Chapter Thirty-Five
Someone was banging loudly on the shop door.
‘For fuck’s sake, when will they get the hint?’ snapped Mark, taking an angry swig of his coffee, while his leg twitched uncontrollably beneath the kitchen table.
‘I wouldn’t have any more coffee if I were you,’ Ellie said quietly, fully aware she wasn’t in any position to give medical advice, considering she was suspended and awaiting full investigation.
‘Love…’ said her mum carefully, glancing at Mark before she continued, ‘Mark and I have been talking and we think you should speak with one of them. One of the nice ones, at least.’
Ellie snorted. ‘Nice ones? Are you mad? They’re all a bunch of sharks.’ She hadn’t mentioned the NDA. She was ashamed of signing it, of accepting the hush money. She hadn’t even deposited the cheque yet – how could she when they were trapped inside?
The banging came again, louder this time, and they all looked at each other huddled in their snug like it was the Blitz, the curtains drawn and a blanket of fear wrapped around them.
‘I don’t get why they’re still here,’ said Nanna helplessly.
‘They want a story. They’ll get bored soon.’ Ellie huddled further into her dressing gown. She’d not dressed in days, and had only showered when Nanna insisted.
‘They want an explanation,’ growled her mother ‘We all want an explanation.’
‘I told you. We made a pact to fake-date. That’s all it was, just an act to make Alex look better in front of his ex. This was never meant to happen. The press has twisted everything, but eventually they’ll move on.’
Her mother bristled and threw down a tabloid article with Ellie’s bum plastered across the cover. A new wave of nausea washed over her. ‘He can move on. We’ve got to hide from the light of day like a bunch of cockroaches. What possessed you to ruin that poor girl’s wedding—’
‘Angela!’ snapped Nanna, with an angry shake of her head.
Ellie’s bottom lip trembled. ‘Why do you believe the papers over me?’
‘No… I…’ Her mum lowered her head for a moment and then added defensively, ‘You should have realised how dodgy this set-up was from the start.’
‘Why?’ asked Ellie bitterly, already knowing the answer.
‘Men like that are not interested—’
‘That’s it!’ yelled Nanna, and everyone stared at her in surprise.
‘Angela, we’ve all had enough of you. I’ve tried to be understanding about your issues.
But this has got to stop! None of this was Ellie’s fault.
You keep acting like Ellie deserved this, and she didn’t!
The first person to throw her to those wolves was her own family’ – Mark’s shoulders slumped in shame – ‘and you think I don’t know about the bills you let her pay with her savings?
Ellie’s been more sensible then the two of you put together!
’ She glared at Mark and her mum, who both squirmed under her reprimand.
‘It’s okay, Nanna,’ Ellie said weakly, not wanting her nanna to get upset.
‘No, it’s not okay!’ Nanna said firmly, her grey head switching between mother and son with equal ferocity in her eyes.
‘We’re a family, and we stick together through good times and bad.
We support one another, not pull each other down.
Angela, you need to stop with all the negative comments and look in a mirror.
You are putting all of your fears and self-hatred on your own daughter.
No wonder she’s been so desperate to leave home.
And, Mark, I know you’re trying, darling, but at some point you need to take accountability.
Stop looking for easy fixes and money from your sister to bail you out. ’
Mark and her mum looked as if they’d been hit by a truck and not by a pensioner laying out some hard home truths.
‘Mum’s right though…’ said Ellie, feeling as if all the strength had left her body. ‘I was an idiot to think this wouldn’t all go wrong. Nobody knows how cruel society can be like a fat girl, and well… I should have learned my lesson after David.’
Everyone looked at her with a mixture of surprise and worry, including her mother. She knew they were shocked to see her like this. Ellie was usually the optimist, but even she couldn’t see the bright side of this mess.
‘David was lying scum,’ said Mark firmly, followed by a gentle, ‘and I’m sorry, Ellie. I’ll pay you back every penny, I mean it.’
‘I don’t want it.’ Ellie shook her head miserably. She didn’t want her deposit, or the flat, or her hush money, or even her job. Her stomach rolled with the sickening realisation that all she really wanted was Alex. ‘I’ve behaved like a prize idiot, and the worst thing is… I still love him.’
Her mum moved closer and took Ellie’s hand with tears in her eyes.
‘You’re not an idiot. We’ve all been there – me, more times than most…
’ She gave a sad chuckle as she wrapped Ellie in a hug.
‘I’ve always been so scared for you. You’re so beautiful and so full of life, I didn’t want you to get hurt.
I thought I was protecting you, but Nanna’s right, I’ve just been making things worse.
