Alec
“Look, a whale!” I pointed at the stuffed animal
in the airport and nudged Nat.
She glared.
For living on the coast
,
she really didn’t have her sea legs. She threw up the entire boat ride. I was final
l
y able to convince her that
we should go
back to the hotel
until she felt
better.
Once she had some food in her stomach she was fine. Though still pissed she hadn’t
seen any whales. Thus the stuffed animal.
“You suck.” Her punch was weak. I laughed and grabbed her overnight bag from her.
In the distance a few people had their phones trained on us, most likely taking pics
or
T
weeting about our little “fight” in the airport.
“Ugh, I swear it still feels like I’m
still
on that damn boat
,
” Nat muttered into my chest. “Crackers?”
I reached into her bag and pulled out some crackers for her and a bottled water. “Better?”
She ate the cracker and nodded
. “
Damn whale.” She pointed at the offending stuffed animal.
“Admit it
.”
I took the
crackers
and bottled water from her and put them back in her bag
. “
You kind of want one.”
“A whale?”
“A stuffed animal. To remember the weekend by?”
“Alec, I don’t really want to remember the throwing up.”
I smirked
. “
That’s not all we did.”
“Right, and I
’
m sure all of that
…
”
She turned red
. “
Didn’t help!”
“Liar
.”
I kissed her cheek
. “
That
always helps.”
“Fine, buy me the damn whale and let
’
s get on our plane.”
Chuckling, I walked into the store with the whale and pulled out my credit card. My
body froze when my eyes fell onto the gossip magazines in front of me. There was a
picture of me and April hugging. How the hell did they get that? The headline read
. “
AD2 golden boy cheating on his girlfriend with an older woman?”
I turned the magazine around, and then my eyes fell on the next one.
“Shit.” I put the whale on the counter and turned around
,
blocking Nat’s view of the magazines
. “
Babe
,
will you do me a favor and call Demetri? My phone’s been off
,
and I want him picking us up at the airport. That okay?”
“Sure.” She pulled the phone from her pur
se and walked out of the store.
I quickly flipped the rest of the magazines, much
to the
amusement of the checker who was ey
e
ing m
e like I was high on something.
The last magazine had a picture that made me want to vomit. I had no idea how they
had that picture. No freaking idea. April was lying in her hotel room sleeping, pill
bottles scattered around the table next to
her.
Producers
W
ife
T
rie
s
to
C
ommit
S
uicide
.
“I hate the media.” I cursed and swiped my credit card through the machine.
The clerk snorted
. “
Says the rich celebrity.”
“Excuse me?” I snapped.
“You heard me.” He pointed down to the magazines
. “
You knew what you were getting into the minute you signed up for that craziness. I
don’t get why celebrities complain so much. Press enter on the screen please.”
I wanted to press my fist into his face, but instead, barely controlling my anger,
I pressed the button and gripped the countertop.
“Have a nice day
,
”
t
he man said
,
handing me the bag.
I held his gaze for a bit before nodding once and then saying in low tones
. “
I don’t care what anyone says. No celebrity, no one, asks for this shit to be made
public.” I threw two of the magazines on
to the counter and stomped off.
Nat waved me over to the bench she was sitting on chatting happily with Demetri and
then her face fell.
Pale. She looked too pale.
Was she still feeling sick from the boat ride or did she have bad news
?
I fought the urge to run
,
and
instead
slowly walked up to her side
,
placing my hand on her shoulder.
“I u
nderstand
.”
She swallowed
. “
How bad?”
Nat
exhaled a curse
and ended the conversation.
“What
’
s going on?” I kept my voice light even though I was dying inside.
“Guess what our theme is this week?” She stood and handed me her bags so I could car
r
y them.
“Hell?”
“Worse.”
“What’s worse than that?”
“The past. Our theme is the past
.
A
pparently
Ruben
has bowls of questions for each participant. Last night Angelica ran off, she got
super drunk,
and
Jaymeson found her stripping and trying to go swimming in the ocean.”
“She could have died! Is she insane?”
Nat shrugged
. “
Demetri says it
’
s not going to be a pleasant week
.
