Rebuild (Love & Beyond #1) (25 page)

“Adam, what’s up?”

“Are you sure about this? You’ve been hiding since that night, if people recognize you, they’ll stare and might say something. You’re well known, Danni! Some hate you and some want to be your best mate, to get to Jared. What if all the pressure will get to you, you might run again?” I squirm at the mention of his name, my heart jumps a beat and I stay silent for a few seconds trying to evaluate everything he’s just said.

              “Yes, I’m ready! I can’t keep hiding forever; I’ll have to deal with it one way or another, who knows, maybe no one will notice.” Right, deep breath Danni! I brace myself and walk in. Oh dear, it’s packed and just as I thought, people stop what they’re doing and glare over. My heart starts pounding with nerves through the intensity of their stares; Adam, can see the slight panic in my face and grabs my hand to help me through the crowd. He speaks up to them all.

“Has anyone got a problem? Then I suggest you all turn around and look at something else or deal with me, your choice.” My brother is someone you don’t really mess with, he’s got himself a reputation around here, so no one dares to challenge him! So they all turn away quickly. We carry on walking through the crowd until we find the others; it’s hard to miss them in the corner with their arms waving towards us.

“What was that all about?”

“You know Adam, he gets a little over protective, he didn’t like everyone staring at me, did you bro?” He shakes his head saying no, it’ll take him a minute or so to calm down, always the way. So instead of talking, he just goes and gets a round in.

“How come you’re late?” Darla asks.

“I couldn’t decide what to wear and to be honest, I was stalling. It’s the first time I’ve been out since everything went down; I knew I was going to catch everyone’s eye. It was hard deciding what would look suitable, didn’t want to look like a slut, underdressed, or overdressed. Suppose it wouldn’t have mattered, because either way if a reporter caught up with me, they would slate me no matter what. It’s why I went for this satin pink, halter neck top, that falls nicely on my body frame and these black tight jeans. I thought casual would be best. I love what you’re wearing Darla.” She has a lovely lilac maxi dress on that clings to her curvaceous body and a slight cut to reveal her cleavage. Carl’s wearing his usual, smart jeans and tight shirt. Katie’s wearing a strapless black, cocktail dress and her hair is up in worms, which look awesome. I wish I could do that. “How long did it take you to do your hair like that, Katie? It’s wicked.”

“An hour! I was sat there twisting a little bunch at a time; my arm was dead by the end.” Amazing, I wouldn’t have the patience to do that. Finally, Adam’s back with the drinks, they place them on the table for everyone to grab and Adam starts making a toast. Oh my god, kill me now.

“Let’s all raise our glasses to, Danni! Welcome home peanut.”

“Cheers.” They all shout in unison, my face turns red with embarrassment. It’s good to be home.

“Oh, Danni, before we forget, we want to ask for a huge favour.”

“I’m going to regret asking you this, what do you want?”

“We were both wondering, could you sing for us at our wedding please.” I spit my drink out in shock; I was not expecting that, are they taking the piss?

“You’re kidding, right? I don’t sing, I only sing in the shower, I couldn’t do it in front of an audience. Your asking a lot, don’t you think? Why don’t you ask me for something simple, like a puppy? I’d be more than happy to buy you one.”

“Yo, baby girl, listen up! You know that’s the only good thing your mum past down to you, was her voice. You sound amazing, I know you hate to sing, but it’d mean the world to me and Darla, we want you to be a big part of our wedding, do I have to use the three musketeers’ line? Because I will! ‘All for one and one for..” Before he can finish the line, everyone bursts out in laughter, apart from me. I’m still hyperventilating, to the thought of singing in front of a crowd.

“Can’t we just book that, Britney chick you like? I’m pretty sure if we pay her millions, she will.” I sigh, because I know they won’t give up. “Fine, I will, but only the one, alright?”

“That’s all we wish for is for you to sing our fist dance song, thank you so much Danni.” They grip me and wrap their arms around me in joy. I think it’s just made their night. They owe me big time for this and I will cash in.

As the night goes on, we're only an hour and a half into the night and I’m already feeling a bit tipsy, having shot after shot, I forgot how disgusting they were. I stumble on my feet and head towards the door, as we're going in to town, but because I’m not watching what I’m doing, I fall through the door and I knock straight into someone, which sends me flying to the ground and I throw my hands out, scraping them on the way down.

“Ouch, watch it!” I feel hands gently pulling me up; the touch is strong and I recognize that touch. My body starts zinging with electricity, as I look up to meet his eyes. My heart starts jumping, as our eyes meet and I know it's him, Jared has found me. “Erm.. Thanks for that.” He’s got some blonde bimbo clinging onto his arm, didn’t take him long to get over me.

