by Taylor, N
“Hi,” I smile and grab my bangle, “Trey is around and he’s just sorting things out.”
Tristan takes a swig of the champagne and shakes his head, “Never leave a beautiful lady on their own I always say. I couldn’t leave you sitting here by yourself.”
“Oh I’m fine honestly, just taking it all in, never been to anything like this before.” I turn back and look at the room.
“Clara is known for throwing a good party, but this year Trey is taking the reins.”
I look at Tristan shocked by his level of knowledge on the family, I raise my eyebrows at him inquisitively.
“You didn’t know?”
“I don’t know much it would appear.” I think I spit some of the poisoned bile at him as I speak, I try to compose myself.
“Well, the foundation was set up by Clara in aid of helping those like Julian, George and Clara have run it for the past thirty years but they felt it was time for Trey to take over. He is Hollywood’s finest at the moment so it only seemed right, to be honest I think its Clara’s way of trying to push Trey and Kyla back together.”
His face changes to a grin and he sits back and takes a drink.
“Kyla’s involved?”
“Yes, Clara and George will still be on the board of the charity but Kyla and Trey will be the face of it, the advocates if you like.”
“Oh.” I whisper, lost for words.
The anger deep inside starts to rise and I grab at my bangle, squeezing it in the hopes it will bring me some kind of help, but nothing comes.
“So where do you work Ellie?” Tristan asks.
“I work in a hotel in New York city.” I grab my drink with such force I nearly send it flying, I finish it and a waiter arrives passing me a fresh glass.
“What about you?” I ask knowing the answer.
“Me? I’m just a director, nothing fancy.” He smiles, drinking more of his champagne.
“Very modest,” I laugh, “Must be interesting knowing you get to make amazing films?”
“Some?” he asks laughing.
“Oh, well you know what I mean.”
“Well, if you ever want to see an amazing film being made, just give me a call,” he slips a business card across the table to me. “If you find yourself with nothing to do just call me, I would welcome you along.” He smiles.
I smile back, he seems quite genuine plus we have a lot in common, oh yeah let’s not forget he has rescued me from being the loner at the party, “Thank you, I’ll bear that in mind.” I grab the card and pop it in my bag. Suddenly Tristan’s smile widens and I feel a hand on my back.
“Tristan.”
I whip my head around to see Trey standing behind me, the atmosphere has turned icy cold again.
“Trey,” Tristan’s face has arrogant written all over it, “I was just keeping Ellie company, you know I hate to see an attractive lady sitting alone.”
“Well I am back now,” Trey warns, “Dad has put your name down for the relay.”
I want to curl up, it feels like I am stuck in the middle of them in the boxing ring.
Tristan stands with a wry smile still etched on his roguishly good looking face,
“You have my number Ellie, call me anytime.”
“Thanks,” I smile as he walks away.
Trey crouches next to me at the table, his fingers start stroking back and forth on making me melt instantly.
“What was that about?” Trey asks.
“What?” I ask innocently.
“King being here, with you.”
“Oh, I was on my own and he just appeared, to be honest it was quite nice not looking like the leper with no friends.” I huff taking my drink and sipping.
“Sorry,” he looks at me, “I had some things to sort.”
“I know big day for you hosting the party.”
Trey looks at me bemused.
“Tristan told me all about it.”
Treys face turns impassive, he takes my hands in his, “You have his number?”
“Are you jealous?” I ask.
“No, well maybe, look I’ve told you he is not to be trusted.” Traces of worry spread across his beautiful face, “Please promise me you won’t call him or be alone with him.”
“What happened?”
“I’m not going into it now Ellie, Fuck knows why he’s even here,” Trey lets go of my hands and runs his hands across his face.
I raise my hand to touch him, but I stop myself and grab the bangle, as much as I want to touch him I feel he wouldn’t appreciate it right now.
“I was introduced to Kyla,” I grumble looking past him, catching Kyla’s eye.
“Sorry, Mom can be overbearing.”
“No it’s ok, she was mainly talking about Julian, then about how she hopes you and Kyla will bear your seed one day.” As much as the words hurt me to say, I manage a semi-genuine smile.
Trey rolls his eyes and shakes his head, “Mom likes to think that, she tries her hardest to force us together but it’s not going to happen. My Dad will tell you.”
I smile as if to say it’s fine but deep down my stomach is all knotted up and my fingers are white from where I’m clutching the bangle. Trey clocks this and grabs my hand to stop me, for a moment it looks like he’s going in for a kiss but he stands and says,
“I will come and find you in a minute, there’s one last thing I need to do. Please don’t leave, as I need to do this and I can’t leave.”
I look at him shocked, why does he assume I will want to leave?
Trey leaves the table and I watch as he walks towards Kyla and Sean, Kyla hugs him in a very over friendly manner, the longer it goes on the more I think its sexual harassment not a bloody hug. Trey doesn’t push her away as she kisses him on the cheek, I clock her look at me as she kisses him again. Bitch!
Tristan is hovering by the bar chatting to people and I try hard not to make eye contact but I think he can tell I’m verging on pissed off. Thankfully George walks over and joins me at the table.
