Star Crossed (Starlight #3) (13 page)

Chapter 15

After a few hours rehearsal, I decide to take a walk. I’ve a few finishing touches to make to the song. And walking is something that’s always helped me compose.

‘
Is there a park or something near here,’ I ask Adam, ‘where I can take a stroll?’

His eyes darken.

‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ he says.

‘
Why not?’

‘
Well,’ he says, ‘you’re famous now Summer. You need to remember that. If you go out alone, you might get hounded by the press. Or worse, some kind of desperate fan.’

I raise an eyebrow.

‘I’ve been on TV a couple of times,’ I say. ‘No one is going to recognise me.’

‘
You’ve been on a show with millions of viewers,’ Adam corrects me. ‘And you’re currently favourite to win.’

This is news to me.

‘I am?’

‘
Yes!’ Adam takes me by the shoulders. ‘Summer, you are a smart girl, but sometimes I wonder what planet you’re on.’

He sighs.

‘You’re a well-known face now,’ Adam says. ‘It’s… Dangerous for you to go out alone.’

That does it. Ok, so he might be right about
Sing-Win earning me recognition. But dangerous? I am nowhere near that level of fame.

‘
Come on Adam,’ I protest, ‘don’t go all crazy protective on me. You said yourself that the press don’t know about this house yet. I can easily go for a twenty minute walk without anyone even noticing me.’

‘
Yes… But…’ he seems to be searching for a reason to stop me. I cut him off.

‘
But nothing,’ I say firmly. ‘I’m taking a walk, not sky-diving. I’ll be fine. I’ve only been on a few TV shows. It’s not like I’m a proper celebrity.’

‘
You’re more recognisable than you realise,’ says Adam.

I think for a moment.
‘I’ll just put on a hat and a pair of sunglasses,’ I add, ‘isn’t that what celebs do?’

‘
If they want to attract paparazzi,’ snorts Adam. ‘It’s not even sunny outside. If you saw a person disguised in sunnies and a hat, would you walk by without a second look?’

‘
Maybe not,’ I concede. ‘Ok then, I’ll just wear my hair a little further over my face. It’s not like I’m wearing anything conspicuous,’ I add, gesturing to my yellow sun dress.

‘
I’m not happy about it,’ says Adam.

‘
What do you expect me to do?’ I say. ‘I can’t stay cooped up like a prisoner. I honestly don’t think there’s anything to worry about.’

‘
You’re not even used to London,’ protests Adam. ‘What if you get lost? Or wander into some bad area?’

Now he really is being stupid.

‘Around here?’ I say, putting my hands on my hips. ‘A bad area? Come on Adam. This whole street is owned by millionaires. And how can you worry about me getting lost? I’m not a toddler. I’m a full-grown woman. In case you hadn’t noticed, I managed to move to London all by myself and start up a music career in an area far worse than this.’

Adam raises his hands, defeated.

‘Ok, ok,’ he says. ‘Go for a walk. Just promise me you won’t be long. And you’ll be careful.’

‘
I promise,’ I say. ‘I won’t be longer than half an hour.’

Adam nods.

‘You’re not going to do anything stupid are you?’ I add, glancing at him suspiciously.

‘
Like what?’ asks Adam.

‘
I don’t know,’ I say. ‘Like follow me, or something. Cause that definitely would attract attention.’

‘
I wasn’t planning on following you,’ he says. ‘Although if you’d wait a few hours, I would much prefer to send you out with a bodyguard.’

‘
I’m
fine
,’ I say. ‘Honestly Adam. There is no need to worry.’

‘
Keep your phone with you then,’ he says.

‘
Of course.’ I kiss him on the mouth. ‘I’m going now,’ I say, ‘before you get yourself even more nervous about me taking a walk.’

I stroll out of the huge townhouse doors with a huge smile on my face. It feels like an age since I’ve been able to do something as simple as walk where I want. I pick a direction at random, heading towards what looks like a large green area. Probably it’s a park or a common.

Getting into a green space always helps me think.

It only takes me a few minutes to reach a massive space of trees and grass. A sign announces where I am.

Hampstead Heath! Oh. I’ve heard about it.

It shouldn’t surprise me that Adam has rented a house a few minutes away. Hampstead Heath is one of the largest green spaces in London. And the district around it is well known for celebrities. It holds some of the most expensive accommodation in the world.

As I venture onto the Heath I can see why it’s such a sought after area. With your back to the residential street behind, you could be in the countryside. I inhale deeply, taking in the fresh air.

This is the perfect place to compose.

I decide to take a walk around the
pathway which circles the edge, so I don’t lose my bearings. I’d never hear the end of it if I got lost.

I set off and am soon absorbed in composing. Besides a few well-dressed joggers and dog-walkers,
there are not a great deal of people around. So I can hum and sing quietly without looking like a lunatic.

Soon I am totally absorbed in creating the melody and the words.

I’m realising that this song means more to me, than anything I’ve ever sung.

It’s more than just singing about Adam.
It’s laying myself completely bare in the words. I feel vulnerable but excited too. A good kind of scared.

This song is about absolute truth.

I’m so caught up in composing that I lose track of time. And when I check my phone I’ve already been walking for half an hour.

Whoops. Better get back before Adam freaks out.

I pull out my phone and send him a quick text.

Song going great.
Heading back now.

There. That should keep him happy.

