Crystals (8 page)

This was his life
and he understood better than anyone what was about to be revealed. He stood
motionless, his gaze fixed on Crystal, unprepared to miss the moment her
feelings towards him changed.

“His father was
murdered while he was in prison. He crossed the wrong person one time too many.
But that isn’t the worst of it. His brother, incarcerated in the same
institution, murdered the man he thought responsible for the death of their
father. Only it transpired that he took the life of an innocent man. His
brother cold-bloodedly committed murder for revenge on the wrong–”

“Why didn’t you
tell me?”

He saw it then.
The shift in the way she viewed him. She didn’t ask him if what her mother said
was the truth. They both knew it was. Gwendolyn was a judge, and if she went
looking for information about him, it wouldn’t have taken much effort for her
to find his father and brother’s crime record.

“I didn’t want to
lose you. You mean the world to me. I didn’t want to see this look in your
eyes.” Shane registered her expression of angry disbelief, yet most of all he
saw disappointment. “I’m not like them, Crys.” His words were simple, but they
carried a pleading he didn’t try to keep from his voice.

The sounds of her
sobs were nearly his undoing, and sweat broke out all over his body. But he
wasn’t ready to give up on them.

“Do you hate me,
love? I couldn’t stand it if you hated me.”

“What’s going on
out here?”

Shane didn’t need
to look in the direction of the person who broke into their tableau of
revelations. He somehow knew it belonged to the man that had been dancing with
Crystal. It didn’t matter to him if there was one more person who knew about
his background. All that mattered was what Crystal thought of him.

“Owen, thank
goodness you’re here. Take Crystal inside!”

“Go away, Owen.
This doesn’t concern you,” Crystal told the interloper as she brushed away her
tears.

“What doesn’t
concern me?”

“Didn’t ya hear
her, piss off before I make ya!” Shane warned taking his eyes off Crystal only
long enough to sneer at Owen.

“See what I mean,
the only thing he knows is violence!” Gwendolyn exclaimed.

Shane ignored her.
“Come with me, love. At least give me a chance to explain.”

“I can’t. I have a
room full of guests; and honestly, I just need some time to think.”

“When then,” Shane
insisted reluctant to push but unable to help himself.

“I’ll call you.”

“When?”

“When I’m ready!”

“What, don’t call
me, I’ll call you. Is that how it’s gonna be, Crys?”

“Didn’t you hear
her? She’ll call you, if and when she’s ready. And if I have anything to do
with it that day will never come!”

“Mother, stay out
of this. This is my life and you’re not going to dictate how I live it!”

When Crystal
turned back to him, he knew what he wanted her to say—what he wanted her to do.
But his omission about his family meant he was on shaky ground.

“Okay, Crys, I’ll
wait because I love ya. But I’m not responsible for what
me
father and brother did with their lives. I know you’re pissed off with me and I
deserve it—so I’ll wait until you’re ready to talk.” When he realized she
wasn’t going to respond, Shane looked at the people who stood around him.

Owen had a blank
expression on his face. Gwendolyn looked smug and Crystal just looked dazed and
hurt.

Shane wasn’t
finished. He had one more thing to say and he didn’t care who heard him. “Just
for the record, I love you Crystal Buchanan, but I’m no pussy, so don’t think
I’m gonna wait around to be treated like one.”

Chapter 6

Shane drove home with a reckless disregard for the
speed limit. How he managed to get to his destination without
being pulled over,
remained a mystery. All he could think
about was Crystal and the miscalculation he’d made in not being completely
honest with her.

Pulling up in
front of his garage, he left the engine running as he hopped out of his car.
About to key in the code that would engage the mechanism to open the door to
his workshop, he sensed he wasn’t alone.

Turning sharply,
he felt a punch connect with his jaw that momentarily stunned him. More than
able to defend himself, before another blow made contact, he was pummeling the
fool who’d thought to jump him. His assailant retreated under the force of the
blows he threw his way.

In those first
moments of surprise Shane thought there was only one attacker. Being caught
around the neck and yanked backward, was his first inkling that there was at
least two of them. In the darkened shadows of the alleyway, he fought them.

A glinting light
flashed before his eyes and he sprung back. Distracted by the sight of the
knife; one of the men seized the opportunity to swipe his legs from under him.
The sleek cobblestones mixed in with engine oil gave him no purchase in his
dress shoes. Before he could fully process what was happening, he was flat on
his back. About to scramble to his feet, Shane blinked once and remained
perfectly still.

The knife was
hovering somewhere over his chest. He couldn’t see the face of the man who held
the knife as he wore a mask. He didn’t need to because his gaze held Shane’s
complete attention. He was looking into eyes that reflected fear and it scared
the shit out of him. This man was an amateur and that meant he was
unpredictable. He also appeared to be as high as a kite.

