by Hannah Ford
“I had no idea Jake was cancelling the Boston shows,” she said.
Kurt laughed some more. “Yeah, he certainly is. He also said that your close friend is seriously ill and Jake wants to be there for you both during this difficult time.”
“He told you all of that?” Raven said, awe struck.
“Of course he did. Jake and I tell each other important things like that. For instance, he wants me to book an interview with one of the major news outlets so that you and Jake can go public with your relationship. He told me that too.”
Raven couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Jake was actually going through with it—with her suggestion to pretend to be in a serious relationship together. Jake had called his manager and started putting the plan into motion without even discussing any of it with her first.
“Wow,” was all she could muster.
“Wow? Is that all you have to say about it?” Kurt chuckled.
“I didn’t know things were moving so fast.”
“Jake does move fast,” Kurt told her. “Anyway, I’m aware that you two aren’t truly a couple, that you haven’t known Jake for more than a few days, and he knows even less about you than you know about him.” He threw it out there casually, but she sensed a deadly serious intention behind the manager’s words.
Raven was getting a tingling sensation all along her scalp, now her stomach was tightening, and it was getting harder to breathe. “I know Jake enough to feel like he doesn’t deserve to lose his career over some poorly thought out comments he made years ago,” she said.
“How sweet of you to say,” Kurt said, and now all of the friendliness had left his voice. “But I’m not buying anything you’re selling, and I think that Jake would be making a tremendous mistake to trust you.”
“That’s not fair,” she replied. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Let me tell you something. I’ve known Jake since Afghanistan. I was in combat with him, and we went through things together that have given us a lifetime bond. I’m going to protect Jake now, just like always.”
“Jake doesn’t need to be protected from me,” she said, her hand slippery as she gripped the cell phone tightly. “You don’t know a thing about me.”
“I know that you’ve been paid for services rendered,” Kurt said coldly. “I think we both know that you’re no angel. You’re doing this to get something from Jake. I’ll make it a lot simpler for you. I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars to get up and leave right now, walk away and never come back. Leave Jake alone.”
Raven felt like a load of bricks had just been dumped on her head. “A hundred thousand dollars to leave him alone? Are you joking?”
“I’m not joking, I don’t joke about that kind of money.”
“Why would you give me that much money just to go away?” she said, knowing he was simply trying to test her, trying to get a reaction from her.
“I’d do it in a heartbeat, because your little scheme is going to cost Jake much more than a hundred thousand dollars. If he goes through with this ridiculous plan, he’ll lose millions upon millions, all his endorsements, many of his fans, and his career might be over.”
Raven was shaking. “I don’t want your money.”
“One hundred thousand dollars would pay for a lot of medical treatment if what Jake tells me about your friend is true,” Kurt said icily. “Unless, that is, you and your little partner are just a couple of scam artists trying to pull one over on him.”
“You think my friend and I made up the tumor on her cervix, the one that a reputable doctor just biopsied last night? Are you a complete idiot?” Raven said, anger rising in her chest like a burning piece of shrapnel. “My friend might be sick with cancer and you’re making these disgusting accusations.”
Kurt’s voice calmed again. “I don’t know if your friend is sick or not. And I don’t really care. I don’t give a shit about either of you,” he said, his voice lowering to almost a whisper. “But I’ll tell you one thing. If you try and attach yourself to Jake in any way, you’ll wish everything had been made up.”
“I haven’t lied about anything, and don’t threaten me.”
“This isn’t a threat,” he said slowly. “I’m telling you that you have exactly thirty minutes to except my offer of one hundred thousand dollars, no strings attached. Just send me a text to this number that says you accept. I’ve got your information, I’ll have the full amount wired to your account and then you will simply leave the hotel, along with your friend, and never say another word to Jake.”
Raven swallowed, her heart racing, and she was sweating and trembling. “I told you—“
“I know what you told me,” Kurt said softly. “But think about this money. It’s real, and you’ll be able to use it for anything you want. More than enough to help you and your friend. You’ve got half an hour to decide whether to take the money or not. After that, the deal is off the table.”
“And if I don’t take it?”
He laughed, a harsh, barking noise in her ear. “If you’re dumb enough to turn it down, I’ll make sure that your life turns into a living hell. Nobody, not even Jake himself will be able to protect you. And if you so much a breathe a word of this conversation to him, expect me to unleash hell—I’ll make your friend’s cancer scare look like a fucking picnic by the time I’m done with you.”
And then he hung up.
* * *
Ten minutes passed while Raven fretted over what to do next. Kurt might have been bluffing, Raven couldn’t be sure.
He was Jake’s tour manager, and if what he’d said had even a grain of truth to it, then she didn’t stand a chance if he decided to poison Jake against her. Kurt was rich and powerful, and he was Jake’s trusted friend, while she was just some girl that had come up with a ridiculous idea.
As she left her hotel room and walked down the hall to Skylar’s room, Raven considered trying to talk to Jake about what Kurt had said to her just now. But she was too scared. Kurt’s last threat had made clear that if she did any such thing, it would be a declaration of open war.
