if the tears blurring her eyes had allowed it.
She couldn’t bear to read even one negative message, and she knew there would be a lot of them.
There’d be supportive ones too, but the internet opened the door to everyone: the good, bad and the downright crazy.
The realisation was hitting her that she had invited the opinion of all those people on the deepest, darkest part of her life.
She had to delete the live video and hope that it hadn’t been seen by too many people.
It had been crazy to tell complete strangers the thing she was most ashamed of and that she regretted more than anything else she’d ever done.
Briony didn’t say anything before she ended the video, her fingers fumbling as she tried desperately to delete the incriminating evidence.
Once she’d finally done it, she threw the phone away from her like a hand grenade and it landed on the bed.
‘Oh God, Merlin. What the hell have I done?’ He looked up at her with big soulful eyes, and she tried to steady her breathing.
Getting up, she retrieved her phone and googled what percentage of her followers were likely to have seen the story, and the answer suggested it was as low as 2 per cent.
That was good, it was a tiny proportion, and she released a slow breath.
This would all blow over. Maybe she could even pretend it was some kind of prank, but she was hardly known for that sort of thing.
She’d been too closed off for that, even as a kid.
‘It’s okay, Merls.’ She nuzzled her face against the dog’s head and allowed her breathing to slow.
It really was all going to be okay. Yes, she’d done something stupid and spur of the moment, but she’d limited the damage and she’d come up with something to post in the morning, explaining it all away somehow.
‘It’s okay, boy.’ Merlin gave a very uncharacteristic howl as someone hammered on the door of the van.
Surely none of her followers had tracked her down.
It had happened before, but that was why she hadn’t posted any of her Cornish content yet.
She’d been careful never to reveal where she was until after she’d already left.
But then an even more terrifying thought crossed her mind.
What if it was Bex? It had been a stupid idea to come here and risk her sister discovering who she was, but she’d been careful to keep her distance and disguise her appearance as much as she could.
‘Holly, open up, I know you’re in there.’ She recognised Tristan’s voice immediately, her shoulders slumping with relief. ‘Or should I say Briony.’
‘Shit.’ She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening.
Tristan couldn’t have seen the live, except she knew he had.
He’d got in touch with her in the first place after seeing her online.
Why the hell hadn’t it crossed her mind that he would see her live?
That would have been enough to stop her, except she’d just blundered on, and now here she was, standing behind the door of the van, not knowing whether to open it or try to pretend she wasn’t there.
She’d have done it if there was an option to drive off in the morning and never see him again, but she had to go to her mother’s appointment on Monday. So she couldn’t run. Not this time.
‘You can either let me in, or we can have this conversation through the door.’ Tristan’s voice was icy cold and she didn’t need to open the door to know that he was angry, but as soon as she did the expression on his face made his feelings even more obvious.
‘I’m guessing you saw the Instagram Live?’
‘Are you Bex’s sister?’ There was a muscle going in his cheek and his eyes never left her face, as he waited for her to answer.
‘It’s not what it—’
‘Just tell me the truth. Are you Bex’s sister?’
‘Yes, but I couldn’t tell you.’
‘Why not?’ This time he did wait for an answer, but she still couldn’t give him one. So he filled in the blanks for himself, standing outside the still-open door of her van. ‘Because you knew I would never have gone behind her back and invited you to stay here, knowing what you put her through?’
‘You don’t know the full story.’ She wanted to say so much more, but she was scared that if she did, she might start to cry.
‘Maybe not, but what I do know is that you made me complicit in deceiving someone I love. If Bex knew you were here and that I’d given you any influence over what happens with the campsite, she’d be devastated.’
‘Do you really think I’d do anything to jeopardise this for her?’ She hated how little he clearly thought of her, but what he said next left her in no doubt as to why.
‘You slept with her fiancé, so I would imagine you’re capable of pretty much anything.’ If he’d slapped her around the face, it couldn’t have hurt any more than it already did.
‘I didn’t sleep with him, it wasn’t like that, I… Please, Tristan, come in for a minute and let me explain.’
‘There’s nothing to say and I don’t want to listen to any excuses you come out with.
’ He was already turning on his heel and walking away from her into the darkness of the night; just one more person who’d discovered who she was and had decided he didn’t like anything about her.
She’d mapped out her entire destiny when she’d decided to make a move on Liam and no one cared why she’d done it, because Tristan was right, there was no reason that would ever excuse what she’d done, and she’d realised all of that far too late.