Larissa was so astounded by what he said; she didn’t know how to respond. There was almost no reason to because right at the conclusion of his words, the first plume of light exploded in the sky. All sorts of colors decorated the evening followed by the loud gun shot of explosion. Larissa watched as an invisible boat launched a rocket of sparks into the sky and right before bursting with light, the rocket would disappear. The gems of light streaked across the blackness before evaporating into the blackness leaving behind nothing but a light grey cloud. In seconds the sky was bursting with color and pops and smoke. The bars inside their cage reflected the neon fireworks casting the illusion that everywhere around them was enflamed with color. But Larissa hardly acknowledged any of it.
A shower of white lights volleyed into the air then diminished with a sizzle. Slowly, Larissa’s eyes moved away from the display even though she could hear the crowd below admiring them. Finally, her eyes rested on Ammon’s wrist watch. Even in the dim lighting, she watched as the big hand ticked away the minutes. Then everything stopped. Fireworks sat frozen in the evening canvas like fruit in a jell-o cup. His watch read 8:34 and 16 seconds. Right at that moment, Larissa vowed to herself Ammon would know her secrets. She would give herself three days just to make sure that was the right idea. But in 72 hours on the dot, she would confess.
Ammon O’Connell was back… somewhat. She hadn’t expected him to make a full recovery, but at the same time, she hadn’t expected him to use hope in counteracting his depression. This was as good as it was going to get, or perhaps in three days he would be better. All she knew was that the past Ammon was replaced with a new one. And Larissa liked it. Swiftly, she planted a kiss on his cheek before snuggling back down and watching the fireworks finish out the night.
Chapter 7 Paparazzi
~As Lotus stared blankly into the fridge, she had a feeling that this was going to be one of those days. Those days where one finds themselves wandering into a room only to forget what they went in there for, or where they open the fridge and expect something tasty to magically appear. Days in which her lonely phone would rest on the cushion beside her as she flipped through infomercials. It was a day that started off with a lazy Saturday feel and would most likely end with a rented movie, a pair of pajama pants, and falling asleep on the couch.
She used to have those days back when she lived in Tarrillian City. Ever since she moved to her Heleow penthouse, the closest thing Lotus ever got to those days was during her morning routine of lounging in a bathrobe and gazing expressionlessly into the fridge. With a sigh, she shut the door before shuffling over to her more entertaining alternative.
In the center of the kitchen awaited several bar stools along a massive stone island. Lotus took a seat and spun around childishly before clearing her morning throat. “Computer.” She announced.
“Si, Princesa?” the computer’s melodic voice sounded along with the familiar tune of Stelter software.
Lotus snickered to herself as she swiveled around on the stool. She had forgotten to change the language from the last time she played around with the penthouse settings. For the longest time, Lotus had thought that having a talking house was the coolest thing ever. She could command anything from practically anywhere.
Every home built by Stelter was equipped with the same voice activated software. The only difference was; Lotus’s penthouse was the only one currently up to date. Stelter homes, in many ways, were like cell phones. They came in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing linking them all together was the software. And like cell phones, houses could be up dated.
As far as Lotus knew, the updating availability hadn’t extended to Tarrillian City yet. The homes there could still do the basic things like monitor lighting, thermostat control, and tune the radio. However in her penthouse, Lotus could do so much more.
When the last of the Stelter intro faded, a sixteen inch screen appeared in the stone before her. Unlike the Stelter cars, the screen hadn’t emerged from the stone, it was simply a projection from within the counter top. Lotus wasn’t sure how it worked exactly. All she knew was that the screen was touch sensitive and would appear in front of her regardless of which bar stool she took.
The Stelter crest was the first thing to appear before fading to the home screen. She hadn’t changed the image either and giggled at the sight of her and Kasper wearing bunny ears and covered in whipped crème. “First of all, Computer, speak English please.”