His attacker was
wearing a tattered coat that smelled as though he hadn’t taken a bath in a
year. The hand holding the knife shook so much Shane
’s mind
screamed
at him to attempt to defuse the situation before the junkie did
something stupid.

“Do it!” Came a
disembodied voice from behind him.

“Shut up! Just
shut up. I never agreed to cut no-one!”

“If you want your
shit, you better do what I say.”

“Don’t listen to
him,” Shane countered in a calm voice even as his heart pounded.

The junkie
wavered, his eyes darting around as he used his free hand to swipe under his
nose. Shane saw his chance and took it. Raising his leg, he delivered a direct
kick to the man’s groin. As the stinking attacker fell back in agony, he
dropped his weapon.

Shane lunged
towards the fallen knife. About to grab the handle of the blade, it remained
just out of his reach when a vice-like grip around his throat pulled him to his
feet. Since the beginning of his attack, adrenaline had been his constant
companion, now rage joined the fray.

He had no idea
what this attack was about. From the condition of the man he’d been able to
see, and smell, he could only assume they were after money to feed their habit.
All he knew with a certainty was that if these pieces of shit thought they
could take what he had worked his arse off for, he was about to dissuade them.

About to ram his
elbow into the gut of the man choking him, he felt something pass from his ear
towards his throat. By the time his mind fully processed what had happened, he
felt a searing pain followed by a gush of warmth that flowed down his neck. A
perfect stranger had just cut his throat.

A feeling of
disembodiment washed over him and brought with it the sense that he was going
to die. His life was just beginning, and he would never have the chance to live
it.

