All About the Hype (13 page)

‘It must be so hard for her,’ I say.

‘Yeah, it is. It’s bad enough for me, seeing my dad kissing another woman. I hated it. I was so angry when I first went there, but after a few days I realised that I needed to chill
out if I still wanted him in my life. And I do.’

‘When will you see him again?’ I ask.

‘I’m not sure. He really wants Becky to go with me next time, but I don’t think she will. She’s finding it a lot harder to forgive and forget.’ Becky is his older
sister by three years.

We chat for ages about school, his trip and our mutual friends. He’s blown away when I tell him about the track Johnny and I have recorded, and in the end I take the phone with me up to
the studio and play it to him. I’m astonished when I check the time and realise we’ve been on the phone for over an hour.

‘Yeah, I’d better go, actually,’ he says. ‘Chris will be here in a minute to pick me up.’ They’re heading to the pub, and I suddenly feel sad that I
can’t just hop in the car and go with him. I’ve missed talking to him. This conversation has felt like old times.

‘Hey, did you know your stepdad and my mum have been hanging out?’ he asks out of the blue.

‘
No
. Really?’

‘Yeah. They went to see a movie together the other night.’

‘Did they?’ I frown. ‘Well, I suppose they got to know each other when they were over here.’

‘Yeah, I get the feeling he’s been looking out for her. Mum was so upset when I said goodbye to her at the bus station in LA.’

‘Do you think they’re just friends?’ I ask warily.

‘Yeah, I think so. I dunno. Would it bother you if it was more?’

I swallow. ‘Yeah, it would,’ I admit quietly. ‘But I’d hate the idea of Stu moving on with anyone. The thought that my mum is replaceable…’ My voice trails
off.

‘Hey, I’m sure it’s nothing,’ he says gently. ‘I’m sorry I brought it up.’

‘I miss you.’ As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back.

There’s a long silence, and I’m about to wrap up our conversation and go bury my head in the sand, when he brings up the one subject that we’ve so far avoided.

‘So are you and Jack official yet?’

‘No. Not yet,’ I reply, shrinking into myself a little.

‘OK, Jessie, well, I’ve really got to go. Chat again soon?’

‘Yeah. I’d like that.’

I’d like it a lot more than I should, I realise, as we end our call.

Jack is distracted when I turn up for band practice later that afternoon.

‘Will you go check on Agnes?’ he asks, concern etching his brow. ‘I think she needs a friend right now.’

I find her in her bedroom, curled up into a ball on her bed. ‘Hey, you,’ I say gently, going to sit beside her. Her face is puffy and her eyes are red from crying. She’s
clutching a sodden tissue and she breaks down again as soon as I place my hand on her back.

‘I can’t believe he’s gone,’ she sobs, shaking violently.

I hold her while she cries, my heart breaking for her.

Eventually she pulls herself together and assures me that she’s fine, that I should go join my band, but I’m reluctant to leave her.

‘Come to the games room with me,’ I urge. ‘We’ll take your mind off him. And maybe we could do something later? Go out for dinner or catch a movie or something? In fact,
I’ve got spa vouchers that Johnny and Meg gave me for my birthday! Why don’t we plan a spa day?’

She smiles at me sadly. ‘Thank you for trying to cheer me up. A spa day sounds great, and a movie tonight, too. I’ll join you guys in a bit. Just let me sort out my face
first.’

Brandon and Miles don’t really know how to handle a downhearted Agnes, but Jack’s concern for her is touching. He sets her up on the beanbags at the back of the games room with Diet
Coke and snacks and keeps calling back to her as the afternoon spills into evening. She soon perks up.

We don’t make a whole lot of progress with our songwriting, though, and Brandon makes a point of reminding us that our next gig is fast approaching. He also plans to line something up here
in LA, but Jack wants to make sure we have some new songs ready first.

After our last session, I’ve become braver at suggesting lyrics. I used to write lyrics in England, but I never showed them to anyone. Everything we’re doing now is new, though, and
I love working as a team and batting ideas around. I’ve been toying with the keyboard Jack gave me for my birthday, but I haven’t brought it with me today. I start my lessons on Monday,
straight after singing, so for the moment I’m just messing about with different sounds and melodies.

Finally we call it quits and grab drinks from the fridge.

‘Hey, I meant to tell you guys that I heard the track that I’m doing on Johnny’s album,’ I say casually.

‘When can we hear it?’ Jack asks with interest, so I explain about the embargo.

‘Maybe we could do band practice at mine sometime so I can play it to you?’ I suggest.

They all nod and agree, but I sense a lack of enthusiasm from Miles in particular. I hope I didn’t sound like I was boasting.