I’m going to work on it, I promise.’ Ellie sank against her and sobbed.
In a rare display of affection, her mother kissed her head.
‘Thanks, Mum.’ Ellie sniffed away her snotty tears.
Some gravel from their yard hit their window with a rattle that made them all leap in their seats and shriek.
‘BASTARDS! They’ve got in the yard again.’ Mark stormed over to the window and yanked aside the curtain. ‘THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY—’ His angry words died in his throat as he looked down at the person below.
‘Hannah?’
Ellie lurched from her seat to join him.
Sure enough, Hannah stood with Martin in the yard below. ‘Sorry. You weren’t answering your phones. Let us in.’ Hannah looked fearfully behind her as paparazzi began shouting and climbing the walls of the yard to get a picture.
Ellie ran down the stairs so fast she almost missed the last step. When she flung the door open, Hannah and her father barrelled in, and Martin quickly shut the door after them.
‘What are you doing here?’ Ellie gasped, staring at her friend in amazement, before quickly bursting into yet more tears.
‘Oh hun.’ Hannah wrapped her arms around her waist and snuggled close.
Hannah was too little to really give hugs; she usually allowed Ellie to envelop her, as if she were a much-loved doll.
Today was no different, except the hair beneath her chin was no longer mousy but a sun-bleached blonde.
Ellie pulled away and mopped at her tear-swollen face so she could look at her friend more closely.
‘You look amazing,’ she said, and Hannah laughed.
‘Trust you to compliment me at a time like this.’
‘Come on, girls. Let’s go put the kettle on,’ said Martin, ushering them up the stairs with a nervous look over his shoulder.
A short time later, with a cup of tea in both their hands, they settled on Ellie’s single bed for a more private reunion.
‘Look at you, beach babe,’ Ellie said, her vision blurry. It had only been a couple of months but the change was extraordinary. Hannah’s body, which had always been petite, was now strong and toned, her skin a shade of honey that suited her.
Hannah smiled at the compliment, but she wasn’t easily distracted. ‘What the hell happened?’
Ellie couldn’t keep anything from Hannah, who was more like a sister than a friend, but her body was wrung out and exhausted, and she could only mutter, ‘What always happens. I made a fool of myself.’
‘No, I don’t believe that.’ Hannah shook her head vehemently. Always so loyal.
Ellie sighed. ‘I fell in love with him. I fell in love with the movie star, and almost believed he felt the same. Turns out I’m just a joke, as always.’
Sympathy rolled off Hannah in waves, and Ellie bent her head against her friend and sobbed until her throat was raw.
Eventually, she ran out of tears. They sat side by side, propped up against the wall with their feet hanging over the bed like they were kids again. ‘You shouldn’t have come back, you know,’ said Ellie.
‘Yes, I bloody should have,’ replied Hannah with zero hesitation.
‘It’s a waste of your return ticket. How will you pay to come back at Christmas? Oh God, your mum is going to be so pissed at me.’
‘It’s fine.’ Hannah gave an easy shrug.
‘I’ll buy your flight back.’ Ellie’s mind was whirling. She’d have to pay for it from the hush money, but, fuck it, she was still eternally grateful that Hannah was here.
‘There’s no need.’
‘I insist.’
Hannah gave her a hard look. ‘For once, just believe me when I say this – you’re worth it, and if Alex doesn’t realise that then he’s a complete fool.’
Ellie sank against her, sagging with the weight of the world’s cruel words on her shoulders. Hannah had picked her up after David, and said something similar. ‘I don’t think I can go through this again.’
Hannah rubbed her shoulder in a soothing gesture. ‘We’ll get through it together.’
‘You’ve got your new life in Australia.’
‘It can wait. You’re more important.’
‘I knew it!’ Nanna crowed, waving a glossy magazine, as she strode into the kitchen the following day. ‘I bloody, fucking knew it!’
‘Language, Nanna!’ gasped Mark.
‘Sometimes you need a little sauce with your chips.’
Her mum frowned. ‘Is that even a saying?’
‘Shush,’ hissed Nanna, as she triumphantly threw down the magazine like a gauntlet. ‘Look, Ellie, finally, the truth!’
‘What?’ Ellie asked in a daze, a cold mug of chamomile tea in her hands that she’d been nursing for nearly an hour.
Nanna thrust the glossy spread towards her like a winning hand at a poker table. ‘The truth,’ she repeated.
Ellie leaned forward and blinked at the magazine spread in front of her. Liam and Savannah’s wedding photos were plastered all over the pages. Savannah had said they wouldn’t publish their wedding photos to the press… More lies?