The Reluctant Celebrity (14 page)

Jules
daren’t move as she listened to the sound of her heart raging through her body.

She
wished she could believe the man in the doorway had been a sick mind trick
brought on by the shock of seeing parts of her life displayed so callously
across two pages of a national tabloid. But the noise of running water coming
from the bathroom made the past few seconds impossible to ignore.

Jules
pressed a hand against her chest willing herself to calm down. She had been
moments away from being completely naked when the door had opened. It could
have been a lot worse, she tried to reassure herself.

In
the instant before she had turned towards the doorway she had known it was him.
The light had been there again, the feeling of a weight lifting from her body
as if she’d taken off a heavy backpack after a long journey. She pushed the
thought away before it could settle.

Pulling
on her discarded clothes, she stepped barefoot into the hallway, half expecting
it to be empty after all. But there he was, standing in the open bathroom. A
blue and white toothbrush in his hand. He placed the toothbrush next to hers in
the aubergine china holder, like it was the most natural thing to do in the
world.

He
had remembered to pack it, she realised suddenly as anger and pain swept over
her so quickly it brought with it a wave of dizziness. In his rush to back up
his things and run away to London, he’d remembered to pack his toothbrush.

She
was going to be sick.

For
the first time in all the years since, Jules wondered how long he had been
planning it. She had always assumed their argument had driven him away, but
maybe he had planned to leave her like that all along.

It
didn’t matter now, she didn’t care anymore. She swallowed back the taste of
bile rising up the back of her throat. 

‘Sorry
about that Jules,’ Guy said, his tone impossibly light as he stared at her.

He
had called her Jules, not Juliet, but Jules. For a reason she couldn’t
understand it maddened her more than when he’d called her by her full name.

‘What
are you doing here?’ She forced herself to look at him. His eyes bore into her.
She wanted to run away; she wanted to cry; she wanted to hit him as hard as she
could, all at the same time.

She
clamped her teeth together, willing her body to stop bombarding her with
emotions.

‘Would
you believe me if I told you I fancied a mini-break?’ His face lifted into a
familiar side grin.

‘No
I wouldn’t.’

How
dare he joke? After the trouble he had caused he still had the gall to joke,
she thought. A red heat crept up her neck and onto her face as she struggled to
keep calm.  

‘Alright
then, I came here because I wanted to see you.’ Guy held his hands up in
surrender.

‘Perhaps
I didn’t make myself clear the last time,’ Jules began, fighting to keep her
voice even. ‘I am not going to get involved with you or your publicity stunts,
so leave me alone.’

‘I’m
not asking you too.’    

His
gaze continued to drive into her, the force feeling like a shove as the back of
her heels teetered on the edge of the landing.

You’re
not asking me? Since when did you care about asking me? Unless I am mistaken
nobody asked me two weeks ago if I wanted my picture splashed on the front page
of that trash like some kind of…of….’ Jules struggled to find the right word.
Instead she continued, ‘AND nobody asked me if I would mind having my life played
out in that crap.’  

‘I
know,’ he mumbled ‘I’m so sorry. I should never have mentioned you, but I
really hope you believe me when I say I had nothing to do with the rest of it.’

‘Really?
And what have you done that would make me think for one second that you are
anything more than a selfish pig? And what about me? How many people are going
to believe the lies printed about me? It’s all well and good for you; I’m the
one who’s been painted as a monster. Estranged from my parents,’ she began
lifting her thumb up to count one, but she couldn’t remember the rest of the
lies. For some reason the comment about her parents seemed to be the only one
really bothering her.

Guy
opened his mouth, but closed it again quickly.

‘What?’
she demanded.

‘Look
I know it’s all complete rubbish, but when I saw Bernie and Nora they mentioned
that they hadn’t seen you since Christmas. I was surprised, that’s all.’

‘I
love my parents. Just because I don’t…’ Jules stopped. What was she doing?
‘Hang
on, I don’t need to explain myself to you, so you can stop with the guilt trip
okay?’

Jules
closed her eyes, blocking Guy from view, but his image and his words still
stuck in her head.

‘You’re
right, I’m sorry. I came here to explain, to make sure you’re okay, I know the
effect these stories can have and I’m truly truly sorry.’

She
paused for a moment, processing his words, before she said, ‘Fine.’

‘Fine
as in?’ Guy questioned, another smile touching his lips.

‘Fine,
as in thank you for the apology, as you can see I am okay, so if you don’t mind
I am going for a run, please don’t be here when I get back.’

‘Great.
It’s been a long journey and I could do with stretching my legs.’

‘No.
No way are you coming with me. And since when do you run anyway?’    

‘Since
when do you?’ he shot back, his voice remaining infuriatingly smooth. ‘Is that
a yes then?’

‘No
it’s not.’ Jules stormed back to her bedroom, slapping her hand hard against
the door. The sting hitting her at the same time as the door crashed shut.

She
couldn’t get her head around his sudden presence and the reason for his return.
He seemed so at ease, like none of the pain he’d caused her mattered.

Bastard.

