I took an extra long sip of my coffee, trying to somehow brace myself for whatever it was Sorche was going to try to tell me.
“That fight between you and Adriana...” She tapped a few things on her phone. I saw a bunch of notifications go flying by on her page, but my eyes were too tired to distinguish what they were saying.
“What about it?”
“It went viral.”
I yanked the phone out of her hand. The screen blurred for a moment, and I blinked until it resembled something normal.
Oh.
My.
God.
I didn’t really want to see the view counter, but I’d estimate it was already in the hundreds of thousands of views, and it had only been up a few hours.
Somehow, the video started playing, not sure how because I didn’t touch the screen, but there it was. The fight. Everything in bright and vivid 4K. I handed her back the phone and tilted my head up to the sky. I was in a total brain fog, I was trying to think, but the words just weren’t happening.
“Who...” I finally managed.
“I think one of her entourage...the angle looks right to be one of them. They’re never far from her.” She swiped her phone off, muting the notifications I noticed.
I raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve already had messages from half a dozen sites asking for comments.”
“Fantastic.” I fell backwards on the lounger. If I didn’t drink before, I’d seriously think about having one right now. Something strong enough to numb myself through this mess. I could just imagine the nightmare this was going to cause.
If Trish knew...did Dad?
Worse, did Mom?
But she wasn’t that social media savvy. Maybe, just maybe, this would blow over.
***
Milo came back with enough breakfast to feed a dozen people. We sat in silence on the rooftop. I barely picked at my hash browns as I watched the sunrise over the skyline. My stomach was hollow. I could hear Milo’s phone vibrate every so often, but he didn’t check it. Sor had turned hers off when Milo arrived, so who knew what was going on in the world. I wasn’t about to turn mine on; I was too scared for what would be waiting for me.
Sor finally talked me into going to my room to lay down for a while, and she tucked me into bed like a little kid. She lingered in the doorway for a couple minutes, a worried expression on her face. “I’m gonna hang out with Milo for a while. You need anything, just call us, okay?”
“All I want right now is to sleep.”
I’d never felt this exhausted in my life.
By the time I woke up hours later and snuck into the garage to check on the damage to my car, all had been miraculously taken care of. Four brand-new tires replaced the shredded rubber that had been there hours before. There wasn’t a single sign of anything ever having been wrong in the first place.
“Told you I’d take care of it.”
I jumped at Milo’s voice.
“I just didn’t expect it to be so soon,” I said as I stood up from where I’d crouched down from beside the front right tire, examining it to make sure it wasn’t a figment of my imagination.
It wasn’t. They had that whole new-tire smell. And not a patch or a scar in sight.
I wondered how I was going to pay Milo back for all of this. My savings account was a measly one hundred and ninety-two dollars at the moment, and I doubted that would cover the tow, let alone the four new tires.
Dad had deposited my ‘modeling fee’ into some fancy new account out here that I barely knew how to get into, and asking now would just bring more questions that I didn’t want.
“You need to be more careful, Chey.”
“Thought I was.” I followed him out of the garage. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the tires will be the least of my worries from now on.”
Milo cracked a smile. “Hope so.”
“Where’s Sor?”
“She went home to change. She said she’d pick up lunch and be back in an hour. You okay by yourself?”
“Why?”
“I got some stuff to do this afternoon now that all of this is taken care of. And your dad’s out hiking all afternoon with his trainer. He messaged me while you were sleeping. I said your phone battery was probably dead.”
“I’m fine. And thanks for covering for me.”
***
I decided to spend the day hibernating at home, since Sor was going to pick up food that afternoon and bring it back. Milo was off running errands for Dad, and Trish was enjoying a day off, so with Dad out with his trainer for the rest of the day, doing some sort of hike or something, I had the place to myself for a while.
I stretched out in one of the patio chairs, propping my feet on the empty chair across from me, when I heard something from the patio doors.
I turned my head to see JT peeking through the open doorway. “Hi...”
I didn’t know if I wanted to talk to him. “Hi.”
He leaned against the doorway, tucking his hands in his jeans pockets and looking at me carefully. I watched him in silence. My phone...my silent phone...sat on the edge of the patio table.
He hadn’t texted.
He hadn’t called.
Not a word since last night.
He glanced around. “Milo let me in before he went out.”
I nodded. Milo had left like fifteen minutes ago, so what had JT been doing? Lurking outside?
It seemed like he’d finally worked up the courage to walk over, and he joined me at the patio table. “So, about last night…”
“What about it?”
“After Milo took you out of there, I tried to talk some sense into Adriana and her little group.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Did you do that before or after we went viral?”
“What?”
