As Tristan watched him more closely, it wasn’t his appearance or the way he sat on the couch that made him feel uncomfortable, it was the way he was staring at Stella. His eyes were piercing into her in a disturbing way that made Tristan push Stella behind him protectively.
“I tried to turn him away but he insisted on waiting for you.” Claire looked sympathetically at Stella. She was sitting on the nearby couch, arms
crossed,
her face in a deep frown, Claire obviously didn’t want him here as much as Tristan did.
“What are you doing here?” Stella whispered from behind Tristan, he turned to see her face was pale.
“Come to see you of course,” the man smirked. Stella obviously didn’t feel comfortable around him; he had never seen that kind of reaction from her. Tristan watched as the man rose to his feet and stepped towards Stella. Tristan responded by moving even more in front of her, blocking the man from Stella’s path.
“And you are?” Tristan raised his eyebrow to the man, staring him directly in the eyes.
The man smiled at Tristan’s question. “She hasn’t told you?” This seemed to humour him. “I’m Josh, her ex.”
“I’m Tristan, her boyfriend,” Tristan shot back as he watched the man eye him up and down. They were similar height with both of them standing tall. Tristan wasn’t about to let this guy affect him the way he affected Stella.
The man chuckled at his response. “Yeah I’ve heard about you.
Famous celebrity hey?
Stepping up in the world Stella?”
“Is there a reason why you’re here?” Tristan replied before Stella could respond. His anger and lack of patience for this man was rising quickly, he could see this conversation going nowhere and he was eager to see him gone.
“I’ve come to see Stella.” Tristan watched him turn his head around Tristan’s body to look at Stella. “What’s it been
Stel
?
Four, five years?”
“Not long enough,” Stella muttered behind Tristan.
“Feels like only yesterday you and me were back in your parents old hay shed making out. You remember that
Stel
? Good times.”
Tristan felt Stella move from behind so she was standing next to him, Tristan’s arm wrapped around her. “I’m trying to forget.” She said, her voice a little louder now, her face contorting.
“Oh now.
No reason to get angry. If this is because of that accident that happened, it’s all good. Fate took care of it .Good thing to if you ask me-”
“What do you want Josh?” Stella’s interrupted his trip down memory lane.
“I was hoping to have a private word with you. It’s important.”
“Anything you say to Stella you can say in front of me,” Tristan said frustrated, he was not about to let Stella be in a room alone with this guy.
“Is that right?” Josh cocked his head to the side. “Well I guess if there’s no secrets between you guys then here goes-”
“No its fine Tristan.
I’d like to talk to Josh privately,” Stella interrupted, placing her hand on Tristan’s shoulders. Tristan looked at her confused.
“Just as I thought,” Josh said with a smug look on his face.
“Are you sure Stella?” Tristan looked at Stella questioningly. She seemed frightened at the sight of him, why was she now volunteering to speak to him unaccompanied.
“I’m sure Tristan. It’s ok.” Stella’s shaky voice gave no reassurance for Tristan. “Let’s go to my room Josh.” She stepped forward but Tristan stood in her path, facing her.
“If you need anything, yell out and I’ll come straight away,” he said loud enough for Josh to hear him.
Stella nodded. “I’m sure it will be fine Tristan.” She smiled an unconvincing smile, but he knew he couldn’t stop her if this is what she wanted to do.
“Just like old times hey
Stel
.”
Josh nudged Stella’s arm, Stella flinched in response. Tristan watched helplessly as they entered her room and shut the door.
“Are you going to tell me what the hell that is all about?” Tristan tried to steady his anger at Claire.
“I honestly don’t know Tristan. I haven’t seen him in years. I don’t even know how he found out where we lived,” Claire responded clearly confused by the encounter as much as he was.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. She is scared shitless, why?”
“He um… I don’t know Tristan…” Claire barely responded.
“What are you not telling me Claire?”
Claire opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out.
“Why are you so scared of him?”
“I’m not scared. Not of him anyway. I just don’t like him near Stella.”
“Has he hurt Stella before?” Tristan knew if she said yes he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from going and beating the crap out of him right now.
