Making myself comfortable on the bed, I spent the next twenty minutes convincing my father that I was fine, and Kellan was fine, and everything was peachy keen, so he had absolutely nothing to worry about. I hoped I wasn’t lying.
Kellan let Jenny and Rachel into the room while I was frantically trying to get off of the phone with my father; he was three seconds away from coming to Philly to collect me. Once I successfully disconnected, Jenny gave me a hug. “Hey, Rachel and I are heading to the airport now. I just wanted to say goodbye before we left.”
When Jenny and I pulled apart, I noticed that her normally bright face wasn’t as chipper as it usually was. Beside her, Rachel looked equally distressed. “I hate what the media is doing to you. They’re making you out to be some two-bit hussy.”
Kellan’s phone rang again, and sighing, he turned away as he answered it; he was still in his boxers. Rachel was purposely keeping her eyes averted from Kellan’s sculpted body; Jenny didn’t even seem to notice.
Sighing at Jenny’s comment, I peeked over at the bed. Kellan had brought me my laptop last night, as well as my overnight bag. While I’d been busy convincing my dad that there was nothing to worry about, I’d hopped online to find the story about me. It hadn’t been hard. The news page that the web opened up on was showcasing the drama in their “Top Story” section. There was something really weird about a couple of rock stars’ dating woes being splashed all over a reputable news site.
There were three shots of Kellan and me highlighted in the article. One of the photos was a close-up of our faces, snapped while we were kissing. Kellan was grieving in that picture, and the distress on his face was as clear as my lips upon his. The second was a moment later, when we’d noticed that we were being filmed. We were both looking directly at the photographer, shock on our faces; even surprised, Kellan looked pained. The shots were so zoomed in that the graveyard was nowhere to be seen. Thanks to the emotion on Kellan’s face, it really did look like he was cheating on Sienna, and was torn up about it. I’d been comforting him at the time, but in the photo I came across as a stone cold adulteress, seducing him into being unfaithful to the woman he loved.
The last photo, the money shot, was Kellan standing above the photographer after knocking him to the ground. Looking thoroughly pissed off, Kellan seemed like he wanted to continue pummeling the man—a guilty adulterer furious about being caught red-handed. It was a gossip goldmine, and it was all very misleading and very incriminating.
Following my gaze, Jenny pointed at the computer. “I feel so bad for having to leave you in the middle of this circus.”
Watching Kellan run his hand through his hair while he talked with someone on his cell phone, I told her, “Being with him is always going to be a circus.” Smiling, I looked back at her. “He’s worth it, though.”
Jenny gave me another hug. “We have to go, but call me whenever you need to. Okay?” We separated, and her hand rubbed my arm. “And have faith.”
Swallowing back sudden tears, I told her I did. Faith was one of the few things I had right now. Rachel and I exchanged a brief hug next, and then my two friends disappeared from my life again. A brief surge of loneliness swelled in me; I’d really enjoyed my girl time. I quickly reminded myself that I’d get to see them again at my wedding, and in the meantime I had my sister to keep me company. I wondered if she’d seen this yet.
Kellan looked around the room when he finally got off his phone. “The girls leave?”
“Yeah.”
Kellan nodded and lifted the phone in his fingers. Grim amusement on his lips, he told me, “My dad and Hailey called. They’re both concerned about you. Hailey is worried that you’ll be lynched by the fans before this is all cleared up.” He frowned, like he kind of thought that too.
Running my arms around his neck, I told him,“We’ll sort this out, but right now, you have that private performance to get ready for.” I lifted my brow as I reminded him that he still had a job to do in all of this madness.
Kellan dropped his head back. “God, I’d forgotten all about that.” Looking like he really wanted to call in sick, he said, “I was hoping to sit down with someone this afternoon, make a formal statement about that picture, but I’m not going to have time.”