Malta Novel - Untitled - Chapter Two

Malta Novel - Untitled - Chapter Two

Just like that she’s twelve years old again.

Elle and Alessia are in Alessia’s tree house in the middle of a heated debate over which boy in their class looks more kissable.

Suddenly a cackle from just below them – Zach – Alessia’s older brother by two years – pokes his head through the open trap door and waves a video camera at them.

“Classic. Footage of Stressy Alessie and Smelly Ellie talking boys! Wait till everyone sees this.”

With another manic laugh, he jumps from the highest step of the ladder and lands neatly on the grass. Typical Zach. If Elle had attempted the move herself, she’d end up with a cast on her ankle.

Alessia and Elle let out ferocious battle-cries and rush down, charging after him across the garden.

“Don’t you dare Zachary Vella!!” Elle growls.

“Oh I absolutely will” Zach turns to grin at them, confident they’ll never catch him.

Back in the present, Elle lowered the menu and glowered at Zach, childhood arch nemesis turned world famous movie star. What the industry saw in him, she had no idea. To her, he would always be annoying to look at and the bane of her existence.

“Zachary.” She greeted him coolly.

“What, no hug for your old friend?”

She raised her eyebrows in response.

He sat down in the chair opposite her and removed his sunglasses. He turned and flashed a movie-star grin at all the people still gawping at him, resulting in most of them finally looking away and going back to eating and chatting.

His brilliant green eyes refocused on her, studying her red-rimmed eyes, and then the loose change spread on the table.
“You’ve been crying.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.

“Yes.” She saw no point in denying it.

“What’s going on?” Zach raised his eyebrows.

Elle sighed and shovelled in the rest of her pastizzi to avoid the question as long as possible. There was a long pause while she chewed, then an even more awkward pause while she considered what to reply.

“Connor dumped me.” Elle finally rushed out in her next exhale.

“Good.” A standard Zach response.

“Nice.” Elle rolled her eyes.

The waitress, now finished serving a customer at the bar, tripped over her own feet in her rush to be at Zach’s side. “Hi…” She exhaled, a wide smile accompanying her fluttering lashes.

“Hello there… Rita.” Zach responded with his own grin, reading smoothly from her name badge. “Could I please get a flat white?”

“Yes, yes, of course” She stuttered, scribbling on a pad of paper without taking her eyes off the movie star. She blushed a pretty pink, accentuating the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Zach glanced down at the table, assessing if he needed to order Elle a drink too. He frowned at the number of cups, and decisively told Rita that would be all for now.

Elle caught his look of disgust at her comfort hot chocolates and sent him a glare, but he wasn’t looking.

Watching the waitress retreat, Zach finally turned his attention back to Elle.

“So, you came all the way to Malta to tell me about Connor?” His eyes sparkled.

“No, you idiot. I didn’t even know you were here.”

“Then what are you doing?”

Elle sighed, again. It was a day of sighing. She briefly explained the plans to move to Malta and the painful scene at the airport. “I’m more than a little overwhelmed, that’s all. But I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Rita the waitress approached their little table for a second time, shaking hands making the coffee cup rattle in its saucer. She apologised as she slid it onto the table in front of Zach.

“Thank you very much Rita.” Another charming smile.

Rita hesitated, pen and paper poised once again. “If it’s not too much trouble Mr Vella, would-I-be-able-to-have-your-signature-please?” She said in one giant exhale. Rita looked so overcome that Elle was sure the dainty waitress was about to keel over.

“Of course!” Zach gently removed the notebook from Rita’s hands, who seemed to have lost all ability to function normally and was frozen in place.

He signed in perfect loopy handwriting, ‘my dearest Rita, thank you for the coffee. All my love, Zach Vella’ with three big kisses.

Elle cringed. Yes, it was part of his job, his life, and she didn’t really understand that world. But it was all so uncomfortable. She suppressed a shudder.

When Rita had recovered and returned to the café bar, Zach once more picked up their conversation.
“I told you so.”

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t I spent the last nine years telling you what a prick he is?” Zach took a sip of his coffee.

“Every opportunity you had, yes.” Elle confirmed.

“Well then.” He nodded, as if that settled it.

“That’s just you being you though. You couldn’t possibly have known this would happen.”