“So, you’re back?” He snaps.

“You already knew I was back, you where invited and you turned it down.”
As he gazes into my eyes, I try and figure out what he’s feeling, but it’s pointless because he’s not giving anything away, it’s as if he’s put a wall up.

“True, I did but.. Never mind, I don’t need to explain myself to you. Oh and thanks for letting me know you were back. Instead of hearing it from you, I hear it from my sister.” What a douche, talking to me like that, with a smug little smile on his face. I nod and turn around and go to walk away, till he shouts. “There she goes again, running away as soon as a bit of conflict appears, typical." How rude can someone be? I clench my hands together and form a fist as the anger takes over and I walk back towards him.

“Excuse me, are you trying to attract an audience? Shouldn’t you be in America? That’s where you’re supposed to live. You know what, I had a good reason to leave and I’ve already been grilled by Alex about it all, do you think I want to hear it from you too? And while I’m on a roll here, you don’t get to say anything to me, as well, look.. It only took you what, five minutes to jump into bed with the easiest tart you could find?”

“You know what, Danni! You have no right to judge me and you’re right, you left, I moved on, get over it, I upgraded to someone better.
The next minute, I see Adam approaching him with his fist clenched and he clouts him one on the face.

“Don’t talk to my sister like that, you fucking ass.” Jared hits the deck with the impact of Adams blow, the blonde runs straight for him to be at his side. She tries to help him up, but he dismisses her as he can’t seem to remove his eyes from mine. I’m not sure if I’m right, but it looks like regret is bouncing from them. I notice Adam, going towards him to strike Jared again. I can’t let him do that, I run towards him and grab him back, as if Adam gets his hands on him, he’ll destroy him.             

“Adam, please don’t, look, people are watching and recording this on their mobiles, let’s just go, it’s not worth it. I guess I hurt him more than I thought, its fine, come on.” I tug on his arm and pull him towards the others.
Don’t look back Danni, it’ll show your pain.
Damn, I can’t resist, I turn my head and he’s not moved from the floor, all he’s doing is watching me walk away.

       Chapter Twenty One

Ouch, my head is thumping. Why is that noise outside so loud? And why can’t I remember last night? I must have drunk far too much. Ewe, I feel dribble running down the side of my mouth; I use the back of my hand to wipe the slime away. I hear a shouting coming from the other side of the door. Why must he be so loud?

“Danni, come on! We need to go.”

“Shh, you don’t need to be so loud.” I grab my pillow and put it over my head, hoping it will drown the sound out.

“I hope you decent, Danni, I’m coming in, I’ve got a coffee for you and how do you fancy a fry up when we’re out?” What a prick, that’s made me feel worse. Oh, no! I can’t hold it in; I’m going to be sick. I make a dash for the toilet. Adams laughing in the background, I shout.

“You’re evil.”

“Self inflicted, peanut! No sympathy for you.” I head back to the bed and Adam hands me a coffee, even the smell of that is disgusting.

“Thanks, but I can’t have that, the smell is making my tummy curl. So, fancy filling in the blanks for me, from last night?” He laughs, oh no, that’s not a good sign. I can’t help but put my head down waiting for him to tell me how bad it was.

“Where do I start? After your encounter with Jared, you went in all 'fuck it' mode. You starting going hardcore on any shots you had, jaggier bombs, glitter bombs, vodka, sambuca, you name it, you did it. Then you started flirting with everyone, which was an epic fail, as you could barely speak and couldn’t stand straight. Then we got a call that Andi went into labour. That made you stand on top of a table and shouting ‘yeyy I’m going to be an auntie, my sister gone to give birth to two balls.’ Then you offered to buy everyone a drink. You wanted to go to the hospital to be there for her. It took all of us to convince you not too. I have to say, it was hilarious watching you; we did try and stop you from making a show of yourself. Needless to say, you entertained everyone. Oh and we had to confiscate your mobile off you, as you kept ringing and texting Jared kicking off.” He burst out laughing once again at my stupidity; I can’t believe I did that. I bet the reporters had a field day with that one. I need to go and hide now, I go and curl up in a ball and bury my head into my covers. You’ve got to be kidding me, why, oh why, must I do this to myself?             

“Don’t worry about it; everyone makes a fool of themselves, at least once in their life. We wouldn’t be human otherwise, would we? What was the last thing you remember?”              

“The last thing I remember was you decking Jared and the taxi drive to town, everything after then is a blur. Are we going to see Andi?”

