Chapter 23
Present Day
Gemma
I spent that weekend closeted away at home. I didn't go outside. I didn't want to see anyone. I didn't even go online or watch the news.
I wanted to forget everything right now, shut myself off from the world. I knew everyone would be talking about Cade's victory, about his rising star. I didn't want to think about him or see him. I didn't want to face any of it.
I'd tried calling Zack a few times but he hadn't picked up. The last time I'd seen him, on Saturday morning, he'd gone charging off away from me suddenly, chasing someone down the street. He must have thought it was the person who'd taken our picture the night before in the bar. Since then, however, I hadn't seen or heard from him.
I wanted to know if he'd caught the person. I wanted to know if he was OK. He'd seemed so low when he came over to my flat, so drained and upset. He probably needed space, like I did, to get things together in his head.
It was Monday morning now, however, and I had to go to work. I knew people would be talking about Cade and asking about Cade but I'd have to face that at some point. The girls in the office would probably be happy to know that we'd broken up. Every damn girl in the city would find that news to be most welcome.
When I stepped through the main double doors I already had my defences up. The last time I'd walked into the office on a Monday after Cade's last fight people had only just found out that we were seeing each other. Now they knew, so I had every idea as to what to expect.
Whispers, glancing looks in my direction, even the odd under-the-breath insult. I'd have to rise above it and ignore them. There was nothing else I could do.
As I approached my desk I saw that Annie wasn't there. In some strange way I didn't mind that. I loved her but I knew she'd be just as interested in talking about Cade as everyone else. Friend or no friend, I didn't want to talk about it all, it was still too fresh and raw in my mind. All I wanted to do was get my head down and start my day.
So that's what I did, turning my attention back to the boring, entirely uninspiring job that I was now resigned to. There would be no promotion for me. No, that honor would go to the brown-nose bitch now walking over towards me. She had this snide smile on her face, like she'd beaten me and was getting great pleasure out of it. I wanted to knock the look straight off her.
We rarely talked, Tara and I, and when we did it was never pleasant. She had this way about her, this skill of picking up on something you were insecure or sensitive about and then probing it. She was like a cat playing with a mouse, cruel and spiteful. Basically, she was Martha Banks junior, a perfect protege for that scheming cow.
“Hey Gemma,” she said with feigned friendliness, “how was your weekend?” She spoke with an acid tongue, her tone devoid of any genuine interest.
“Great,” I said flatly. “You?”
F*ck it. Why did I ask?!
“Oh, very productive,” she said. “Did you enjoy Cade's fight? You know, the part of it you actually saw?”
I stopped tapping on my keyboard immediately and looked her straight in the eye for the first time.
“Excuse me?”
“Well,” she continued, “you missed most of the fight didn't you....you know, because you were drinking with his twin brother.”
She smiled at me, this horrible, calculating smile.
It was her! It was her who took that picture! My heart began pounding, a fury building inside me.
“You. You saw us? You took the picture and sent it to Cade?” I growled quietly, keen to keep my voice low for want of other people hearing.
She continued to smile, staring at me through cold eyes.
“Oh, I did more than just that.”
“What have you done?!” I snarled again, my eyes widening.
She didn't answer, but just laughed casually as she looked at me, before slowly turning and walking away.
I sat, fixed in my seat, my hand shaking, my mind tumbling. She glanced back at me as she went, this provocative smirk etched across her vile face. I saw her move off down the corridor towards Mrs Banks' office, a victorious air about her.
Oh she'd won the promotion all right. The story, the dramatic story of betrayal that she was working on – it was all about me, all about Cade, all about Zack.
I stood quickly and stormed off after her, chasing her down as she opened the door to Banks' office and walked through. I moved down the corridor past the secretary, Brenda. She shouted at me as I passed: “you can't go in there, she's busy,” but I didn't listen.
I walked straight past her, straight towards Martha Banks' office, and straight through the door into her bare, cold, and entirely unemotional office. It was just like her: empty, indifferent, and wholeheartedly cold-blooded.
….
I could feel a warmth growing inside me as I stepped heavily into Martha Banks' office and shut the door. I didn't care to shut it quietly, as I usually would. I almost slammed it shut, sending a loud bang vibrating down the corridor and onto the main office floor.
People probably looked up from their desks, wondering what was going on, what drama was unfolding, but I didn't care. I had to know what the f*ck was going on, and I had to know right now.
Mrs Banks was staring at me calmly as I entered, her gaze torn from Tara and over to me at the door.
“Gemma,” she said, her voice calm as always, “so good of you to join us.”
I was breathing heavily, so many things I wanted to say.
“Please, take a seat,” Banks continued, gesturing her hand to the spare seat in front of her desk.
I didn't move, I didn't answer. I wasn't going to do anything she told me to do.
I turned my gaze to Tara, who stood holding a file under her arm and a sick smile on her face. How could she love this so much, enjoy torturing me like this. What sort of devil child was she.
“You f*cking bitch,” I said to her. “You'd f*ck up all our lives for a promotion?”
She just kept smiling, no answer or response dropping from her lips, and walked over to Mrs Banks, placing the file down on her desk.
“This is the whole thing Martha,” she said, “pictures and my entire write-up on the story.”
