Chase, page 9
“Oh, Theo, tell me you’re not slumming it with Isobel again?” She rests her hand upon his arm at the same time as she throws her head back to laugh over her own insult. “Whatever will Cindy make of that? Where is she anyway? We simply must have lunch with you two.”
“She couldn’t make it I’m afraid, she had a prior charity event to attend,” Theo replies politely, not at all like the boy who threatened to make her tread in dog poo once upon a lifetime ago. “Another time perhaps.”
“Isobel, didn’t you know Theo is dating one of my girlfriends from college? She’s a real darling, stunningly beautiful too. Mixes in all the right circles, and is simply marvelous for contacts. Ay, Theo?”
“Oh, em, gee! She sounds divine, Theo, darling,” I mock my sister, “you simply must bring her to meet me so we can have a threesome on the golf lawn.” I then guffaw in my best Tilly impersonation, even putting my hand in the exact same place on his other arm.
Theo pulls me into his side, so I have even less mobility. Not that this will stop me from saying whatever the hell I want to.
“You are so vulgar, Isobel,” my sister sneers, “so beneath the likes of us, always have been and always will be. I only asked you to be a bridesmaid for appearances’ sake.”
“Oh, darn it, now I’m going to keep myself up all night wondering what I could have done differently to have had a better relationship with you,” I reply with syrupy sweetness while I place a finger theatrically to my chin. “Oh wait, that would be if I was someone who had a spare fuck to give, but…” I pause, shake my head, then throw my hands up in the air, just to drive the point home, “I clearly don’t!”
Fortunately, my act does the trick and I seemingly win our battle of wills with her turning red with anger and stomping off in her ridiculous wedding dress. I smile to myself in triumph. However, Theo merely shakes his head and quickly turns us so we can escape more quickly. That is until we’re accosted by Simon, the guy who Dad was trying to set me up with earlier.
“Isobel, the stripper!” he says, then bites his bottom lip and eyes me up and down with no subtlety whatsoever. “I was hoping to run into you, you naughty girl. Care to give me a private showing?”
“I beg—” Theo begins, but I cut him off, only so I can have some fun of my own with the creep.
“Actually, I’ve just been promoted to a whore.” I grin as I feel Theo’s hand turning into a fist, his jaw clenching as he looks upon Simon-the-sleaze. He could use those fists and cause a scene, which would have Ethan and Dad getting involved. Or I could wrap this up nice and quick. “This is my new pimp,” I tell Simon, then lean into whisper, “I’m about to go and give him a private audition.”
“For fuck’s sake, Izzy!” Theo whisper shouts in my ear before pulling me out into the carpark, leaving Simon to try and hide his hard-on all on his own in the middle of the hotel reception.
Theo opens the car door for me while I slide in with an over-the-top grin on my face, looking oh, so proud of myself. Ignoring me, he gets in the driver’s side, then wastes no time in turning on the engine and revving the top-of-the-range sports car down the road.
“Do you always present yourself as how they portray you? Or is it only when you can cause as big a scene as possible? Tell me, Iz, because I just don’t get it!”
With a sigh, I merely shrug my shoulders and pretend to check my nails. For the record, I never manicure my nails; I can’t see the point.
“Oh, classic Izzy,” he laughs as he drives down empty country roads, “act indifferent when things get remotely serious.”
“I just realised,” I say, ignoring his ranting, “you sad sap, you’re dating a Tilly-wannabe! That’s hilarious given how much you despised her back in the day.”
“Cindy is not a Tilly-wannabe and I am not dating her,” he says with a sigh of exasperation. “We just use each other for appearances and the occasional fuck.”
“Oh, Jesus, I just threw up in my mouth. Not sure from which part of that sentence, but it was definitely vomit.” I grimace and physically shudder in front of him. “And they call me a whore.”
“No, that’s what you tell everyone you are,” he snaps.
“No, Theo, darrrling, it’s what I’ve been called ever since our little sleepover that night,” I argue. “It’s funny, they’ve never said that about you.”
