Fame & Consequences

by Reese A. Stephens

  “Yeah, Jared said you’d been sleeping a lot. Are you feeling bad?”

  How do I explain it without sounding like I’m pining after him? Even if I might be. “Yes, but not sick and it isn’t my head, really.”

  “You’ve been through a lot. Sleep is probably a good thing.” There’s another pause before he asks, “Could we get together tomorrow? Go on a date, or if you’re not up to going out, I could come there with pizza and a movie?”

  “Sure. That sounds nice. Either is fine, but check with me tomorrow afternoon.”

  He agrees and we work out a time. We chat for a few more minutes about non-important things before we disconnect. I quickly get ready for my night out, then head out to the main area.

  “Where are you going?” Jared asks.

  I grab my purse. “Uh, Krystal and I are meeting downstairs for drinks.”

  Carter pauses the TV and looks at me like I’m insane. “Krystal from college?” I nod. “The same Krystal who may have leaked compromising photos of you and Elijah, and,” he draws out the word, “you and her?”

  “Allegedly, doesn’t mean she did. I won’t know if I don’t go and talk to her.”

  Carter stands from the sofa. “I’m going with you.”

  “Uh, no you’re not. You can’t stand each other,” I remind him.

  He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “I don’t care what I think about her, Peaches, it’s you I care about. I’ll stay out of the way and let you two talk, but I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “I second that.” Jared is up, grabbing his wallet form the table.

  I throw my hands up in frustration. “Fine! Stay out of sight. I’d like to pretend I’m normal for at least an hour.”

  20 Regrets

  I ’m hopeful that talking to Krystal will help. I’ve missed my friend. She’s been my only female friend for a long time. I hope trusting her isn’t a mistake, but I need someone other than Carter, Jared, and Gran to confide in. I need a neutral party. The guys are ready in less than five minutes and we make our way downstairs to the hotel bar. I spot Krystal right away, her rainbow hair is hard to miss.

  She jumps up from her seat, excitedly. “Sophie!” She pulls me into a hard hug. “Girl, you scared the hell out of me!” She playfully slaps my shoulder, but it still kind of hurts. “Don’t do it again!”

  “Good to see you too.” I laugh. She pulls me down in the seat beside her. The server comes and takes our orders.

  “So, tell me what’s been going on?” She looks around the room and her face hardens. I follow her gaze, she’s found Carter and Jared. “You have babysitters.” She turns back to me. “It’s still incomprehensible to me that you forgave that two-timing scumbag.”

  “I always do.” I shrug. It’s something I accepted a long time ago. Carter will always be in my life. “But they aren’t going to bother us.”

  “They better not, although that brother of yours can bother me anytime.” She waggles her eyebrows.

  “Gross. Aren’t you dating Danny?”

  “Brody?” I nod. “Nah, we went out a few times, but with the photo leak and all, he bailed. I get it, but it still sucked. We really got along well.”

  “He didn’t give me the impression he was totally out,” I tell her, though I’m not one-hundred percent sure on that.

  “Hmm, might call him up later.” She dismisses the topic. “So, tell me about what you’ve been up to.”

  I blow out a breath and rub my forehead. “I’m not sure where to start. I remember nothing from the past year. The guys have done a pretty good job on filling me in, but it’s hard to keep everything straight or remember it all. My head hurts almost constantly. I get confused easily, dizzy often. I can’t figure out simple things, which is extremely frustrating. I called off my engagement, because I can’t marry a man I don’t really know, and even though it seemed like it was the right thing to do, my heart is shattered.”

  She stares at me wide eyes. “Dang, girl! Don’t hold back.”

  I chuckle dryly. “I’m so confused. I hoped you could give me a female perspective. I’m so over all the testosterone I’ve been around.”

  She cackles loudly. “Sure thing, but, girl, you’re always around too much testosterone.” I nod agreeing, but shrug. Not anything I can do about that. “What’s the thing that bothers you the most?” she asks.

