Page 44 of Christmas off Script
A panic bomb detonated inside Ella. ‘What do you mean?’
There was a nasty gleam in Michelle’s eyes. ‘You don’t know?’
‘Know what?’
With her foot, Michelle nudged a magazine towards Ella. ‘Talking shit about your dad when his younger brother was up to his neck in it? And now snorting charlie in some fancy club with his new celeb mates? Wanker.’
Ella lifted the magazine. On the cover was a photo of Zach looking wide-eyed and wasted, a smear of white powder under his nose. The headline read ‘Soap star sacked after drugs shame!’
Oh, no. Poor Zach.She dropped the magazine, not wanting to read any more.
‘You feeling sorry for him?’ Michelle asked incredulously. ‘After what he did to us? He got what was coming. And if he thinks he can save his rep by poncing around on stage in a so-called “family” show, he’s mental.’
‘Zach never took drugs when we were together.’
‘Well, he’s started now.’ Michelle cackled. ‘I think me and the girls should go to the panto and give him a nasty surprise.’
‘Please!’ Ella cried. ‘Don’t do anything!’
Her stepmother shrugged. ‘We’ll see. But you tell him from us he’d better watch his back. And when your dad gets out, he’d better not still be in Foxbrooke.’
Hurrying awayfrom Michelle’s house over four hours later, Ella tried to shake off the thoughts, memories, and feelings that stuck to her skin like superglue. Oliver had bulldozed the carefully constructed foundations of her life and now her past was colliding with her present; two earthquakes hitting her from either side. Emotionally battered and bruised, the only thing keeping her from completely falling apart was the support she had from Leo and his family.
Leo. He was her rock and her happy place. Someone who loved her just the way she was and had never let her down.
You trusted Oliver. Zach. Look where that got you.
But Leo’s not like that!
How do you know? What happens when the Foxbrooke family’s charity runs out?
Dread twisted in her stomach at the thought. The only thing she had to offer in return for their kindness was to make herself useful. That was why she’d agreed to play Cinderella. She’d confront every one of her demons and fears if it meant she could repay Leo and his family for everything they were doing for her. If she didn’t step up, then she’d just be taking advantage of them.
But now Zach had been thrown into the mix, and she was expected to kiss him. The thought made her feel ill, but compassion followed. Zach may have enjoyed the high of whatever drugs he’d taken, but in the photo he didn’t look happy. He didn’t seem like the Zach she’d once known and loved. His life was crashing around him, and now Ronnie was being released early.
Rubbing her forehead in an attempt to massage the stress and pain away, Ella crossed the road and turned left, taking the longer route back to the manor to avoid walking past her old house. Leo had helped her clear out all her belongings, and she’d cancelled the next month’s rent payment. She was already too far into her overdraft to afford it, and the deposit she’d paid to Oliver’s parents was for the same amount. They could keep that instead. It wasn’t as if they’d need to pay for repairs or cleaning, as she’d left the place immaculate.
Stop thinking about it! Let it go!
Entering the manor, she jogged up the stairs to her room, tore off her dirty clothes, and got into the shower.
The hot water soothed her aches and pains and cleansed away some of the sickness that arose each time she spent any time at her stepmother’s. Glancing at the graze on her elbow, the sight of fresh blood sent another memory from the past to shock her into stillness. Would she ever be able to forget? Or at least feel detached from what had happened?
Come on! Focus on the future. You’ve waited for this day for a year now. Don’t ruin it!
Tomorrow was the official opening of the Bath Christmas Market, but from three until eight p.m. tonight, residents of the county of Bath and North East Somerset were allowed in to enjoy the market before it became overcrowded with people from all over the South West. Ella and Leo’s visit was yet another of their Christmas traditions, and Ella couldn’t wait.
Throwing on clean jeans and a t-shirt that read ‘I’m not an elf, I’m just short’, she went into the corridor and knocked on his door.
No answer. She’d texted earlier to say she would be running late, and he’d replied to say for her to find him when she was ready.
Ella knocked again, louder this time.
‘Come on in,’ Leo shouted from inside, his voice muffled.
Opening the door, she entered his bedroom.
He was nowhere to be seen.