She could
get in her car and go. Drive somewhere far away until Guy got the message and
left. The thought of being recognised by
The Daily
readers didn’t matter
in comparison to spending another minute with him. But why should she? Guy was
the one that should be leaving, not her. She had no intention of being run out
of her home.

Five
minutes later, Jules tightened the laces of her trainers and stepped out of the
guesthouse, ignoring the painful bruises on her back and stretching her hands
to her toes.

For
the first time since Guy had invaded her life, she did not feel the punch of
shock from seeing him as he stood by the door waiting for her.

‘What
do you think you are doing? And what on earth are you wearing?’ Jules demanded.

‘What’s
wrong with what I’m wearing?’ Guy bent his head down, eyeing the mud streaked
black shorts and dirty red T-shirt he’d unearthed from an abandoned football
kit lurking in the boot of his car.

The
T-shirt stretched against his chest, rising up to show an inch of stomach
between the painfully tight waistband of his shorts. The last time he’d worn it
he had still been modelling, when a beer after work had a penalty worse than
death. It seemed the months of Chinese takeaways and bottled beers had taken
its toll on his waistline.

‘Don’t
think for a second that I’m going to let you run with me. Go back to London
Guy.’

Her
green eyes flashed in the sun light, unlocking a million memories from deep
inside the recesses of his mind. It filled him with a longing more desperate
than he could have imagined possible.

He
had to tell her. Just not now. He’d have to wait until he knew she would
listen, and based on her particular outfit, she would most definitely be
considered a flight risk.   

‘So
where are we going?’ he asked instead.

‘I
am going up that hill’ she replied, pointing to the woodland sloping up behind
the guesthouse. ‘You are going back to wherever it is you came from to buy a
washing machine and leave me alone.’

Guy
ignored the latter half of her statement. ‘Great, let’s go.’

Jules
stretched her athletic frame to the floor and touched her toes. He thought he
saw her flinch, but her face remained impassive. 

‘Seriously,
you are not coming with me.’

‘Okay
then,’ Guy conceded.

A
look of surprise crossed her face. ‘Good then.’

Without
saying goodbye, she took a few steps passed him, her body springing into action
as she strode from the driveway and out of Guy’s sights.

‘Shit,’
he said aloud, sprinting after her.

He
made it to the roadside just in time to catch a flash of Jules’ body already
disappearing up a thin mud path to the right of the guesthouse.

Guy
could feel the Danish swirl he’d eaten for breakfast lurch to the top of his
stomach as he began his chase. How long could she continue at this speed? He
wondered as his breath started to shorten under the strain of his sudden burst
of exercise.

He had
never considered himself unfit before, but Jules appeared to be in a different
league, he realised as she accelerated up the steep slope.   

Ignoring
the sweet smell of fresh earth hitting his nostrils and the tranquil quiet of
the woodland, Guy ploughed forward, forcing his legs to keep moving.

‘What
do you think you’re doing?’ Her voice startled him from his battle with the
hill. The painful cramp snaking across his abdomen like a slashing knife
relinquished its fury as he drew to a stop, slumping against the tree next to
where Jules stood; her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed on him. She hadn’t
even broken a sweat.

‘Running.
Or dying maybe, it’s hard to tell at this point,’ he gasped between long pants
for oxygen.

‘I
thought you agreed to leave me alone.’

‘No,’
he replied, drawing in another long gulp of air, ‘I agreed that I wouldn’t run
with you.’

‘So
what are you doing?’

‘What?’
he asked in mock innocence. ‘I’m running on my own. I just happen to be taking
the same route as you.’

‘Argh
you are so infuriating.’

‘I
know,’ he said, his reply unheard as Jules sprinted off again.

Surely
the valley had to end at some point, he pleaded, pushing off from the tree and
feeling a pain grip his thighs as he started striding again.

Guy
had no idea how much time had passed. He kept going; head down against the
almost vertical hill, his trainers crunching against the burnt orange of the
fallen leaves. The chase for Jules momentarily forgotten as he battled against
the cries of resistance from his body.

Suddenly
the crowded trees dispersed allowing sunlight to break in streams around him.
He had made it. Guy took a long breath of relief, easing to a stop as he
reached a large grassy clearing.

Jules
stood a few metres away from him, her body twisted in a bizarre pose as if she
was walking a tight rope.

His
aching limbs forgotten, he strode towards her.

‘GUY
WAIT,’ Jules cried out. ‘Don’t come any closer. The ground is about to give-’
she cut off as he reached her and realised too late what she was trying to say.

The
long grass of the hilltop had hidden the uneven ground, now crumbling
underneath their feet.

Jules
went first. Her body slipping into the ground. He grabbed her wrist, trying to
stop her falling, but there was nothing he could do to stop the ground
disintegrating beneath them as they tumbled downwards into the darkness; their
bodies tangling as they landed with a heavy thud.

‘Ouch.
Now look what you’ve done,’ Jules cried out as she pulled her legs out from
under his.

‘Hey,
I tried to save you.’

‘Save
me? If you hadn’t insisted on following me up here I wouldn’t be in this mess.
Or better still, if you hadn’t used me to sell papers, or come to Cottinghale I-’

‘Okay,
okay, I get it,’ Guy cut in as he scrambled to his feet. ‘For the hundredth
time, I’m sorry. But blaming me isn’t going to help get us out of here. Now,
are you hurt?’