I slid my phone towards him. He swiped the screen to turn it on. My browser was set to the video. I saw him read the caption, then hit play.
Thank God I’d muted it about fifteen plays before.
A tick appeared in his jaw.
“I had no idea…” he said, lifting his gaze from the screen.
“Yeah, me, either, ’til I woke up to Sor and Milo mildly freaking out about it.”
“Does your dad know?”
“Doesn’t seem to. About the tires or that.” I motioned to the screen. “I don’t know…”
“About what?”
“Anything.” I slid down in my chair a little, and JT put my phone down. He leaned forward.
“Look, I told Adriana she’s lucky you didn’t press charges.”
“For?”
“Everything. The tires. The fight.” He moved his chair closer to me. “She still says it wasn’t her, but the way Fiona was looking at her, I think if she didn’t do it herself, she definitely had one of her group do it for her.”
“Great.”
“I told her to lay off, or I’ll make some trouble of my own for her.”
I raised my eyes to his. “What?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“She thinks everything of mine is hers.”
“Well, it’s not.”
“Was she in the running for Face of Vanetti?”
“I think she was on a list of potentials, then she went to rehab, and Rico moved on…”
“And you?”
He laughed. “Not fond of females who play with knives.”
“Sor’s been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”
He took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. Automatically, I swiped the screen.
Black.
Then, I noticed the cracked screen.
“What happened?”
“Adriana grabbed my phone during our little ‘talk’ and threw it down. I have a feeling it’s a write off.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.” He took his phone back. “So that’s why I didn’t get any of Sor’s texts or why I couldn’t call you. I think Adri figured I was going to call t
he cops myself.” He put the phone on the table. “Did you call?”
“No. But I think Milo was seriously thinking about it for a while. I heard him and Sor talking about security cam footage before I fell asleep.”
“It would serve her right if you did.”
“Right now, I just want to forget it ever happened. And have someone else in L.A. do something equally stupid so they take the limelight away.”
“This is L.A., give it twelve hours.”
I laughed.
“That’s my girl.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Your girl, huh?”
“Yeah.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine.
31
JT had been right. Things had seemed to die down within a few hours. Sor and I had decided to spend the weekend laying low at the house. We spent the day hanging out at the pool for a while. JT joined us for a late dinner on the rooftop with Milo. It was nice to relax again, and not a single one of us mentioned the wicked witch.
Sor left early Monday morning, having some auditions and meetings to go to. And I was finally feeling better, a little more like the old me.
I was in my room when I swore I heard the doorbell ring. We weren’t expecting anyone. Trish and Dad were working from home. Milo was going to the beach later, and I thought I might tag along if he asked.
When the doorbell rang again, I set down my tablet and headed out of my room, down towards the main floor.
“Hello?” I called out, not sure if Trish was still here. Maybe she and Dad had taken off for a while without telling me. Last I’d seen her was when I grabbed my breakfast java and strawberry pop tart shortly after Sor left.
No response from anywhere in the house.
“I’ll get it,” I called as the doorbell rang a second time.
I hurried down the stairs, thinking maybe Sorche had gotten out of her appointment early with the new modeling agency she’d been so excited about.
I skipped the last step on the stairs and slid across the hardwood floor in my socks to the door. I threw one of the double panels open, the smile on my face freezing in place when I saw who stood on the step.
I blinked to make sure it wasn’t a mirage or the sun playing tricks on me. “Mom?”
I totally didn’t mean to make it into a question. But I was just so shocked to see her. I mean, I had time left in Los Angeles, and she wasn’t even going to fly out to pick me up. I was going to be like a real grown up and fly back on my own.
She didn’t smile when she saw me, and I didn’t really get it. Why was she here? She hated California. Disneyland included. Which was why my summer vacations over the last many years had tended to happen somewhere suitably East Coast.
“Hi, Chey.”
A small touch of panic rushed through me, knowing immediately something wasn’t right for her to just show up out of the blue. No text, no phone call, nothing.
“What are you doing here?” And how did she get past the gate?
“I have the gate code in case of emergency. Can I come in?”
I nodded, moving back and waving her inside, embarrassed I’d said the gate comment out loud. She had on her favorite pair of jeans, I noticed, and a new tank top under her leather jacket.
“Dad, Mom’s here,” I hollered, hoping he’d hear and come out to join me from wherever he was.
She turned and gave me a thorough once over. “You look good.”
“Thanks.” I’d spent a lot of time out in the sun, and my at times Casper-like paleness was almost all but a distant memory thanks to Sor taking me for her weekly spray tan touch-ups.
“Do you want a drink?” I asked, not sure what to do but keep standing there. Nervously, I tucked my hands in my jeans pockets, my fingers in my left pocket finding that familiar piece of paper and toying with it anxiously.
