Unlucky Break (21 page)

‘This is the underground entrance for celebrities,’ he said. He opened the car door and levelled his crutches on the ground. Andie sat still, unsure of what to do now she was there.

‘You coming?’ he asked, putting his head back inside the car.

Andie nodded and jumped out. She followed him inside, where a nurse was waiting.

‘Come through, Mr Hawthorn,’ she said.

They went over to a lift. The nurse put a key into the lock as she pressed a button near the top.

‘She’s asking for you,’ she said.

‘How is she?’ asked James.

‘She’s …’ The nurse searched for words. ‘Fragile.’

James nodded stiffly.

As the door opened, the smell of the hospital – disinfectant, clean linen, medicine – hit Andie, and she recoiled. The others walked purposefully out of the elevator, but Andie hung back, unsure her legs were working. She hadn’t been in hospital since her mum died, but it seemed they all used the same disinfectant.

‘You coming?’ James barked at her, turning around. She nodded and forced herself into the hallway.

The nurse stopped outside a door. ‘Wait here,’ she said to them and then went inside.

They stood in silence, waiting.

After a minute or so, the nurse opened the door. ‘You can see her now,’ she said.

James walked inside. The nurse held the door for Andie. Reluctant to explain why she didn’t want to go in, Andie followed him quietly, feeling a slight film of perspiration on her upper lip.

Nikki was propped up on pillows, her long blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulder. Even post-overdose, Nikki was extraordinary-looking. Her sleek blondeness and perfect bone structure made Andie feel like a troll.

James went straight to Nikki and kissed her cheek. ‘Oh, Niks. Nothing’s ever this bad,’ he said. Andie thought his voice sounded strained.

Nikki looked at him tearfully. Her simpering look only lasted a second, until she saw Andie in the corner. Her eyes narrowed.

‘You smell of sex,’ she said. She turned to look at Andie. ‘Who are you?’

Andie stepped forward. ‘I’m Andie,’ she said. ‘James’s assistant. I think we’ve spoken on the phone?’

‘Your T-shirt’s inside out,’ Nikki spat, and Andie looked down to see that she was right. Andie smiled tightly.

‘Who is she?’ asked Nikki, turning back to James.

James looked at Andie and then at Nikki. ‘Come on, Niks, she just said. She’s my assistant, that’s all. We’re gonna take you home and look after you. Andie’s gonna take care of us, baby,’ he said and he kissed her on the top of her head. ‘Right, Andie?’ He turned and looked at her beseechingly.

Andie stared at the floor, remembering her deal with Barry and Cece.
Whatever James needs
, Barry had said. And she owed him. She knew that. She just wished that what he needed wasn’t quite so heartbreaking.

Andie looked up and nodded at James, smiling brightly. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she wondered if they’d notice.

Behind James, Nikki smirked triumphantly. Andie wondered if Nikki had ever lost anything in her life. The girl was more determined than anyone Andie had ever met. And much, much more crazy.

19

Andie stood in the hallway of the hospital with James a while later.

‘You can’t be serious,’ she said.

‘I need you, Andie,’ he begged. ‘Nikki is alone, she needs me to help her. The doctor said the overdose was nearly fatal.’

‘Then send her to rehab,’ said Andie, thinking of Cece. ‘She needs proper help.’

‘She needs love,’ said James.

‘From you?’ Andie retorted. She wanted to shake him. She didn’t trust Nikki at all.

‘From everyone,’ said James, leaning on his crutches. He had a pleading look on his face.
He’s totally under Nikki’s spell,
Andie realised. She intensely disliked the man he became around Nikki.

‘You fired me,’ she said.

‘Please, Andie. I need you.’ He looked at her with so much pain in his face. ‘This whole foot thing has changed me, somehow. I’m not used to not being in control. I’m not used to trusting other people. I trust you. I don’t know why, but I do. You’ve been the only good thing in my life in a long time.’

Andie stood up straight and lifted her head. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer to her next question, but she had to know. ‘Was it just sex?’ she asked steadily. ‘Us?’

James looked at his foot and then up at Andie. ‘I don’t know. I like you a lot. You turn me on. You’re funny and sexy and … really great,’ he finished lamely, smiling a little.

Andie didn’t move a muscle on her face.

‘I just want to get Nikki better and then I can think about me. About us,’ he said.

Andie bit the inside of her mouth to stop the tears. She was tired, she needed a shower and she desperately wanted her mum.

James reached out and touched her face. ‘Please stay and help me, Andie. You’re the only person I can trust.’

Don’t trust me,
she wanted to scream at him.
You were right not to trust anyone. We are all nuts, the women in your life.

Instead she nodded. ‘Fine.’

James smiled with relief. ‘Thank you.’

‘Can we go home now?’ she asked, feeling exhausted.

‘You go, I’m going to stay here a while with Nikki,’ he said, and turned to go back to her room. ‘I’ll call you when I know more.’

Andie nodded. ‘See you later.’

At that moment, James’s phone rang. He nodded to Andie as she doubled back along the corridor towards the lifts. ‘Hey, Pete,’ she heard him say.

As Andie walked past Nikki’s room, she heard Nikki laugh. Another male voice was talking. Nikki chatted back cheerily, nothing like the shadow of herself she’d been earlier. Andie paused, then shook herself to snap out of it. If Nikki was cheerful, that could only be a good thing – she must be feeling better already.

She was about to walk on when she heard Nikki clearly say, ‘Thanks again for this.’ Andie slowed to hear the response.

‘No problem,’ said the man’s voice. ‘Just get me those tickets to the Oscars. My wife is desperate to go.’

