Breaking Point (Drew Ashley 1) (25 page)

"How do you mean?"

Kale sighed down the phone. "I'm coming over. Give me twenty minutes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know where Jazz lives?"

"Yeah. I'm on my way."

"See you soon."

"See who soon?" Jazz asked, entering the living room with a bowl of chilli. She set it before me.

"Kale," I told her. "Is that okay?"

"Sure," she said sitting. "So you're serious about being with Kale?"

I nodded. I picked at my chilli. My stomach still felt funny, but at least I didn't have that urge to throw up anymore.

"So, you don't like Harvey, then?"

"No," I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. I was sick of her telling me I should be with Harvey.

"Drew, he has an eight pack!"

"How do you know?"

"Didn't you see it at missionary football? I counted each pack. There were
eight
of them."

"Oh, please." Kale was pretty well built, too. If he engaged in the kind of manual labour that Harvey did, he'd have an eight pack, too. But who cared about an eight pack, anyway?

Jazz went to open up when the doorbell rang twenty minutes later. I pulled my feet under me on the couch and attempted to look normal, like I didn't feel like World War Three was going on in my stomach.

I rolled my eyes when my mum rushed into the room, tottering on the silliest pink platform heels. I'd thought it'd be Kale. At least her boobs weren't hanging out today.

"What happened, Drew?" she demanded. "I was just on my way into town and I got your text. I tried to call but your line was busy."

I told my mum about my room. She staggered backwards and landed into the other sofa. "This is getting disturbing, Drew."

"I know."

The doorbell rang again and Jazz dashed out of the room. She returned with Kale. My mum jumped to her feet when she saw Kale. "You!" she yelled, pointing a trembling accusing finger at him. "What did you do with my house keys?"

Kale looked taken aback. "I did only what I told you I was going to do in Drew's room." Kale turned to me. "You didn't like it?"

I looked between Kale and my mum, knowing I was missing something. My mum had given Kale her house keys. Kale had been in my room. Could he have had something to do with…?
Oh, please God. No!

"I'm sorry, Drew," Kale said. "I thought you'd be happy. I've not told you so far that I love you, because I think those words hold weight and I wanted to wait for the right time. I felt like today was the right time to tell you and I wanted to make it memorable."

I shook my head. I felt like screaming now. "I really don't have a clue what you're saying. Was it you that did that to my room?"

"Yes, I thought you'd like it."

Was Kale crazy? "Why would I like that!" I yelled. The queasy feeling that had let up over the past few hours returned with a vengeance. I felt like throwing up again. I drew in a slow breath. Did Kale know what he was talking about?

"Kale, I don't think you would do what's been done to Drew's room," Jazz said picking her phone up from the centre table. "Look at these pictures."

My mother snatched the phone from Jazz and gasped.

Kale looked horrified. "I didn't do that," he said, looking at me with confusion in his eyes. "When I got to your room everything was fine and I just—"

"Kale," my mum cut him off. She wiped tears from her eyes. "Did you give my keys to anyone?"

"No! I swear I didn't."

My mum gave him a look of angry suspicion.

"I didn't do this to Drew's room," Kale said. "Why would I do it? When I got there after dropping her back at work, I hung up the banners I made and I inserted the DVD into her laptop—"

"Wait," I interrupted. "Can you just explain properly, because I don't know what banners or what DVD you're talking about."

Kale looked at me, his expression pleading to be believed. "I wanted to surprise you, after getting your PhD, and I also wanted to tell you how I feel about you. I made some 'Congratulations' and 'I love you' banners and asked your mum if I could hang them up in your room. I stopped by her workplace before I came to take you for lunch and she gave me her house keys. I still have them." He produced my mum's bunch of keys from his pocket.

"I took pictures," Kale continued, removing his phone from his pocket. "I also recorded myself on DVD, telling you that I love you. I put it in your laptop so that it'll run the next time you switch it on."

Kale showed me the pictures of what he'd done to my room. I would have gushed about how sweet it was if I wasn't so scared. "What time was this?" I asked him.

"I left your house around three, I think."

"And fifteen minutes later someone or some people broke in and tore everything down and trashed the place," Jazz said.

Kale cupped my face with his hand. "So you didn't see it?"

I shook my head. "No."

"I was wondering why you didn't call me about it. I thought I scared you away." Kale sat down and wrapped his arms around me. "We need to get to the bottom of what's going on. I'm not having people scaring you."

My mum pursed her lips and I knew she hadn't vindicated Kale yet. She called the police and reported it. They told us to stay away from the house for the night.

Chapter 16

On Monday morning I got to work at half nine. It was the first time I'd ever gone to work late. My eyes were heavy. I hadn't slept much all weekend because every time I closed my eyes I saw my bedroom, ransacked and destroyed.

I switched on my computer and took a warming mouthful of my coffee. One good thing was that my stomach had settled. "Thanks to whoever made the coffee."

"It was me," Rosie said absently.

As I started work on a News segment about the UK's foreign policy I made a mental note to call Kale later on in the morning. He was defending his thesis at ten. I had no doubt that he was going to be successful.

Rosie called a team meeting at half ten. I picked up a pad of paper and a pen and followed her and the rest of the team into a meeting room.

"We're pulling four journalists out of Rwibya this week," she told us. "They have malaria. So we'll have to get some fresh people out there."

We all nodded, knowing what that meant. Eva was the only person who still looked relaxed. She wasn't a journalist, so she knew she wouldn't have to go.

