4. Ian

Chapter 4

Ian

I slammed the front door so hard that my mother came rushing out of the kitchen. After assuring her that everything was all right, I headed up to my room. I’d been in a relatively good mood since I came back to Cloverhill. Despite the mass of fans that I’d met since I arrived, I wasn’t that overwhelmed by it. But my good mood dissipated with one brief afternoon with Hazel Jones. I’d rather see a million suffocating fans.

Seeing her was enough to ruin my mood for the next few weeks. I was aware of the risks involved when I chose to visit Hazel’s parents but Jade told me Hazel moved out a few months ago so I wasn’t expecting to see her there.

How was it possible that the day I chose to stop by was also the day she chose to visit her parents?

I was hoping to avoid seeing her for the first few weeks of my stay even though I knew that was mostly impossible. I knew I would eventually run into her. I just wished I could have been more prepared.

Seeing Hazel had a way of dimming my mood because it reminded him of everything she took from me. Before her article, Cloverhill was the place where I came to enjoy a bit of respite from my hectic career and the scrutiny that came with it. Now Cloverhill was the last place I wanted to be most of the time. I only came back for my family.

I still couldn’t believe she’d published that article. We’d never gotten along, but I was surprised she’d do something so malicious. It was by far one of the worst things anyone had ever done to me. With one simple article, she imploded the very last thing I had that made me feel normal.

I knew most people wouldn’t understand my desire to be normal. Most people didn’t understand how suffocating it could be to be in the limelight. Sometimes the light was so intense that it felt like your skin was burning and you’d give anything to stand in the shade even for a moment.

That was what Cloverhill was to me. Shade. But it wasn’t anymore. Instead, it had become the place where the light was most intense. So much so that it seared through my skin and left me longing for the moment I would leave.

There was a knock before my room door swung open and my mother walked in. This was exactly why I needed my own place.

“Hi dear,” she said, taking a seat at the edge of my bed. “I wanted to ask if you could stay for a week or maybe two.”

“You already convinced me to stay three more days than I’d initially planned.” I was supposed to leave the day after I arrived in town but she’d convinced me to wait till the weekend.

“I know but it’s just…” her voice faded, and she sniffed before speaking again. “I hardly get to see you. This is the first time in so long.”

I’d flown my mother out to watch my last game, and she spent a week with me before returning to Cloverhill, but I didn’t mention that. I knew she was being dramatic on purpose because she wanted me to stay. I also knew that three days would turn into a week and then two. And before I knew it, I would have spent my entire holiday here.

“I promise to visit as often as I can. You’ll see me so much that you’ll even get tired of me,” I joked.

“I could never get tired of you.”

“I can,” Jade said from the doorway. She walked into my room and plopped down on the old bean bag I’d had since I was a kid.

My mom shook her head at her. “Don’t mind your sister. How are Hazel’s parents?”

“They’re fine, mom. Mrs. Jones says ‘Tulips would be better’. She said would know what it meant.”

“I’ve been trying to get into gardening. I’ve always loved how colorful her house is.”

Talking about the Joneses, reminded me of my encounter with Hazel. Just the thought of her was enough to put a frown on my face. My mom noticed my frown and asked, “Everything okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“He probably ran into Hazel there,” Jade said.

“You say that like you guessed it but I’m pretty sure she called you to tell you.”

“Well, actually I called her.”

“I can't believe you two still don’t get along. I mean you used to fight all the time as kids, but I thought you’d both grown out of that,” my mom said.

“We have.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Hazel and I had grown. Our relationship had evolved from casual dislike to full-blown hatred or at least, that was how I felt.

I didn’t know how Hazel felt about me, but it couldn’t be anything good. She’d looked like a deer in headlights when she saw me at her parents’ house earlier today. Her wide brown eyes and curly dark hair added to the look.

She was far from happy to see me if her deep frown was anything to go by. We’d both enjoyed six wonderful months of not seeing each other. I hoped we’d be able to get through this holiday without any more chance encounters like today.

With any luck, we’d only see each other a few times before I left.

I sighed. I would just have to manage Hazel’s presence and she would have to manage mine. Our fates were sealed the moment she and my sister became best friends. There was no going back for either of us.

One way or the other, we would always be connected.

