The next call I made was to the landline at the house. Since Penelope was no longer working for us, Ron had hired a temp housekeeper, and she answered on the third ring.
“Hello?” she said.
“Hey, Nina, it’s Patrick. Is Lucy there?”
“No, she was here earlier, but she’s gone out.”
“Any idea where?” I asked.
“She didn’t say exactly where she was going, but she told me she was going to see a friend,” Nina replied. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m sure everything’s fine. Thanks for your help, Nina.”
Next up, I tried calling Claire. I still had her number from when she’d helped me arrange the surprise party for Lucy, and an unfamiliar feminine voice answered a moment later.
“Hello?”
It sounded like a middle-aged woman. Definitely not Claire.
“Er…hi, I’m looking for Claire,” I said.
“This is her Mom. She left her phone here by accident. Who’s calling?”
“Patrick Archer. I’m looking for my girl….err, my stepsister, Lucy. I thought she might be with Claire.”
“Oh, Patrick! I’ve heard a lot about you! My daughter and I watch your shows religiously. Anyway, Lucy was just here a moment ago. She and Claire have gone hiking up at Serpentine Falls for the afternoon.”
“I see. And they only just left?”
“Yes. Lucy came and picked Claire because her car isn’t working. The darned thing has been leaking oil everywhere for weeks.”
A chill ran down my spine at that, and it was like a lightbulb had just switched on in my brain.
“Sorry, did you say her car has been leaking oil?”
“Yes. I’ve been telling her to go and get it fixed for weeks, but you know my Claire…she never does what I tell her.”
Surely that had to be a coincidence. The stalker’s car had apparently been leaking oil, as found by the cops on the night that he or she had gotten into the yard, but it couldn’t be Claire. She was Lucy’s best friend, and whenever I’d spoken to her, she’d seemed perfectly nice. Lovely, in fact. Why would she be going out of her way to be nice and helping me arrange parties for Lucy if she was secretly stalking me? To avert suspicion?
The more I thought about it, the more it all made a strange kind of sense.
She probably had access to the gate codes. I’d left the gate and alarm codes in Lucy’s bedside table drawer when Claire had been helping her unpack, and Lucy might have given them to her anyway. Also, if Claire had ever gone through Lucy’s cell phone, she could have found my Insta-Snap username. She was also at the fashion party that night I’d been busted for drugs, and she knew exactly what my jacket looked like. She’d even had an opportunity to sneak off and plant a bag of pills in it not long after we’d entered the party, and speaking of parties, she was at Lucy’s surprise party as well, and therefore could have taken that photo of us together in the supply room.
On top of all that, Lucy would have told her about that night ages ago when I’d kissed her in the pool. That must have been what the message saying, ‘You kissed the wrong girl. It should’ve been me’, was about. It was never about Lexie. It was always Lucy.
Shit.
Lucy was with her right now. Shit, shit, shit.
I hoped to God I was wrong about this.
“Sorry to ask such an invasive question, but how has Claire been lately?” I asked her Mom. “Has she been acting weirdly at all?”
Her Mom sighed. “Well, yes, she has. That’s why I was glad to hear she was getting out and about with Lucy this afternoon. I think some sun will do her good. She’s been acting strangely for a while; ever since that boyfriend of hers broke up with her. One minute she’ll be fine, and the next she’ll be crying or yelling. Anyway, why do you ask?”
“Er…no particular reason. I’m sorta friends with her through Lucy and I was just worried. Anyway, thanks for your help.”
“No problem. Nice talking to you, Patrick! Ooh, my friends will be so envious when they hear I got to chat with you!”
After I hung up, I immediately called the police to tell them of my suspicions. They said they would send a unit up to Serpentine Falls, but I wasn’t going to sit around and wait to see what happened. No way. I was heading up there myself as fast as possible. Who knew how long the cops would take to arrive? For all I knew, Claire could have done something to hurt Lucy by the time I got there, if that’s what she was intending.
I racked my brains as I sped along the road, trying to remember every message and incident I’d had with the stalker. I’d always thought it had to be someone I knew, or at least vaguely knew, but I’d never even remotely suspected Claire. Not until now. Jesus, if it was her, then there had to be something seriously fucking wrong with her.
My tires squealed as I braked in the parking lot near Serpentine Falls, and I jumped out of my car to see a short middle-aged man gulping down a bottle of water.
“Excuse me,” I said. “Have you seen two girls here? A small brunette and a tall blonde?”
He peered at me curiously, obviously trying to figure out where he’d seen me before.
“Hey, aren’t you that guy from the TV? Werewolf Diaries or somethin’?”
“Yes, that’s me, but have you seen my friends?”
“Yeah, I saw them. Only a few minutes ago. I passed ‘em on the trail up to the falls.”
“Thanks.”
I was about to dash off when he called out. “D’ya think you can sign something for my daughter? She loves your werewolf show.”
“Later!” I called out, looking over my shoulder. “Sorry!”
I ran up the trail as fast as my legs could carry me, and when I reached the pools, I looked around to see nothing but trees, rocks and gurgling water. No one was here. I heard a faint sound a second later and looked up.
