Among the Stars ✔️ [Completed] [book three]

Chapter 1

Closing my eyes as I sip my iced tea, I realise that there is a not a single noise coming from inside our rented house. The sunshine spills through into the large kitchen, bathing the huge oak table in natural light.

My mind whirls from yesterday's events, and I feel the migraine beginning to claw its way back. Instead of allowing it to manifest, I lean my head back and take a deep, controlled breath.

Squinting, I pick up my sunglasses, open the back door and step into the garden. The heat is palpable the second I walk into the sunlight. The feel of the afternoon sun on my face brings an instant smile to my lips.

I sit down on the outdoor sofa and stretch out my legs in front of me. I'm still in my short pyjamas, and I have absolutely no intention of getting dressed today. The garden is vibrant and bursting with colour as I idly watch the bees jump from flower to flower. Birds chirp playfully overhead, relaxing my busy mind. How wonderful it is to simply sit in the sun, knowing the people I love are safe.

Other than the sounds of nature there is complete silence... no security, no media, no police... no people at all. I realise in this tranquil moment that we haven't truly been alone for the last seven months. There has always been someone around us, but now it's just me and Daniel. Somehow, I feel free for the first time since I left for my ill-fated trip to Ireland all those months ago.

My eyes glance up to the bedroom window with the curtains drawn. Finally, Daniel was able to get some sleep after the awful experience of leaving the hospital. My heart expands in my chest thinking of how Daniel fell asleep with his head on my stomach as I played with the curls at the nape of his neck.

The vibration of my phone startles me back to reality. My mom's smiling face lights up the screen when I pick it up.

"Hey, Mom." I say lightly.

"Hello, my darling. How are you feeling?" Her voice is full of concern.

"I'm fine. How are you both?"

"Worried sick about the two of you!" She exclaims almost frantically.

"How's Daniel doing?" My dad asks. "You're on speaker phone, by the way." He speaks proudly like speakerphone is a mystical technology that he has just mastered. 

"He's asleep at the moment. Last night really took it out of him!" My tone becomes sombre.

"What on earth made him leave the hospital in the middle of the night?" Dad asks curiously.

"We thought there would be less media presence considering the time." I pinch the bridge of my nose at the memory of all the reporters and crazy fans that descended on us from nowhere. The whole thing reminded me of a plague of locusts engulfing a harvest.

Dad lets out a short, but humourless laugh. "We saw it all on the news! Even I could have told you that the media would be waiting for the first whiff of blood, no matter what time he left. He's one of Hollywood's biggest stars who was shot by the stalker who had already tried to kill you! Plus, she's now dead! It's the story of the bloody century for these parasites!" The frustration he's feeling is tangible, even through the phone.

"That's enough Simon!" Mom scolds him before covering the mouth piece to say something I can't quite hear.

"Mom, Dad! It's fine, don't fall out. Detective Philips and Rhys had already advised us that there was no way of getting him out of the hospital without being seen, but a lot of them just blended in like they were supposed to be there until it was too late! It took us all by surprise."

"I'm sorry, it was just horrible to see." Dad sighs down the phone. I hear the kettle starting to boil in the background, so I know they're in the kitchen. I cannot help but smirk at my dad's habit of making a hot drink when he's stressed. "I did have to chuckle when you shoved that camera man out of the way!"