H
e just wanted to prepare us.”
“Let’s screw it all. You know? Who the hell cares
?
Let’s stay in Seattle.”
Nat peered up through the hair that had fallen across her forehead
. “
That doesn’t sound like the Alec I know.” She shrugged
. “
I say we power through and then go on a really long vacation somewhere tropical.”
“Consider the tickets booked.” I smiled.
“Good.”
“Nat?” We walked
toward
the first class lounge.
“Hmm?”
“Promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Trust me.”
With an exaggerated eye roll, Nat nudged me
. “
Already there.”
“No, Nat.” I bit down on my lip
. “
I’m serious, just trust me
.
T
rust in us
.
C
an you do that?”
“Again, I already do, Alec. Now put on your big boy pants
.
I
n an hour we’re going to be in the
S
eventh
C
ircle of
H
ell.”
“
Super
,
” I said dryly.
Nat laugh
ed
. “
It won’t be that bad. Come
on.”
She had no freaking clue that the minute we chose to get on that plane,
I was
just one minute closer
to losing it
.
**
**
Seventh
C
ircle of
H
ell
was a gross understatement. Nat and I had been back at the Beach House for a total
of ten minutes when
Ruben
bombarded us
with the “rules” for the week.
“Both of you are behind. I hope you enjoyed your stay and rewards. Remember
.”
He looked around at
each
of us
.
Angelica looked like hell. Jaymeson had dark circles under his eyes
,
and Demetri and Alyssa were ignoring
Ruben
completely. “You want to be the fan favorite this week. Fan favorite gets a…
special prize.”
Prizes meant freedom
,
which also meant I had to participate. “I’ll do mine right now.” I reached into my
bowl and pulled out a piece of paper.
“Read it aloud
,
”
Ruben
ordered.
Damn. “Have you ever lied to someone you love?”
The room fell silent.
I answered honestly
. “
Several times. Not that I’m proud of it by any
means
, but sometimes we lie because it’s easier then telling the truth. Sometimes by lying
you protect those you love.”
Silence. Again.
Nat cleared her throat
. “
My turn.” She reached into the bowl. Slowly, she unfolded the piece of paper and read
the question. “Have you ever regretted dating Alec instead of Demetri?” She shook
her head
. “
What the hell kind of question is that?”
“A good one
,
”
Ruben
said evenly
. “
Now answer it.”
“No. And it’s a
hell
,
no
!
N
o offense
,
Demetri.
”
“None taken.” He laughed.
“I love Demetri like family. I love Alec like…
well
,
definitely
not family
.”
People chuckled around the room including the camera crew
. “
And I would never take that moment back, even though it was difficult on al
l of us. It was
…
meant to be.”
“Well said
.”
I grabbed Nat’s hand and kissed it.
“Lovely, just lovely.” Jaymeson sighed
. “
Now that we’ve all answer
e
d questions, either let us get drunk or leave. It’s late, which technically means
the cameras have to go.”
Ruben
nodded slowly
. “
You’re right. How could I forget? It’s
only Monday
,
and since we had to wait for Nat and Alec to get back, we won’t make you guys do anything
else for the rest of the night
. We actually scheduled a private party for you guys tonight. After all, we only have
one week left of filming and you guys are all free to tour, make movies, and get married.”
The last part he said to Nat. She beamed
and looked
up at me.
“I feel like there’s a catch
,
” Demetri said eyeing
Ruben
up and down
as if trying to figure out the puzzle he was presenting us
.
“Always is.”
Ruben
clapped his hands together
. “
One camera crew stays
—
but don’t worry
,
they’ll just be here in case something happens.”
Ruben
left with the other two camera crews. A catering crew arrived a few minutes later
and began setting up food in the kitchen. Clearly
Ruben
hadn’t gotten the memo that Demetri didn’t like alcohol in the house
,
because
there
was enough champagne to kill a person. The
h
air on the back of my neck rose
.
S
omething wasn’t right.
Ruben
was too happy…
I mean a private
party
? Four weeks ago he was ready to scratch the whole project because we were so boring.