There they were.
Lucy and Claire were on the cliff top above the falls, standing close to the edge. One of Claire’s arms was tightly wrapped around Lucy’s waist, and even from down here, I could see the stark terror on Lucy’s pretty face. Fuck. I was right. Claire had gone insane.
I looked around again and quickly figured out that there was a steep trail to the left which led up to the clifftop, and I dropped my pace to a slow, steady gait as I approached the top. I didn’t want Claire to hear me approaching. Not yet.
I heard Lucy as I drew closer, being careful not to crunch too many leaves under my shoes.
“Please just let me go. I had no idea!”
“Yes you did! You told me I’d be his perfect girl. Then you took him from me!” Claire replied.
“I didn’t take him from you! I haven’t done anything!”
I stepped out from the head of the trail and called out. “Claire? What are you doing?”
She turned to face me, dragging Lucy around with her. Her eyes widened as she saw me, and her face broke into a smile.
“Patrick!”
“Tell me what you want, Claire. You’re not really going to hurt Lucy, are you?” I asked, taking a few steps towards them.
I had no idea how to negotiate with a psycho, but I was pretty sure that antagonizing her wouldn’t be a good approach. I had to stay as calm and rational as possible in order to not spook her.
“You know what I want,” she replied, her eyes shining. “I want you.”
I held my hands up to show her that I wasn’t a threat. “So that’s why you tried to break into our house? That’s why you put those pills in my jacket? Because I’m getting the feeling you actually want to hurt me, Claire.”
She didn’t even blink. “I wanted to be close to you those nights I sneaked over to the house. I wanted to be in your room. But then Lucy called the cops so I had to leave.”
“It was your idea to call the cops!” Lucy interjected. “You were even texting me while you must have been right outside! Or were you just pretending to be a good friend so I wouldn’t suspect you?”
That sounded about rig
ht. Claire tightened her grip on Lucy’s shirt and ignored her, and I spoke up again.
“What about the pills and the threats?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You told me to fuck off. I was angry. I’ve been treated badly before, and I am not going to let it happen again! I had to show you that I wouldn’t allow myself to be treated like that.”
“Ah. So you were punishing me. That’s fine. But why punish Lucy? She hasn’t done anything to you.”
“Yes she has!” Claire shrieked. “I saw you two at the party, remember? You were in that room, and you were….you were…”
Her voice trailed off, and tears began to stream down her face. “Why do you always do this? All you men…you’re all the same. Lying, cheating assholes! You were supposed to be mine!”
She took one tentative step backwards, moving closer to the edge, and Lucy began to struggle. Shit. If she kept struggling, then they both might end up tumbling off the edge. There was water below, but it was fairly shallow and there were a lot of rocks. It would be very hard to survive that fall.
“Claire, do you remember when Lucy and I got into a car accident a while back, and they interviewed me on the news?” I said.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I watched you. You were all sweaty and dirty but you still looked so perfect. You always look perfect.”
“So then you remember what I said.”
“You said family is important to you.”
I nodded encouragingly, slowly stepping towards her with one hand out. “Yes, exactly. Now, Lucy is my stepsister, which means she’s my family. So you know what that means, don’t you?”
She didn’t reply, but her grip on Lucy loosened a little.
“It means she’s important to me,” I continued. “She’s my family. And if someone does anything to hurt my family, then they aren’t a person I’d ever want in my life. You see what I’m saying?”
She nodded again, and tears began to brim in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, so quietly I could barely hear her. “I’m sorry.”
“Claire, I know you don’t really want to hurt anyone. You’re just feeling really hurt yourself, and you want to lash out. If you step away from the edge and bring Lucy over here, then I promise we can talk some more. We’re gonna get you the help you need, okay?”
She slowly moved towards me, dragging Lucy with her, and I caught them both in my arms and dragged them a fair distance away from the edge. Lucy squirmed free of Claire’s grip as she broke down into sobs, and she stood and watched me as I held onto her. Claire’s head was buried in my chest, which was already wet with her tears, and I nodded at Lucy, whose arms were still shaking like crazy.
She nodded back at me, and a silent communication passed between us in those small movements. I love you. We’d never said it before, but we both knew it beyond a shadow of doubt.
She turned her head a second later as two cops called out to us from the head of the trail.
“Hey! Everything all right up here?”
Lucy quietly filled them in on what had happened as I held onto Claire, and they pulled her away from me and handcuffed her before leading her away a moment later. She was still sobbing her heart out, and one of the cops turned his head and called out.
“You two need to follow us to the station and give us your statements. Okay?”
“Yeah, we’ll do that,” I replied. “Just give us a sec.”
Lucy’s face was still as pale as I’d ever seen it, and I smiled with relief as I realized the stalker situation was all over. For real this time. I wrapped my arms around her, and she buried her head in my shirt.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome. You know I’d do anything for you.”
“This is the third time you’ve rescued me in the last couple of months,” she said, her voice still muffled by my chest.
“Yeah, you’re a real magnet for this kinda stuff, aren’t you?”
She nodded and pulled away a second later, staring up at me with wide eyes. “I know. It’s crazy. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
“In a hospital somewhere?” I said, making a stupid face to try and cheer her up.