All his thoughts
were on Crystal. She was still angry with him, and now he had lost the
opportunity to explain about his family. He hoped she wouldn’t be too sad at
his passing. He didn’t want her life to be touched with sadness because of his
murder. All he wanted for his love was a life filled with happiness. That was
Shane’s final thought as darkness claimed him.

~~~

Crystal awoke from
a fitful night’s sleep. The moment her eyes opened, thoughts of the previous
evening’s revelations rushed into her mind. Wanting nothing more than to bury
her head beneath her pillow and go back to sleep, she became aware of odd
sounds emanating from inside her house.

Listening
carefully, she heard one loud voice that she identified as Dara’s and another
shushing her that sounded like Fern. Why her cousins thought it was acceptable
to invade her house whenever they liked, was something she had given up trying
to decipher years ago. Giving them a key to her home had been a big mistake
because they turned up whenever they had a mind to.

Heaving a deep
sigh, she threw back the covers and got out of bed. In a T-shirt and bare feet,
she headed towards the sounds of their voices.

“Why are you
people in my house?”

“Oh, you’re
awake!” Dara, the youngest of the sisters, said.

“How could she be
anything else with you running your
mouth!
” Fern
taunted before turning to her cousin. “Are you okay, Crystal?”

“We made you
breakfast… well technically, I suppose its brunch–”

“We?” Fern raised
an inquiring brow at her sister. “I don’t remember seeing you even crack an
egg, but you’re talking about,
we
.”

“Whatever, you’re
the Earth Mother, so don’t start complaining when I let you be mother.” Dara
shot back.

“I don’t want
breakfast or brunch. All I want is for you people to leave my house and to stop
coming in here whenever you want to. Having my keys are for emergency purposes
only.”

Crystal missed the
look that passed between the sisters as she took a seat at the tiny breakfast
bar. With her head in her hands, she closed her eyes and willed her mind to go
blank. It didn’t work as thoughts of the fight between her mother and Shane
refused to leave her. A cup of steaming coffee appeared before her followed
closely by a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and baked beans.

Pushing the food
aside, she reached for the coffee, took a sip and sniffed the air. “Is
something burning?”

“Shit,” Fern
yelped, “my peas!”

“Seriously, Fern,
you just get on my nerves. I mean, who the hell doesn’t use Kidney beans from a
tin to make rice and peas these days?” Dara demanded.

Crystals caught
Dara gaze and they both exclaimed, “Fern!” at the same time and smirked.

“Yeah, well the
peas are a lost cause now, so when you’re both eating pizza for your Sunday
dinner, I hope you still find my willingness to cook for your ungrateful
backsides funny.”

Two more sips of
her coffee and Crystal began to feel slightly better. She knew there was no
point repeating that her cousins leave because they would just ignore her. So,
cup in hand, she went back to her bedroom in the hope they wouldn’t follow.

By the time she
was back under the covers, Fern had already stretched out beside her and Dara
had taken up residence at the end of the bed.

“What’s going on,
Crystal?” Fern asked.

Crystal knew her
cousins and so she understood that there was no way they’d let up until she
told them everything. In all honesty, she was glad they were there. She needed
the company as she tried to work through how she was going to deal with her
feelings.

She loved Shane
and that would probably never change. But she was hurt and more than a little
angry that he hadn’t believed in her enough to tell her about his family. By
keeping his background from her, she couldn’t help feeling that he’d judged her
and somehow found her wanting.

When she was
finished telling her cousins everything about what Gwendolyn had revealed, a
stunned silence hung in the room.

“Oh, my God!” Fern
exclaimed after a few seconds.

“Gwendolyn needs
to mind her own frigging business.” Dara said. “That woman needs to realize you
weren’t made in her image.”

“Yeah, Aunt Gwen
is a bit much sometimes,” Fern added.

“Sometimes,” Dara
retorted, “try most of the time. Anyone would think she descended from royalty
or something!”

“Please remember
it’s my mother you’re talking about, Dara!”

“Oh, I remember. I
also remember your rubbish birthday parties where we had to drink tea in those
stupid dresses and ankle socks.”

“Shut up, Dara.
You’re so bloody random. We’re not talking about tea parties. We’re discussing
the fact that our uptight cousin is probably going to lose the only man she’s
ever dated for more than six months.”

“That’s not
technically true. There was Beau
Geste
of the firm
arse. You know,” Dara spoke behind her hand as though Crystal couldn’t hear
her, “the one who she
finally
gave
it
up to.”

“That’s it, both
of you need to get out of my house—and his name was, Burgess!”

Crystal gritted
her teeth as the sisters laughed and rolled their eyes at her. When they
finally quieted down and readjusted themselves on her bed, she knew she was in
trouble.

“This is what you
need to do,” Dara said while pinning Crystal with an unwavering gaze. “Go over
there and give him some—do that first. Then, cuss his backside, because he put
you in the position where Gwendolyn had that kind of ammunition to use against
you.”

“Dara, for God’s
sake, sex isn’t the answer to all life’s problems,” Fern chided.

“Maybe not, but it
feels good while you contemplate them. Plus, you can talk. All you do is feed
Dizzy and sex him up whenever he wants it, which, by the way, is all the bloody
time as far as I can tell.”

Crystal felt like
crying. She knew her cousins meant well, but they were driving her crazy.
Reaching over she placed her half-finished coffee on the bedside table,
burrowed down and pulled the duvet over her head.

“Honestly, Dara,
look what you’ve done to her. She’s gone all fetal. You really need to think
before you open your big mouth.”

“Oh, I thought
about it alright. You and I both know that if we let her, even though she loves
skinny Shane–”

“He’s not skinny!”
Crystal mumbled from below the cover.

Dara ignored her
and kept speaking. “If we let her, she’s going to allow Gwendolyn to get into
her head.”

“She’s right,”
Fern agreed at the same time as she rummaged through Crystal’s purse and came
up with her phone. “Call him,” she insisted lifting the edge of the duvet and
pushing the phone below it.

Taking the mobile,
Crystal shimmied upwards, gave them both a dirty look and dialed Shane’s
number. Then she waited. After seven rings that accompanied a heightened level
of anxiety, his voicemail kicked in. Five hours later, with just as many failed
attempts at contacting him, Crystal’s emotions were all over the place. One
minute she
was wracked
with regret at not leaving with
him when he asked. The next she was vexed because he wouldn’t answer his damn
phone.

“Maybe I should
have left with him when he asked me to,” she muttered to herself biting her
lip.

“Why didn’t you?”
Fern asked.

“At the time,
everything was happening so fast. I had my mother pulling me one way and Shane
the other. I just wanted them all to go away and give me some space to think.”

“Well, I would
have gone with him.”

“I bloody well
wouldn’t have,” Dara answered her sister.

“Maybe you should
go over there,” Fern suggested.

“Are you crazy? My
cousin isn’t running down no man. His backside should be over here knocking
down her door with his tail between his legs, not the other way around.”

“I wouldn’t have
voiced it in quite the same way as Dara, but I agree with her. I’m not the one
at fault here. If he wants me, he knows where and how to find me.”

“Lord help
me—there speaks Gwendolyn Buchanan’s offspring!” Fern moaned.

~~~

Crystal was so
worried about Shane she felt as though she was losing her mind. She lasted two
days before she went around to his home. As she was leaving and having left a
note as a last resort, Ollie arrived.

During their brief
conversation, he told her that after the confrontation at her party, Shane had
decided he needed a break. In her heart, she knew he wasn’t telling her the
truth. Short of calling him a liar, she had to take Ollie at his word. At least
Shane would find her note when he finally returned and realize how badly she
needed to speak to him.

But as the days
passed and she heard nothing, her worry dissipated. In its place was an ever
growing resentment at his callous treatment of her.

Crystal ignored
her mother for as long as she could, which amounted to three days. Under threat
of Gwendolyn descending on her, she gave in. She was late arriving for dinner
at her mother’s house because she had stopped at Shane’s flat for the umpteen
time. That her note was gone gave her no reassurance because she had still
heard nothing from him.