“Yes, Princess.” The computer chimed. Normally, her computer would just say yes, but Lotus wasn’t the only one who liked toying with the settings. Kasper had changed the format during his last visit and no matter what Lotus did, she couldn’t reverse it. The computer only recognized his voice when it came to those options.
Lotus grinned; she didn’t mind being called a princess. “Now can you change my home screen?”
“Are their any preferences?” asked the computer.
Lotus considered, “Nah, surprise me.”
The whipped cream image faded to grey before being replaced with a Hawaiian beach at sunset. Even the picture quality was superb. Each color blended together perfectly and the definition of the clouds against the purple sky appeared as if they were bursting from the screen. Sometimes, Lotus thought the computer did a better job of capturing the true beauty of nature than Mother Earth.
“Thanks,” she said before double-tapping the center of the screen. Along the top perimeter, a row of applications appeared. When Lotus dragged her finger across the stone, she was able to slide through the setting icons. If she wanted to, she could voice search anything. But at that moment, she didn’t know what she was hunting for. She just continued scrolling to the right until an appealing icon grabbed her attention.
“Ohh, Living Room Lights. What is this?” she asked tapping on the image.
On any other software program, after an icon was selected, a box would appear with a list of several options. Not with Stelter technology. Instead, the image grew to the size of a playing card as a diagonal line spread from the emblem to the bottom left corner. As the line continued down the screen, other options faded in beside it creating a sort of stair step.
Stelter’s default format was always the same. With everything virtually at Lotus’s command, she could never change the fact that the setting icons stayed at the top of the screen and when selected, several more options appeared in a diagonal line. It was different but easy to use which was just the way Lotus liked it.
“Living Room Lights,” repeated the computer as Lotus skimmed through the diagonal steps of options. “Updated February 12th. Allows one to arrange the lighting, mood, and theme of living area.”
The heiress glanced up from her skimming. Across the kitchen and through the high pillared archway, Lotus should have been able to see the spacious living room if the lights were on and if she had taken the tint off the wall of windows around the penthouse.
“Arrange the lighting you say?” Lotus repeated, “Well in that case, Computer, could you take the window tint off the main wall?”
“Yes, Princess.” As the computer spoke, the windows were already beginning to lessen their tint.
Through the high archway, Lotus watched as the elongated shadows of comfortably shaped furniture slid across the slick wooden floor. If the Stelter penthouse had a theme, it would have been something along the lines of narrow, metallic and artistic. It was as if Lotus lived in an art museum full of abstract metal sculptures. Just about everything- from the furniture to the staircase- was made up of the same thin, grey, glossy metal.
A fluffy white rug sat in the middle of the floor like the white Oreo filling on a brown wood plate. Around it formed the sofa set with each piece of furniture turned to face a blank cement wall. Each chair looked as if an artist had taken thin wires and set black cushions and throw pillows atop it. To Lotus the furniture seemed to defy gravity with its toothpick-like legs and heavy seats. Common sense would say that the legs were too thin to hold up the seat, much l
ess people sitting on them. What people didn’t know was that the thin milky looking metal was several times harder than steel.
“Computer, I’m going into the living room now.” said Lotus hopping off her stool. She could hear it powering down as she slipped around the stone island.
The moment she stepped through the high archway, the computer’s melodic voice was speaking to her from the living room. “Would you like for me to keep the Living Room Lights application running?”
“Yes please.” Lotus replied as she padded across the white rug then took a seat in one of the solo chairs and glanced out the wall of windows. Technically her seat faced the blank cement wall, but from her angle, she could easily glance out at the vast roof top space.
The Olympic sized pool took up most of the flat space, along with the assortment of lawn furniture such as tables, umbrellas, and even plastic flamingos. The penthouse view was amazing, but not from where she sat. If she wanted to gaze blissfully at the whole of Heleow, she would have strolled past the kitchen and out to the balcony. From her spot in the living room, the view was still wonderful, but it would have been better if there wasn’t another building at the far end of it.