“Well, I didn’t predict you’d drop everything and move to Malta for him.” Zach leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms oh-so-casually.

This made Elle feel like a scolded child. “I didn’t drop everything” She stuttered, “we were supposed to get a fresh start.”

“Why Malta?” Elle blinked at the sudden change of direction.

“I’ve loved it here ever since I was a child. So many good memories…” She trailed off, reminiscing. She picked up her mug, taking a gulp and letting the warm liquid soothe her.

“I didn’t know.” A frown creased his forehead. Zach lost in thought was not something Elle could say she witnessed often. He seemed to shake himself out of it, eyes once more focusing on her. “You’ll be fine.”

Something in Elle snapped, his flippancy making her see red. “How would you know that? Your longest relationship has got to be, what, three months?” It was a low blow, she knew. But she was angry that he’d found her like this. Which wasn’t his fault, she also acknowledged. But sometimes life was unfair.

In a very unlike-Zach move, he ignored the jib. “So, he’s taken the house?”

“Yep.” She idly twisted a strand of waist-length auburn hair around her wrist.

“And he won’t let you stay in it for a while to sort yourself out?”

“No, I don’t think so. He didn’t give me any time to get in the taxi.”

“Bastard.”

Elle turned away to study a quirky seascape painting on the orange wall, propping her elbow on the table to rest her chin in her palm. “My thoughts exactly. And he’s taken the business too. I know most of it was his family’s money and of course I have no claim to that, but I still feel like I’m losing out here.”

“That’s because you are. He can’t really kick you out when your name is on the deed alongside his. Still, it’s not like I’d let you live with the wanker now anyway.”

“Let me…” Elle fumbled over the words.

“Well, you’re obviously coming home with me.” He stated.

“I am?” Elle was taken aback. The last time they’d stayed under the same roof, two years ago if her memory served her right, they’d nearly burned the Vella house down during a fight. “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I think you have limited options available right now.”

“Well, yes, I do, but I can just check into a hotel…”

Zach cut her off “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re down to basically pennies,” He nodded at the loose change on the table, “and besides, Mum would have a fit if she knew I’d left you like that.”

“Honestly, I think your mum would understand perfectly.”

“Regardless.” He waved his arm as if that would clear up the matter.

“I’m already in a mess as it is, I can’t be seen trailing around after a movie star and getting paparazzi pictures and dealing with all that stress on top of everything else” Elle was getting het up. She was out of options, but staying with Zach? That sounded like an extremely bad idea.

“It’s nice to see you’ve finally acknowledged my high level of fame.” He smirked, then quickly backtracked when he realised it wasn’t quite the tone Elle needed right now. “Calm yourself down. I’ve got to leave the day after next – we’re spending a few days filming on Gozo. So, you can stay in my apartment, and you’ll have time and space to think about what you want to do next.”

This wasn’t a Zach she was familiar with. “That’s incredibly nice of you.” It went against every bone in her body to offer Zach a compliment, and the sincerity in his offer made her uncomfortable.

“I’m not always a complete arsehole you know.” He winked at her. For a second there she felt like she’d glimpsed a different side to him, but in the blink of an eye it was gone again.

She feigned vomiting and felt a little better that they were back to joking around. Definitely more familiar ground. “Right, if you’ve finished drowning yourself in hot chocolate,” he nodded judgmentally at the three mugs lined up, “I think we’ll be off.” He tucked a note almost double the cost of what they’d ordered under his saucer.

“Okay. I’m sorry, I have quite a lot of things.” She grunted as she heaved her backpack onto her shoulders.

“Oh, don’t worry, Jerry will take care of it.” He grabbed the handle of her largest suitcase and began to wheel it towards the door.

“Who’s Jerry?” Elle hurried to follow with her smaller suitcase, trying not to make eye contact with the quizzical stares they were getting from the customers of the café as they brushed past the wooden tables.

“Jerry, meet Elle, my guest for the night.” Zach greeted his driver warmly as he stepped out of the electric blue Lamborghini to assist with the bags.

Elle gaped at the car. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Malta Novel - Untitled - Chapter Three  (13+) “Ouch.” He tutted at her. “No need to get violent.” #2335506 by Lady H