"And today on 'Love Me, Love My Secret', we'll be discussing sibling love affairs. In the light of the recent allegations about Hockey star Derek Venturi and his own sister, we ask 'What is incest? And where do you draw the line?'"
Casey switched the television off. She was doing that a lot lately. It was Friday, just five days since Chloe had released the initial interview where she had branded Derek and Casey as 'freaks'. To date, Casey had counted three televised debates on the "issue", six spontaneous debates during normal news broadcasts, a particularly well-timed episode of ER involving an inter-sibling pregnancy, and so many newspaper and magazine articles she couldn't count.
She couldn't bring herself to look at the internet.
Some of the debates were balanced. Those were the ones that had researched the initial facts and discovered that a) Derek was Casey's step-brother not a true sibling b) that meant there was legally nothing wrong with them being together c) they had first met when they were nearly sixteen so they had not been children together d) neither of them had confirmed Chloe's story.
The more sizable number of stories and debates were less researched and the authors clearly had an agenda. It was easier for them to blame the male hockey star than the female supermodel. And Casey…was just the detritus left along the way.
Derek phoned her every night – and sometimes during the day. He still joked and clowned around about it, but she could hear the tension in his voice. He told her some of what he was dealing with on the outside, but she knew he was hiding stuff to protect her.
Casey was finding it hard to deal with…
…and Derek knew. Away from her he was quietly going crazy with worry. He knew he could cope with the rumours, innuendo and just plain bitchiness, but he worried about whether Casey could. They weren't a couple, they were only friends, but he was scared to death that she would distance herself from him just when he was starting to get her back.
This was his ultimate nightmare – and hers.
Their family were supportive. None of them were pretending not to know how they felt about each other now. The sheer frequency of the phone calls between them, and the worry on Derek's face were enough confirmation. A couple of times, Casey phoned Nora or Marti and asked quietly "How is he?"
Friday night Derek was honest with her over the phone.
"I'm worried Casey."
"I know. I hear it every time you call. Is it really bad? The press and stuff?"
He sighed. "Princess, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about you."
She sounded surprised. "Why?"
There was a pause. "I'm scared that you'll not be able to cope with this…that you'll pull away again. Sometimes, you sound distracted when I call as though you aren't wholeheartedly there with me. I know I'm not your boyfriend. I know it is different for you, but I'm scared of losing even your friendship Casey. I can't do that again."
Casey sat back in the large armchair in her room and glanced at the picture of the family she had beside the bed. It had all the Venturis lined up so was one of the few pictures of Derek she could get away with having in her room without comment from the cleaning staff.
He had a point.
She did her best to reassure him, but the uncertainty was plain even to her.
Later as she lay in bed, failing to sleep, she pondered the past and remembered life with Derek…and Life without him. Suddenly she knew which she preferred.
Living with Derek wasn't always the easiest option, but vanilla wasn't her favourite ice cream flavour either. She was more of a Rocky Road kind of girl.
This week, Derek watched the show from the sidelines and attempted to see Casey before she went on. Chloe got to him first.
"Dee Dee!" She exclaimed, ignoring the finality of their last meeting.
"Miss Prescott." He acknowledged coldly.
"Derek." She admonished. "Don't be silly, darling. There's no need to be formal."
"I'm afraid there is." He said, and caught the arm of Luan as she walked past. "Excuse me, would you mind hanging around a second. My lawyer doesn't want me to have any un-chaperoned conversations with Miss Prescott."
"Your lawyer?" Chloe asked.
Derek smiled. "Oh yes. He's going to be in touch with your legal representatives in the next few days. You'll be required to sign the release agreement confirming that you have no legal entitlement to my assets and that you will cease to identify yourself as Chloe Venturi. I'm sure you won't have a problem with that. After all, you wouldn't want to associate yourself with a freak would you? Mud sticks and all that."
"I didn't call you a freak." She protested.
"Chloe. Let's be grown up about this. You labelled my step-sister insane and me an incestuous letch. The entertainment world is falling over itself to run every kind of salacious programming they can get away with in response to your interviews…which incidentally, my legal team will also be talking to yours about."
Chloe opened her mouth to say something but Derek beat her to it.
"Your pre-nup…which your legal team drew up and I reluctantly signed? It has a confidentiality clause in it that states that neither party will broadcast any information regarding the sex lives of either or both of us to the media or anyone likely to pass the information on."
Chloe huffed. "You're adamant that we aren't married…which makes the pre-nup null and void."
"No it doesn't. We checked. It states that the confidentiality clauses – and in fact large parts of the pre-nup - are valid even if the marriage never takes place. Something, as I remember, your legal team insisted on."
He glared at her. "You went public about my sex life…I'll see you in court."
Derek strode towards a guy standing over to one side to get away from Chloe. The toned-looking guy he recognised as Casey's dance partner from the earlier rounds.