  The server comes with our drinks and I take a few sips, pondering on my answer. “Not remembering, but that’s not something I can change. It will or it won’t come back. Elijah has been very patient and loving, but the problem is that he wants everything to be the same. He told me what happened, and it’s like he, and everyone else, expects me to be who I was before the accident. I can’t jump back to that. I’m not even who I was a year ago. I’m a confused wreck.”

  She pats my hand sympathetically. “That must totally suck. You need to start over with Elijah until your memory comes back. You guys were totally into each other when I saw you a few of weeks ago. I would assume you’d still be into him now, once you get to know him better again.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’ve told him, but sometimes ... I just don’t know. I’ve been doing a lot of wallowing in self-pity. I need to suck it up and get over it all ready. I can’t seem to get there, you know.”

  Her face lights up. “You know what you need?” I shake my head no. “A night to forget it all and let loose. I have just the place. Think we can lose your stalkers?”

  I meet Jared and Carter’s eyes. They are both sitting at a table nursing a beer, but they are both watching me like a hawk. “Mm … if we sneak out the back.”

  We walk over to the guys. “Jared this is Krystal. Carter, I’m sure you remember her.”

  Both guys’ faces are full of trepidation, but Carter’s morphs into pure disdain. “I remember her, unfortunately.”

  Krystal snorts rudely. “Unfortunately for me, right?”

  He opens his mouth to say something, but I interrupt. “Don’t start. I came over here to tell you that we are going to the bathroom.” Jared stands. I hold up my hand. “No. I draw the line at being escorted to the bathroom like a little child. This place is calm, there’s been no issues. People probably don’t even recognize me. Stay.” I point to their seats and glare. They both nod reluctantly.

  I smile at Krystal as she grabs my arm and we head off to the bathrooms, but instead of going to them, we cut left which is out of the boy’s sight, and head out of the employee exit. We find her car easily, falling into it in a fit of giggles.

  “I can’t believe we made it out of there,” I say after we settle.

  Krystal rolls her eyes. “As if there was any room for doubt. Your brother might not be, but I know Carter is a dumbass.”

  I grimace, but agree. “Sometimes. So where are we going?”

  She pulls out onto the main road. “There’s a club about two miles from here that’s great. A lot of celebs go there because it’s tight security. The guys won’t be able to get in even if they figure out where we are.”

  “Awesome, but how are we getting in?”

  She winks. “I have my ways. Plus, believe it or not, you are pretty famous.”

  “Only because of Elijah, but if I’m not with him, no one will probably recognize me.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, but don’t worry. You’ll be fine here.”

  We get in through the back via some guy who Krystal knows. She practically sucks his face off as soon as we enter the building. It is kind of nauseating. When they finally end their majorly disgusting show of PDA, we head out to the main bar area. Krystal was right, it’s super swanky. The atmosphere is actually calm. There’s loud music and dancing, but it doesn’t seem to be overly crowded, which, for me is a good thing. Crowds make me feel chaotic and nervous inside. I don’t remember ever feeling overwhelmed in a crowd of people before, so I wonder if it’s a recent thing, or because of my accident. We find a seat and order a bottle of wine.

  “I didn’t think you
liked drinking?” Krystal asks.

  I shrug. “I haven’t really ever drank. I don’t know what I like.”

  She laughs. “So, you’re finally getting to your rebellious stage, huh?”

  I huff and shake my head at her. “I have drank, but not much. It’s never been anything I’ve been attracted to, but tonight I want to forget it all and drown my problems.”

  “Let’s do it!” She slaps her hands together and rubs them briskly with a devious glint in her eye. She jumps up from her chair. “You’ve got money right?” I nod. “Good. I’ll start us a tab, give me your card.” I hand it over and watch her bound over to the bar. She talks to the same guy she made out with before turning back to me giving me the ‘okay’ sign. My cellphone chirps with a text message.

  Carter: Where are you?

  Me: The bathroom.

  Carter: No. I went in there myself. Call me!

  Sighing. I shut off my phone and pocket it. Krystal sets a couple of shots on the table. “Everything okay?” She hands me my card.