"Instead of sending you one at a time with journalists from other teams, I'm going to send the two of you," Rosie said looking at Jon and Derrick. Then she looked at me. "I'd also like to send you Drew, but you have no experience of this kind of work. Maybe you can go for two weeks just to shadow Jon and Derrick, not as a journalist. It can serve as some on-the-job training."

I nodded, feeling butterflies of excitement flit about in my stomach.

"I'll be going too, but only for ten days," Rosie continued. "So, are you all okay to go?"

Jon, Derrick, and I all nodded.

"Good. I'll let Harvey know."

Harvey was so predictable. No sooner had Rosie returned from his office than he sent me an email, summoning me.

I sent Kale a text message, asking if he was done defending his thesis yet, then stood up. As I did, my head swam. I blinked rapidly as I walked to the lift.

Harvey looked up when I entered his office. He frowned. "Why are your eyes all puffy like that?"

"Are they?" Maybe it was because I was tired.

"You look like you've been battered," Harvey said, his gaze sweeping my face. "Is Kale that kind of guy?"

"No!" I sat down and crossed my legs. "I'm going to Rwibya, Harvey."

He shrugged. "I know. That's not what this is about. I just wanted to see you. Jazz told me you're with Kale now. Is it true?"

My stomach was swirling now. I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, Harvey was watching me.

"What's up, Drew?"

"I don't feel too good," I admitted.

"Do you need to stay off work today?"

"I probably should have stayed off."

Harvey's car keys were on his table. He snatched them up. "I'll take you home."

"No, I'm fine."

"You just said you don't feel good, and let's just say you're not exactly looking your best, either. I can't let you get a Tube train." He stuffed his keys into his pocket and picked up a black leather folder from his desk. "I'm going to a meeting at the BBC anyway, so I'll drop you off on my way."

My stomach lurched and I choked it back.

"Are you okay?"

As I nodded, my stomach lurched again and I couldn't stop what I'd drank of my morning coffee from hurling all over Harvey's desk.

Harvey jumped out of the way.

"I-I'm so sorry," I stammered, horrified. I yanked a few tissues from a box on his table and attempted to clean up the mess.

Harvey stilled my hand. "Leave it. I'll clean it later. You need to get home."

I didn't have the strength to protest. "I've been staying with Jazz."

Harvey moved around the room, packing his folder with the things he needed for his meeting, then he called Rosie and told her I was ill.

I felt dizzy as I left the building with Harvey. Maybe I was still reacting to the car bomb. I'd been numb the day it happened, but from the day after I'd really been struggling. The ransacked room didn't help, either. Maybe I should go to the doctor's.

We ran into Brea Weller in the parking lot and Harvey stopped to talk to her. Brea was the last person I wanted to see when I was feeling—and looking—like death.

"There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you about the format of the Sports News," she was saying to Harvey in a girlish voice, completely ignoring me like she didn't know me. "I was wondering if you're available any time this week?"

"Sure, just pop a meeting in my calendar," Harvey said.

"I will. Thanks Harvey." Brea smiled and tossed her black curls over her shoulder.

I wished Jazz was here to ask her where she bought them from, because they were 100% fake. They weren't even a good fake. They were a tacky, plastic-looking fake just like Sharon's.

"It'll have to be after work hours because I don't usually finish recording my segments until around six," Brea continued in that candy-coated tone.

"That's fine."

I couldn't believe Harvey thought that was fine. 'After work hours' meant 'when no one is around so that I can sink my talons into you.'

Brea waggled her fingers. "See you later."

She sashayed away, and Harvey and I continued to his car. The thought of Harvey having a one-on-one meeting with Brea exasperated me. Couldn't he see that she didn't want a meeting? She wanted him. Was he really that clueless?

I slipped into the back seat and lay down.

"Are you okay there?" Harvey asked, getting into the front.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

He started driving and I felt every bump in the road in my stomach. I concentrated on my breathing. I really didn't want to vomit all over Harvey's posh car.

I sat up when I heard my phone ringing in my bag. I didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"Drew, it's Kale. I'm in jail."

I laughed. "That rhymes."

"I'm serious. I was arrested at uni when I came out of my thesis interview."

"Why?" I asked.

"They think it was me who planted the bomb in your car and vandalised your room."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I wish I was."

I couldn't believe it. "Did you get your PhD though?"

"Yeah."

I whooped and instantly regretted it as my stomach lurched.

"I'm in a holding cell right now, though," Kale said. "So I'm not feeling that excited about my PhD."

"I can't believe this, Kale. I know it wasn't you that did any of those things. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kale said softly. "The police are just doing their job. Hopefully they'll let me go soon."

"Hopefully."

"I really care about you, Drew. I'd never hurt you."

"I know you wouldn't." Should I say that I cared about him, too? Harvey was probably listening. But it'd be horrible of me not to return the sentiment. "I care about you too, Kale."

Harvey snorted when I hung up and muttered something under his breath. I ignored it. We knocked on Jazz's door for five minutes when we got to her house. She wasn't in.

"Oh yeah, she has a job interview today," Harvey said.

Jazz hadn't told me about any job interview. Where else could I go? Destiny would be at work.

"You'll have to go to my place," Harvey said, walking back to his car.

"Is your mum still around?" I asked. I lifted my leg and clambered into the back seat again. I could feel myself slipping into the grip of a brutal headache.