That was Lotus’s personal gym, though she hardly ever used it for anything but yoga and song writing. For the most part the tawny brick building as empty. Aside from when Kasper came to town. Then the businessman used it as his sleeping courters. Long ago, he had turned one of the yoga studios into a bedroom by piling in a bed and turning the gym equipment into spaces for hanging up his suits even though Lotus had offered to share one of the penthouse’s spare bedrooms- since she had too many of those.
As she snuggled against the chair’s cushions, her gaze remained glued to the building across the roof. She was about to pull away and speak once more to the computer when she saw the gym’s glass door being thrust open, and Kasper marching down the steps in his pajama pants and worn out t-shirt. Lotus giggled to herself as he hurried along the pool. He looked silly, stomping around in his bath slippers with a newspaper clutched in his hand and his ashy bed head flying everywhere. By the haste of his walk, Lotus could assume there was something important he wanted to share. The walk across the rooftop was quite a stretch, so Lotus turned her attention back to the computer as she waited for Kasper.
“So what exactly does this app do?” she inquired. She felt funny talking to a wall. Normally a projection from the banister above would reflect a computer screen against the blank cement. Apparently, not when the application was in motion.
As soon as Lotus asked, an array of soothing colored lights melted against the wall from one of the house’s many projectors. Nonetheless, the movement of the colors against the wall reminded Lotus of the way light shimmered when she was under water. Instantly her heart panged to be out surfing while at the same time, her body felt relaxed as if she were already on her surfboard letting the waves toss her gently.
“Oh, that’s what it does.” Lotus muttered to herself as she leaned her cheek against the plush top of the chair. “It makes me feel all sleepy.” Her eyes slid half shut as she recalled the stair step options that had appeared on the screen in the kitchen. She could change the colors, she could slow down the lights… she even recalled an option labeled Rave and she would keep that in mind for her next ‘lazy day’.
“Lotus!” Kasper exclaimed when he slid the glass door open.
The celebrity sat up and watched as her father’s apprentice stormed across the wooden floor only to thrust the newspaper in her lap. Lotus peered down at the upside-down Avon ad, “Oh, Kasper, how did you know I was thinking about buying makeup?”
Without responding, Kasper snatched back the paper and thrust the cover in her face. “Look!” he exclaimed.
Lotus looked alright, then stared. Then her mouth fell agape as her eyes widened with shock. A hand reached for the paper just as the other went for her fallen mouth.
Broken Engagement? Was printed out in huge letters over the image of a fare blond sprawled over a hansom brunette on an empty beach. Their lips were locked and the girl’s hair tumbled down one side so the camera could capture every angle of her profile. Those were Lotus’s cheeks, that was her nose, her jaw- the only problem was…
“That’s not me!” she gasped. Her fingers began to tremble and she let the newspaper fall back in her lap. “That’s not… how?”
Her eyes were still locked to the front of the paper but she wasn’t seeing any of it. She didn’t know what to think. Was someone trying to ruin her life? There were plenty of journalists that could work wonders with Photoshop. But she hadn’t done anything to deserve this!
“I need to call Michael.” She finally concluded. Lotus reached for her pocket then remembered she was in a bathrobe. When she made to leap from her seat, Kasper caught her by the arm.
“Wait, Lotus listen to me.”
The heiress locked eyes.
“Remember what you told me about the letter?” Kasper began. His face was so close; she could smell his aftershave. “Mirage said you have a sister.” he said softly. A slight smile crept over his lips, “and I’m thinking, she’s in Oahu.”
Lotus had been putting her memories on hold for years now. If anything was faster than the speed of light, it was how quickly Lotus remembered her baby sister at that instant. Everything from the first time baby Haileigh was brought to the Tarrillian City mansion to the last moment before the fire. Late summer campouts, reading books, playing dress up- she even remembered taking baths with her younger sister. She recalled every single memory in her mind like a movie she just finished watching.