“Do you mind?” He gestures at the chair.
“Not at all, please do.” I smile.
“How are you enjoying the party so far?” Georges asks sitting and relaxing back.
“Yeah it’s really good,” I lie, so far I’ve been sat here for forty five minutes, ignored the whole time and warned off of talking to the only person in here that’s friendly.
“It gets better in about five minutes when the games commence, will you be partaking in any events?”
I shake my head, “I’m not very good at water sports, I’m excited to watch though.”
George smiles and there’s a silence as we look around the room.
“Trey seems very taken with you,” he smiles, “It’s strange to see him so willing and happy. Clara, my dear wife, has it fixated in her head that Kyla and Trey were meant to be together but she is the only one.”
“Oh,” I smile and tuck a loosened hair behind my ear. Trey has told his dad about me?
“Clara is a very fragile person and over protective when it comes to Julian. Trey was, well we would class him as suffering from forgotten child syndrome.” He lights his pipe and the smell fills my nose, I like it.
I turn on my chair to face George, “I have noticed that Trey can be very…” I struggle to think of the word.
“Clingy, full on?” George asks.
I nod, “It’s confusing because one minute he’ll ignore me then the next he doesn’t want to let go, I struggle to know where I stand.”
“Well I always thought that Trey flitted from woman to woman looking for something he had never got from his mother. Clara had a breakdown, a severe breakdown and I helped her get treatment from a colleague. You see we were old family friends and I’m a psychiatrist myself, I couldn’t treat her but I tried to as best I could. Then we got married three years after Julian’s father was killed and Trey came along. I think part of Clara was jealous, why this child was fine yet the other was not.” George looks over to his
wife as she laughs with some people. “She held some resentment for Julian as he couldn’t himself, to top it off she never bonded properly with Trey.” George places his pipe on the table and removes his glasses to wipe them, he shakes his head and continues, “She used to leave him places and we’d have to send the staff to go and find him, one day I came back from a fishing trip to find that Trey’s bedroom had been turned into a play room for Julian.” George looks at me and leans forward, “We have eight double bedrooms in this place and she chose Trey’s room to use.”
“Wow,” I gasp.
“So don’t give up on him just yet, it may take Clara some time but she will come around to like you.”
“She doesn’t like me?” I ask shocked.
“She won’t if she thinks you’ll scupper her plans for Kyla and Trey.”
Chapter Twenty Three
I feel worried now, like I’m the other woman, the harlot who should leave straight away.
“Don’t worry dear, like I say she’s fragile and always teetering on the edge. There’s a way to handle her and we know how to work through it.”
I sit and try to absorb all the information given but it’s hard to digest, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can.”
“What’s the deal with all the pictures in Treys house, Willow Brook isn’t it?”
“Ah,” George taps out his pipe on the ground and removes a tin from his pocket. “Clara’s first love was another up and coming film star, she fell pregnant and they married very quickly. Daniel died three months after Julian was born and that left Clara to bring him up on her own, they were only married for eleven months. To cut a long story short, she never had any pictures of them together, no personal ones anyway and as we know life can be cut short all too quickly.”
My stomach drops, why on earth would he say ‘we’, has Trey told him things?
George continues, “Clara has it in her head that she needs to immortalise the boys in pictures every chance she gets, so she constantly has a camera on the go hence the photographer here now snapping away, money is no object to Clara and she instilled that in Trey too. Anyway Trey hated it and Julian didn’t understand. I think I have one picture of Trey smiling as a child and that’s him on his own.” George frowns, “It’s the reason we pushed him into acting from a very young age, he needed to be away from Clara and Julian, I felt it was the best way for him to grow as a person.”
“Oh ok, that explains a lot thank you.” I smile now understanding why all the pictures look sad apart from when Trey is alone with his mother. Every picture with both the boys in Trey is forgotten so he looks lost, Clara must look sad because of the inner struggle she faces with trying to love her other child. But hey, I’m no shrink it’s just a guess.
“Anyway my love we must go, as we are about to take our seats and you will want to get a good spot.”
George stands and I follow him to the seating area, he shows me to a seat but I go up high, so I’m not in eye line of anyone. I pick a seat right in the corner which is where I prefer to be. The seats start filling up with people, I start to feel overdressed but still too conscious to take anything off.
Trey, Clara and George stand at the head of the pool waiting for everyone’s attention, I notice Julian hanging around by the entrance and he now has a pair of earmuffs on, I assume to deaden the noise.
People start applauding as Trey takes the mic and begins to talk, I look at him with pride thinking that’s my man, but at the same time I look at him thinking I don’t know you at all.
“Ladies and gentlemen welcome and thank you for attending the 30th Thomas Foundation gala. For those of you who have not been before there will be numerous events in which you will be invited to partake in, all names are randomly drawn from the hat and you can place bets on winners and losers with all profits going to the foundation. To those of you who have been before…”
“Exciting isn’t it?” Tristan takes a seat next to me, I shift uncomfortably hoping Trey doesn’t notice.
“Sure is,” I glance at him offering a quick smile then I look back to Trey.