  I put it in my wallet. “Yep. I turned my phone off.”

  She laughs. “Let’s do this.” She hands me shot, counts to three and we down the liquor. It’s strong and makes me gag a little, but I accept the next one and down it all the same. “How you doing?” Krystal asks.

  “Uh, a little warm.”

  She laughs. “Let’s dance!”

  I allow her to pull me up and drag me over to the dance floor. The alcohol is starting to do its job and I find myself relaxing and dancing along with her. It seems like there’s always a glass of something in my hand. I have no idea how long we are on the dance floor, but I’m hot, sweaty, and tired. I have to shout above the noise of the club which seems to be at capacity now that it's later in the evening.

  “I’m out,” I tell her, making a slashing motion with my hand. I sway a little.

  She grabs my arm, steading me. “Yeah, let’s take a break. You hungry?” I nod, and she wanders off as I head back to our booth. I slump against the wall.

  A shadow falls over the booth. “Hey, gorgeous.” Travis McKinney, a sitcom actor, smiles down at me. I try to smile in return, but I’m a little drunk, so I’m not sure I do.

  “Hi.”

  He sits down beside me, putting his arm along the back of the bench. “Can I buy you a drink?”

  I shake my head. “No thanks. I’ve had enough.”

  “I’ve been watching you dancing out there. I bet your moves in the bedroom are even better than they were on the floor.”

  I snort and laugh loudly. “Please tell me that line never works. That’s awful.”

  He doesn’t even seem embarrassed, he smiles and nods. “It actually does, but probably more because I’m an actor.”

  “Actors don’t really impress me much.” I shrug, grabbing my water.

  He grins widely. “A challenge. I like that!”

  “She’s not a challenge.” The color drains from my face as I see Elijah towering over the table.

  Travis immediately moves his arm form the back of the seat. “Elijah! Hey, how are you?” Elijah doesn’t answer Travis. Travis looks between the two of us, and I guess it clicks with him who I am. “Oh, man. I didn’t mean to cause problems. I didn’t realize who she was. Honest.” He stands up and leaves quickly.

  Elijah stands there staring at me with his hands on his hips. “What do you want?” I ask.

  He thrusts his phone in my face. I can’t focus on the image. “To know why this photo is all over the internet, and what the hell you are doing here, and without your bodyguards, or at the very least, Carter?”

  I stand, pushing him back, but when I sway he wraps his arm around me, pulling me flush to his chest. I gaze up at him with hazy eyes, but the anger I see on his face doesn’t make me angry in return, it gives me other sensations that puzzle me. Once again adding to these emotions I don’t understand. I raise my hand to his face, cupping it. He looks tired and worn. He stares at me and for a second like he’ll kiss me, but instead he leans past me and grabs my purse.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, moving away from him, but he grabs my arm.

  “We’re leaving.” He leaves no room for argument.

  I jerk my arm from his grasp. “No, I’m not.”

  “We are, and now.” He takes my hand and starts to pull me to the exit.

  I wrench myself away from him and start heading deeper into the club. I hear him calling for me, but I pay him no attention as I search for Krystal. I can’t seem to find her anywhere, so I go back the way we came inside. I’m almost to the exit when I hear Krystal’s voice.

  “I didn’t know he’d show up. What do you expect me to do?”

  “I expect you to do what I paid you for. Get whatever information out of her you can. Steal her phone if you have to.” She’s talking to a man, but I don’t recognize his voice and I can’t see his face.

  Krystal makes a disgruntled noise. “She’ll realize her phone is gone.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” he tells her.

  “She doesn’t remember the past year. What do you really think you’ll get out of her?” Krystal seems exasperated. Tears fill my eyes. She really has betrayed me. “I already got you those dressing room photos. That should be enough.” I gasp, ducking around the corner. They pause their conversation, but after a few seconds they continue, so I creep back around.

  “No, I want dirt on them now. How’s he dealing with her memory loss? Are they still getting married? Something, anything! I want the most current gossip no one has, and I want it now.” He’s not shouting, but you can tell he’s angry and means business.