“No, he hasn’t physically hurt Stella, well not that I know of anyway.” Tristan’s eyes widened at Claire’s response.
“He has this power over Stella. I can’t…I don’t even know how to explain it. All I know is him being here isn’t good for anyone, especially Stella.”
“Well I’m putting an end to this. This is going to stop now, and she is going to tell me the truth about everything.”
Tristan was finished being patient with Stella. He understood there were things she didn’t want to tell him about her past, but he wasn’t about to let this one go. Josh had done something to her in her past that hurt her and he needed to know what and why.
***
“Why are you here Josh?” Stella questioned him as they entered her room to speak privately.
“I got myself into a bit of a pickle and need your help,” he replied
“What, what are you talking about? How can
I
help you?” Stella couldn’t understand why after all this time he was coming to her for help, and what could she do to help him anyway.
“I need some money. I’m in a bit of debt and need help to get myself out of it. I’m not asking for much.”
Stella coughed a laugh. “You’re joking right? I’m jobless right now, I have no money. Why on earth would you ask me anyway?”
“No I’m not joking. I’m serious, dead serious.” He took a step closer to her, Stella felt herself stiffen. He frightened her, not because of what he’d do, but because of who he was. She’d spent a long time trying to forget his face, trying to forget him. Now he stood in her bedroom only metres away from her.
“You’re with him now aren’t you?
Tristan?”
“Yeah so?”
Stella couldn’t understand what Tristan had to do with this.
“Well ask him for the money. Look I need ten grand by the end of the week or I’m in trouble.”
No, no way was Stella going to ask Tristan for money. He had to be out of his mind to think she would help him. Not after everything that happened. “Well I’m sorry to hear that, but it has nothing to do with me. Even if I had the money, which I don’t, I wouldn’t be giving it to you.”
“Look I know Tristan’s has money. I’m asking you nicely to get it for me.”
“I’m not about to ask Tristan for ten thousand dollars! Regardless if he has money or not, it’s his money not
mine
.”
“Does he know about you and me? Does he know what happened?” he sneered at her.
Stella felt her skin burn, the memories flooding back. She tried to keep her tears at bay, she didn’t want him to know he’d
won,
he’d gotten through to her. “What does that have to do with anything?” she breathed, trying her hardest not to cry.
“Well I’m sure you don’t want him finding out, do you?”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“Look. I’m just a friend seeking out another friend for some help. I know you can get the money for me, so let’s not let this get messy. You get the money for me, and I’ll keep my mouth shut about our little incident. Agree?”
Stella closed her eyes and shook her head, praying this was all just a dream and she would wake up any minute, safely in Tristan’s arms. “You can’t do this Josh. You can’t just walk back into my life after so long and demand this from me. I’m a different person
now,
I’m not some young teenager you can order around.”
Josh stepped in grabbing Stella’s wrist. “Do I need to remind you of who you’re talking to?”
Stella felt her confidence weaken at his touch. She shook her head silently. “No,” she whispered, frightened by his grip on her. She hated he had that effect on her, after so many years she still couldn’t stand up to him.
“Good.” Josh seemed satisfied with her response. He walked over to the desk and scribbled on a post-it note. “Here’s my number. You have one week to get me the money. I don’t care how you do it. Just do it.”
Stella nodded again as she took the paper from his hand, she desperately wanted to tell him to leave, to never come back. He didn’t own
her,
he couldn’t tell her what to do. But she couldn’t, no words left her mouth.
Stella heard the door rattle, trying to be opened. “Open up Stella,” Tristan called from the other side.
Stella looked at Josh and the door. Should she tell Tristan, tell him about Josh. Tell him the truth about her past so Josh would leave her alone.
‘Stella!” Tristan called from the other side.
“Coming,” Stella replied anxiously.
Josh grabbed Stella’s arm as she passed him. “I wouldn’t tell your boyfriend about our little agreement either, ok?” His tone was threatening and violent, frightening Stella.
