Crystal (30 page)

‘Actually, I’m just going to go to bed,’ Crystal replied, desperate to be on her own, so she could stop having to hide how she felt, and without waiting for anyone else she took off her heels and ran back to the house. She grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and went straight upstairs. More than anything she wanted to run away, but she knew she had another day’s filming to get through. She decided to drink herself into not caring. She poured herself a large glass of wine and curled up on the chair on the balcony smoking, listening to music on her iPod to try and distract herself from the feelings of hurt. Two large glasses later she was starting not to care quite so much. After downing the bottle, she was pissed and decided she didn’t give a shit about anything. She was almost succeeding when something caught her eye and she looked up to see Jake on his balcony, looking over at her. She prepared herself for another ear bashing, but instead Jake said gently, ‘Rough night?’

Crystal took her headphones off. ‘I’m used to it so if you’ve got anything you’d like to add, go ahead. I’m pissed enough not to remember in the morning.’

‘Belle was out of order speaking to you like that.’

‘I’m sure she was just saying what you were feeling too,’ Crystal said.

‘I don’t feel like that,’ Jake replied.

‘Oh, come on, you didn’t even care when you were told about my accident. And I know you hate me, but I just want you to know that I was never unfaithful to you. I never would be. And I wish you would believe me.’ Unable to carry on the conversation without crying, she got up and stumbled into the bedroom, where she collapsed on the bed, burying her face into her pillow. It was all too much.
She couldn’t put on a brave face and pretend that none of this mattered any longer; it did matter and she couldn’t take any more.

She heard a knock at the door but ignored it; Jake knocked a couple more times before opening the door anyway. He came and sat down next to her on the bed.

‘Hey, don’t get upset,’ he said softly.

‘Please’, she sobbed, ‘just leave me alone.’

‘I’m not leaving you like this,’ he insisted and he lay down beside her and put his arm around her. ‘I’m sorry for being so horrible to you. I didn’t mean any of those things I said. And I swear I didn’t know about your accident,’ he sighed and went on. ‘I don’t know, Crystal, seeing you again has brought back so many feelings . . .’ He trailed off.

Hearing his words and feeling his body next to hers only made Crystal cry even harder. She pressed her face into his chest, not wanting him to see her tears while he gently stroked her back. And suddenly, in the midst of her tears, she felt such intense, overwhelming desire for him. She found herself sliding her arms round his neck and pressing her body against his, willing him to respond. For a few seconds it seemed like he was going to, as he held her tight in his arms, but then he pulled away. ‘I’ll get you some water.’ He got up from the bed as she lay back down and then she must have passed out.

She woke up to the sound of Jake opening the wooden shutters in her room and letting the early morning sunshine stream in. He turned and said, ‘How are you feeling?’

Crystal groaned. ‘Crap, my head is killing me.’

‘Well, what do you expect sinking a bottle of wine on an empty stomach,’ Jake replied, but he didn’t sound unsympathetic. ‘Drink this water, you’ll feel better.’

Crystal sat up and reached for the glass he held out. She felt so rough she didn’t even care what she looked like.

‘I’m due on set now, but we need to talk. Can you meet me for dinner tonight?’

Crystal nodded. Suddenly her headache was forgotten,
and in its place the butterflies started up. Surely it was a good sign? If he still hated her he wouldn’t suggest they talk.

It took her several attempts to get out of bed. She still felt drunk but for the first time in months she felt a sense of excitement. It was just as well because when she arrived on set, dressed in the Belle swimsuit and blonde wig, Belle continued her campaign against her, deliberately moving away whenever Crystal came anywhere near her, loudly declaring, ‘Not everyone can get away with being blonde. Some people just look like the whores that they are.’

‘She should get over herself,’ Jez muttered when Belle was out of earshot. ‘You’ve said you’re sorry. What more can you do? Anyway, she should be grateful. If it wasn’t for you she’d have married that bastard and then she’d never have met that gorgeous footballer and be having her dream wedding – even though I suspect he’s gay.’

‘I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way,’ Crystal said, longing for the day to be over so that she could see what Jake wanted to talk to her about.

The first scenes they shot were of Crystal and Marcus locked in a passionate embrace by the pool, which went according to plan. Now that the filming was nearly over and there was the prospect of seeing Jake that night, Crystal was actually enjoying herself. Dallas had been a little vague about what was to happen next; he just said that Belle would discover the affair, have a go at Crystal and Marcus and storm off. The scene didn’t quite go according to plan, though. Crystal was just laughing with Marcus when Belle grabbed her arm and yelled, ‘Get off him, you bitch!’