Miles is seeing a friend tonight, but Brandon is up for a movie, as is Jack.

‘Where’s Maisie?’ I ask from the back seat of Jack’s car, trying to stave off my disappointment that Brandon’s joining us. I can’t kiss Jack in front of
Agnes, anyway, I rationalise. She doesn’t need me rubbing my love life in her face when she’s upset about Brett.

‘She’s away with her parents,’ Brandon replies, distractedly looking at his phone. ‘Hey, Lottie’s just texted me. Shall I see if she wants to join?’ He looks
over his shoulder at Agnes.

‘Sure,’ Agnes replies with a nod.

Lottie, it turns out, has promised her dad that she’ll have dinner with him and her stepmother tonight, but she begs us to head to hers after the movie. We go for a burger first, followed
by the ArcLight cinema in Hollywood. It’s a far cry from the multiplex in Maidenhead, with its cushy, reclining chairs, fancy snack bars and in-house cafe-bar.

I sit between Jack and Agnes in the film – a horror movie, which was Agnes’s choice – and, when all the lights go out, I’m in a state of edgy anticipation, knowing that
Jack is so close, but I’m not allowed to touch him. Brandon is sitting on the other side of him, so we can’t even hold hands, but Jack rubs his knuckles against the side of my leg, and
even that small contact makes my skin burn. At one point, when Brandon bends over to put his empty popcorn bucket on the floor, Jack leans across and whispers in my ear: ‘I hope you know how
much this is killing me.’

His words make me shiver.

We head over to Lottie’s house afterwards, and I’m not at all surprised to see six cars parked up on her driveway. It’s typical of her to have impromptu gatherings.

‘How was dinner?’ I ask when she’s done squealing her hellos. She’s been drinking – that much is obvious.

‘Such a bore,’ she groans, rolling her eyes. ‘C wouldn’t shut up about this stupid show Mike’s just cast her in. She drives me insane.’

C stands for Colleen, her stepmum, and Lottie can’t bear her. In fact, her dad – the man she bizarrely refers to as Mike – now lets Lottie live in a log cabin in their enormous
garden, rather than in the house. Even a huge mansion isn’t big enough when Lottie wants space, apparently. I don’t know a lot about what Colleen is like, but I do know that she’s
not much older than Lottie. She’s also a budding actress, it seems. She certainly married the right man. Michael Tremway is a hotshot producer.

There are three fire pits flaming with warmth and I’m pleasantly surprised to see Gina and Margarita sitting around one of them, sipping cocktails.

‘Jessie!’ Gina cries, waving. I look over my shoulder to check Agnes is OK and spy her talking to a sympathetically nodding Lottie. I’m about to go and join Gina and Margarita,
when I see Sienna exiting the log cabin.

‘Hey!’ she exclaims, as she catches sight of me. My heart lifts and then sinks. She seems genuinely pleased to see me, but I still feel uncomfortable as I give her a hug.

Jack joins us. ‘You wanna drink?’ he asks, resting his hand on my hip.

‘Yeah, thanks,’ I reply, smiling at him.

‘He is so hot,’ Sienna says dreamily, as he walks away. ‘Does he have a girlfriend?’

‘Er, yeah, I think he’s seeing someone,’ I reply, my stomach contracting unpleasantly.

She collapses into giggles and then tries to control herself by clapping her hand over her mouth. ‘The look on your face.’

‘What?’ I ask, frowning.

‘You think I didn’t see you guys sneaking into the bushes last weekend?’ she whispers with a mischievous smile. ‘I won’t tell a soul,’ she vows, suddenly
serious, but a moment later she’s grinning again. ‘Why is it a secret?’

I narrow my eyes at her, but, a moment later, I’m reflecting her grin. Bugger it. I do like her. Sorry, Johnny. Her light-hearted teasing is reminding me of how much fun we had at the
Kellys’ party.

I give her a brief lowdown on Jack and, by the time the guy in question returns with my drink, she’s pretty much up to date.

‘Thanks,’ I say, aware of Sienna’s gleeful expression as her eyes dart between us. Jack gives her an odd look and raises one eyebrow enquiringly at me. I shrug, smirking.

‘I think I’ll go chat to Morgan,’ he says drily, leaving us to it.

I turn back to Sienna. It’s time for an explanation on her part.

‘Why didn’t you tell me Dana Reed was your sister?’

She looks instantly uncomfortable, and then something seems to dawn on her. ‘So
that’s
why you’ve been avoiding me this week.’

I don’t even try to deny it.

