Fame & Consequences

by Reese A. Stephens

  “Oh, Eli. I’m so sorry.”

  I stare at the photo in front of me. I have no memory of dancing with Krystal like this. It’s so close, it looks like we are kissing and grinding on each other. That is not me. It can’t be. I can’t believe I did that. Another article zooms in on my bare ring finger, with speculations that I've run off with Krystal instead.

  “It happens. You were upset, but please don’t do anything like this again. If you need to talk to someone, you can talk to me, and if not me, maybe you could see a therapist.”

  I nod. “A therapist is probably a good idea.”

  He stands from the bed. “I’ll let you get ready and order you something to eat. Your flight leaves in a few hours.”

  I totally forgot. “Oh that.” I grab his hand before he can get too far. “Are we okay?”

  He shrugs. “This time apart is probably a smart thing. You need to figure everything out. I love you, Sophie, but I won’t be with you if you have any doubt.”

  “I understand.” I start to cry in earnest. This seems even more like a break-up than before. “I’m so sorry.” He wraps his arms around me again.

  “Shh. I’m not giving up, but you were right, you need to figure this out on your own, and decide what you want to do with this version of you.”

  I pull back, wiping my face. “How do you not hate me?”

  He cups my cheek, tilting my face up to his. “I could never hate you.”

  “So it’s not the end? Just a little break,” I ask.

  I’ve made a huge mess of everything, but at least now I remember meeting him. That’s a start and it’s somehow unlocked something inside me that I can’t quiet describe. The confusion is still there, but there is also something else, love perhaps. I do know that I feel hopeful right now that I will get all my memories back. It’s just going to take some time.

  “Not the end, just a break, but not a typical break like other people. It’s examining ourselves and what we want.” I nod in agreement.

  He presses a soft kiss to my lips. Pulling back, he leans his forehead to mine. We sit like that for a long while, basking in the closeness of each other. I have no idea what the next two weeks will bring, but I do know that I will come home with an answer for him. I won’t put him through this malarkey any longer. One way or another, I’ll make a decision.

  21Jarring

  T he drive to the airport is quiet, but I hold Elijah’s hand the whole way. He’s taking a chance by escorting me, but he says it is worth whatever happens with the paparazzi. He said it’s important to show that we are still together after last night. If not, rumors will run wild and who knows what will happen. I was irresponsible. The whole thing could have been avoided if I’d just talked to Elijah, or saw a therapist, or actually, both.

  Hutch pulls the car up to the front entrance. We’d decided to leave from a small airport about two hours north of Los Angeles. It was worth the drive for the less populated area, and would leave less room for issues to arise. Elijah helps me out of the car and he stands on the sidewalk with me while the guys get a dolly and our luggage out of the car. They can’t stay long, but a quick goodbye is probably for the best.

  I’m happily staring into Elijah’s eyes, basking in the new memories. I’ve had a few more of our time together since my drunken night, and it’s been enough for me to realize that I’d marry this man tomorrow if I could. I haven’t told him that though. I lean up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss when I’m abruptly jerked backwards into the hard chest of a man. He wraps his filthy arm around my torso tightly, and presses, what I assume is the barrel of a cold gun into my temple.

  Elijah’s gasps. “No!” He reaches for me. “Sophie!”

  Hutch, Josh, and Jared all have guns drawn and trained on me and the person holding me as they scream variations of ‘Let her go!’ at the guy. A sickening smell wafts past me as the man shifts me a little in his arms.

  “Don’t move or I’ll shoot her!”

  I scream as he jerks me back hard. Lights flash in the distance, it would seem the paparazzi are here as well. I was too wrapped up in Elijah to notice. I’m sure they’ll enjoy every minute of this.

  “What do you want? Let her go and you can have it.” Elijah’s pleading voice breaks my heart.

  It can’t end this way. He doesn’t know I’ve had more memories. Elijah makes a few steps towards us, but Hutch steps in front of him, stopping his movement. Elijah’s hand clamps down on Hutch’s arm, trying to push him away, but Hutch says something to him, which makes Elijah back down. I can’t stop watching him. If these are my last moments, I want to go with him front and center in my mind.

