Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) (21 page)

“
So, tomorrow is the
big day
,” Stephan reminds me.

After dinner, we went back to my house. Bridgett is in her room, and me and Stephan are swimming in the pool. Well, we are doing more making out than actual 'swimming.'

“It is,” I sigh. I really don't want to talk. I'd rather make out with Stephan, and forget all about tomorrow.

“
Are you nervous?” he asks.

“
Yes.” I nod. “More nervous than I have
ever
been in my whole entire life. Even more than my first sold out concert, more than performing at the Grammy Awards, more than my first TV interview...”

“
That bad?” He kisses the end of my nose. “No matter how it goes, you need this Scarlett.”

“
I know,” I agree. “But let's talk about something else, please. I just need to clear my mind.”

“
What do you want to talk about?” he says, scooting closer. I almost lose my train of thought when his finger traces my collarbone, but I push his hand back.

“
Wait, don't distract me. I need you to do me a favor,” I say. “Tomorrow, while I'm gone, will you stop by and check on Bridgett? She's been having a rough time, and I think having company may help her.”

“
Sure,” he says, as he gently puts his lips to my neck, and begins kissing his way down.

“
Stephan,” I giggle. “I'm totally serious, ok?”

He backs away, and sighs. “I said sure. I will babysit your sister tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” I pull him closer. “You can continue now.”

And so he does.

Saturday, October 3

11:06 am

Complete

Today is the day.

Today, I am seeing my sister for the first time in nine years.

I can't help but wonder what she looks like. Is she still the same carefree, beautiful girl she once was? I wonder if she still dyes her hair blonde, or if she has let it go back to her natural color of dark brown. She was
always
jealous of my long blonde locks. She said nature was nice to the wrong sister.

Looking back, I wonder if she knew I was adopted. I also wonder if she was adopted.

The questions run over and over again in my mind as I drive south. Stacy lives in a small town 30 miles south, and I am going to meet her at a small restaurant... Which makes me wonder, maybe she doesn't want me to know where she lives. The thought makes me sick to my stomach. Maybe she thinks of this as a
one
time
meeting
, which is what I don't want to happen.

What if she's only meeting me to tell me to get lost?

I quickly shake off the thought. If she
really
felt that way, she could have gave the message to Andrew, but she
didn't
. She is taking the time to actually sit down with me, and talk to me. The thought gives me hope.

After about 30 minutes in the car, I finally pull into the restaurant. When I park, I sit in my car, staring at the front door. I'm trying to get the nerve up to get
out
of my car. I reach for the door handle about 10 times before I finally pull it.

As I step out of my car, I take a deep breath. Butterflies are in my stomach, and my hands are shaking. But I'm surprised to find I'm actually
excited
.

I walk inside the restaurant, and walk up to the hostess.

“I'm meeting somebody here... Her name is Stacy,” I say. I'm not sure if her last name is still Ryan.

“
Oh em gee!” The teenager girl in front of my squeals. “You're Scarlett Ryan!”

I roll my eyes. “Please, I just need my table.” I'm so
not
in the mood to put up with this right now. At this moment, more than ever, I wish I was
NORMAL
.

“
Can I have your autograph?” She gasps. “We could
take a picture together
! Let me grab my phone!”

“
Look,” I say firmly, “I just want a table. I'm not signing anything for you right now. I'm meeting somebody, and this is important.”

She ignores me. “Oh my god! Scarlett... Seriously, this is... You are... Augh! You're amazing!”

Finally, I see somebody in a suit come up behind her. “Rachel, I'll be taking over,” he says. “Your party is waiting for you in a private room.”

He ushers me to a private room in the back, which I am thankful for. I can't believe that Stacy actually knew that we would
need
a private room.

Well, of course she knows I'm a rock star. Everybody knows. But still, the fact that she actually took the time to get us a private room makes me happy.

As the door opens, the first thing I see the back of Stacy's head. Her hair is dark brown now, and all the blonde is gone. I always liked her natural color better. Her hair hangs just below her shoulders.

When she hears the door, she turns towards me. A shocked look covers her face, and she quickly gets up from the table.

“Scarlett...” Her voice breaks, and she pulls me in for a hug.

As she is holding me, I feel
complete
. My family feels whole. Finding Bridgett and being reunited with Stacy feels
good
.

No... It feels
AMAZING
.

We hold each other like this for a long time. Stacy is the one to step back, and she looks at me with tears in her eyes.

“You're all grown up.”

I smile. “So are you.”

Stacy looks the same, except older. She still has the same warm brown eyes, and the same smile. She also seems to still be soft hearted, which was always my favorite part of her. I'm relieved to know she is still the same girl.

We both take a seat at the table, and she sighs heavily.

“I want to tell you how sorry I am,” she starts out. “I should have fought to see you nine years ago. I shouldn't have ran.”

“
Why did you run?” I ask. “Was it because of me? Because we moved to California for me?”

She shakes her head. “No. I didn't leave because I wanted to. I found out I was pregnant, and mom and dad kicked me out. I had no choice but to go.”