It had been weeks since I’d looked at that first email Dad had sent about this summer.
I had no idea what to say. I mean, stunned to see her didn’t even cover it. But deep down inside, I knew exactly why she was standing on our doorstep. Well, make that in our living room now as she surveyed the house. Maybe she expected some starlet to come giggling downstairs. Wait ’til she met Trish, who was as far from that as you could get.
I heard the back patio door open, and moments later, Dad’s voice rang out.
“Who was it?”
He almost stumbled when he laid eyes on Mom as he came out of the kitchen.
“Guess I don’t need to make introductions.” I was totally uncomfortable. I would have been happy to even have Milo walk in. Someone save me from this Hell!
“Hi, Sean.”
“What are you doing here? Chey’s still got a few weeks left of vacation.”
Nearly three and a half, but who was counting?
“Well, I was supposed to be Rico’s big surprise for Chey for the opening this weekend.”
I smiled. “Seriously?”
She gave me a half-smile. “Couldn’t miss my girl’s big night, could I?”
“What prompted you to ruin it?” Dad came a few steps closer.
I shot a glare his way at his choice of words. Mom didn’t ruin it; she just sorta revealed it a little early.
I perched on the arm of the sofa. “Why are you here early?”
Her smile faded to a memory, and she started digging through her bag. “All was fine, until I saw this.”
A folded tabloid came out of her purse. I wanted to cover my hands with my face. Somehow, I had an inkling. While I’d been concerned about that viral video finding its way to her, I should have realized that wasn’t all I’d have to worry about.
“What, now?” Dad’s tone was still a touch huffy. I guess that’s what came from a couple decades with your face on magazine covers.
“This.”
She tapped her finger on the glossy cover, and I could only stare blankly in shock. Adriana and I fighting behind the club. I had my head down like I was about to tackle her, and she had a handful of my hair. Just when I’d been threatening Adriana about the pictures on my phone, someone had evidently been busy snapping away on theirs.
Dad pulled the magazine out of her hands. He studied the image for a few moments then looked at me, obviously wanting an explanation. “When was this?”
I cleared my throat, glancing down at my chipped nail polish, trying to come up with an answer and an explanation of why I didn’t tell him about it.
Thankfully, I was saved by Mom.
“That’s just what I always wanted to see, Cheyenne, you and some Hollywood wannabe splashed all over the tabloids,” she cut in.
Well, that aptly described Adriana.
Dad’s hand went to my shoulder, giving me a squeeze of reassurance. “Let her talk.”
“I knew, knew, something like this would happen when she came out here with you.” She shook her head as I glanced up at her.
“‘Chey gone wild!’” she read the headline. “Three months ago, that would have meant she’d done something stupid like forget her homework. Stayed out a little late. But not end up in a fight in the back alley of some stupid club.”
I winced at the words, hating how true they were. Well, sorta—it was the back parking lot, not the back alley, but I doubted that would make it any better in her mind.
“Mom…” I started, hoping to talk some sense into her, if it was possible. I’d have to be truthful and tell her all about Adriana’s attempts at ruining my summer and chasing me away.
“No, Chey. We had a deal. No L.A. if you couldn’t handle it. And this proves you can’t handle it.”
“I can handle it. Adriana’s been after me since I got the job as the ‘Face of Vanetti’,” I tried to explain. “And that night, she had my tires slashed. All four tires.” I turned to Dad as I continued. “I had to call Milo to help me out, and I was supposed to go sit in his truck like a good little girl. But instead, I went back to tell her off, to tell her enough was enough, but she walked out the door before I could g
o back in to find her. I turned to go after telling her off, and she grabbed my hair. That’s the photo.” I sighed as I looked at myself in mid-slap, my hair obscuring half my face in a second picture inset in the corner. “I thought…”
“I don’t care about her right now, Chey. I care about you and the fact you’re—”
“She’s what?” Dad interrupted.
“Throwing her life away—or starting to. Nothing like this ever happened to her at home.”
“That’s because she never had the chance for anything like this to happen.”
“Exactly!”
I slid off the arm chair and backed up a few steps, suddenly fading into the background, like it always seemed I did when these two got together. Without knowing how and without them noticing, I slipped up the stairs and around the corner, completely out of view.
I still hated hearing them argue—especially about me. It was like a time machine transporting me back to being nine years old again, crouched behind my bedroom door, listening to them fight.
I leaned my head against the wall, fighting back the hurtful heat of my unshed tears as their voices got louder. I’d gone through this once before, right before Mom decided she was filing for divorce. It had been the same decibel level.
Cruel Summer Page 34