“I didn’t want to leave you, Izzy,” he says sadly, “I came back the next day, but Ethan wouldn’t let me in; what was I meant to do?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I reply with a bored sigh.
“Jesus Christ, Izzy, cut the couldn’t-give-a-shit attitude, will you? You were my best friend, the girl I fell in love with, and now I feel like I don’t even know you at all!”
He’s beginning to get angry with me, they all do eventually. It would seem that even Nonna has lost patience with me.
“You don’t know me,” I tell him bluntly, “no one does, least of all myself. All I know is my self-preservation involves me not giving a shit. You do realise it’s been twelve years, Theo?” He says nothing to that, so I smirk with satisfaction over my win. “You haven’t even asked me where I live, Theodore, so where are we going exactly?”
“I’m taking you back to my place,” he says casually. “Well, actually, it belongs to Grandma, but that’s where we’re going.”
“Like hell we are, I want to go home!” I cry out angrily. “What? Do you actually think we can just pick up where we left off because Cindy, darrrling, is busy tonight?”
“Calm down, Twiglet,” he says with a cheeky smirk over his use of my old nickname. “I’m not going to be sleeping anywhere near you. For starters, I don’t know what I might catch off a prostitute.”
“Probably less than what I’d catch off you, given your propensity for having someone to ‘occasionally fuck’ with.”
“Grandma wants us to stay there, and I am under strict instructions to look out for you tonight. So, as much as you piss me off, I’m even less inclined to go against her,” he says before turning off down a gravel track.
Chapter 9
Izzy
The gravel crackles beneath the car wheels as we pull up outside of a house that looks as though it belongs in a period drama. I let my façade slip by emitting a gasp of awe when I allow my eyes to travel up to see the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen. When you picture living inside of a fairy tale, or back in time as a small child, this is the sort of place you might conjure up. Not only that, but it's also set in a vast expanse of grounds. An oasis of color, even in darkness, shows the gardens are well-tended. I could easily set myself up with a few books and lose entire days in this place. Why has Nonna never told me about it? It can’t possibly belong to her.
“Wait, you took a wrong turn,” I accuse Theo as we approach a grand oak door. “Nonna can’t own this place. Hell, I didn’t even know she owned a second house!”
He doesn’t respond with words, instead, her merely takes out a key and puts it inside the lock, turning it with ease to show the house does in fact, belong to my grandmother. A pang of hurt shoots through me; how could she not have brought me here? More to the point, why did she keep this place a secret? My runaway thoughts are stopped dead when Theo turns on the light and gestures for me to go inside. I stare at him, refusing to move, apart from crossing my arms in a defensive manner.
“I don’t have an overnight bag, I left it in the hotel room. This plan was not at all well thought out, was it, Mr-Hot-Shot-Suit.”
“All taken care of, Twiglet,” he replies with smugness and a tug of my elbow to encourage me inside. “I had one of the hotel staff get it out for you. It’s in the trunk,” he explains, gesturing over to the boot of the car. “I’ll bring it up to your room in a moment.”
“Don’t call me Twiglet,” I huff before conceding to follow him inside. “Only the boy I remember is allowed to call me that. I should have left him behind, well before I discovered him feeling up Maddison Andrews on my bridge.”
“First of all, I knew you were jealous; secondly, that bridge is a public footpath; thirdly, and most importantly, I am that boy, Izzy. After years of not talking, how could you possibly know if I am or am not that boy.”
“That boy never would have made false promises to someone whom he claimed to be his best friend,” I reply without emotion in my voice. Though, even with my attempts to shut it out, it’s there, hiding in my throat with a painful throbbing.
“I didn’t lie, Izzy,” he sighs with exasperation, “I think we both moved on.”
“Yeah, right,” I mutter bitterly.
“Izzy! I—”
“I’m too tired for all this, Theodore,” I sigh, “and this house is far more interesting, so let’s get on with it.”