“No! We can’t till later, she had a few complications and lost a lot of blood, but she’s alright, we can go later; we just need to wait until we hear from Alex. In the mean time, we’re apartment hunting, so move your ass.” He says, while smacking my leg, so I try a lame attempt to throw a pillow at him and figure I missed. He sticks his tongue out at me, how rude, he never does that. Whatever is keeping him in this fun mood, he needs to hold on to it.

                                            
*****

"This is the one, Adam, I love it! It’s perfect for me and not too big. I love the white arch that separates the lounge from the kitchen and dining area." I look in the kitchen at the beautiful marble effect throughout the counters are truly a work of art. The master bedroom is surprisingly big with a walk in wardrobe. I can feel excitement work its way through my body. I enter the spare room, which is also a reasonable size and walk into the en suite bathroom. Everything was white, with a pearl effect, including the shower and bath. "This is perfect, Adam, this is the one for me."

“Are you sure? I don’t mean to be a downer, but are you ready for this? Bear in mind, you’ve not lived by yourself since before you got with that monster.”

“Adam, I’m ready! You can’t protect me forever and I need to finally make that step. Someone once told me ‘no fear’ and so far it’s worked and not let me down. Plus, I was at the lake house for a month by myself.”

“Who did you get the, no fear from?” I look to the floor and try shake away the memory from the first time he mentioned it to me. After a long pause I say.

“No one important, well not anymore.” From the look on his face, I don’t need to tell him who, as he’s already guessed, so he doesn’t push the subject, all he does is dismiss it.

“Well peanut, I will always want to protect you; it’s what big brothers do. If you feel this is the one for you and your a hundred percent sure you want to do this, then I won’t get in your way. Plus, good excuse for a decorating party.”

“I don’t think so, dude! Not in this life time. The poor house will be wrecked, before it even had its first layer.” We share a laugh together and tell the estate agent I’ll take it and before I sign the paperwork my email goes off.

[email protected]
:
Danni! We need to talk about last night, can we meet up please?

Love J

Seriously, is he taking the piss? After what he said last night, he can go to hell.

[email protected]
:
Are you kidding me? You can go to hell! No.

From D

“Danni, are you ok? Your face has turned red?”

“Yeah! I’m ok, just slightly angry. Jared has just emailed me wanting to meet up. What’s up with that? After last night you’d think he’d realize that I want nothing to do with him.” I grit my teeth in silent fury as my brother tries to calm me down, even though you can tell by the fury on his face and his hands clenching together in to fist, he wants to go round two with him. We’re knocked out by another bing from my mobile.

[email protected]
:
Please, Danni?

Love J

[email protected]
:
NO!

That’s all I put, he’s lucky that’s all he’s getting. I feel kind of guilty now, but it’ll pass. He deserves every bit of my humble pie.

We’re heading to the hospital today to go and see Andi, I’m finally getting to meet the twins. We had to wait for a few days for her to recover and catch up on some rest. 

Approaching her ward, I get a little more excited to meet the twins, I’m so proud to become an auntie. Poor Andi, She looks drawn from all her colour, her hair is greasy and her eyes have drawn in and covered in black circles were she’s not slept in days. She tries to give out a smile, but it’s too much effort as she looks physically exhausted.

“Hey hun, congratulations, where are my darling niece and nephew?” She signals towards two little cribs. Oh my god, they’re tiny; they have baby wrinkles and a head of jet black hair. Their skin is dry with skin pealing. They’re adorable! “Is it ok If I have a hold them? I’m not sure how to hold both at the same time, but I can give it ago. Actually, I’ll hold one at a time; I don’t want to drop them. What are their names Alex?” He passes me one of the little darlings over and a huge warmth feeling overflows me. I look down at this little miracle, what a magical feeling, so beautiful. I also feel disappointed, because I know I’ll never get to experience any of this. A lump forms in my throat, I try to make it go away, but it’s too hard. Alex notices my look and tries to distract me

“Their names are, ‘Aidan’ and the one you’re holding is called ‘Aaliyah.’ We wanted both their names to start with the letter ‘A’ like ours.”

“That’s adorable, they’re both beautiful names. Hi, Aaliyah and Aidan, I’m your crazy aunt Danni and I’ll spoil you both rotten behind your mummy and daddy’s back, just don’t tell them. This is Uncle Adam, go and give him some cuddles, while I use the ladies room.” After passing the baby to my brother, I head straight to the nearest rest room. I can feel my emotions building up and I'd hate for Andi to think I resented her or her babies because I can't have any of my own.

My walls crumble and tears stream down my face, as I close the rest room door behind me. I rest my hands on the sink and try to steady myself. After a few minutes, I feel more composed and pull my mobile phone out of my bag. Maybe if I call Darla and tell her how chunky and cute they are, it'll help.

