Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Tears well in my eyes, and as I hold her stare, she sees the truth, just as clearly as Ezra had. There’s no need for me to respond, no need to delve into the horrid details, she already knows. “Oh, Rae,” she cries, throwing herself at me, her arms winding around my body and holding me close. “I’m so sorry. I never knew.”
I cry into her shoulder as the store attendants come to find us. “We’ve done what we can to barricade the door,” one of them says. “But it’s not looking pretty. More are showing up by the second. What do you want us to do?”
Madds looks back, trying to figure out a game plan. “I don’t know. Should we call the police?”
“No. Call Ezra,” I say, handing her my phone. “He’ll know what to do.”
Her eyes widen as she stares down at my phone, doing what she can to try and keep her composure, knowing that this is important and now is not the time to get starstruck by my boyfriend. “O . . . okay,” she says, her face turning green. “I’m just going to call Ezra Knight. No big deal.”
She visibly swallows before searching through my phone for his number, and as she presses call and holds the phone between us, she takes my hand, squeezing it tight. She presses the speakerphone button, and as memories of my father’s assault cripple my mind, I try to focus on the sound of the call.
“Hey, baby. What’s up?” Ezra’s voice comes through the phone a moment later, the sound somehow starting to calm me. “We’re just in rehearsal.”
“Oh, ummm . . . hi,” Madds says awkwardly. “This is Madds. Raleigh’s friend.”
“Uhh . . . okay,” he says, a strange tone to his voice. “Everything good?”
“Yeah, ummm . . . no,” she says, clearly frazzled, but she’s doing a hell of a better job than I could right now. “We’re in a store, and we got flooded by paparazzi. There are heaps of them, and they’re screaming out questions about her dad and what . . . you know . . . he did to her.”
“What?” he rushes out in a panic, his tone hardening. “How the fuck do they know about that? Where is she? Is she okay?”
Madds glances at me, a sadness in her eyes. “She’s right here listening, but no. She’s not okay. She’s shaken, and there are so many paparazzi surrounding the store, I don’t know what to do.”
“Fuck!” He blows out a breath, probably trying to come up with a game plan. “Okay, I’m coming to get you both. Are you safe in that store?”
“Yeah. For now.”
“Alright, stay put. I’ve got Rae’s location pinned,” he tells us. “We’ll be there in twenty.”
“Okay.”
“Rae?” he asks a moment later, his voice shifting low. “You there, baby?”
I swallow over the lump in my throat, trying to sound as though I have my shit together. “Mm-hmm.”
“He can’t hurt you anymore. I’ve got you, alright?”
Tears stream down my face, and I can’t manage to keep myself from shaking. “I know.”
“Alright. I’ll be there soon,” and with that, he ends the call.
Madds lowers her hands, her eyes wide as she stares at me. “Ezra Knight is coming to get us,” she says monotone, blowing her cheeks out as though that’s going to help her current state of shock.
She squishes in beside me on the floor, hooking her arm around my shoulder and pulling me against her as we wait for the calvary to arrive, and as I do my best to zone out the screaming paparazzi coming from outside, Madds does her best to calm me. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asks hesitantly.
I shake my head. “Not right now.”
“Okay,” she says, trying to cover the hurt in her tone, probably sad that I’ve never opened up to her about this before when we’ve always strived to be honest and open with one another . . . mostly.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, not trusting my voice.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” she tells me. “I just hate that I haven’t been a good enough friend and haven’t made you feel as though you could talk to me about it.”
“It’s not that, not even close,” I tell her. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, it’s just not a period of my life I ever wish to relive.”
“Period of your life?” she questions. “So, not just a one-off occasion?”
I shake my head, and the sadness in her eyes grows. “Tonight,” I tell her, wiping at the tears on my face. “Stay with me at Ezra’s place. We’ll get really drunk, I’ll put it all out there on the table, and then we can cry.”
“Okay,” she says, her voice shaking as her bottom lip starts to quiver and her eyes fill with big, fat tears. “But I think I’m already starting.”