Chapter Nineteen

The following day dawned bright and clear, Chloe slowly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she sat up, waiting a moment for her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. She sighed to herself as she gently rubbed her sore back muscles, gazing around the park as she did so. She quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off her trousers. Chloe jumped slightly as she saw a young couple walking towards her, they whispered something to each other and smiled at her sympathetically on the way past. Chloe sighed to herself, this was the part of her life that she found the hardest, the constant judgement and pity. She didn't want anyone to feel sorry for her, she didn't want pity. Danny waved at her from the other side of the park, she waved back and quickly hitched her backpack on her back. As soon as she reached Danny, he quickly hugged her tightly.

"It's going to be a nice day." Danny said, as soon as he let go of her.

"It's a shame it's so cold." Chloe replied, pulling down the sleeves of her jacket so that they covered her hands. Danny nodded at her. Chloe sighed to herself when she saw the look of sadness etched on Danny's face. He was reasonably new to living rough and she knew that there were still moments that he missed his home comforts. Even though she knew that it was selfish of her she couldn't help but feel slightly pleased that Danny had come into her life. Despite the fact that she'd only knew him for a couple of weeks, the two of them had a strong bond. They understood each other in a way that nobody else did and they knew the hardships that they both faced on a daily basis.

"I'm going to go busking later if you want to come?" he said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I can't, I need to be somewhere." she said quietly, suddenly remembering her conversation with Ben and Kirstie last night. She'd had plenty of time to think last night and she knew in her heart that they were right, she had fallen for Lee and she needed to tell him.

"Are you working today?" he asked her.

"No, there's just something I have to do." she said quietly, trying to control the butterflies that were swirling in her stomach.

"Speaking of which, would you look after my bag please?" Chloe asked him. Danny nodded and smiled as Chloe removed her backpack and handed it to him. She felt slightly sad as she handed it to him, the small bag which contained the only items she owned.

"I'll keep it safe." he told her, clearly sensing how she was feeling.

"Thank you, I'll see you later." she said, quickly walking away before she talked herself out of what she was about to do.

About an hour later Chloe finally reached Lee's house. She gasped as she saw just how big it was. Despite the fact that she'd been to his house before, it never failed to take her breath away. Since she'd reached Chelsea, the people that she'd passed had sneered at her, all of them clearly thinking that she was beneath them. Like she was a piece of mould that needed to be eradicated from the neighbourhood. Chloe quickly walked up the driveway, stopping when she reached the front door. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and knocked.

Chloe heard movement in the house and a few moments later the front door opened. Her heart fluttered a little as Lee stood in front of her, his shirt unbuttoned and fluttering in the slight breeze. She couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked with his hair messed up.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked suddenly realising how early it was for a weekend.

"Nope." he gestured for her to come in, quickly closing the door behind them.

"Laura just left and I haven't showered yet." he added, slowly doing up the buttons on his shirt.

"You went back to her then." she said, her heart breaking a little.

"Of course, I did." he said matter of factly.

She nodded slowly, trying to ignore the lump that was rising in her throat.

"So, I'm guessing you've come to apologise then?" he prompted her after a few moments of silence.

"Apologise for what, you kissed me?" she frowned.

"Not that, the article." he said. Chloe frowned in confusion, having no idea what he was talking about. Lee rolled his eyes and picked up the newspaper, quickly handing it to her.

"Turn to page nine." he told her sternly. Chloe quickly did as he asked, feeling slightly afraid of what she was going to discover.

"Oh my god." Chloe whispered, her heart sinking as she saw a photo of her and Lee kissing outside the venue last night. The headline read: Notorious Ladies Man Lee Knight's New Mystery Woman?

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Lee snapped.

"I know you are struggling with money, but I didn't think that you'd stoop that low." he said angrily.

"Wait, you think I sold them the story?" she asked.

"And what, got you to follow me outside because I knew that you would kiss me!" she exclaimed, starting to lose her temper.

"Well, it wasn't a chance encounter because they know your name." he argued.

"Yes, but only my first name and they've got my age wrong. I think I know how old I am." she pointed out.

"Well, you're obviously not going to admit it or apologise so I don't understand why you came over." he said dismissively.

"Nor do I." she muttered to herself.

"I didn't do this, but you can believe what you like." she added, folding up the newspaper and throwing it down on the counter.

"You're just annoyed that you got caught kissing someone that wasn't one of your hot models." she added angrily. Lee shook his head angrily.

"Why are you even here?" he sighed. Chloe smiled sarcastically to herself, her blood boiling that he thought she was capable of doing something like that to him. She wasn't calculating and manipulative and even if she was, she wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Least of all something that hurt her too, the last thing she wanted was to see her photo in a newspaper. Chloe swallowed the lump that was in her throat as she suddenly realised that he really didn't know her at all. In just over two years he knew nothing about her.

"I don't know anymore." she said quietly. The realisation dawning on her that he didn't feel the same. If he did, he wouldn't be accusing her of something like this. Before Lee could say anything, else Chloe walked out of his house slamming the door behind herself.