Nikki laughed. ‘I’ll get you the tickets, don’t worry. Just as long as you hold up your end of the bargain and don’t say anything to James and his slut of an assistant. I need this to look like a real overdose.’

Andie was frozen to the spot outside the door. Did this mean what it sounded like?

She hurried along the hall as the man in a white coat came out of Nikki’s room.
It’s the doctor
, Andie realised.

She heard James speaking to the doctor behind her. ‘How is she?’ he asked.

‘She needs to be with people at all times,’ said the doctor. ‘As I said on the phone, she is quite unwell.’

Andie looked back at them. James was nodding seriously, looking worried. She wanted to march back and confront the doctor, tell James what she’d heard. But who was she to tattle? She had enough secrets of her own. Besides, maybe she’d misheard Nikki and the doctor. It seemed awfully unlikely that a doctor would lie about something so serious in exchange for something as petty as tickets.

James’s house was dark when she got there. She turned on all the lights, for once ignoring the dual voices of Cameron and her mother in her head. She showered, savouring the hot water running over her body. Then she set up another bedroom for Nikki, all the while checking her phone obsessively.

Lastly, she changed the sheets in James’s bed, cleaning the room, erasing all traces of their afternoon together.

At midnight she made raspberry-and-coconut muffins, because she didn’t know what else to do.

Finally falling into bed after one, she pulled out her notebook and saw the last note she’d written about the GPS for life.
God, what I’d do to have that invention right now,
she thought.

And then, clicking the pen three times, she started to write. She wrote about her mum and the illness, about Cameron and Marissa, about Jess and Cece. And she wrote down everything about James. It didn’t seem so bad after she got it out of her head and onto the page.
Almost funny
, she thought. Almost.

Her pen flew over the pages and when she next looked at the clock, it was 3 a.m. She checked her phone – still no messages from James. She was so tired, she closed her eyes and slept, undreaming, until ten o’clock the next morning.

The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was to check her phone. There was a text from James.

Bringing Nikki home. Leaving in half an hour. See you soon.

The message had been sent at 8 a.m.
They’re probably home already
, Andie realised, jumping out of bed. She walked out to the kitchen in her Ramones T-shirt and pink sleep shorts.

There was Nikki, sitting at the bench, eating one of the raspberry-and-coconut muffins that Andie had left cooling on the bench the night before.

‘Hi Nikki, how are you feeling?’ asked Andie politely.

Nikki looked her up and down. ‘I’ve been better,’ she said sarcastically.

‘I’m sure,’ said Andie, trying to keep her voice neutral as she set up the coffee machine.

‘Nice T-shirt,’ said Nikki sweetly. ‘You a Ramones fan or do you just wear it for street cred?’

Andie ignored her question. ‘Is James around?’ she asked casually.

‘He’s gone out to get some things for me from Beverly Hills,’ said Nikki, taking another muffin from the cooling rack.

‘But he’s not allowed to drive with his broken foot,’ she said sharply.

‘Oh, he’s okay. He wouldn’t do if he didn’t
want
to,’ Nikki said pointedly, picking a bit of crust off the muffin paper. She ate it slowly, watching Andie.

Andie turned away.
What a selfish bitch,
she thought.

‘I feel like I know you from somewhere,’ said Nikki, narrowing her eyes at Andie.

For a moment, Andie panicked. Could Nikki possibly recognise her as the girl from the Skyhigh Bar? She kept her cool as she turned back and looked steadily at Nikki. ‘I doubt that. We don’t really move in the same circles.’

She looks like a snake,
Andie thought. She filled up the coffee machine with water.

‘Hmmm,’ said Nikki. ‘No, I’m sure I’m right. Maybe it’ll come to me.’ She stood up and stretched. She was so thin that Andie could see her ribs through her singlet. Thin and fragile, yet Andie knew that underneath the brittle layer was pure venom.

‘So, you’re the assistant with benefits huh?’ she asked Andie.

Andie turned back around. ‘Sorry?’

‘James told me you jumped him. Cute,’ said Nikki, her beautiful mouth curling into a nasty smile.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Andie, blushing.

‘Don’t get too close, sweetie,’ said Nikki, moving in close to Andie. ‘I’m back now.’

Andie ignored her as she finished making herself a latte. Why would James tell Nikki about them? She was so angry she wanted to throw the coffee at Nikki.

Nikki smiled and spoke sweetly. ‘I’ll have a short black while you’re there.’

Andie stepped back. ‘You just said it – you’re back now. So how about you make it yourself?’

Andie walked down the hallway to her room. Her hand was shaking and she spilled a little coffee over herself as she went.

In her room again, she drank her coffee and calmed herself down by writing a short story about a female movie star who got so wasted she fell off the Hollywood sign. When she was finished, Andie drew a little picture of the star plunging to her death, and a stick image of herself and James holding hands underneath the sign.

Andie put the pen down and shook her head.
I am going nuts
, she thought.
That’s crazy, even for me.
She was about to rip it out of her notebook when there was a knock at the door.

‘Yes?’ she called, thinking it was Nikki.

James poked his head around. ‘Hello,’ he said.

‘Hi,’ she said, waving stupidly. She suddenly felt awkward, crossing her legs and then uncrossing them again.

He closed the door behind him. ‘How are you?’ he asked, sitting on the bed next to her. He was holding a white paper bag.

‘You shouldn’t have been driving,’ she snapped at him.

‘I know, but I had some errands to run,’ he said.

‘I’m sure Nikki will be very happy,’ she said.