Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I force myself to get up and get dressed. I force myself not to check anymore articles. I force myself to smile at the doorman who helps me with my luggage. I force myself to pretend everything is okay.
I pretend that it’s just another day, except this time it’s not. Erika is waiting for me with worry all over her face when she looks up from her phone. “Sorry for keeping you,” I say, walking to the plane with her behind me. “Good morning,” I say to the attendant waiting for us.
“We will be off in ten minutes,” Erika says from behind me, and I sit in the chair.
My phone rings again in my pocket, and I take it out, seeing his name. The lump in my throat creeps up. I decline the call, and a minute later, I get a notification that I have a voice mail. I pick up my phone with a tear leaking out of one eye. I use my thumb to catch it as I grab my bag and take out my sunglasses.
I press the voice mail tab and see that they are all from him. I click edit in the corner and slowly click on every single one. Once they are all checked, my finger goes to the delete button. With a shaky hand, I press delete, then set my phone down.
With my heart pounding in my chest, my stomach burning, and my body shaking, I see the text that appears on the screen.
Nico: You need to call me, Becca.
Nico: Please, Becca.
Nico: I’m so sorry.
Chapter 26
Nico
I dial her number again, hoping to God she just picks up the phone. When she doesn’t, I pitch my phone at the wall. “Fuck!” I roar out, putting my hands into my hair and pulling it. This is not happening, this is not happening, I repeat over and over again.
Lizzie walks into the room, wearing her pjs and a robe, pushing a room service cart. “Add get new phone to my list,” she says and I look at her. She woke me up two hours ago when the story broke. I knew right away it wasn’t good when she pounded on my door.
I’m dressed in the same thing I wore last night. I went to bed with the biggest headache of my life, and all I wanted was to call Becca, but I couldn’t. The fear crept into me, and I decided I would tell her everything in the morning. Only the world beat me to it.
“How bad is it?” I ask. She looks over at me and sits on the couch in the hotel room.
“It’s everywhere.” She looks down and then looks up. “We’ve gotten calls from everyone, and I mean everyone. They want an exclusive.”
I walk over to look out the window as my heart sinks. “How the fuck did this happen?” I snap at the same time a knock sounds on the door.
Lizzie gets up, walking to the door. She opens the door, and Laurene walks in. “What the hell is going on?” she asks, standing there in the same outfit that Lizzie wears.
“What the hell is going on?” I shout back at her, and she looks at Lizzie, unsure if she should say anything or not. “What the hell is going on?” My voice gets louder. “My whole life is in fucking ruin.”
“Can he be more dramatic?” Laurene says, looking at Lizzie who just shakes her head. Laurene looks at me, then back at Lizzie. “I need coffee,” she says, walking over to the cart without a worry in the world, yet my life is in shatters. She takes a sip of her coffee. “Now can you calm down and tell me what is going on?”
“You obviously haven’t heard the news, or seen the papers or even looked at your phone!” I shout, and I’m waiting for someone to contact the front desk about my yelling at five in the morning. I’m always in control and the fact that this is not in my control is over the top. I try not to think of the fact that I can’t talk to Becca because that just enrages me more than anything.
“I didn’t look at anything. It’s five in the morning,” she says, folding her arms over her chest, and I want to shake her.
“Well, I’ll fill you in then.” I walk over to her. “The press knows.” Her eyes go wide as she looks from me to Lizzie.
“No.” She shakes her head. “That’s impossible. We had everyone sign an NDA.” Her eyes go big. “You’re lying.”
“Do you think I would be up at five in the morning raging if I was lying?” I look at her.
She sets her coffee cup down. “We made sure that we went in there separately.” She mentions of going to the lawyer’s office. “Everything was done with extreme caution.”