‘Calm down,’ Crystal answered, thinking that actually Belle was quite good at acting after all. Her anger was very convincing.

‘You’re just a cheap whore,’ Belle carried on her tirade, ‘a two-faced bitch. You were supposed to be my friend and then you betrayed me. I hate you.’

It was suddenly all very real. Belle meant what she was saying.

‘Please Belle,’ Crystal said quietly, ‘I told you what he did to me.’ She looked over at Jake intently.

‘Those lies again!’ Belle seemed to have lost control. And before Crystal had the chance to defend herself Belle smacked her hard in the face. Crystal, who was wearing the killer heels, lost her footing and fell back, hitting her head on one of the ornate marble pots by the pool. For a few seconds she lay there, stunned.

‘Crystal!’ Jake shouted, racing over to her.

‘I’m okay,’ she answered, struggling to sit up, but as she put her hand up to her head and felt the sticky warm blood everything went fuzzy and she passed out.

She was underwater, looking up at the blue sea above her. She felt so peaceful floating there but someone was calling her, pulling her back to the surface. She opened her eyes, then shut them again, dazzled by the light.

‘Crystal, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can.’ It was Jake.

He sounded upset. Making a huge effort, she opened her eyes again, wincing in the bright sunshine.

‘Are you okay? Speak to me.’

‘I’m okay,’ she said slowly, though her mouth felt as if it was stuffed with cotton wool and she felt very disorientated. ‘I think I just fainted. I hate the sight of blood.’ She made as if to get up but Jake stopped her.

‘No way. You’re not moving. I’ve called Dallas and his doctor will be here any minute. I want him to check you over. It’s only been two months since your accident.’

Crystal was about to protest that she felt fine when Jake put a towel under her head and another one over her body. Then he knelt back down by her side and held her hand. Even though her head was throbbing, there was something so lovely about being looked after by him.

Belle came over, looking anxious. ‘I’m really sorry, Crystal. I didn’t mean for that to happen. Are you okay?’

‘We won’t know until the doctor arrives,’ Jake said coldly.

‘Sorry,’ Belle said again.

‘I’m fine,’ Crystal said.

‘Please leave Crystal in peace now, she needs to be calm.’ Jake’s voice was so firm.

As Belle walked away, Crystal said, ‘I’m sure I can get up now, you don’t need to worry.’

Jake looked serious and held her hand more tightly. ‘Yes I do and I want to make sure you’re okay.’

Dallas’s doctor arrived and spent the next few minutes checking Crystal over, asking her how she felt and doing a few tests to check her reflexes and reactions. Everyone was still standing around watching her and Crystal felt like a right idiot just lying there.

‘Everything seems fine but as you said she’s recently had a head injury,’ the doctor addressed his comments to Jake, ‘I think it would be a good idea to have a scan at the hospital.’

Four hours later Crystal was lying on the sofa back at the guesthouse. The hospital had given her the all clear but advised her to take it easy for the next twenty-four hours. She felt perfectly okay, apart from a dull headache. She wanted to go to the beach but Jake wouldn’t hear of it.

‘You heard what the doctor said.’

Crystal tried to argue but gave up. It was too wonderful spending time with Jake again. He hadn’t left her side, insisting on taking her to the hospital, staying with her when she had the scan and when they got back to the house he made her a bed on the sofa, fixed her a sandwich and ordered everyone else to leave her alone.

But when he left the room to take a call Jez and Danni sneaked in.

‘How are you, darling?’ Jez said, rushing over to give her a kiss.

‘I’m fine, honestly. I don’t know what all the fuss is about,’ Crystal answered.

‘Are you sure?’ Danni asked, coming over and giving her a hug. Crystal nodded and Jez flopped down on the sofa next to her.

‘Well, Jake has been an absolute tower of strength,’ Jez declared, always fond of a cliché in a crisis. ‘When Belle hit you and you fell it was like watching a scene from
ER
– Jake totally took control, he wouldn’t let anyone else touch you. He ordered Dallas to get hold of the best doctor on the island. I tell you, girl, that man
really
likes you.’

Crystal shook her head. ‘He doesn’t, that’s just the kind of person he is. He’d have done the same for either of you.’