  “Fine. Let me get back to work because Elijah came through the door as you were pulling me in here. Did you tip him off?” She huffs. He must reply nonverbally because there’s a pause. Krystal growls. “That’s great Jarron. I had a plan!”

  “Whatever, get me what I need.” I don’t listen for more. I hurry back to the bar area.

  I’m not looking where I’m going, when I slam into a body hard. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sophie?” I glance up to see my brother’s worried eyes.

  “Take me home. Please.” He nods and wraps his arm around me.

  I say nothing as he helps me into the car. He jogs around to the driver’s seat and jumps in, we get out of the parking area with no issues and head back to the hotel. Tears stream down my face as I let my head fall against the seat.

  “I’m so stupid.”

  Jared glances over at me as he drives. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

  I shake my head. “No, Jared. It was Krystal. Well, at least the photos of Eli and me in that dressing room. It was her. I heard her confess to some guy named Jarron.”

  “We need to tell Elijah. I texted him that I had you. He’ll meet us at the hotel.”

  “He probably hates me now.”

  “He’s worried.” Jared pats my knee softly. “We all are.”

  I wipe the tears from my eyes but say nothing. We make it back to the hotel parking garage and use the service elevator to get to our floor. We see no one, thankfully. Once I’m inside my room, I crawl into my bed and fall asleep quickly. Tapping wakes me from my sleep.

  “Elijah, turn it off,” I mutter.

  “How’d you know it was me?” he asks.

  I don’t open my eyes as I roll over. “You’re always typing in bed when I’m sleeping. It’s annoying.”

  He pulls me over to him, and I groan. “Look at me,” he asks softly.

  I blink my eyes open as best I can, but I can’t keep them open enough to focus, so I open one eye. “What?”

  “You remembered.” He’s smiling widely.

  “What are you talking about?” He’s leaning over me, thankfully blocking the light from my face.

  “We started to sleep in the same bed a few times before your accident. I woke you up by typing. You said I always type in bed. You remembered.”

  I move to sit up, he allows for the mo
vement by shifting back a little. I stare at him. “I did?” I try to concentrate, but I can’t really remember anything else. My head is absolutely killing me. “My head hurts.”

  He frowns. “I’d say so. I’ve never seen you drink so much. You’re lucky nothing worse happened than a hangover. You’re not supposed to drink with your medication.”

  I rub my head. He’s right. I was stupid. “I don’t remember anything about last night.”

  “I’d say that’s normal. You were pretty drunk.”

  I groan and fall back against my pillows. “More drunk than the flight to Australia?” I snort as my eyes pop open.

  He’s staring at me in shock. “Sophie, do you remember me?”

  He’s insane. I’m hung over not stupid. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  He shakes his head and groans exasperated. “You have amnesia. Are you remembering more?”

  I sit up as the pieces fall into place. I am so stupid. I wasn’t even thinking about my amnesia. I smile. “I remember the flight to Australia! I fell and hit you in the head, and you got me drunk!” I say, flinging myself into his arms.

  He squeezes me tightly as his body starts to shake. I pull back to see tears crawling down his face. “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry, for everything.”

  “It’s not your fault so stop apologizing. Do you remember everything?” He asks hopeful, cupping my face.

  I close my eyes for a second, trying to will more memories to come forward, but nothing. I shake my head, a little disappointed. “I remember the flight. I remember waking up to the clicking, but anything else is still hazy.”

  “What about last night?” he asks.

  “Krystal?” He nods. “It was her.” He nods again. “Was she involved in the accident?”

  “I’m not sure about that. The police picked her and the pap guy, Jarron Rodgers, up. They took them in for questioning, but I’m not sure it’ll come to anything.”

  “I’m sorry I trusted her.” I pause. “And for going out last night without a guard.”

  He nods. “Well, that … that was a mess. It’s all over every media site and tabloid.” He grabs his laptop and sits it in my lap. “I’ve been doing a lot of damage control, but it’s not going to really help.”