She swatted me in the ribs. “That’s not funny,” she said, although she did smile. “It’s too soon!”
“Yeah, I know. But it might be funny after five years and several hundred stiff drinks.”
“Maybe. I doubt it, though. I can’t believe Claire did this.”
“Yeah, I know. But it’s all right now. She’ll get the help she needs. She must have had some sort of breakdown over the last few months.”
We stayed in each other’s arms for a few more minutes, and then Lucy broke away and looked right into my eyes.
“Patrick…I want to say something, but it’s going to sound totally cheesy.”
“Fire away,” I said. “I was a main character on a teen werewolf show for two seasons. Cheesy is kinda my thing.”
She hesitated and then spoke again. “You used to be this guy I completely hated, but in the last couple of months you’ve become the most steadfast, trustworthy person I know. I love you. I really do. I’m sorry for all the times I’ve been mean or doubted you or didn’t trust you. I hope you can forgive me. I know I said that a while ago at my party, but I just wanted to say it again.”
I placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up so that her eyes were trained right on mine. “Lucy, I wrecked your life two years ago. I’m not proud of that, but there it is. You managed to find it in your heart to forgive me. So believe me, I’d forgive you for anything at any time, and you don’t ever need to worry about that. Shit, you could stab me in the chest and I’d probably still forgive you, babe.”
“Don’t tempt me,” she said, flashing me a mischievous smile.
I held her closer to me with a smile. Her sense of humor had returned already. It was always the first part of her to bounce back during times like this, and I loved that about her. She was so strong and resilient, and she was always able to see the funny side of life. More people needed to be like her.
“Oh, and by the way,” I whispered in her ear. “I love you too.”
She tilted her head up and kissed me voraciously, and I returned the kiss with equal passion, my tongue swiping over hers as heat gathered between us.
Our tender moment was ruined a second later by the telltale clicking of a cell phone camera. What the hell? We sprang apart, and I looked up to see the middle-aged guy from the parking lot. He was holding up a phone in our direction, and he’d obviously just taken a picture.
“Hey, man, what are you doing?” I asked angrily.
He grinned and looked down as his fingers danced over the keyboard on the phone screen. “I figured there was something goin’ on up here by the way you were actin’ down there a few minutes ago. Pretty sure the tabloids will pay me a pretty penny for a shot of you makin’ out with your new girlfriend,” he said, finally glancing up at me again.
“No. You can’t show that to anyone,” I said, taking a panicked step towards him. “I’ll pay you anything you want.”
“Yeah, and whatever you offer me, they’ll pay me triple for a picture like this. So forget about it.”
I narrowed my eyes and snatched his phone away, and he grinned, his beady little eyes flashing with gloating amusement.
“Too late, son. I just emailed it to myself. These phones with their internet coverage these days…amazing. So you can smash that thing up all you want. The picture is safe.”
With that, he turned and walked back down the trail, and I watched him go, fuming. He was right. There was nothing I could do. I could probably grab him and beat the hell out of him, but that would achieve nothing other than an assault charge against me, which was the last thing I needed right now considering how shot my career was already going to be once that picture got out to the media. And shit, once it got out, Lucy wouldn’t have a job either.
“Oh my god,” Lucy said. “What the hell do we do? Eve
ryone’s going to find out about us!”
We’d both known that we’d have to come clean about our relationship soon, but not like this. In just a few hours, our passionate embrace was going to be plastered all over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, gossip sites, blogs…you name it, and it’d be there.
Well, fuck…
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
LUCY
My hands felt clammy as I scrolled through the latest online news articles detailing my newly-outed relationship with Patrick.
Family Important To Trick Archer Indeed – Inside Details Of His Sordid Affair!
The Scandal Rocking Hollywood: Trick Archer’s Family Affair
Brotherly Love Blows Up – Patrick Archer fired from Six Angels after details of his relationship with his stepsister go public!
That was just a small selection of the articles that had gone viral in the last two days. The internet worked crazily fast, and within just a few hours of that guy selling the photo of me and Patrick kissing up at Serpentine Falls, the image had been plastered on every single social media site, gossip site and news site in the country.
Patrick and I were currently hiding out under fake names in a hotel in Brentwood, waiting for everything to blow over. That’s if it ever did blow over. The last forty-eight hours had been a whirlwind of shock and horror. We hadn’t even spoken to our parents yet. My Dad had been trying to call, but I’d been too scared to answer just yet. He probably wanted to kill the both of us, and the thought of seeing or speaking to him practically made me go into cardiac arrest.
Patrick had been immediately fired from Six Angels after the scandal broke, and he was currently being written out of the show. Two of his recent movie offers had already been withdrawn, and he was also likely to be sued for breaching his Six Angels morality clause, which meant he would probably lose almost half the fortune he’d built up in his last two years of acting…if not more.
Right now he was standing on our hotel room balcony, lighting a cigarette. He was disguised in a hat, sunglasses and bulky sweater, but I padded over to him and called out anyway. It didn’t matter what he wore; people would still recognize him if they had an inkling that he was here.
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