The excitement of knowing it isn't my fault is quickly outweighed by the anger that I feel about mom and dad kicking her out. It makes me sick, but she just told me I had a niece or a nephew. I can't help but smile at that. “You have a baby?”

She smiles through her tears. “Well, Anna isn't a baby anymore. She just turned nine last week.”

“Will I ever get to meet her?” I ask, excited at the prospect of seeing her.

“
I would like that. She is a
huge fan
. I haven't told her that you're her aunt.” She pauses. “Maybe you could come next weekend?”

I quickly agree to that. Making plans for the following weekend means that I will definitely see my sister again. Now that I have her back, I can't imagine losing her again.

Stacy catches me up on the last nine years of her life. I find out that Anna's dad didn't want anything to do with her, so she was on her own from the beginning. She chose Florida because she wanted to be as far away from Mom, Dad, and her ex-boyfriend as possible. She says that every day of her life, she regretted never getting the chance to tell me goodbye.

She also explains the first time she heard me on the radio. She knew it was me instantly when she heard my voice. She was so startled that she nearly wrecked her car.

Anna is a fan of mine. She has every one of my CD's, she has posters on her wall, and has seen every televised concert I've ever done. I can't help but smile at that.

Stacy is now a teacher. She teaches first grade, and she loves her job.

I also catch her up on everything with me, leaving out the bad parts. I tell her all about the
glamorous
life of Scarlett Ryan. I also tell her how I recently moved to Florida. I tell her about Stephan, and then I tell her about
Bridgett
.

“
Wow,” she says. “We were both adopted. Mom and dad told me from the beginning, and I can't believe they never told you. And I can't believe they didn't adopt your
TWIN
.” She pauses. “Actually, yes I can. They are monsters.”

I nod in agreement, still pissed that they
kicked
my sister
out
at age 17. They left her to fend for herself because she was
PREGNANT
. I can't help but think they would've done the same thing to me if I hadn't become a millionaire.

Right then and there, I decide I am going to cut mom and dad off. I am firing my dad, and kicking them both out of
my
houses. They are scum.

I've always known they were selfish. But I never dreamed they would do something so evil. They took away
MY SISTER
. For that, they will pay.

3:07 pm

22 missed calls

Stacy and me talk for hours, and just after three, she has to go. Her babysitter had plans for that night, and she had to get back home to Anna. I needed to get back to Bridgett anyway.

On my way out to my car, I check my phone and see that I have
22 missed calls
from Stephan. I am immediately worried. Stephan
never
calls me more than once. I am about to call him back, when my phone starts ringing. It's Stephan.

“
What's wrong?” I answer frantically.

“
Scarlett, you need to get here now.” I can hear the panic in his voice. “It's Bridgett. I think she had a heart attack, I don't know. We're at the hospital. She is in surgery right now.”

“
Surgery? What? How could she have a heart attack? She's 19!” I jump in my car, and leave fast. As I pull out of my parking lot, my tires are squealing.

“
Just get here!” Stephan says.

“
I'll be there soon,” I promise, then end the call. I throw my phone in the seat beside me, and put on my seatbelt as I merge onto the interstate. As I shift from first to second, the front end of my car goes a little to the left. I don't let off the gas, I just swerve my car back straight. I drive 120 mph the whole way there, never letting off the gas.

3:22 pm

Praying for a miracle

Normally a 30 minute drive, only takes 15 minutes. When I get there, I park my car quickly and run inside the ER.

It's seriously a miracle I didn't get pulled over by a cop.

Now, I'm praying for a miracle for Bridgett.

As soon as I run inside, Stephan is waiting there for me.

“
What's going on?” I'm frantic and out of breath. Maybe this is what it feels like to go into shock.

Stephan pulls me into a hug. “Everything is going to be fine, Scar. Just breathe.”

I try, but my breath is coming too fast.

“
Bridgett is going to be ok,” Stephan says firmly.

I pull back away from him. “Did the doctor say that?”

“They are in surgery right now, but I know everything is going to be all right.”

“
Surgery?” I panic when I hear the word again. “What happened?”

He sighs. “Ok, so I hung out with Bridgett like you asked me to. We were swimming, and Bridgett went inside to get us something to drink, and I heard a loud crash. So, I went inside, and Bridgett was having a seizure. I called 911, and we came here. They said something about her going into cardiac arrest, and they rushed her away to surgery. They've been back there for about two hours now.”

“Cardiac arrest... That is like a
huge
deal, Stephan.” Panicking, I run my fingers through my hair, and pace back and forth. “I have to call her parents.”

“
I will,” he says.

I give him my phone while he calls them, and I pace back and forth in the waiting room. I can't sit down. I'm far too anxious.

She can't die. She can't. I just found her.

“
I feel so helpless,” I tell Stephan as he get's off the phone. “What am I supposed to do? I can't just wait here.”

“
You could pray,” he suggests. “There is a chapel on the third floor.”

I am so shocked by his suggestion that I almost laugh. “I haven't been to church since I was 12. I don't even know how to pray.”

“I'll go with you,” he says. “Praying is easy. You just talk to God, kind of like you're talking to me.”

“
Does he... reply?”

Stephan laughs. “Come on.”