Shane tipped her head up and exhaled the smoke. She had been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. Oddly she did not feel the satisfaction of revenge, the pulsating excitement of triumph. She just felt empty and hollow inside. Hurting Cherie back had been the pushing force behind her all these years and now that she had done it, it was as though she was robbed of her single purpose to live. When the full impact of Cherie’s words sunk in, Shane smiled at herself. Cherie still thought she was the old Shane, capable of being hurt by a single callous word. She thought wrong. The old Shane who had cried over Cherie Jaffee was long gone.

Chapter 7

Carmen stood in the middle of the room, scanning her surroundings. Most of the furniture was white and ebony black, creating a stark contrast and there were few personal touches. She didn’t quite know how to describe the feeling but this room felt cold. Mr Jansen had told her Shane normally woke up at the time of 2pm. She checked her watch. I guess I shouldn’t expect celebrities to be a good judge of time and punctuality, she thought. She heard the door open and Shane McCutcheon walked out, dwarfed in a fluffy dark blue robe. She walked past her without even acknowledging her presence. “Carmen right? Okay the desk in my bedroom, just clear that place, get it? And don’t talk to me right now, I have a splitting headache,” Shane McCutcheon laid down on the couch and she pointed in the direction of the bedroom.

So that was how it was going to be, Carmen thought. She was fine with it. Minimal conversation and contact with her. She took a plastic bag and started clearing the mess that had piled up on the desk. Empty beer cans, crumpled paper, broken pencils. She took another crumpled ball of paper and was about to put it in the plastic bag when she caught a writing on it.

I was young but I wasn’t naive
I watch helpless as you turn around to leave
and still I have the pain I have to carry
a past so deep that even you could not bury if you tried