She paused and rolled her arm to release herself from his grip. She didn’t know what that meant but she suddenly feared for Tristan, she could never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her mess. She couldn’t tell him, she would get Josh the money.
As Stella unlocked the door Tristan stepped forward. “I think it’s time you left Josh.” Tristan glared at Josh, his fists clenching.
“I was just leaving.” He looked at Stella. “Talk soon.” He nodded at Tristan as he walked past him and left.
Tristan stood at the doorway staring at Stella. “You’re going to tell me about your past now Stella. I’m not leaving here until you do.”
She knew he had the right to know, he had not pushed her to tell him about it yet, but after tonight he needed an explanation. She knew her body language had given her away, he had never seen her like that, she knew because she hadn’t felt like that in four years.
“Ok,” Stella said as she watched Tristan’s face turn to surprise. He apparently thought he would have to persuade her to tell him, and not agree to it so easily.
She turned and walked towards the window. Holding the window sill she looked down at her hands gripping the timber. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to tell him about her past. She had told him everything about her life, but the part that involved Josh, the part that haunted her. She’d always managed to skip over it, never acknowledge what happened, but now she had to tell him. She looked out at the ocean’s horizon, trying finding the right words to say.
“I started dating Josh when I was seventeen. He was in the grade above me, the cool popular kid, and I was love struck the moment I met him. I thought my dreams had come true when he asked me to be his girlfriend. At that time I was inexperienced when it came to guys, I had never even been kissed before. Josh was patient with me, never pushed me into anything I didn’t want to do. I was crazy about him, but I was also very scared. After a year of dating he started getting impatient, we still hadn’t had sex. For any other couple this might not have been an issue, especially since I was a virgin, but for Josh it was a problem. Before Josh started dating me, he had slept with several girls from his grade and mine.
“I started feeling guilty about not doing it with him, then one night we had a fight at a party. He’d been drinking and I caught him flirting with one of my friends. I went to leave, but when I got to my car, Josh wouldn’t let me go. He convinced me that he only wanted to talk when we got into the backseat of my car, but then he started going on and on about how he had been so patient with me and he made me believe that not having sex with him meant I didn’t love him.” She paused looking at Tristan’s face.
“You have to see that he was the first boyfriend I ever had, and I had nothing to compare it to. I believed I loved him. I believed being with him meant I loved him. So I agreed to have sex with him, halfway through him undressing me I realised I didn’t want my first time to be like that. I wanted it to be special, not in the backseat of a car with my drunken boyfriend. But when I started to tell him I changed my mind he was already feeling me up. I tried to tell him no, tell him to stop, but he wouldn’t” She choked, recalling the painful memory. “He took my heart that night and when he finished with me he didn’t even look me in the eye, he went straight back to the party like nothing had happened. I was left there, blood stained and crying.” She felt her tears falling down her face. “He didn’t even care.”
She wiped the tears from her face. “We never spoke to each other after that, he ended up hooking up with my best friend that same night. Everyone assumed that was the reason why we broke up.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Tristan hissed through his teeth.
“No Tristan. It doesn’t matter now. We can’t change the past.”
“It does matter Stella. Did you report it to the police?”
“And say what, my boyfriend raped me?” She shook her head. “He was the poster boy for our town. Nobody would have believed me.”
“You can’t just let him get away with it!” Tristan exclaimed. She could see the anger in his eyes. “Who knows how many girls he has done it to?”
“It’s too late now Tristan, forget it,” she said. The last thing she wanted was to be lectured. She had hated herself for not reporting him, but no matter how hard she tried to, she couldn’t do it. Then everything else happened and what she thought was a problem, wasn’t anymore, not with what she had to face.
Tristan paced the
room,
Stella could see his eyes still flashing with anger. “It’s never too late Stella. I’m not going to let him get away with this,” Tristan declared. For the first time Stella saw something in Tristan she’d never seen before; pure hatred.
“Yes you are Tristan! That’s exactly what you will do! Promise me you won’t do anything, please Tristan!” Stella cried. She knew he wanted to protect her, but what happened was in the past and she didn’t want Tristan involving himself in that part of her life. It was too raw, too real.