“Fine,” he snaps, “whatever you want, Izzy, as always.”
He turns his back to lead the way while I close my eyes over those last few words. I could correct him, but I wasn’t lying when I said the house was much more interesting, so I choose to say nothing. Instead, I follow him into a large hallway that houses a grand central staircase. I imagine Cinderella gracefully descending the steps, for they certainly look the part. How long has Nonna had this place? Kid Izzy would have spent hours playing make-believe in a place like this.
While I imagine all the games I would have played to amuse myself here, Theo shows no appreciation whatsoever for the gorgeous interior when he mounts the stairs and paces up each step. I think I’m supposed to follow, but there’s no way I’m going to not indulge in every detail of this place. When the staircase splits off into two directions, he takes the left, so I immediately take the right.
“Where are you going, Izzy?” I hear him call out with a sigh of frustration. “Your room is this way.”
“Yes,” I reply without even bothering to turn around, “but if this is Nonna’s house, I wanna have a good nose around.”
I smile to myself, knowing how irritated I’m probably making him, then continue walking around in the opposite direction to where he wants me to go. I soon feel his hand wrapping around my arm to pull me back into line, just like everyone else in my life.
“There’s only my bedroom and office in that direction, Izzy, nothing for you to look at, believe me.”
“You seem very cozy here,” I observe, eyeing him with suspicion and another theatrical crossing of my arms. “How long have you been coming to stay here exactly?”
“A couple of years,” he replies, placing his hands firmly inside of his pockets.
A couple of fucking years? What the hell? Not once did he ever…That’s it! A veil of rage descends over me, and it takes a moment or two to compose my usual mask of indifference. I thought being forgotten and abandoned by him hurt, but purposefully being avoided by him is a different pain altogether.
“Lead the way,” I utter with a distinctly cold tone to my voice. “I’m going to bed and then I’m out of here.”
He places his hand on my lower back as I step past him, but it feels like a knife, so I jerk out of it.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” I snap with a narrowed set of eyes that freezes him for a moment or two. The bastard has the gall to look like I just crushed his heart with my bare hands. Though, in mere seconds, he appears to shake it off, much like he did to the girl whom he proclaimed to love. He removes his hand and sighs as he walks out in front to show me where my room is. He’s just another jerk to add to my already long list. I’m even tempted to add Nonna, but I guess I’ll wait to see what she has to say in the morning.
_____
Izzy
By the time I come downstairs in the morning, Nonna is already sitting in the living room waiting for me. Theo is sitting beside her, wearing a black shirt and dark denim jeans, looking every bit the American movie actor with his two-day-old stubble and flawless good looks. Meanwhile, I’ve slung on a pair of ripped skinny jeans, have nothing whatsoever on my feet, and only a loose white t-shirt to cover my top. I haven’t even brushed my hair; it’s sloppily balled up on top of my head. My eyes are dark, and my head even more so.
“Glad you could join us, Izzy,” Nonna chuckles as I glance at the clock on the wall.
It’s late, nearly lunchtime, but that’s nothing new. Sleep has always been my friend, my escape. No one can get me there, not even my own self-destructive ways. Without any words of greeting, for she still might make it onto my list of jerks, I sit down in the only spare armchair and curl my feet under my backside.
“There’s a cup of tea on the side, dear,” Nonna offers, gesturing to the chintzy, mismatched cup and saucer on the table beside me. I smile at her with appreciation, then take hold of the warm china, and hold it close to my face so the steam can fill me full of comfort.
“Now, I’ll get straight to the point,” she says, to which I pause mid-sip. “Izzy, you are keeping me up at night; you’re not happy and I can see it. Your life is full of demons, child.” She eyes me while I frown at her questioningly, silently asking if she’s gone bat-shit crazy. “And don’t try denying it, Izzy.”
“Nonna, I can assure you I am perfectly fine,” I huff, waving my hands around in the air as I speak. “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was about five. Trust me, I’m good.”
