by Luxx Monroe
Cover Art by Alexis Art
Chapter One
It had been seven days. Seven days since my life flipped so far around, that I didn’t even know which way was up. Seven fucking days since Jeremy Brooke, Hollywood’s golden boy, had been caught red-handed by the paparazzi with my sister. My slutty, wants everything I have, greedy, manipulating, sister. He knew how she was, how much she wanted to take everything I had worked for away from me. He promised that he knew she was trouble, that he’d stay away from her. Lies. Everything in this God damn business was lies.
I flopped down onto my unmade bed and buried my face into my pillow that started to have a distinct stench. Failure. Sure I had made it in Hollywood, and I was America’s sweetheart that was carrying the world in the palm of her hands. Dating Jeremy Brooke made me that much more desirable. Looking back at my life, what had I really accomplished? I had fake friends, a fake family, and obviously a fake relationship.
When I heard the tapping on my front door, I tried to hide in my blankets, hoping whoever it was would just go away. It wasn’t going to happen, though, because I could also hear the sound of a key being placed in the door. Dammit. Ellie had a key. My assistant, and really the only person I trusted within a thousand mile radius. My own mother? No way. She was only out for money in this world, and she made that very clear when she entered me into my first talent search when I was only ten years old. It would only be a few years later that I would be on a hit TV show, and one of the most well known child actresses in the business.
“Payton Marie! Get out here now! I know you’re in here, I can smell you.”
I cringed my nose and buried my face deeper into my thousand Egyptian count bedsheets.
“Found you, get your ass out of bed.” Ellie had flung the blankets off the bed, leaving a cold breeze hitting me on my unwashed face. “Oh, Payton. I love you, girl, but you’re a mess. It’s time.”
I grunted and tried to pull a blanket that had been left behind back over my head.
“Oh, no you don’t. Get out of bed and my God, woman, take a shower. I have some food for you out in the kitchen. You’re either out of bed in two minutes, or I’ll have to resort to violence. It’s your choice.”
I turned my head and finally made eye contact with Ellie. She looked pissed, but she also had a small hint of pity in her eyes. Who had I become? I was always so confident, so poised. I had let a guy and my sister tear me down to a nothing.
“Payton, come on. You’ve had your wallowing time, but we need to get you back out there. There are so many people asking about you, and wanting to know if you’re still moving forward with your reality show.”
I waved her off, obviously telling her I didn’t want to talk about work right now. “I’ll get up, if you promise to not talk about Jeremy or work.”
“Deal. Meet you in the kitchen.”
* * *
A shower was seriously what the doctor ordered, and when I slipped on a clean sundress I knew Ellie was right. It was time to get my life back.
“Well there’s my Payton that I love. You look so much better.” Ellie smiled at me and handed me a latte.
“Thanks. I needed this.”
Ellie started to cut up some cantaloupe. I loved that she knew that was the only fruit I’d eat. The rest weren’t on ‘the diet’. The diet I’d been on since I was ten years old.
“How bad is it?” I asked and slipped a small chunk of fruit into my mouth.
Ellie sighed, and I knew it wasn’t good. “It’s not too bad. Jeremy has tried to get a hold of you almost every minute since it happened. I know he’s been by, but no one has seen you in a week. I’ve given you some space, like you asked, but it’s time to either talk to Jeremy or move on. You know?”
I nodded and knew she was right, even though it had only been a week, I needed to deal with this. I had just been avoiding the inevitable. “I know, I just wish I could get out of this city for a little bit. Go somewhere where they don’t know who Payton Lennox is. Somewhere where they don’t give a shit about what the hell happens in Hollywood.”
Ellie gave me an empathetic smile and walked over so she was standing right next to me. She placed her hand on a wet strand of my natural auburn hair, and placed it behind my ear. “Honey, that would either be in the outback of Australia, or some secluded mountain cabin in the hills of Wyoming… Hey! That’s it!” Her scream was so loud that the piece of cantaloupe I was about to place in my mouth went flying across the kitchen, making a little thumping noise when it hit the cabinet across from me.
I cocked an eyebrow and must have looked at her like she was the one losing it. “What’s it?”
“Payton, my grandparents own a small ranch in Wyoming. I haven’t been up there since I was a teenager, but they definitely are the type that doesn’t care what’s going on in Hollywood. If you’re serious, I bet we could go and stay there. They wouldn’t care who you are.”
I could tell Ellie was getting excited about this new plan, and to be completely honest, I was too. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had gone on an actual vacation. Jeremy and I had been together for just over a year, which in Hollywood is almost an eternity. Everywhere we went ended with photographers and fans ruining our getaway.
“Could you really make that happen?” I looked hopeful at my assistant, my only friend, and knew this was going to be just what I needed.
“Let me make some phone calls and hopefully we’ll be leaving this afternoon. Eek!”
I laughed at her excitement, but then started to think about if I’d ever been on a ranch. The answer was no, I hadn’t. Little did I know I had no clue what I was about to get myself in to.