I spin on my heel, turning in the opposite direction to make my way back. I’d like to come here more often, I decide. It’s a great place to spend an hour or so alone. And now I’ve proved it’s totally safe, Adam has no excuse for making a fuss.

I round a corner, humming one of the trickier parts of the song. And suddenly, I hear a whistle behind me. Like someone calling a dog.

I ignore it, presuming it to be a dog walker. But then it comes again, closer.

For some reason the sound makes me uneasy. I can’t work out where it’s coming from. I glance around anxiously but I can’t see anyone behind me.

Is the sound coming from the bushes?

Disconcerted, I walk a little faster. Adam’s words are coming back to me.
I curse him for making me paranoid. Should I be worried?

I dismiss the thought. I’m taking a walk on Hampstead Heath in broad daylight, not cutting through a back alley.

Even so, I branch from the path and start to cut back to my starting point over the grassed area. There’s a little copse of trees between me and the shortest way back. I hesitate just a moment before heading into it.

Nothing to worry about
Summer. Adam’s just put thoughts in your head.

But almost as soon as I enter the trees, I catch sight of a hooded figure out of the corner of my eye. He’s come from the path I just walked on, and is headed for the trees too.

Is he following me?

I walk a little faster, and twist my head back. He’s still there. I can’t make out much about the person, other than he’s a man, with a dark hooded top pulled low over his face.

My heartbeat has picked up a little.

Breathe
Summer. You’re being ridiculous.

My head is telling me there’s nothing to worry about. But my gut… Some instinct deep inside has me on high alert.

The trees have closed thickly around me now, and I realise the stupidity of my decision. It was dumb panic which made me take a short cut through this copse. What was I thinking?

I might have even given an inadvertent signal, to this man behind me, that I wanted him to follow me into the bushes.

Great move Summer.

My mind is churning with familiar thoughts. I’m not from London. What if there’s something I don’t understand about this part of the city?

All the time I’m thinking, the person behind me seems to be walking faster.

It’s not my imagination anymore.
Whoever is behind me is catching me up.

I’m deep in the copse now, and daylight has faded to an eerie twilight.

I look left and right, but there’s no quick way back onto the heath. Without really thinking, I break into a run.

And when the man behind me starts running too, that’s when I really panic.

I crash through the branches, with the uneven ground pounding beneath me. And as I veer over the mud and leaves, my foot catches on a half-buried tree stump, sending me flying.

I hit the dirt, twisting my ankle with a yelp of pain.

I can’t see my pursuer, but I can hear him, running though the undergrowth. It’s a steady, ominous sound.

Trying to stem my breathing, I look around for somewhere to hide. I could dodge into the bushes, but they’re pretty thin. There’s
every likelihood I’d be seen from the pathway.

Then I look up.

The trees.

I climbed a tonne of trees as a kid. I could easily shin up the trunk and secrete myself up high.

The thought is ridiculous, I know. But with the adrenalin coursing through me, and the footsteps nearing, it doesn’t seem quite so childish.

On a whim, I pick myself up from the ground, and step onto the lower branch of the big tree behind me.

My fingers grip the rough bark, and it all comes back to me. I climb it easily, using the branches like a ladder to take me high into the canopy.

I’m so intent on climbing
higher that it’s only when I hear footsteps below that I freeze.

I risk a cautious glance back down, and a wave of trepidation sweeps through me.

The man in a hoody is standing directly beneath me. All he need do is glance up, and he’d see me hiding in the branches.

For some reason the thought makes me want to laugh. It is too silly. Here I am, aged twenty-two, climbing trees and hiding from
strangers.

I close my eyes at my own foolishness.

Jeez Summer. You’ve been reading too much Nancy Drew.

I can’t see anything much about the man, but the top of his dark hoody. Then he raises a hand to his ear, and I realise he’s making a phone call.

There’s a pause whilst the call connects, and I hear the faint sound of ringing.

Then I hear the man’s voice for the first time. It’s low. Guttural almost. And it sounds much too old to come from a person wearing a hooded top.

I’d assumed him to be early twenties max. He sounds in his thirties.

‘
She’s gone,’ he says.

My fingers tighten on the trunk.

Is he talking about me?

There’s another pause. If I concentrate I can just make out a tinny voice on the other end of the phone.

‘I followed her,’ answers the man. ‘Just like you said. But she ducked into a copse of trees and I lost her.’

The faint voice on the other end of the phone sounds again, louder this time. As though they’re angry.

‘I don’t know!’ replies the man. ‘I was on her tail and then she vanished. I thought I heard her fall…’

His gaze starts to sweep around the bushes.

High up in the tree, I feel my blood run cold.

He’s talking about me.
He must be. Does he know who I am?

All he need do it tilt his head up, and he has me. For whatever purpose he’s been following me.

I have no idea what that might be. But it can’t be good.

I strain my ears to hear the voice on the other end of his phone. But I can’t make out anything about it.
Male or female. Old or young. The words are lost. It’s just a white noise.

I glance at my hands. My knuckles are white with clinging to the bark.

As the man scans the undergrowth, I send out a silent prayer.

Don’t look up, don’t look up,
don’t look up.

He kicks a slightly thicker patch of undergrowth, and grunts in annoyance.

‘She’s not hiding in the bushes,’ he says to the unknown caller. ‘She must have doubled back and taken a different route out.’

I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding in. He thinks he’s lost me. He’s going to head back out onto the heath.