“You don’t mix with anyone in particular, you don’t tell anyone about your occupation, you don’t date, you go out at night without any concern for your safety, and you’re clearly depressed,” she says bluntly. “Now, I am going to make a proposal to you both. I have a substantial amount of money to leave behind in my will and I will leave it solely to the both of you if you agree to spend the next six months together.”
I laugh hysterically, to the point of tears, and when I finally wipe them away, I start laughing all over again. I then look at Theo, expecting him to be laughing with me over this absurd idea, but he’s just sitting back in his armchair, eyeing me with interest and with his index finger pressed against his lips.
“Have you heard this? I mean, are you serious? Sorry, but fuck!” I laugh until my stomach hurts and I’m in danger of kick-starting a migraine. “I don’t even know where to start, Nonna, that is insane!”
“And I want you to pretend you are married; you need to convince the others you are madly in love,” she adds without a hint of mirth on her face. The old minx is serious!
“What? Why?!” I cry out, still laughing over the ridiculousness of this idea. “And since when have you had money?”
“I have five point two million pounds from my shares in the family company, all sitting in an offshore bank account. It’s all yours and Theo’s if you agree to do this,” she says, still looking completely serious.
I take a moment to stare at her, feeling stunned and as though someone’s going to wake me up soon. I’m not entirely sure if I would call this a dream or an elaborate nightmare, but definitely the stuff of fantasy.
“Ok, let’s say I believe you, and you haven’t gone crazy, what makes you think someone like me is interested in money anyway? Are you confusing me with Tilly?”
“I think I need to talk to you separately, my darlings, then you can come back together and make a decision,” she says. “Izzy, you first. Theo, do you mind?”
He shakes his head and walks out without uttering a single word. I watch him leave, unable to say anything remotely coherent, for he appears to be completely unfazed.
“Izzy, darling, your family are, quite frankly, despicable people. I don’t like any of them and one of them is my son; two of them, my grandchildren. They have wronged you your whole life, so I understand why you act the way you do. And while I took pleasure in it to begin with, things have developed to a level where I am gravely concerned. I want you to see what having a proper loving relationship with someone can feel like, and I have always known you and Theo were right for each other. I knew when you were fifteen that he was the love of your life and that you were his. You can’t fool this old girl.”
“So, you want me to pretend to be in a loving relationship in the hopes that I will want it for real?” I shake my head over her naivety. Perhaps she’s been at the romance novels again; the ones that used to make me laugh when I stayed over at her place for the night as a kid. “You can’t force people together like that, Nonna, it doesn’t work that way. Plus, I’m not meant for love; I don’t know how to.”
“I know you believe that, darling, but it’s only because you’ve been dealt a raw deal. Trust me, Theo is the right deal for you, child. If I’m wrong, it’s six months of your life. You’ll live here, instead of in some damp, squalid flat in a bad part of London, and you get to look at him every day,” she says with a wicked smile on her face, to which I can’t help but laugh a little. “Then you get a small fortune, which, if nothing else, will infuriate your family.”
“Although I like your thinking about my family, Nonna, you know I’m not fussed about money.” I look at her as the only person I can show my real self to; she knows I would never value money above all else.
“I know you aren’t, but if you had that money, you wouldn’t need to charge your clients so much,” she says with a smile that tells me this is her final winning card. “You can help all those people you relate to so well, and without that awful feeling you get from charging them to cover those expensive London rental costs.”
“Oh, crap,” I huff at the same time as she leans back in her chair, looking ever so proud of herself. She’s got me and she knows it. “You crafty old broad, Nonna.”
____
Theo
“Do we have an agreement?” Grandma asks, and I slowly nod my head. She smiles with immense satisfaction over my answer. “And you are not to tell her any of it?”
Again, I nod in confirmation.
“I’ll fetch her back in, shall I?”
I rise from my seat to find Izzy sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen. She’s picking a bread roll apart without actually eating any of it, at the same time as wearing an anxious expression.