***

I ended up leaving the house the next day like I’d initially planned. I parked outside my temporary apartment building and smiled. It had cost a lot to get this place on such short notice, especially since I didn’t plan to stay long.

When I walked into the apartment, I concluded that the money was worth it. A wide living room decorated with cozy cream-colored couches and small pillows on each couch made up the living room. The fully fitted kitchen was equipped with everything I needed and a bunch of stuff I had no idea how to use. The fridge was also stocked full of essentials.

The bedroom was just as nice as the living room. There was a huge king-sized bed in the center and large windows that welcomed sunlight into the room. It was perfect. I unpacked my suitcase and crashed onto the couch, exhausted. I still hadn't recovered from the flight.

I’d barely gotten comfortable when a knock sounded on my front door. I ignored it at first, but the knocking continued. It became more intense as more time passed. Sighing deeply, I pulled myself from the couch and walked to the door. Clearly whoever it was would not give up until they saw me.

I pulled the door open, and I was greeted by a tall lanky man with brown hair and glasses. He smiled at me and I offered him a tight smile in return.

“Sorry, who are you?” I asked.

“Oh, I live in the building. I saw you come in and I recognized you immediately. You’re Ian Carter, right?”

For a moment, I genuinely considered denying my own name. I was way too tired to deal with this right now. Too tired to put on my usual mask of amicability. I just wanted to get some sleep. Still, I didn’t want to be rude, so I forced a smile onto my face.

“Yes, I am.”

The man reached into his bag and brought out what looked like a hockey jersey. “I wanted to ask if you could sign this for me.”

“I would love to, but I’m just so tired right now. I just got in and I would really like to rest first before I do anything else. I would be happy to sign it tomorrow, though. You said you live in the building? You can just stop by tomorrow, and I’ll sign it for you.”

“Why can't you just sign it now?” he asked as his fist tightened around the jersey. He didn’t seem pleased with my response. The smile he was wearing earlier had changed into a deep frown. He looked angry, which was an unexpected reaction for something so simple.

“I’m just really tired and I—

“You’re too proud to sign it! That’s what you are! You’re just a pretentious person and you don’t care about your fans. You probably think you’re better than us. You sit on the throne the world has created for you and you look down on us.”

At this point he was practically seething, his breathing so aggressive that I was worried he’d have a heart attack. He was squeezing the life out of the hockey jersey while he glared at me through his glasses.

When I had first seen him, he looked like the calmest person ever. Button-down blue shirt, brown khaki pants, and wide-rimmed glasses. At first glance, no one would suspect he was actually an absolute nut job.

I took a deep breath to help myself calm down. There was no point getting worked up because it would only end with both of us shouting at each other.

“Look, sir. I think you need to calm down. There’s no reason to get upset.”

“No reason to get upset?”

I was tempted to shut the door in his face and go back to resting, but I held myself back. I always tried my best to be welcoming to my fans even when I didn’t feel like it.

“Yes, there’s no reason to get upset. I already said I would sign the jersey tomorrow. I gave you my word.”

The man finally left, looking incredibly disgruntled and not appeased in any way. I sighed deeply as I sunk onto the couch. That had to be the strangest interaction I’d ever had with a fan. Most of them were usually very understanding when I told them I was too tired to take a picture or give them my autograph.

This was the first time I was getting that type of reaction.

It was shocking, to say the least. I’d never seen anyone get so angry so quickly, especially when there was no good reason to get that way. I reached for the remote and turned on the TV, doing my best not to dwell on the strange encounter from a few minutes ago.

The basketball game managed to take my mind away from it but I still couldn’t stop wondering why he’d done that. I thought of Hazel in that moment. In a way, this was all her fault. If she hadn't published that article, then fans like that man would remain at a distance.

Now they came to my home, and they knew where I lived. That article had ruined my life in more ways than one but Hazel just carried on living her perfect life. She never cared about how her actions would affect me.

Or maybe she did. Maybe she did all of this on purpose because she knew it would make my life difficult. I’d always considered that possibility and it made me despise her even more.

If there was even a chance that she’d done this to me intentionally then it only showed that Hazel was just as bad or even worse than I’d imagined. I hoped I wouldn’t be seeing her again for a long time.

I never wanted to see her again if that was possible.