As I exit the room, a lady behind the desk looks at me with disproval. I pretend not to see her as I make my way outside. I dial her number and before I even say hello she asks.

“What’s up, Danni?”

“Hey, Darla! Oh nothing, was just calling you to tell you how cute and adorable the babies are.”

“You couldn’t just send me a picture?” I let out a big sigh and put my head down.

              “Sorry Danni! How insensitive of me, I should of thought.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m happy for her. Anyway, you’re getting married in a week; I’m guessing we have a busy week ahead of us. I bought an apartment, so it should be all furnished in the next few days. I can’t wait and I’m not going to lie it’s going to be mainly pink.” She can tell I’m changing the subject, as keeping my mind busy helps keep the tears at bay. She gets that, so she carries on with the conversation.

“That is typical you, Danni, everything pink. The place will end up looking like a marshmallow, but it’ll look awesome. So, you’re finally putting your mother’s money to good use then?”

“Yeah! But it’s also money I’ve saved too. Anyway, Darla I best get back in there before they think I’ve done a runner, as that’s what Danni does. Ring me later with the plan for the week. Cheerio.”

“Cheerio? I’ve not heard that saying in a long time, we use to always say that when we were younger to each other, are you feeling sentimental? Anyway chick before you go, don’t forget we’re picking our dresses up on Wednesday, can I leave my dress at yours?”

“Sure hun.”

“Thanks, bye.”

                                               *****

Can somebody shut those birds up? What a crazy night, wine and a male stripper and some really bad food. I hope Darla had a good send off though. I can’t believe it’s Darla’s wedding day, where has the week gone? What time is it anyway? I look over at my heart shaped, pink clock. Oh shit, we’re running late. I push Darla of the bed to wake her up, for a petite girl, she can snore.

“Darla, wake up, it’s your wedding day, you need to move your ass and get up. You’re due to get married in four hours and we’re already running late.” I get nothing back; seriously, she’s still asleep even though I pushed her on the floor. That’s it, there’s only one way to go by this and that is to jump on her and repeat myself, over and over until she wakes up. So I do the lovely best friend duty and go jump right on top of her, I’m so awesome. “Come on, Darla! Get up now.”

“Ok, ok, I’m up! But you need to get your fat ass of me first.” Oh, suppose that would be a start, I best roll of her.

“Better now? Are you going to start getting excited now?” A big grin occurs on her face and she starts kicking and shouting in excitement.

“I know, I can’t believe this day has finally come, by the end of the day I’m going to be a Mrs Darla Freed. Yes, yes, yes. We’ve got so much to do, we need to meet up with the other bridesmaids and go get our hair and makeup and nails all done, come on.” She grabs me and starts dragging me towards the front door. The smile has not lifted from her face once.

“Darla, don’t you think we should get out of our pyjamas first?” I say, smiling back at her. She flings herself around and widens her eyes, tilts her head and lips to the side and looks clueless.

“Oh, yeah! That would be a good start wouldn’t it?”

“Don’t forget about having a shower too.” She flutters her hand at me, as a sign that she’s knows. She stayed here last night, as I thought it would be perfect for everyone to get ready here. Plus, it’d be easier so that everyone is on time, so once we’ve been pampered we can all come back here and get dressed and get Darla into her wedding dress, because that’s a two girl job, as the lace at the back is awkward. I thought the stylist and the makeup artist would’ve of came here, but because they’re the best, they wouldn’t because they’re a bunch of snobs, but Darla really wanted these guys to do it, so we hunted them down to make her happy.

Once we’re finally out of our pyjamas, we head straight out to meet up with the other girls, hoping we don’t run over time, as that would be a nightmare and sweet old Darla would turn into bridecilla.

We’re back at the apartment all dolled up and slipping into our dresses. Our dresses are silk, halter neck, lilac, knee high flare dress. I notice Darla Is not getting dressed but sat on the bed with her head down looking upset. I tried to tell her she needs to get a move on, but all she did was gesture me to go away. Obviously, there’s something bothering her. I tell the other girls to go into the kitchen and fill up our glasses with buck fizz while I go speak to Darla. I walk towards her and place my hands on her shoulders.

“Sweetie, what’s up?” First she hesitates to tell me, but she knows I won’t go until she tells me what’s up, before she speaks she lets out a big sigh.

“Well, don’t be mad at me ok, because I know Carl is like family to you, but I don’t think I should go through with this wedding, what if it all goes wrong? I might fall on my face, but that’s not my biggest concern though.” She pauses for a moment and goes to bring her hands to her head which I stopped before she could, otherwise she would have just ruined her hair and makeup.