Page 59 of Suzie's Santorini Summer

‘That sounds like lots of fun.’

‘It was… When we started out it waslotsof fun, a dream come true. We met so many of our idols, even got to play gigs alongside some of them. That’s how I met Dexter Hawkins – we were one of the support acts when he came over to Athens a couple of years back and it was a highlight of my career. But as our fanbase grew, so did the pressure. Petros and the other guys felt it, too, but not as much as me.’

Christos paused to take another mouthful of beer.

‘Everything started to get to me; the lack of privacy, the constant scrutiny of my private life, the fact I couldn’t go anywhere without getting stopped for a photo-op or an autograph. Would you believe that someone even helped themselves to a lock of my hair!? I couldn’t let my guard down for a second otherwise what I said, or what I did, would be splashed across someone’s social media account within the hour. It wasn’t about the music anymore. Every interview we did focused almost exclusively on our personal lives: who we were dating, whether we were serious, planning a secret wedding, having a family. One journalist even asked Petros what he’d had for breakfast that morning! I mean, who’s interested in that?’

Christos’ jaw tightened and Suzie saw the same expression in his dark eyes that she’d noticed the first time she’d met him.

‘It was totally overwhelming, and things got crazier and crazier. I knew I needed to take a break – so did Petros – but we kept putting it off, knowing that we were living the dream we had craved for so long, one which hundreds, if not thousands, of other bands would give their right arm for. Then I had an almighty bust up with my family, and everything unravelled from there.’

‘What kind of bust up?’

‘I told you my parents started a publishing business after resigning their posts at the university, but what actually happened was they bought two newspapers and a couple of glossy magazines. When the band started to get a little attention from the press, Dad promised me, and the other guys, that they would never run anything about us in any of their publications. I trusted him, and to give him his credit, he stuck to his word… Until six months ago, when they published a lengthy piece in one of their Sunday magazines, written by someone using a pseudonym. How ironic is that? Happy to write a whole load of personal stuff about someone without their consent, but not willing to reveal their own identity! I was livid! I couldn’t believe my family would betray me in such a flagrant way.’

‘Did you find out who’d written it?’

‘Unfortunately, I did. After some digging, I found out that it was co-written by two people I thought loved me, who I thought would always have my back no matter what. But I was wrong, and the pain of discovering that my girlfriend andmy own sistercould do such a thing was more than I could bear. But you know what the worst thing about the whole episode was?’

Suzie shook her head, even though she knew it was a rhetorical question.

‘When I confronted my parents, they sided withher! They pointed out that everything in the article was true and played down the effect the contents had on my emotional wellbeing. I flipped. We had a blazing row, everyone said things they shouldn’t have said, and I stormed out of their house, went straight round to see Thea, told her we were finished, then caught a flight over here to Santorini.

‘Looking back, I accept that my mental health at the time played a part in how I reacted, but what they did was cruel and exploitative, and for the sole purpose of selling a few more newspapers. I’m working on my forgiveness skills, but I’m not there yet, and seeing this vlog has brought everything tumbling back.’

‘I’m so sorry, Christos.’

‘I know Heidi’s been following this guy’s vlogs for a while. Does she have any idea whoHolsHackeris?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Do you?’

‘No, I…’ Suzie paused, remembering the guy she had seen on the roof opposite where they were sitting at that very moment, pointing his camera in her direction. Was heHolsHacker? Had he been taking photographs of her because of her connection with Christos? Although she was indignant on Christos’ behalf, she had to admit that the possibility did alleviate a little of her own anxiety. ‘Actually, when I was on the balcony this morning I saw a guy on the terrace over there taking photographs of me. I could be wrong, but he looked like one of the guys who came for dinner at the taverna last night, the one they called “Captain Ted”.’

‘So you think he’sHolsHacker?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Well, I hope for his sake they’ve sailed off to another island by now.’ Christos growled, a muscle in his cheek working overtime. ‘And that the overlap between people who are interested in holiday hacks and people who are into Greek rock music is minimal.’

Christos paused to take another sip of his beer as he wrestled to control his emotions.

‘You know what the worst thing about all this? I’ve not picked up a guitar since I left Athens. I’m sad to say that I’ve lost my love of music and I don’t even miss it. Fame is not all it’s cracked up to be; it takes its toll, and I’m exhausted with the whole business. Being here, spending time on the boat, I’ve had plenty of time to think. I really want to do something different, something that lights up my life, and there’s something I used to love just as much as music, if not more, that I want to pursue.’

‘Sailing?’

‘No, something more creative.’

‘Pottery?’ said Suzie, trying to put the smile back on Christos’ face.

‘I won’t rule it out.’ Christos laughed, before becoming serious again. ‘I’ve had a taste of what a normal life is like, and I like it. I like having normal relationships with people who want to be with me for who I am, notwhatI am. I’ve never told any of my previous girlfriends about my animal phobia before. I’ve never felt able to confide in them for fear of them talking to the press about it when our relationship ended, or as it turned out with Thea,whilewe were still seeing each other!’

Christos eyes lingered on the horizon where the glistening azure blue of the Aegean Sea met the cloudless cerulean sky, his thoughts clearly on another time, another place.

‘Do you have any idea how it feels when the person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with treats you with such callous disregard for your feelings?’

Suzie couldn’t fail to hear the sadness in his voice, and what he’d said struck a nerve. She remembered what Amber had said to her about talking to Christos, and this was as good a time as any to do that. He’d opened up to her, now it was her turn to open up to him. She took a quick sip of her beer to give her the courage she needed to squeeze out the words that were spiralling around her brain, and, ignoring her racing heart, she said, ‘Actually, I do.’

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