Meadow sat up now, touching her fingertips together as though she were a super-sleuth. I was so glad she was here. Instead of being a nervous wreck falling to pieces, she took my mind off things.
“So, people knew. Reporter dude knew. There’s a party on at the same place for a woman he knows. The whole thing falls into his lap. He gets the druggie guy to go there. Druggie guy also has a vendetta against Devon for previous beatings. The two of them were in on it together. Come on, let’s go.”
She jumped up.
“Where are you going?”
“To the police. I’ve solved the crime.”
I grabbed her arm and sat her down.
“It’s not a crime to solve. It’s not illegal for two guys to go to a party. It’s not even illegal for them to work together to set someone up. It is illegal for Devon to assault someone.”
She pursed her lips. “That’s true. But I’m sure that will help. You should tell him.”
“I’d have to talk to him.”
I pressed down on my case, trying to get it shut. That didn’t work. I tried sitting on it and zipping but still couldn’t get it.
“You sit, I’ll zip,” Meadow said.
That worked. I wouldn’t need to open it again until I got to where I was going.
“So, why the suitcase? Where are you going?”
I told her what Pete had said about the press conference.
“He wants you to do what? No way, Daisy. You can’t do it. It’s too much to ask. What’s the jerk’s number? I’ll call him for you. I have a few things to say to him.”
She jumped up, totally in fighting mode. I had to calm her down. I needed to do the press conference. I shook my head.
“I’m not doing this for Pete. I’m not doing it for Devon. Well, not completely. I’m doing it for the other fans.”
She put her arm around me. “I totally understand but no one would expect this of you. It’s like you are paying penance for something.”
I attempted a smile. “What, like lying and deceiving people?”
“It’s okay, I forgive you for that.”
“Yeah, because we’re friends. The rest of the population won’t be so forgiving. I have to prepare for that. I’m going to be hated. I’m going to be threatened. This is going to explode. You know how people will react.”
Meadow sat back down on the bed. “This is really serious, isn’t it? Will people want to kill you? I’ll go with you,” Meadow said.
“To Iceland?” I couldn’t see Meadow packing in her job to fly around the world. I wasn’t even sure why she was here during work time. Maybe it was her rostered day off. I’d even lost track of things like that.
“No, silly. To the press conference. I’ll be there to give you moral support. You’ll need someone.”
I nearly threw my arms around her. I needed her support more than anything.
But she couldn’t go with me. If she got seen with me, she’d get dragged into the whole mess. I needed to think of something to keep her away. The last thing I wanted was Meadow getting hurt. Anything but that.
“Actually, could you wait here for a while? They’re delivering some documents I need before I go overseas. Could you do that for me?”
“Sure.”
It was a total lie but I’d call her after the conference and tell her that. Otherwise, she’d be determined to go with me. She’d end up hurt by my huge mistake. It wasn’t a great story but it sounded believable. I tried not to look at her because she’d be able to read the lie in my eyes.
“How will I get them to you?”
“Huh?” I wasn’t paying attention because I ran around checking if there were any last minute things I’d forgotten. I hadn’t packed my toothbrush but I could get a new one there, wherever there was.
“The documents?”
“Oh. Yeah. Them. I’ll give you a call and organise somewhere to pick them up.”
She got up and hugged me. I held her tight. I wasn’t sure when I’d ever see her again. I didn’t want to let go. My life hadn’t been great before the whole Devon business but I’d always had Meadow beside me. I didn’t know how I’d cope without her. Then I noticed the box still in the wardrobe. I got it out.
“Can you do me a favour?” I asked Meadow. “Look after this for me. One day I’ll be ready to throw it out.”
“I know what it is. And one day you’ll want it back.”
“Never.”
She grinned. “You will. A fangirl’s love never dies.”
Chapter 36.Devon
My pillow had turned into a lump of wood. I picked it up and punched it, trying to knock it into shape. I couldn’t sleep. Even though my body was exhausted, my mind wouldn’t shut up. I wanted to sing that song to Daisy. I wanted to see what she thought and, most of all, I wanted to beg her to come back to me.
I could just ring Daisy.
No, I couldn’t. If I called her, she wouldn’t want to talk to me, anyway. She’d not tried to contact me once since that night. I thought she’d call or come to the apartment. Maybe stay away for a day at the most, before she realised she couldn’t live without me and could forgive me. But it hadn’t worked like that.
My mind raced too much. Somewhere in the apartment, a tap dripped. I got out of bed and went into my bathroom to turn it off. It wasn’t my tap though.
Then I went into Daisy’s room. It wasn’t her tap either. As I walked through her room, I noticed all her stuff had gone. Had she been here? She still had her key and I’d been out for so long. Maybe she’d come around on the pretext of getting her things, hoping to see me. Hoping I’d be waiting with open arms.
Or maybe she’d waited until I was out. Maybe she never wanted to see me again.
That dripping drove me mad. Of course she wanted to see me again. Why wouldn’t she?
I’d acted like a jerk, that’s why.
I’d make her talk to me though. I’d get down on my knees to her.
