Page 39 of Under A Sicilian Sky
‘Sadly, no. I was in a long-term relationship but… she… erm… broke up with me. Apparently, I wasn’t serious enough about us. I think the record store came between us.’ He shrugged. ‘I was heartbroken for a while but… well, you have to get on with living, don’t you?’
‘Absolutely.’
Much to her surprise, he continued. ‘I had a few flings after that, but nothing stuck, you know? There was one girl I was really taken with. A musician. Incredible voice. Like melted chocolate. But she was used to dating rock stars – clearly something I’mnot. We fooled around for a while, but this time it wasshewho wasn’t serious enough.’
Ruby listened intently but couldn’t help feeling she had heard this romance story before. It bore a distinct resemblance to the movieHigh Fidelity– Clark’sonefavourite film. She shrugged it off, deciding she was being utterly ridiculous.After all, there are only so many ways people can fall in love and the fact that he owned a record store was bound to make me think that way.
Ruby felt a little light-headed and presumed it must be the lack of sleep from the night before. She drank more juice in the hope it would perk her up. Once their meal was finished, Clark cleared the table and took the dishes into the house. ‘You sit and relax; I won’t be long. I’ll make some fresh coffee.’
As he had suggested, she sat for a few minutes, but the feeling of wooziness seemed to worsen. Deciding that a splash of cold water would help, she stood and entered the house, closely followed by Nero, who stuck to her like a limpet. She wobbled a little as she walked.
‘Clark? Can I use the bathroom?’ It was the first time she had needed to do so in his house and hadn’t a clue where it was.
He didn’t reply but she figured he wouldn’t mind. She walked barefoot, along the cool, marble tiled floor and opened a door.
‘Broom closet. Best not pee in there,’ she told Nero with a giggle. She walked further, passing photographs of people she didn’t recognise. Quotes underneath each print said things like, ‘Wonderful house, can’t wait to return’ and ‘Fabulous location, well equipped, just what we needed.’ Ruby found this a little odd but figured Clark probably had rented the house out in the past, as Mitch had suggested.
Another door led to a library devoid of books. Apart from the odd dog-eared novel, and a pile of generic DVDs, bare shelves lined the walls, which was something that saddened her. She found it strange seeing as Clark had professed a love for reading crime novels when there wasn’t a single one of that genre on the shelves. The room appeared totally unloved, a little like an afterthought even, and that rattled her. Perhaps he only said he loved reading to find common ground with her?
Another door led to a room in total darkness; closed blinds blocked out almost every ray of daylight, so she fumbled around the wall for a light switch. It smelled clinical and she could make out a white shape on the opposite wall.
‘This must be the bathroom,’ she told Nero aloud, as she slipped her hand up the wall to her left, finally landing on a switch. ‘You can stay out here though, eh?’
She flicked the switch and gasped, almost falling over in the process.
Before her stood the white object that she had mistaken for a bath. It was a desk, piled high with papers. Not only that, but the floor was stacked with magazines and newspapers too. But it was the noticeboard that caused the gasp and a cold chill to travel down her spine. Above the desk was a cork board completely filled with newspaper cuttings, magazine clippings, articles, photographs… all ofher.
Against the will of the alarm bells ringing in her mind, she stepped closer, her hands shaking and her legs fighting to keep her upright. There was a laptop open on the desk with her face as the screensaver; a shot taken on a film shoot. She wiggled the mouse, and a document sprang to life, titled, ‘My love affair with Ruby Locke’ by someone called Hamilton Harlow.
‘Hamilton Harlow? What the f—’
Nero growled, alerting her to someone’s presence.
‘You’re not supposed to be in here,’ came a terse voice from directly behind her, causing her to almost jump out of her skin.
Nero continued to snarl as Ruby slowly turned to face Clark, her whole body juddering, sweat beading on her forehead.
‘Clark, what the… What is all this?’ Confusion clouded her mind and her words slurred. She watched his usually open expression darken substantially.
‘Why did you go poking around, huh? Who said you could search my rooms?’
She held up her hands defensively. ‘I… I just needed the loo. I wasn’t being nosey. I didn’t mean—’
Nero’s growls became more aggressive.
‘Oh, shut up, you dumbass dog,’ he said with a stomp in the animal’s direction before turning his attention back to Ruby. ‘If you’d just asked me, I would’ve taken you to the bathroom. Why didn’t you just ask?’ he snapped through clenched teeth.
‘I tried. I shouted you but… Clark, what is all this stuff?’ She blinked in what felt like slow motion and the room began to spin. When he didn’t speak, she continued, ‘How long have you known who I am?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Come on,Ruby, how dumb do you think I am?’
Her nostrils flared and her stomach roiled. ‘You’ve known all along. You’ve been lying to me,’ she whispered.
He laughed. ‘Oh, and you’ve been full of truths, huh,Rebecca?’
Her brow crumpled as nausea rose inside her and despite feeling weaker by the second, she fought to stay alert. ‘You obviously know why I couldn’t tell you who I was! You have all the bloody information in your stalker material!’
He closed in on her and tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘Stalker? Me? I think you’ll find I’m a professional journalist, sweetheart.’