"Hi." He said, ignoring the blazing eyes of his ex where he had left her. "It's Trevor, isn't it?"
"Derek Venturi!" Trevor looked down very slightly on Casey's step-brother because he was slightly taller, but his face looked impressed. Trevor was gay and Casey had very good taste in men.
They shook hands and grinned. Trevor nodded towards Chloe. "Trouble?"
"A healthy dose of genuine reality for the reality tv star." Derek answered cheerfully. "Where's Case?"
"Freaking out in the ladies bathroom." Trevor replied. "She's a bit iffy about her costume."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yeah. But don't fish. You'll have to wait like everyone else." Trevor had his own line in smirks and they were good.
"When's Casey on?"
"She's up next after this dance."
"And?"
"She'll blow Chloe out of the water."
Derek grinned, and then his smile disappeared. "How is she?"
"Tense…but she's a fighter especially about the things that count."
Derek frowned. "I know…I just…"
Trevor interrupted. "She thinks you count, Derek. I can tell."
The applause from the judges' assessment of the previous contestant died away and then the stage darkened. A lone trumpet played four notes and some strings sawed in the background before the unmistakable tones of Dinah Washington echoed across the stage.
A shiver ran up Derek's spine as he recognised the tune. He wasn't a big fan of old music but he did like this track. I'm mad about the boy.
And then he gasped.
Casey had appeared on stage just as the words "I'm mad about the boy" began…and everyone laughed.
And Derek laughed too.
Casey was dancing. A decent routine, plenty of standard jazz steps with a little something to spice them up, but it wasn't as graceful as usual. It was deliberately clumpy, heavy-footed…but perfectly executed with her usual skill.
What caused the laughter was her appearance.
Casey's hair was back-combed into a style akin to someone who had stuck their finger in a power socket. It was sprayed white and black and stuck out around her head like a halo. Her eyes were like a pandas – or more accurately like a zombie's: big black circles making shadows around her lids which were purple and blue - like bruises. Her lips were painted twice their usual size in a blood red, and her skin was chalky white.
But the funniest part about her was her attire…black leggings and a vivid white strait-jacket…the arms left loose.
Mad about the boy
I know it's stupid to be mad about the boy
I'm so ashamed of it but must admit the sleepless nights I've had
About the boy
Derek grinned at Trevor. "Let me guess…you're a fan of The Cure? And this is in no way a response to Chloe's little announcement last weekend."
Trevor grinned and whispered close to Derek's ear. "I didn't think it was fair that Casey couldn't respond. I thought this would be a decent way to get everyone to laugh at the suggestion that Casey is insane."
Derek patted him firmly on the back. "I'm glad she has you Trevor. I'm glad she has you."
"She's doing me a favour. Chloe's dance guy dumped me last month. I'm just getting my own back."
They turned back to watch Casey ace the dance routine, and Derek fell in love with her a little more.
Will it ever cloy
This odd diversity of misery and joy
I'm feeling quite insane and young again
And all because I'm mad about the boy
And when it was over and the judges positive verdict in, Chloe swished her way onto the stage in the darkness before her dance started and her Dance teacher Maurice was with her. He was dressed in a pink teddy boy suit and Chloe was in a matching pink dress puffed out with white netting, small white ankle socks on her feet and her hair pulled high into a pony tail. Then Buddy Holly began to sing.
All of my love - all of my kissin'
you don't know what you've been a-missin'
oh boy - when you're with me - oh boy
the world will see that you were meant for me.
It was only a matter of thirty minutes, but it felt like forever before Casey re-emerged to perform her song.
"What's it going to be this time?" Derek asked as they waited. "Great Balls of Fire?"
Trevor smiled. "No. And it isn't the song we originally picked either. Casey rebelled this morning and insisted on changing the song. Fortunately it was one we'd practised in the first week and so she knows it, but she insisted on choosing her own costume for it too. We were going to do a jokey number again, dress her up as a sort of Lizzie Borden character. Instead…well you can see."
He pointed off to one side where Casey was now standing waiting.
Derek's eyes widened. She was normal again. Hair once again tamed (and freshly washed), make-up normal, and her dress…he recognised!
It was a dress she had worn for a rare night out with him on the island where they used to vacation. It was blue and floaty and reminded him of the sea below his balcony. She was dressed the way she always was on the occasions he dreamt about her: when she was his Casey.
And then she started to sing
…and he didn't care that it was a Carpenters' song
…and he didn't care that it was sentimental and possibly twee.
He knew why she had chosen to sing it straight…and he knew why she had chosen to wear a dress he had bought for her.
One love in my young life
Took me somewhere I had never been
And I want to live again, breathe again
In the shelter of his brightly woven love song
So long I have wanted love to be
Sitting just this near to me
Now my waiting heart is free
Few are the choices we are given
The sands of time pass quickly by
One dream of my young life
Now stands holding out his hand to me
Now I can't help but believe that my whole life will be
Spent in one love.