  Flashes continue and the gunman growls. “Stop with the damn flashes or I’ll shoot you!” He waves the gun at them for a second, before pressing it back to my head.

  Elijah, still mostly behind Hutch, looks at me, then to the gunman. “Tell me what you want. I’ll give you anything I can.”

  The gunman snorts. “What do I want? What I want is my life back. Can you give me that, Mr. Stone?”

  “I’m not sure what happened, but I’ll do anything I can to help make it right. Please, let my fiancée go.” A sob escapes me as he calls me his fiancée. I can’t take my eyes off him.

  “Let her go, Darren. This isn’t about her.”

  Carter steps out from behind an SUV parked near us. I hadn’t noticed that he’d come closer than any of the guys. He’s unarmed. I look at him in panic. How does he know this guy?

  “No. She took what isn’t hers. She deserves to die.” He grips me tighter and I cry out again.

  “Let her go!” Elijah yells.

  Carter shakes his head, holding his hand up to stop Elijah. “She hasn’t taken anything from you, Darren. Please let her go and we can talk about this.” Carter’s voice is calm and pleading.

  I can’t believe Carter knows this guy and it seems like he really knows him. Has Carter dated him? He’d tell me, right? I’m his best friend I would know if he’s gay. Wouldn’t I? He can’t be gay. He wants me back, he said he did. Maybe he’s bisexual? Oh, Carter, why wouldn’t you tell me?

  “She took you from me,” Darren says, interrupting my thoughts.

  “No, no she didn’t take me from you. Let her go and we’ll talk about all this.” Carter tries again.

  Darren squeezes me tighter again, making me gasp in pain. Sirens get louder as they come in from the distance. “I’ve been watching you both. You always hold her hand. You kiss her, she took you from me. You’re supposed to be with me.”

  “Please.” I cry out in pain as he squeezes me tighter. My feet are barely touching the ground and it’s hard to breathe. My vision starts to go spotty.

  “Drop the gun and let the girl go!” A policeman calls over a megaphone.

  Again, his grip tightens. “Please, let me go. Please,” I beg, gasping for breath. Tears pour from my eyes, which makes it even harder to breathe. The world starts to spin.

  “Shut the hell up!” he hisses in my ear. To the crowd he says, “You will let me leave or I’ll shoot her and everyone else here.” He starts to walk backwards with me still in his grip, but he loosens it slightly. I can breathe easier.

  “I swear, Carter and I aren’t together. He’s my friend. I’m engaged to Elijah Stone. Please, let me go!” I’m terrified, but I still keep my eyes on Elijah.

  Darren’s right arm moves, I’m not sure what he’ll do, but people are shouting for him to let me go. I don’t pay them any attention because I’m focused on Elijah. The butt of his gun crashes into my head, making my vision spin, and my eyes shut as my head falls back.

  “No!” a cacophony of voices cry out.

  My head swims as pain shoots through me. My whole body goes limp against my attacker’s as all fight leaves me. I have no control. The shouting continues as Darren starts to drag me backward. Suddenly, a gunshot sounds and something warm runs down my neck. I try to touch it, but I don’t know if I do, because the blackness is pulling me back to a place
I never wanted to go again. I find myself giving in without much of a fight as a sensation of peace surrounds me. There is a voice that calls out to me, a pained beautiful voice. I wish I could respond, but all I can do is give into the darkness and fade away.

  ~*~

  Beeping. Oh how I hate beeping. Why am I constantly being woken up by the incessant noise? Groaning, I try to sit up, but a warm hand stops me. I try to blink my eyes open to see where I am.

  “Easy, sweetheart.”

  “Elijah.” I smile sleepily.

  “It’s me.” He caresses the side of my face.

  “What happened?” My throat feels dry and sore. “Water?” I croak.

  He moves quickly. “Of course. Here.” He holds my head up and lets me sip from the cup. “Better?” I nod. “To answer your first question, let me ask you first, what do you remember?”

  I open my mouth to answer, but am hit with a coughing fit; he gives me more water. “Sorry. I remember the man grabbing me and him thinking I was with Carter.”