I went into the kitchen. That’s where the tap was causing the problems. I turned it off and went to bed. But now I was wide awake and obsessed with tracking down Daisy.
If I couldn’t ring her, Pete could. I called him.
“Why are you so keen to find her?” he asked.
“Because I don’t know where she is.”
“So? She’s not your slave. She’s not even your fake girlfriend any more.”
That really annoyed me. It wasn’t up to Pete to determine my fake girlfriend status. Daisy could be my fake girlfriend forever if she wanted. She loved being my fake girlfriend.
I should not have said anything ever. If I’d known that damn reporter was there, I’d have kept my mouth shut. Well, maybe not. I’d been out of control.
“Just do it, okay.”
I hung up, not sure why Pete was so unhelpful. I was only asking him to make one phone call.
I kept my phone in my hand while I waited for him to call back. He’d say she was doing something innocent and then I could relax. I opened a bottle of wine while I waited.
My phone rang.
“She’s not answering.”
Why the hell wouldn’t she answer? It didn’t make sense.
“I’m worried about her.”
“Most likely scenario is that she’s gone out shopping and forgot to charge her phone. People do that all the time. She’s probably moved on. It was a sweet pile of cash she got for working with you. She could take that and go anywhere. The girl probably has bigger dreams now.”
That was true but then people got into trouble all the time too. Who even knew if her innocence was real. It could all be an elaborate act to fool me. She’d agreed to date a total stranger way too easily. Why did she need money so badly? She could’ve taken that money and gone back to find that drug peddling sleazebag.
“Get some sleep, Devon. Brett told me you’d been up all night at the studio. Nice going but you need to rest now.”
Easy for him to say. I finished off the glass of wine. Maybe there were some clu
es to her disappearance in her room. I could check.
My phone rang again. It had to be her. But it was a photographer ringing, looking for her. The one from the job I’d set up for her. She’d not shown?
“It’s no big deal,” he said. “I’d just like to know in future. I was only doing this as a favour to you.”
“It’s my fault, not hers,” I said. “I’ve had some trouble lately.”
“Yeah, you’d have to be living on the moon to miss that.”
I hung up. I’d go to her apartment. She might be there. If she wasn’t, I’d wait. I’d wait and wait. She had to come home, eventually.
I grabbed my car keys, then realised I was too screwed up to drive. I’d have to get a cab. It’d take forever for a limo to get here. Hopefully, there’d be one outside my building.
The song. I’d have to rely on that. I’d said it all there.
I tried ringing her myself. This was no time for pride. The harder she got to find, the more desperate I became. She didn’t answer her phone. I left a message.
“Please ring me back, no matter what.”
Chapter 37.Daisy
The more I thought about this, the more worried I’d become. Despite Pete’s warnings, I had gone online a few times and checked what people were saying.
Livid, would be the word that came to mind. There were a lot of people who wanted my blood. Maybe it was all just talk. It’s easy enough to say things when you’re sitting at home at your keyboard, a whole other deal to actually leave your house and do them. Still, it would only take one out of the thousands to be crazy enough to put their threats into action and I’d be dead meat.
The hounding by the press would get even worse. Pete said we’d do this conference and it’d be over. I knew better than that. More and more reporters would hunt me down. I’d not be able to leave the house. I’d never get a job with my face plastered all over the news as a delusional liar.
This would be just the beginning. If people hated me over rumours and speculation, imagine after I got up there and made myself look like a loon.
“Ah, good, you’re here,” said Pete when I arrived. He ushered me into a small room. “You can leave your case here. Where are you going after this?”
I told him I planned to go to the airport.
“Good idea. The car’s been arranged.”
I checked the time. Fifteen minutes until my life, as I knew it, ended. Pete went out. People gathered in the outside room, the hum of voices got louder. Was I overreacting? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Checking some of those messages on the Devon forum though, I realised I was taking things too calmly, if anything. Those posts were horrible. People saying I’d plotted the whole thing. Accusing me of all kinds of nastiness.
“I never liked her. Her eyes are too close together. She wanted to destroy Devon’s career from the start.” That was from one of the fans who’d been first to follow me. She’d sent me messages of support. I’d thought we had some rapport between us. Didn’t take long for that to die.
“She’ll turn up at a concert one day and then we’ll have our fun. #trampled_daisy.”
“Why wait for her to go to a concert. #trampled_daisy.”
“Let me at her first #trampled_daisy.”
This trampled Daisy hashtag was trending on Twitter. People had gone nuts with it. It wasn’t at all funny when you were the Daisy they wanted to trample. I had to stop looking.
Why had I even read that stuff? The female fans were bad enough, with their accusations and bitchiness but the male fans were worse. Much worse. Rape threats were just the beginning. I was right to get as far away as possible.
There were a few though, a few people who still stood up for me.
“I don’t believe a word of it. You are all just a bunch of jealous idiots.”
“Daisy is the best. Always.”
That last one made me smile a little.
Pete came back with a sheet of paper. “This is your statement. Read through it and try to remember as much as you can before you go out there.”
“Can’t I just use my own words?”