“Excellent Tara, this is just the sort of thing I was looking for,” Banks said, turning her eyes back on me. “It's a shame, Gemma, that you don't possess the same ruthless edge as young Tara here. She'll go far, you know.”
“Thank you so much Martha,” Tara said again, “that means a lot coming from you.”
“Not at all my dear. I should be the one thanking you. Our next edition is going to sell like hotcakes with this story as the main headline.”
She turned again to me. “You see Gemma, this is what it's all about. Drama, betrayal, deception: that's what people want to read about. It is regrettable that you're going to have to be involved in all of this business, but I'm afraid that's just the way life is.”
I could not believe these two women. They were enjoying this, creating something out of nothing, breaking up a family, creating hatred between two twins.
“So you're going to lie and say that Zack and I are cheating on Cade, is that it? You're going to twist things and ruin lives just to sell a few extra magazines?! How can you do that? How can you live with yourselves?!”
They looked at each other briefly as Tara giggled and smirked.
“Dear girl,” said Banks, “I think you must be deluded.” She pulled a picture out of the file and slid it across her desk. “Does this look like we're lying. I'm afraid you've made your bed Gemma, and Zack Logan has slept in it.”
I quickly walked forward and grabbed the picture. It was me and Zack hugging outside of my apartment on Saturday morning. It must have been Tara who Zack had chased. She took a picture and they were going to make it look like he'd stayed over, that we'd slept together. With the image of us 'kissing', who would believe that we'd done nothing at all.
I shook my head, throwing the image back down onto the desk. “This doesn't mean anything. He slept on the sofa, nothing happened. Nothing's going on between us.” My words were growing more agitated now.
“You bitch,” I continued, turning again to Tara. “You know we didn't kiss. You were there, you saw it. Nothing happened!”
Tara shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea what you're talking about honey,” she said. “I think the picture speaks for itself.”
“That's f*cking bullshit Tara and you know it.”
“Come on Gemma, stop lying to yourself. You've been lying so long you've begun to believe in your own delusions. I know you went to school with Zack, I know how close you two were back then.”
“Don't look so shocked,” she continued, seeing the look on my face. “It's what a real journalist does honey. She goes and talks to people, gets information. I tracked down a couple of girls from your old high school and they told me all I needed to know. How you two were so close, how everyone thought you were in a relationship. Something was going to happen...I just had to wait for my opportunity to catch you out.”
“BUT NOTHING IS HAPPENING!” I shouted at her. “THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON YOU STUPID BITCH!”
She stayed calm. “Oh Gemma, you really have fallen for your own lies.”
“I'M NOT LYING!” I shouted again.
As I did the door suddenly opened and I turned to see Brenda's head popping through. “Is everything all right in here Mrs Banks?” she asked.
Banks nodded. “Yes, it's all OK. Just a few heated words, nothing to worry about Brenda. I'll buzz if I need you, thank you.”
Brenda backed away again, slowly shutting the door and leaving a silence in the room.
“So what are you going to do, make out that I've been cheating on Cade with Zack?” I fumed.
“Yes,” said Banks, still sitting calmly behind her desk. “It's just the sort of exciting family drama that people love to sink their teeth into. As I say Gemma, it's a shame you have to be embroiled in all of this, but it's not an opportunity I can turn away from.”
Her words were almost tinged with sorrow, as if she actually cared that the scandal would affect my life. I knew she didn't. She was as callous as they came, a vindictive witch, utterly devoid of empathy and compassion.
But I knew just how to level the playing field. She'd get her comeuppance, I'd make sure of that.
I set my eyes on her, staring her down. As I prepared to open my mouth again, however, my attention was drawn back to the file on her desk.
A picture was hanging out of it: the image of a man, his face bloodied, lying on the tarmac. I felt my pulse begin to rise quickly as I walked forward, reaching towards the desk.
“What are you doing?” asked Banks, but I didn't listen. I grabbed the file and pulled it towards me. “There's no point,” I heard Tara say, “I have copies of everything.”
But I wasn't interested in taking the file or destroying the story. I was only interested in the image that lay on top.
I slipped it out of the folder and looked at it closely. The face, the wavy hair, the green eyes. It was unmistakable. It was Zack.
“What's this,” I said, my voice quiet and shaky. I didn't look up but kept staring at the picture. “What have you done?”
I could hear Tara scoff behind me. “What have we done? We've done nothing. You can blame your boyfriend for that. Or is that ex boyfriend?”
I quickly tipped the file upside down, shaking all of the contents out. More pictures fell to the desk, pictures of Cade and Zack brawling in the street, a crowd encircling them.
“Did you not know?” questioned Banks. “It's been all over the news. People are wondering why they were fighting, of course, but we know. Tara did well to goad Cade into action, sending him the picture of you and his brother hugging outside your apartment. Now everyone's talking about it, everyone wants to know the truth. When we release our exclusive, they're going to be lining up down the street to find out.”
She was licking her lips was anticipation, like a lioness over its downed prey.
The information was barely registering with me. I only wanted to know one thing.
“Is...is he OK? Zack...is he all right?” My voice remained quiet and brittle.
I looked up at Banks, who was now frowning. “How do you not know this? Have you not been watching the news? He's in hospital, my dear girl, Denver Point....”
The rest of her words blurred into the background. I didn't hear them. I just turned and ran straight out of the room and rushed out of the building towards my car.