  Elijah nods his head. “That’s right, the man is dead,” he says without feeling.

  I gasp. “They shot him while he was holding me?”

  Elijah nods morosely. “They did. My God, Sophie, it was the absolute worst feeling in the world. I thought they’d shot you. You passed out because he was holding you too tightly. I thought you’d died too.” He starts to cry.

  “Oh, sweetheart. Come here.” I open my arms to him and he climbs into the bed, wrapping his arms around my waist as he sobs into my stomach. I run my fingers through his hair. “Baby, I’m okay. I swear I am.”

  He sits up. “You called me sweetheart and baby. You haven’t done that since before your accident.”

  I cup his cheeks and wipe under his eyes with my thumbs. “I remember you. I don’t know if I remember everything, but I definitely remember you. I’m so sorry for how I treated you. You didn’t deserve that.”

  He shakes his head. “I understand. I was a stranger to you.”

  “Even so, I wasn’t as nice as I could have been the last couple of weeks.”

  “It’s over. We can move on.”

  I nod. “I love you.” It just bursts out of me; I’m unable to hold it in a moment longer.

  He starts crying again and hugs me tightly. “Oh, I never thought I’d get to hear you say that again. I love you, Sophie. I love you, I love you.”

  Now, I start to cry. I’ve been so awful to this sweet and wonderful man. He didn’t deserve anything I put him through. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had decided to kick me to the curb, but here he is forgiving and loving me as if I had done nothing wrong.

  “You’re awake,” Jared says as he comes into my room with a bouquet.

  “I am.” Elijah and I clean our faces and he sits on the bed beside me with his arm wrapped around me.

  “I see you two have made up.” He puts the flowers on the windowsill and takes a seat in the one chair in the room.

  “She remembers me.” Elijah is beaming.

  “Was it the bump on the head, because that sounds a little cheesy,” Jared jokes.

  I roll my eyes at my brother. “I have actually remembered more since I got drunk. Maybe I should have gotten wasted sooner. I don’t know if it’s all back, though.”

  “Well, memory back or not, you have a hell of a mess to clean up.” Jared leans back in his chair with his hands behind his head, giving me that sibling eyebrow. The one that says, ‘Ahhh, you’re in trouble.’

  “What do you mean?” I ask, looking between both men.

  “I don’t think now is the time to talk about that.” Elijah glares at him.

  I put my hand on Elijah’s thigh and give it a little squeeze. “I don’t want you keeping secrets. It’s not good for anyone. Just tell me.”

  Jared looks at Elijah for permission. He nods and Jared looks back at me. “Your little stunt with Krystal was blown way out of control. The media are now saying that the two of you are in cahoots to take Elijah for his millions, and that you, the once thought of Hollywood Sweetheart, are nothing more than another gold digging whore.”

  I stare at him opened mouth. “What? No. I’m not doing anything with her.” I look at Elijah. “I love you for you. I … I’d never.” He presses his finger to my lips to stop my stuttering.

  “I know that. We just have some cleaning up to do. Adam is working on a few things. We’ll get it all straightened out. Don’t worry about it.” He moves his finger and kisses me.

  “Are you sure I’m worth it?”

  I pick at the blanket covering me. I’m so embarrassed by all of this. What a mess I’ve made of this entire situation. Suddenly, he grabs my hand in one of his, and the other hand he uses to lift my face to his. He is staring at me with such love and adoration that I can’t think straight.

  “You’re worth everything. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me, babe.” He gives me my favorite little smirk.

  I lean into him. “I want to be stuck with you.” We’re all quiet for a few moments when I turn to my brother, “Where’s Carter?”

  He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “He’s back at Elijah’s place. He’s staying in the guest house with me. He’s not left since we got back from the incident with that psycho.”

  “When exactly was that?”

  “Two days ago,” Elijah tells me.

  I gasp. “Oh my gosh, my tour, what about it?”

  Elijah grimaces. “It’s been canceled, permanently.”

  I sit up quickly. “I got fired?”