Her baby sister was all grown up now. As Lotus stared at the image with a new set of eyes, she couldn’t help but notice the sinking in her gut. Lotus had thought that being reunited with a lost sibling would have been joyous, but as she gazed at the image, she felt like a protective older sister. What was her baby doing alone on a beach kissing a man? From her memories of Haileigh, the youngest Stelter had always been the good girl. Seeing her in the arms of a man was completely unheard of- let alone being thrown on top of one.
“Do you don’t think Lambert’s alive too?” Lotus asked softly.
At the mentioning of Lambert’s name, Kasper glanced up startled. “Mirage would have left it in the letter wouldn’t she?”
Lotus shrugged as she rolled up the newspaper. “No, but seeing this… it gives me hope. Help me find her, Kasper.”
The manager opened his mouth and as they held eyes, she waited for him to speak. “Lotus, you know I want to help you. But I can’t…” he stood up all the way and glanced at the clock over the kitchen. “I have a plane to catch. But Lotus, know that I know how important this means to you and I want to help you out so bad.”
Lotus stood up as if she hadn’t even heard him. “Do you think mom and dad know about Haileigh?”
Kasper blinked, “What?”
“Do you think Mirage left them a note too?”
Kasper shrugged and massaged his neck. “I can ask your father. I’ll be seeing him soon.”
“Don’t.” Said Lotus quickly, “Don’t tell him because… I want to be the first one he hears it from.” Lotus wasn’t even sure why she said that. She didn’t even know if it was a promise she could keep. She hadn’t even found her sister yet, and just because the person on the cover looked an awful lot like Lotus, that didn’t mean she was Haileigh. What if her sister wasn’t even in Hawaii?
“Alright, Lotus.” Kasper replied after a moment of staring. “I promise.” He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around the star’s shoulders. His lips pecked the top of her head before hurrying away back up to the glass door. “I love you Lotus.” He called over his shoulder. “I’ll see you in a couple weeks. But call me if anything happens.” Then he was gone.
Once the transparent door shut, Lotus spun around and hurried to the corner of the massive living room. There a set of metal stairs made a complete 360 before spitting Lotus out on the second floor. In no time
at all she was shutting the door to her large bedroom. To her it was nothing special, just another large room with a large window and a large bed with folded purple sheets.
Since the world thought Lotus had just ended a possible engagement, it didn’t take a genius to know that the world was going to be looking for her. She had to dress up or else the paparazzi would swarm. In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, Lotus was adoring her costume in the massive bathroom mirror. She looked like the typical granny in a sundress. The kind that was too insecure about her body to wear anything above her mid-calf, and the knitted sweater looked like something homemade. To finish off her look, Lotus even tucked her sunshine colored hair inside of a dark greying wig attached to a knitted flower hat and wore big sunglasses identical to something Willy Wonka would wear.
After making sure she was completely undetectable, Lotus grabbed a big old-lady tote and was just about to hurry from the room with her car keys when her hand stopped on the doorknob. Almost involuntarily, she spun around and her eyes fell straight across the room to her perfectly folded bed. Beneath the purple silk sheets was her scrapbook.
It was more like a six paged pamphlet with four pictures and two birth certificates. The scrapbook was no larger than a passport and only big enough to fit a different picture on each page. The first one was the only image she knew that existed of their family as a whole. The next two were Lambert’s and Haileigh’s birth certificates. She had the real thing folded and tucked beneath the shrunken down copies. Past the certificates sat the back to back pictures of Lambert. One of him weeks before the fire, the other with four-year-old Haileigh propped up on his shoulders.
Then finally, the last picture. It was the one that hurt Lotus the most, but having it there was a reminder. The heiress had purposely kept only a piece of the past so that she wouldn’t be tempted to dwell on things she couldn’t change. But the last picture was what tied it all together, and it wasn’t who was in the picture, but where.
The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural Page 18
