Chapter 10

Paul and Shane entered the backstage door arena. They nodded and acknowledged the security guard standing at the double doors and both of them remained silent as they continued their way along the narrow corridor. It had been that way ever since they had left the hotel. Both men had been so pre-occupied with their own thoughts they hadn't engaged in any form of conversation but as they neared the dressing room area, Paul placed his hand on Shane's shoulder quickly stopping him in his tracks.

"So, do I get to know who the lucky guy is?"

Shane furrowed his brow in confusion. His head had been elsewhere and he had no clue what Paul was talking about. "What guy?" he replied.

"The guy Vince has decided to rope into his fucked up plans."

He snorted with disgust. "Oh that guy. Well, it's Andrew."

Paul's brown eyes went wide with amazement as he raked his fingers through his hair. "That asshole? That explains why the cocky bastard had a go at me today."

"He did? What did he say?"

"Something about how cut up he was about our crappy storyline coming to an end but his comment about Stephanie being a slut was the final straw."

Shane's nostrils flared with his anger. "He called her that? Well he'll get what's coming to him along with Dad."

But his curiosity was peeked when he saw the slow smirk that crossed Paul's face.

"Oh there's no need to worry on that score. I kind of took care of him myself when I smacked him in the face."

"I hope there was blood."

"Oh yeah there was blood." Paul grinned widely but it quickly faded into a troubled frown. "So, what are we going to do about Vince?"

Shane shook his head and sighed. "I'm not totally sure yet but I do know that I don't want Dad or Andrew getting any inkling that we know what they are planning. I think we should play along with their little game for now."

Paul nodded in agreement. "But what about Steph?"

"I'll talk to her. I'll tell her everything I know and get her to play along too. Don't worry about Stephanie, Paul. She can handle Dad. As long as she's got you beside her, she'll be fine."

Paul smiled gratefully at Shane as his feet shifted on the concrete floor. "Listen, I'm going to change into my gear. Tell Steph I'll catch up with her later?"

"Sure."

Shane watched Paul disappear down the corridor before he turned to his left and knocked on the green painted door in front of him. Stephanie looked up from her laptop when she heard the knock and the door open. She spotted Shane's head as it popped through the door.

"Got a minute Steph?"

"Sure, come in. By the way have you seen Paul? He's usually here by now and there's been a few changes to the script that I wanted to run over with him."

Shane sat down on the couch next to her, the cushions shifting underneath his weight. "Paul's here." he told her as he scratched at his cheek. "He came with me actually. He's gone to get changed and he said to tell you he'd catch up with you later."

Stephanie looked at him in surprise. "Since when were you and Paul travel buddies?"

"Since I went to see him at the hotel. I had a couple of things I needed to talk to him about."

"What would you and Paul need to talk about?"

"Well that's why I'm here. I thought I should put you in the picture about what Dad's been up to."

Stephanie's blue eyes narrowed in his direction. She had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "What's going on Shane?"

She listened in disbelief as Shane filled her in on the conversation he had overheard between Andrew and her father. She was shocked and horrified to know that her father could play with her emotions like that. She quickly rose to her feet. Her expression was troubled as she pushed back her hair unaware that Shane was watching her as she paced up and down trying to absorb what he had just told her. He could tell she was as angry as he and Paul had been.

"You know that explains why I haven't seen him all day." she said. "He's been too busy plotting his revenge. But does he really think I'm that heartless? I mean does he think I can just turn my feelings on and off like that?"

"Funnily enough that's kind of what Paul said earlier." Shane sighed and got to his feet knowing that what he was about to do was the right thing in his mind at least.

"Speaking of Paul there's something else I want you to know." he told her.

Stephanie stopped and looked at her brother. She could see the concern in his eyes as he placed his hands on her shoulders and she felt the worry start to creep into her heart.

"Now I'm only telling you this because I want to make sure you won't unknowingly say or do anything that could jeopardise your relationship with him."

Her blue eyes were wide with her fear. "What are you talking about Shane?"

"Earlier, when I went to see Paul, I found out that he was going to break things off with you. He thought it would be for the best. He didn't want to put you in a position where you had to choose between him and your family."

Tears immediately sprung into Stephanie's eyes and she blinked them back as she felt herself start to panic. "No. He can't do that. Not now."

Shane tried to reassure her as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "Calm down Steph. He's not going to. He realised that he couldn't make that decision for you."

He let her go and relaxed when he saw Stephanie was calming down but he held her hands as he continued to speak trying to reassure her.

"What I also want you to know is that if you love Paul and you want to be with him, then you have my blessing and I'm sure that when you talk to Mom, she'll be happy for you too. Dad will come round in the end Steph. I promise. In the meantime you have to be strong for your sake and for Paul's. You have to reassure him that there is no doubt in your mind that you are doing the right thing."

Stephanie nodded her head and reached for him once more hugging him tightly. As they broke apart she smiled at him. "You're the best big brother a girl could have you know."

Shane smiled back. "For a bratty little sister, you're not bad either."

"Hey!" Stephanie playfully swatted his arm at his arm and Shane laughed. However his expression turned serious as he rubbed her arm affectionately.

"But for now we'll just go along letting him think we know nothing about his plan until we can think of a way to stop him and make him see sense, okay?"

She nodded her head once more. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just remember you owe me one."

"I'll remember."

They heard someone clear their throat and they both turned round to see Paul standing in the doorway smiling.

"You know there is nothing like a brother and sister bonding to bring warmth to your heart."

Stephanie beamed at him. "Care to join in?"

He shook his head as he crossed the room. "Nah! Shane and I have bonded enough for today. Any more and people might talk."

Shane chuckled. "Well my work here is done. I'm off to make myself useful and keep an eye on what Dad's up to."

Stephanie pulled him into one last hug before she let him go. "I meant what I said. Thank you for everything."

He winked at her. "Any time."

Paul and Stephanie watched as he left before turning to face one another.

"So did Shane fill you in?"

Before she answered Stephanie walked over to him and pulled him into her arms holding him tightly. "Yes he did. We're not going to let him win Paul."

Paul heard the determination in her voice and he silently thanked Shane again for stopping him making a horrible mistake. He was never going to doubt their relationship again. For Stephanie's sake he was going to make Vince see sense no matter what it took.