She
said nothing.

 ‘Jules,
please just tell me if you’re okay?

‘Well
let’s see shall we – in the past week I’ve had lies about me printed in a
national newspaper; I arrived at my new property to find my ceiling had collapsed;
my back door smashed into smithereens; my stairs fell down whilst I was
standing on them, and now I’m stuck in a bloody great big hole with you. So no,
I am definitely not okay.’ 

To
Jules’ surprise, Guy scrunched his eyes shut and turned away from her, his body
shaking.

 ‘Please
tell me you are not laughing?’ she pushed herself up from the floor, her
muscles crying out with pain after the fierce run she’d forced herself to do.

‘You
do realise that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way out?’

A
peel of deep laughter echoed around the darkened space. ‘Yes,’ he gasped
between breaths.

 ‘That’s
just great.’ Jules stepped away, her gaze scouring the darkness for an escape
route or something to hit him with. Either would do at that particular moment.

She
could see the four square walls of what looked like an old cellar, but no way
out. Above them, pockets of sunlight streamed through from across the length of
the hole. If she jumped high enough, she might just be able to touch the earthy
ceiling, but there was nothing to grip hold of or anything that could be used
to climb up.

‘Oh
come on, it’s kind of funny,’ Guy said, his laughter abating.

She
stared at him, fighting a smile that was threatening to break out. She couldn’t
give him the satisfaction of laughing with him, however contagious his humour
felt.

He
stopped laughing and gave an apologetic shrug.

 ‘Come
on, give me a bunk,’ she said, stepping under the gap of light where they’d
fallen.  

‘What?
You can’t be serious; you’ll never be able to pull yourself up.’

‘Yes
I will, now come on,’ she commanded with more confidence than she felt.

Guy
did not move. He had stopped laughing, but the crooked smile that she
remembered so well still touched his lips.

‘What?’
she asked

‘Was
this your plan all along?’

‘What
plan?’

‘Trapping
me down here and then escaping. Leaving me to die a slow and painful death?’

‘Don’t
be ridiculous. I’ll get help,’ Jules replied. Just maybe after a few hours, she
added to herself.

‘I
saw that look. I’m not helping you if you’re just going to leave me. Why don’t
you give me a bunk?’

‘Guy,’
she sighed. ‘I promise I’ll will get help, now come on.’

Despite
the circumstances, Jules felt herself relax in Guy’s presence.

‘Fine.’
He took a step towards her, their bodies close.

If
she leant forward just a few inches her lips would graze against the stubble
line of his neck. Jules leapt back. Where had that thought sprung from? This
was someone she hated with every fibre of her being.

She
had to get out.

 ‘Ready?’
he asked.

Her
eyes met his. With the sunlight shining in from above them she could see the
flecks of green in his otherwise dark pupils. They had always been that way.
From a distance they appeared almost black, but up close they had speckles of a
bright green which seemed to dance when he smiled. She had forgotten how
mesmerising those flecks could be.

The
heat from his body radiated towards her.

The
effect was intoxicating.

For
one second, before she could gain control of her thoughts, she wished she was
in his arms. But no matter how much her body seemed to react to him, she
couldn’t do it to herself.

She
had to get out.

‘Yes,
come on then,’ she finally croaked.

‘Juliet,’
Guy said in a deep whisper.

‘Don’t
Guy. Whatever it is, don’t,’ she pleaded. She couldn’t take anymore.

He
nodded as if he understood before crouching down and cupping his hands out
towards her. 

Lifting
her left leg up, she rested her trainer on the step he had made, preparing
herself to push upwards. She had to get out, she repeated over and over in her
head.

‘Rest
your hands on my shoulders.’

Reluctantly,
Jules placed her hands either side of his head, desperately trying to block the
sound of the sea rushing in her ears as her heart pounded in response to their
touch.  

With
her right leg she pushed against the ground, leaping up at the same time as Guy
lifted with his arms, pushing her towards the opening.

As
her head broke into the cool sunshine, Jules threw her arms out over the ledge,
pulling with her shoulders to lift herself up and away from Guy’s strong hold.

For
one moment, as she blinked in the bright daylight, her arms clawing the ground
for support, she thought she would make it.

And
then she froze.

‘You
okay?’ Guy called out from below.

‘Yes,’
she lied as she fought to summon more strength from somewhere inside.

Nothing
happened.

Her
legs tangled heavily back into the darkness.

She
scanned the landscape hoping for a bush or anything she could grab hold off,
but the only thing in reach was the slippery wet grass surrounding her.

 ‘Sure?’

‘I’m
stuck,’ she admitted thought gritted teeth. ‘I can’t pull myself up,’ she said
as the weight of her legs began to pull her back into the hole.

‘Okay,
don’t worry, just gently slide back down and I’ll grab you.’

‘No
I ca-’ Before Jules could finish her sentence the earth supporting her arms
gave way and she found herself in free fall for the third time in as many days.

Jules
could do nothing to stop herself colliding with Guy’s body as they fell to the ground
again.