  He grimaces, lifting his shoulder in an unsure gesture. “I don’t think you’re fired, but with all that’s happened, they thought it was best to not use you as the face of the company at this time.”

  I flop back against the bed. “That sounds an awful lot like I’m fired.” I shake my head in disbelief. I’ve never lost a job before. I frown as I look toward Elijah. “Amelia must be madder than a hornet.”

  Elijah guffaws, quite loudly, I might add. “Oh, I’ve missed you and your silly expressions.”

  I playfully slap his chest. “How about one of you go find my doctor? I want to get out of here. Aren’t we supposed to be finding a house?”

  He jumps off the bed looking blissfully happy. “That we are, my dear. That we are.” He bounds out the door.

  I lay back again and close my eyes. Everything feels so out of control. My mind drifts to Carter. I have so many questions to ask him. That man, Darren, seemed to think they were together. Not that I would care if Carter had been with him, but I must admit that I’m hurt he couldn’t tell me. Best friends should be able to tell each other everything. Well, I guess, I’ll find out soon enough. My hands play with the rough sheets. I need to get out of here.

  22 Busted

  A s soon as the door snicks closed, I turn to my brother, my happy expression dropping to one of reservation. “Tell me about Car.”

  “He’s a wreck. He blames himself. He hasn’t left the house because there has been paparazzi patrolling the gate. He doesn’t want to cause any more issues. He wants to go back to Mississippi as soon as he can.” Carter must really be bad off because Jared sounds legitimately saddened by this.

  “How would this be his fault? How’d he even know that guy?”

  “Your attacker, Darren, was a client of Carter’s. Carter is a nice guy and a little flirty by nature with everyone. I guess the guy got the wrong idea. He assumed he and Carter had a connection. He was delusional, Sophie. On meds even. He was stalking Carter. It isn’t Carter’s fault, but he won’t listen to any of us,” Jared explains.

  Poor Carter. I’ll have to talk to him right away. I can’t have him feeling like he must leave because of this. The door opens, drawing me away from my thoughts and sending my gaze to the entrance. I grin seeing Elijah coming inside, a beautiful smile on his face as he sees me. He is being followed by a nurse and an older man in a white jacket, presumably the doctor.

  “Miss Parker. It’s good to see you awake. I’m
Doctor Boswell.” He sticks out his hand and I shake it.

  “Nice to meet you. Can I get out of here?”

  He chuckles. “Well, maybe soon. I’ve spoken to your neurologist and sent him the reports and images we took while you were unconscious. There was a slight bit of bleeding from the recent trauma, but, all things considered, you look good. We put you in a medical coma for twenty-four hours as a precaution, but when there was no further bleeding or swelling, we brought you out. We’ll do a few tests today and if your neurologist is satisfied, we’ll release you into his care.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “Not a problem. I’ll let Nurse Hansen take care of your vitals, and we’ll let you get up and move around. I’m sure you’re hungry, the cafeteria isn’t all that bad. You have no diet restrictions, so eat whatever you’re in the mood for.” The doctor winks as he smiles down at me. I like him. His bedside manner is great.

  “Thank you.” As soon as the doctor moves to leave, I turn to Elijah. “I’d really love an In-N-Out cheeseburger.” Elijah snickers, seeming unable to wipe the grin off his face. “Oh, Doctor.” He turns back with a questioning expression. “Will you tell Doctor Sanchez that I’ve remembered more?”

  “Everything?” He asks.

  “I’m not sure about that, but I remember Elijah and a few things about the year I was missing.” I meet Elijah’s eyes, smiling.

  “That’s fantastic. I’ll be sure to fill him in,” he states, before leaving.

  “So, who’s going to go get me a burger while the nurse gets me all set to get out of here?” I ask the guys.

  “How about we both go so you can have some privacy.” Jared stands and claps a hand on Elijah’s back. He looks totally put out. My poor baby.

  “I’ll turn around, I won’t peek while the nurse helps you. I’d like to stay.” He sounds pitiful.

  I hold my hand out to him, and he grabs it without hesitation. I don’t want to see him go, but we can’t become over reliant on one another. “I’m sure you need to eat too. Just go for me. I’ll be waiting.”