“I’d prefer not.”
This statement Pete had written would not help my cause at all. I guess that was the point. He wanted me to take the blame, all the blame. The paper trembled as I tried to read it. That’s what made me realise how much I shivered. I had a coat in my suitcase but I didn’t want to open it. If I moved around, I might warm up. And, once I started talking the shame would be more than enough.
Chapter 38.Devon
Why was there never a cab around when you needed one? Pretty much every time I left the apartment, there was a line of cabs in the street but not today. Maybe I needed to ring for a driver instead.
I got out my phone but, before I could ring, some crazy girl almost knocked me off my feet.
“Not now, love. Take your photo, then move off.”
She punched me on the arm. “Listen to me, you idiot.”
I tried but she ranted on with some crazy talk that made no sense. Mainly about me being a total shit and not deserving. I was not in the mood for this. Then she said Daisy’s name. I took another look at her. It was Daisy’s friend, the one who’d been backstage with her. Meadow.
“Hey, do you know where Daisy is?”
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
She inhaled, her eyes cast upward, as though she had no idea where to start.
“Let’s go inside. This is not something we should talk about in public.”
That got me worried. What couldn’t she say?
“Has something happened to Daisy? Is she okay? She’s not hurt?”
I should go to Daisy. I should be with her. If something was wrong, then she’d need me. The girl fidgeted nervously in the elevator. That made me nervous too.
When we got inside, she paced around as words vomited from her.
“Slow down.”
“Daisy’s having a press conference.”
That was the last thing I expected her to say. I knew Daisy had that whole social media thing going on but why a press conference?
As Meadow explained things, my pulse pounded harder and harder.
“What? We have to stop her.”
Meadow smiled. “Finally, you get it. Come on, I have my car here. If only we can make it in time.”
I was about to run out the door when I remembered something. Some stupid thing but it might come in handy. I ran into the bedroom and grabbed the t-shirts. I could change in the car.
We ran down the street to where she was parked.
“Get there as fast as you can. If you need to speed or run red lights, just send me the fines. I’ll pay them.”
“Yeah, you don’t need to tell me that. Hey, you have your shirt off. Sweet.”
“Just keep your eyes on the road.”
“I’ll try but I can’t promise anything. Hey, do you have a new tattoo?”
“Eyes on the road. We can’t help Daisy if we’re dead.”
Once I’d changed, I got out my phone to call Pete. Then reconsidered. If he knew we were coming, he might do something to fuck things up. I had a plan. Well, it wasn’t much of a plan. It was more of an explosion in my brain.
“Do you know where we’re going?” I asked Meadow.
“Yeah, I got the details off Daisy’s phone when she was out of the room. She told me some story about needing me to stay at her apartment but she can’t lie to me. I’ve known her too long. She thinks you’re in on this, by the way.”
She swerved around a corner, sending me flying against the door of the car. Good. Speed was essential.
“Me? Why would I ever ask something like this from her? I can be a jerk at times but this way beyond jerk territory. I’ll kill Pete when I get my hands on him.”
We’d stopped at a red light. We could’ve run it.
“Maybe you should rethink that. Physical violence is not your friend.”
She had a point. He
was gone though. I couldn’t work with someone like him. I’d always known he was a dick but this was going way too far. Way, way too far. He knew how people would react to this news. He knew how much Daisy would be hated but he was willing to sacrifice her. He’d say it was for my career but it was for his own wallet.
“Talking of physical violence, there’s a theory I have.”
The rest of the way, she filled me in on her theory.
“Hey, that makes a lot of sense. I never thought I’d be sucked in so easily. Those guys are both creepy fuckers and I’d believe anything of them. I thought it was strange that dealer kept popping up everywhere I did. Thanks.”
“Shucks, it was nothing. Do I get free tickets to your next concert?”
“Free tickets for life.”
The hotel where the conference was being held came into sight.
“Pull up out the front. Don’t waste time.”
As she came to a halt, I opened the door and jumped out. I had to be in time. If Daisy confessed to everything, she might never survive the fallout. And I’ve never forgive myself.
Chapter 39.Daisy
“Time to go on,” Pete said.
I gulped. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking and my stomach did weird things. I’d throw up before I got one word out. I worried that when I opened my mouth, no words would come out. Or I’d just scream. I tried to walk but my legs shook so much, I thought I’d fall.
“Hurry up.”
I inhaled deeply. I could do this. In ten minutes, it’d all be over. I’d be the most hated woman in the country but it’d be over. There’d be no questions afterward, just some photos. Then I’d escape.
I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t panic. I’d just read the words as though this was some play that I was in. I was an actress and this was the character. It was never me, just a made up person.
Pete led me to a podium. He did a whole introduction thing while I stood to the side. I had no idea how these things worked. As he talked, I looked over the room. That slimy toad, Brandon, sat in the front row with the biggest smirk on his face. My head swum. I couldn’t look at him. I totally understood why Devon had punched him. I wanted to punch him myself. Maybe I should. I was going down in burning flames anyway, why not add some fuel?
Bad for You (Fallen Star Book 4) Page 16