Danni smiled. ‘No he wouldn’t, Crystal. He still has feelings for you, it’s obvious.’

Crystal was about to say no way when Jake walked back in.

‘We should leave you two together,’ Jez said, looking meaningfully at Jake and then back at Crystal. Typical Jez, thought Crystal: all the subtlety of a herd of charging elephants.

He and Danni left the room, but when Jake’s back was turned Jez mouthed
he loves you!
and drew a love heart in the air and pointed at Crystal. She giggled.

‘What?’ Jake asked, sitting down on the sofa next to her.

Crystal shook her head. ‘Nothing.’

‘Thank God you’re all right, Crystal,’ he said, and to her surprise and delight he picked up her hand and gently kissed it.
Wow.

‘I must get hit on the head more often if it has this effect on you,’ Crystal said softly.

‘Don’t say that. I don’t know what I’d have done if—’ he was interrupted by another knock at the door and the arrival of Belle.

For once Belle did not look her super-confident self; she looked less than immaculately groomed and she hadn’t brushed her hair or reapplied her make-up since the shoot.

‘Jez told me you were okay,’ she said tentatively. ‘And I just wanted to say sorry again.’

‘I think Crystal needs to rest now,’ Jake said protectively.

‘It’s okay, I’d like to see Belle,’ Crystal replied. ‘Can you give us a minute?’ Very reluctantly Jake got up and left the two girls together.

Belle stood in the centre of the room, looking awkward. ‘I’m sorry, Crystal, I never meant for that to happen. I felt so bad when you hit your head, I thought I must have really hurt you when you passed out.’ Suddenly Belle was crying and they weren’t the usual stage tears that she would turn on whenever she wanted sympathy. These were heartfelt sobs.

‘Belle, I’m all right. I don’t blame you for what you did. I would probably have done the same if I’d been you.’

Belle came and sat down on the sofa, opening up her designer bag and searching for a tissue.

‘I was angry with you for ages and even when I met Lee I was still bitter about what happened. I blamed you for everything but I know Max was just as responsible, more so really, because I know now what a manipulative bastard he can be. And it’s stupid because I’m a thousand times happier with Lee than I ever was with Max. All those times you asked me how he treated me, I lied. Everything wasn’t okay. It was like being with Jekyll and Hyde. I never knew what mood he would be in from one moment to the next.’ Belle paused to blow her nose.

‘I know we can never go back to how we were, but please let’s not be enemies any more,’ Crystal said softly.

Jake walked back into the room. ‘Belle, that’s long enough.’

Belle stood up to go. ‘Okay, Crystal,’ she said slowly, ‘I agree’, then she turned and left, flicking her hair back, the confidence returned to her step.

‘We still need to talk,’ Jake said, sitting down next to her, ‘but I want you to rest now. I’ve got to go back to the edit but I want you to promise that you’ll go to bed at nine.’

‘Okay, doctor,’ Crystal replied in what she hoped was her best seductive voice, ‘but we could talk now.’ She was reluctant to let him go.

‘We’ll talk tomorrow.’ Then he kissed her forehead, and just feeling his lips on her skin gave Crystal a jolt of desire so powerful that even though her head still hurt the rest of her body felt up for anything . . .

‘Okay, that’s a wrap.’ It was four o’clock the following afternoon and Crystal and Belle had just re-enacted their fight scene. This time Belle used the technique she’d learnt from stage school when she went to slap Crystal and Crystal didn’t get hurt. Jake had been dead against Crystal working but Dallas had pleaded with her, saying it would cost him a fortune if they didn’t finish filming today. For the first time in ages Crystal could actually use a bit of bargaining power. It was a good feeling, so she let him sweat for a bit before saying, ‘I’ll do it on one condition.’

‘How much?’ he asked.

‘I don’t want any money, Dallas, but I would like to borrow the guesthouse for a couple more nights after everyone else has flown back and I’ll need two first class plane tickets.’

Obviously thinking he’d got off lightly, Dallas agreed.

After filming, everyone had to race back to the guesthouse and get packed for their flight that evening. Jake was about to join the exodus when Crystal called him over. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous: what if he turned her down? Well, so what if he did? She’d never know if she didn’t ask. ‘Dallas has let me have the guesthouse for a couple more days; how do you feel about staying on?’ She paused. ‘With me.’