Kurt was obviously threatened by her relationship with Jake and the plan that Jake wanted to use to regain his public standing.
Her thoughts were racing as she went to Skylar’s room. On the one hand, Jake was helping Skylar with her health issues, and Raven wanted to allow that to continue if possible.
On the other hand, Kurt might stir up trouble on that front as well.
Perhaps if Raven departed the scene, maybe Jake would continue to assist Skylar, but at least Kurt would back off, knowing that Raven was out of the picture and not interfering in Jake’s career.
She didn’t know what the right answer was and she was panicked. It seemed that anything she did would end badly.
Screw Kurt. He’s trying to bully you just like they did back in high school. And you’re going to run away again? Aren’t you sick of lying down every time someone threatens you?
Standing in front of Skylar’s door, she held her hand up to knock.
The truth was, she was sick and tired of being afraid and always running when these bullies attacked her. Back in high school, she’d almost paid the ultimate price because of her own fear and shame and the humiliation of it all.
But now she was getting a new chance to make different decisions.
She was going to refuse Kurt’s deal.
She didn’t want a hundred thousand dollars of Jake’s money. And how could Kurt give her Jake’s money anyway? It wasn’t his to just give away.
The question wasn’t about whether to take the money or not. The question was whether to leave with her dignity relatively intact, or stay and risk being hurt worse than she’d ever been hurt before.
She was still thinking about it when the voice called her name. She turned to see Jake coming towards her.
“Hey, I was just about to come and see you,” Jake called out.
“Hey,” she said, feeling so glad to see him, and yet so te
rrified as well.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Going to check on Skylar,” she said.
On the one hand, she was happy to see him—something about his very presence made her feel protected and safe, even if she wasn’t. On the other hand, she knew that she couldn’t tell him what Kurt had said to her on the phone.
“I need to tell you something,” Jake said, his brown eyes focused on her and her alone.
“What is it?”
“I can’t agree to your decision to stop seeing me two nights a week,” Jake said.
“You’re joking.”
He shook his head once. “I need that time with you. It’s got to be part of this deal.”
“No way,” she said. “We’re not going to do that and have me pretend to be your girlfriend too.”
“What is this really about?” Jake asked her. “Is there something else going on?”
Raven felt caught. But she knew the time wasn’t right to tell him about the threats his manager had made over the phone.
If she told Jake now, it would force Jake to choose between the two of them and she couldn’t win that fight. Kurt would come back firing at her with everything in his arsenal and she would lose. It was way too early in the relationship for Jake to trust her over his brother-in-arms from Afghanistan.
She suspected that Kurt knew it as well as she did. Kurt had purposely put her in this position, maybe hoping she would be stupid enough to tell Jake about that phone call, hoping she would get angry and demand Jake fire Kurt or something equally outrageous.
If she did that, Jake would lose faith in her completely.
So Raven said nothing, shrugging her shoulders and giving him a hopefully guilt free smile. “It’s not about anything except standing up for myself.”
“Okay then,” he said, “let’s put that issue aside for the moment.” Jake ran a hand through his hair. “I told my manager, Kurt about us. That’s how serious I am about this decision.”
Raven wanted to say that she already knew about him telling Kurt, but she stayed quiet. “What did he say about it?”
“Actually, Kurt mentioned that he might try and call you soon. I gave him your number, I hope that’s okay.”
“Sure,” Raven said, blinking a few times, trying to hide the twitch of discomfort that rippled across her facial muscles. Just hearing Kurt’s name caused her to feel faint.
His threats were still ringing in her ears.
But after this, Raven knew she wasn’t going to do it. She wasn’t going to let Kurt just run her off without even a fight.
He was bluffing, she realized.
If Kurt had really been confident in his ability to influence Jake, he would’ve simply told Jake to dump her and that would have been that. Simple.
Instead, he’d tried to come in through the backdoor and scare her away, which had almost worked. But now she was calm enough to reason things out.
“I think Kurt’s a little skeptical of our plan, actually,” Jake chuckled. “I can’t say I blame him. If I was him I’d think it was a terrible idea too.”
“But you don’t agree with him?”
“No, I don’t,” Jake replied, watching her closely. “What about you? Any second thoughts?”
She swallowed. Now was the time to back out if she still had any doubts. But the reality was that she didn’t want to go home now. She didn’t want someone like Kurt to scare her off.
But what about Jake trying to make you do his bidding two nights a week still? Are you okay with that?
She didn’t know what she felt. The truth was, part of her liked that he still wanted to do those things to her, and she wasn’t sure what that meant.
“I’m not having second thoughts,” she told him, finally.
“Good.”
“But I wonder if it’s going to be a problem that your manager isn’t behind this one hundred percent.”
Jake shrugged. “At the end of the day, I’m the one calling the shots, Raven. Don’t get me wrong, Kurt is my guy. He had my back in Afghanistan when the shit was coming down hard, and I’ll never forget it. That’s why I trust him with my life—he has access to everything, and he could hurt me bad if he decided to screw me.”