I sit nervously grabbing my bangle, Trey has finished talking and the mic has been passed to his mother, she talks while George holds up an over-sized glittery golden top hat.
Clara’s squeaky mouse like voice echoes throughout the room, “and the first event is…”
George passes her a bit of blue folded paper, and she unfolds it. Trey still hasn’t made any effort to spot me in the crowd, maybe he’s seen me with Tristan and is trying to ignore it?
“Tug of War!” Clara’s voice shrieks with excitement.
“Oh God this should be interesting,” Tristan groans.
I look at him and he’s digging around in his pocket for something, he looks up at me as he pulls out a money clip from his pocket. Shit! Money? Of course we have to make bets as to who will win. I grab my bag and route around for my purse, I find it and clutch it tight, please let there be some cash in there not just moths! I open it and find $150 in small denominations inside. When on earth did I put cash in there? I start to worry just in case I’ve picked up Meagan or Lacey’s purse, then I realise it’s the cash left from what Jerry paid me for the other night, phew!
“What do we do now?” I ask turning to Tristan, as I turn to him the man behind jumps forwards agitated.
Tristan puts his hand up and the man sits back, “He’s always on edge when I have cash in my hand.” Tristan explains. I look at the man and I can see all the telltale bodyguard signs, I smile politely at him. “We go to the table and place money on who wins, the loser or losers then match what has been placed on the winning team. More often than not what will happen is, at the end of it all, some generous benefactor will match what’s been pledged today.”
Clara and George are happily calling out the names of the contestants, not one name that I recognise is called out. I glance back to look at Trey, he and Kyla are happily chatting over some joke, they’re both laughing and Kyla’s hands are grasping at Treys, now bare, arms. Bitch! If my eyes could shoot daggers, that girls face would look like a dart board.
Trey catches my eye and stops laughing with her, I look through him and carry on talking to Tristan, let’s see how you like it.
“Come on then, I’ll escort you down.” Tristan stands and holds his hand out.
“Honestly, I’m sure I could make it to the table.”
“I won’t hear of it,” Tristan leans in and his aftershave wafts in front of me, “I’ll let you pick my bet.” He smiles and stands again.
I look up at him in shock, is he flirting with me? Well whatever; he smells good, I don’t mind sitting next to him, that’s for sure.
I stand and look at Trey as we make our way down the stairs, his jaw is clenched and his hands are fisted at the side of his body. Trey’s eyes follow my every move, I look to Tristan and I’m pretty sure he knows Trey is watching us, as the arrogant smile is back on his face. I can feel the air around me stiffen with the tension as we reach the line for the table, we queue but the line moves quite quickly and then it’s our turn.
“Team A or B?” The bank manager looking man asks.
Taking a wild guess I say, “B.”
“How much would you like to place?”
“$40?” I ask nervously.
The man looks at me funny, “$40 on team B”
He holds out his hand for me to give the money, he writes the amount down on the team B sheet. I step to the side feeling like I’ve been tight with my generosity.
“Team?” The man asks Tristan and he looks to me.
“Erm…B?”
“B.” Tristan confirms to the man, “$4000,” Tristan says firmly.
Wow my $40 looks really insignificant now, great one, this really confirms that I don’t fit in here. I look over to where Trey was and he has gone, I see Julian still hanging around I give him a little wave and he turns away. Tristan starts walking back to the seats, as we’re about to climb
the stairs someone grabs my elbow. I turn around to see Carl standing behind me, I look at him and then his hand on me.
“Mr. Thomas would like to see you.” Carl says abruptly, definitely an order not a request.
“Ok.” I pull my elbow free from him and look to Tristan, “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Tristan nods and makes his way back to his seat, I turn and follow Carl out of the pool room and into a door off the hallway. On the way we pass Kyla and she watches as we pass her and I feel her head follow where we go.
Carl opens the door and waits for me to enter, I step into what seems to be an office. The room is dusky, dark oak cupboards and shelves line the walls and a grand ornate desk sits in front of a wall length window. Trey is stood in front of the desk on the phone looking out of the window, he turns as he hears Carl close the door to behind us.
“What do you think you are doing?” Trey snaps hanging up the phone.
I look at Trey stunned, “Excuse me?”
“Sitting with him, are you deliberately trying to wind me up?”
“No, he sat next to me!” I shout grabbing my bangle.
“Don’t start with the bangle grabbing victim shit now Ellie!” Trey’s voice is full of anger and almost evil.
His words slice through me like a knife, the lump in my throat starts to rise and I am trying my hardest to swallow it.
“I asked you to stay away from him, I warned you to keep away.”
“I have been sat on my own since we bloody got here and I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing!” I swallow the tears away, “As far as anyone knows I’m just the pity date who you invited for saving your brother. So you want me to sit there and do nothing, on my own? I don’t even know why you invited me, was it to see you and Kyla all over each other?”
Trey hisses a laugh of disgust through his teeth and shakes his head, “All over Kyla? What about you with King, I’ve watched you all over him.”
“You what? I don’t have to listen to this, maybe I should go as you seem to be having more fun without me, I just seem to be the hindrance.” I turn on my heel to leave and I grab the door opening it slightly.
