Alex felt lost. She knew exactly where she was – she had lived in Syracuse for years. It was the fact that she didn’t know who she was. Everything was different without him. Nothing was the same. She cried to herself as she walked back to her apartment, her high heels in one hand and her clutch in the other.
“Back so soon?” She heard Kerstin snicker as she walked into the foyer. Her smile immediately disappeared as she saw her friend’s face. “God, Alex. What the hell happened?”
“H-He found out…” Alex choked back a sob. “We had just g-gotten to the restaurant and some paparazzi stopped us and asked Nick how he felt about me writing about him.” Just saying it made it that much more real. She cried harder.
“They’re so scandalous, it’s not fair,” Kerstin mumbled as she wrapped her arms protectively around her best friend. “How did they find out, anyway?” She frowned.
Alex just shrugged her shoulders and slumped off to her own room. As she entered the small bedroom, she saw her phone flashing. It meant she had a message waiting. She picked up the phone and hit play. “Miss McIntosh, it’s Mr. Reynolds. Just thought I’d let you know that the panel loved your idea today – the original one – and so to make it official,” he cleared his voice. “I ran some posters and advertisements promoting the novel itself and they’re being placed around New York and LA as we speak. There’s one in your e-mail box for you to see.” With that, he hung up. Alex’s heart began beating rapidly once more in her chest.
She couldn’t get to her e-mail fast enough. As soon as she opened the message, she knew exactly what the photographer meant and her heart sank. The poster was a picture of Nick Carter himself holding a bouquet of flowers, probably a picture Mr. Reynolds had purchased for copyright from a photographer. Then there was a nerdy girl in glasses pushing the glasses down her nose. The caption read, “Revenge is the Worst”.
“Superstar Nick Carter gets what he has coming – a false love from a pretend Miss America,” Alex read outloud as tears filled her eyes. She knew Nick would be seeing these posters if they were put up all around New York City. There was a video link below that Alex clicked on next. It was a video of Mr. Reynolds at a press conference, explaining in detail the parts of the novel. “No wonder the whole world knows.” She sighed.
Suddenly, she was hit with an idea. She picked up the phone and glanced through her networking contacts. She knew plently of publishers, just none as big as Mr. Reynolds. As she dialed a few different numbers and proposed her idea, she found she was turned away by many but accepted by a few. After making a few appointments, she logged onto her lap top and began to type.
Nick
He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had practically asked Alex to live with him before he found out what was really going on. He kicked at a rock in the middle of New York City. It was nearly two in the morning now. After his cab ride, he decided to just get some air.
As he walked past an entertainment store, he had to do a double take as he realized what was in the window of the store. It was a poster of him and some other girl…it was Alex’s story. He was shocked to realize tears were filling his blue eyes. They couldn’t do this! They couldn’t make a joke out of him!
All of a sudden, his cell began to vibrate against his leg in the pocket of his jeans. He fished it out, expecting to hang up on the caller, assuming it would be Alex. Instead, it was Brian. “Hey Bri,” Nick sighed and tried to push the tears away.
“Nick, what the hell is up with all the posters and the calls from photographers and papparazzi?” Brian asked, slightly pissed off that he was getting bothered at two o’clock in the morning by reporters looking to talk to Nick.
“It’s a long story,” Nick rolled his eyes. “Can’t we talk about it in the morning?”
“Sure,” Brian sighed. “But I should send Marcus to wherever you are. There are at least thirty reporters and papparrazi in the lobby of the hotel.
Nick agreed and rattled off the intersection he happened to be standing in. As he waited for the body guard, he looked around New York City. It was beautiful. All he could think about looking around was Alex’s smile and the way she made him feel. But she wasn’t real. She never would be.
The Next Morning with Alex
Alex pulled her shoulder length wavy brown hair behind her in a high pony-tail and placed her black rimmed square glasses on her nose. She strutted out in professional-looking attire, simply because she was pitching an idea. “What’s with the wardrobe change?” Kerstin smiled as she sipped her coffee.
Alex shrugged and grabbed a travel mug to get her own coffee. “I’m tired of being someone else.” She began to explain. “I’m going to make a lot of changes, Kerst. Not even changes, really…just going back to the way things used to be.”
“You can still go out and have a good time, you know?” Kerstin sighed. She wanted Alex to be herself, but she didn’t want her to become the hermit she had been for so long.
“I know,” Alex nodded. “I’m just going to go out and have a good time as me. As Alex. Because I feel lost without her.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm in a writing mood. So, review and maybe I'll be nice & post more ;]