Raven’s mouth went dry. “It’s—it’s good that you trust him, then.”
“I have to,” Jake said, his expression getting subtly tense. “It’s not a choice. A man like me needs to have someone he can trust completely. And Kurt is that person for me. After what I’ve been through…” he looked away, as if he’d suddenly become emotional.
“I understand, Jake—I think I do, anyway.”
Jake seemed to regain his composure. “Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that I trust him, but I’m still the one making the decisions about my life and career. Kurt has to accept that this is how I want to handle things, even if he doesn’t like it. We sink or swim together.”
“I guess that means so do I,” Raven said.
Jake laughed a little. “I guess it does.” He cleared his throat, seeming to forget the emotions from a moment ago. “Besides, once Kurt talks to you and hears your sweet voice, I’m sure he’ll be completely on board with everything.”
Raven almost laughed at that, but she managed to restrain herself.
It wasn’t until the door opened and Skylar looked out at them that Raven realized just how long they’d been standing out there in the hallway in front of her room.
“I heard you guys talking out here forever,” she said. “At first I thought it was the people from the room across the hall, but then I realized it was you two. What the heck?”
“Sorry, we got caught up going over some silly stuff,” Jake said, waving it all away as inconsequential. “But the important thing is how you’re doing.”
Skylar sighed. “I’m okay,” she said, turning and letting them into her room. “I mean, I’m scared. I’m really, really scared.”
They followed her inside and Jake sat down next to Raven on the couch. It was weird, Raven thought, as his leg pushed slightly against hers. It did feel like they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and she had to admit that she liked the feeling quite a lot.
But it’s not true. You’re just fantasizing again. He’s sitting next to you on a piece of furniture, Raven. That’s it.
As she sat beside him, felt his comforting strength, and heard him make casual conversation with Skylar, Raven couldn’t stop thinking that this all seemed so natural and real.
It’s like we were meant to be together.
“Do you ladies want to get something to eat?” Jake asked.
“Sure, I’m hungry,” Raven said. And then she wondered, would this be a public outing where they’d have to pretend to be together?
“Actually, I can’t go,” Skylar said.
“Why not?” Raven asked her.
“My parents are on their way here. I called and told them what’s going on.”
Raven looked at her friend and realized that Skylar’s problems were way more serious than anything going on with Jake or Kurt or Raven’s worries. Skylar might have cancer, and she was going to need support.
“Do you want me to wait here with you, Sky?” she asked. “I don’t mind.”
“No,” Skylar told her. “You two go eat and have fun. I’m fine.”
“Sky—“
“Just go, have some fun for me,” Skylar smiled sadly.
Jake and Raven tried to talk Skylar into letting them stick around and keep her company, but she insisted on them going out to lunch without her.
Moments later, the two of them were leaving Skylar’s room and then getting on the elevator. Raven looked at Jake, who was humming softly to himself. She wondered if he was humming one of his own songs, or someone else’s.
The elevator reached the lobby and they started out. Before reaching the revolving door, Raven grabbed Jake’s arm. “Wait a second,” she said, and he turned and faced her.
“Something wrong?”
�
��I just—I don’t know what we’re even doing right now,” Raven whispered. “Are we going to…you know…” She lowered her voice even more. “Are we pretending?”
Jake grabbed her hand and pulled her close and then leaned in, his lips brushing her ear, causing her to shudder. “Just follow my lead.”
“Okay,” she said, not quite knowing what that meant.
And then they were exiting the hotel, and instantly they were swarmed by photographers, paparazzi. The paparazzi had come from out of nowhere, seemingly, and there were at least ten of eleven, and she could see more running in this direction, like a swarm of bees chasing honey.
The questions were already being thrown out.
“Hey, Jake, what do you want to say about the controversy?”
“Do you really hate people who commit suicide?”
“Oprah said you should be ashamed. Any comment?”
“Jake, do you think people suffering from depression are just weak?”
“Word is that you’ve been dropped by Target.”
Jake grabbed Raven’s hand. “Come on, walk with me,” he said, and they continued walking despite the commotion. As they moved, the photographers followed them, until finally they were able to duck into a cab and drive off.
Raven glanced at Jake when they got in the car. His eyes were far away, as he told the driver to take them to Times Square.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Raven asked him.
He glanced at her. “Why wouldn’t I?”
She shook her head. “I know what you’re doing, Jake.”
Jake sighed. “Enlighten me, Raven.”
“You knew there were going to be paparazzi outside the hotel. Normally you’d have a car waiting, but you took us out there on purpose, wanting them to get plenty of pictures.”
He smirked at her comment. “That’s the idea. I don’t see the problem.”
“We need to be smart about it,” she told him. “People are really angry at you right now. If we go to Times Square, things could get out of control. Is that what you want?”
“Maybe. Let’s just get it all out there,” he said. “Let’s not be afraid of it.”