‘I’m sorry,’ she says, flashing me a repentant look. ‘Maybe I should’ve said something, but she’s been the bane of my life ever since I was born. I
didn’t want her ruining this for me, too.’ She indicates the two of us. ‘I like you. I wanted us to be friends. And I knew your dad would be against the idea after what went down
between him and my sister.’

I feel a stab of pity for her. ‘Well, I want us to be friends, too.’

‘Are you two joining us or what?’ Margarita calls out.

‘Coming!’ Sienna replies. I follow her towards the group.

‘Hey, Jessie!’ I look across the flames to see Peter, one of Lottie’s
Little Miss Mullholland
co-stars, waving at me. Every time I see him now I’m reminded of
when he was dressed like Fred from
Scooby-Doo
at Lottie’s Halloween party: all blond and buff. He looks better as the brunette he really is, with his short dark hair, brown eyes and
stubble. He plays Lottie’s character Macy’s long-lost brother in the show and all my friends back home fancy him. I met him last summer and he shared a few show secrets. He rises to
give me a kiss on my cheek and I pull up a log seat next to him.

‘I didn’t get to talk to you on New Year’s Eve,’ I say warmly. ‘What’s the latest gossip?’

He sweetly obliges me with news of his upcoming storyline and I’m on the edge of my seat, listening to him. Eventually he turns the conversation around to me.

‘I hear it was your sixteenth birthday recently?’

I cock my head to one side. ‘You couldn’t come?’

‘I wasn’t invited,’ he replies with a shrug.

‘Why not?’ I’m aghast.

‘Don’t worry. You can’t invite everyone to these things.’

‘Maybe Agnes just stuck to schoolfriends,’ I muse. Peter doesn’t go to our school. ‘I’m sorry,’ I say, leaning in to give him a quick, apologetic hug.
‘I would’ve wanted you there if I’d known anything about it.’

‘Hey there!’ Gina calls for our attention. I look over to see her holding her phone aloft. ‘Smile!’

Peter throws his arm round me and pulls me close as we oblige.

While Gina adds filters to the shot, Margarita leans in to study the results. ‘Wow, you guys look awesome with the fire in the foreground. That’s a great shot.’

‘Let me get one of you three,’ I offer, nodding for Sienna to get into the frame, too.

Gina hands over her phone. Margarita and Gina are tiny and Sienna is tall, but, sitting next to each other, they’re the same height and they look so beautiful: Sienna with her dark
eyebrows and piercing blue eyes, Gina with her green eyes and curly red hair framing her face, and Margarita with her caramel-coloured eyes and glossy black locks falling over her right shoulder. I
try not to look fazed by them as I take the photo.

‘Straight to Instagram,’ Gina says with a smile after I return her phone.

I really do get such a thrill at the thought of people back home hearing about me hanging out with these famous people, especially the girls who were a bit mean to me at school. It’s
exciting, going from being a nobody to a somebody. Maybe it’s naïve of me, because I hope I don’t get sick of it. I couldn’t hide from the spotlight, even if I wanted to. Not
as Johnny Jefferson’s daughter.

After a while, I go to use the bathroom inside the log cabin. When I come out, I catch Jack’s eye. He jerks his head, beckoning me over. He’s still talking to his friend Morgan, but
Morgan excuses himself to get a drink.

‘Having fun?’ Jack asks.

‘Yeah,’ I reply, perplexed at the edge I detect in his tone. ‘You?’

He shrugs, glancing towards the fire pit. ‘You two were looking pretty cosy.’

‘Who, me and Peter?’ I ask, bemused. ‘We’re friends.’

‘Is that how he sees it?’

‘Of course it is.’ I stare at him. ‘We’ve already established how many female friends
you
have,’ I add accusingly. ‘Christ, are we even
exclusive?’

He stares at me in disbelief that quickly morphs into anger. ‘You need to ask?’

‘Yeah, actually, I do.’ Heat spreads across my cheeks as I glare at him, demanding clarification. ‘Am I your girlfriend, Jack? Or just someone you like to kiss from time to
time?’

He casts a quick look over the crowd and then tugs me round the side of the cabin, out of sight of everyone.

‘Are you serious?’ he demands to know. ‘Of course you’re my fucking girlfriend. I’d be shouting it from the rooftops if it weren’t for Brandon and Miles
giving us crap.’

I gawp at him for a long moment and then have a sudden uncontrollable urge to laugh. He still looks thoroughly pissed off as I guffaw, but his anger evaporates and he smiles sweetly, stepping
forward to take my face in his hands. My lips part as his mouth closes over mine and soon my knees are wobbling and I’m finding it hard to stay upright. I pull away, gasping. His chest is
pressed up against mine and we’re both breathing hard, competing to inhale the same air.