“I feel se
t up
,
” Nat whispered next to me as the kitchen crew began
pouring champagne into flutes.
“One week, Nat. We only have one
w
eek left.”
I was trying to encourage her while I was literally having a hard time breathing.
Ruben
had something up his sleeve.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, I quickly looked at the screen.
MEET ME OUTSIDE
.
NEED TO TALK
. —
APRIL
“Shit.”
“What?” Nat grabbed my arm
. “
Is everything okay?”
“Of course!” I gave her my widest smile and kissed her forehead
. “
I’ll just be right back I forgot something in the SUV.”
“
Ok
ay.”
Shaking, I put the phone back in my pocket and jogged outside. Sure enough April was
standing on the other
side of the boardwalk where the beach met the dri
veway.
“Can you make it fast?” I snapped
.
“The last thing we need is for
Ruben
to see us together or some photographer.”
“I don’t know what to do.” She sobbed into her hands. “He’s go
i
ng to take everything
.
H
e’s going to spread vicious lies and…
Alec
,
there isn’t a way out! There isn’t a way out.
You have to do something
!
Please! I’m begging you, Alec!
”
Feeling like shit, I pulled her into my arms for a reassuring hug. But instead of
melting against me, she beat on my chest. “I don’t want you
,
Alec Daniels! I never will! Stay the hell away from me! Stay the hell away from Demetri!”
“What?” I sputtered
,
releasing her
. “
April
,
what the hell are you talking about?”
“I already told you
.”
Tears streamed down her face
. “
I don’t want you. I never did. You were just a one
-
time fling.”
“What the hell
?
” I looked around crazily
. “
A
pril, we were never together we—”
“
S
top denying the truth
,
you bastard! I can’t believe you would do this to Demetri and me! I can’t believe
you would ruin so many people! I loved my husband and you ruined it! You ruined our
relationship!”
Stunned
,
I could only watch as she wiped away a few more tears and then under her breath said
,
“
I’m so damn sorry…
but I had to do this.”
The first camer
a flash went off when she left.
And then another.
Followed by five more.
Paralyzed with fear, anger, basically every suicidal emotion in the book, I stood
and watched the
tide
crash. With each
wave
, t
he sand crumbled more and more.
That was my life.
I couldn’t control what April di
d. In the end she turned on me.
Paparazzi
surrounded me, but I kept my eyes focused on the ocean, on the one constant thing.
I felt every shred of dignity leave. Every ounce of pride, everything I’d ever
worked for
—
gone in an instant.
With a curse, I stumbled back
toward
the house
.
C
amera flashes follow
ed
me, but not inside the house. I mean
,
why would they? We had an entire camera crew wai
ting for me in the living room.
The minute the screen door slammed everyone looked at me blankly. I couldn’t hide
the horror
on
my face. I felt every emotion all at once, as if the mask I had been trying to wear
was finally shattered and all that was left was complete and utter fear.
Nat’s eyes widened.
I shook
my head and ran up the stairs.
She followed me and slammed the door behind her
,
locking the camera crew out.
“What happened? Are you hurt?”
She led me to the bed and sat next to me
,
pulling my hands into her lap. “Alec
,
talk to me.”
“I
…
” Shaking with so much emotion, I just took her right there. I threw her against the
bed and kissed her senseless. I bit down on her lip and pushed my body against hers.
She moaned. An
d then her cell phone went off.
Ten times.
Finally I pulled back
.
S
he sighed and open
ed
the phone. Eyes widening with
horror
,
she pushed against me. “Get off.”
“What? What
’
s wrong?”
Tears welled in her eyes as she clicked through her phone and then glared accusingly
at me. “What did you need to get from your SUV?”
“Nat
,
I—”
“Just tell me, Alec! Tell me!” She lunged fo
r me and beat against my chest.
“There was nothing in my SUV.” I gulped
. “
I lied.”
“About everything
,
”
s
he whispered and then threw the phone at my face
.
I ducked just in time. The phone landed on the bed. On the main screen was a
picture of me embracing April.
“Son of a bitch.” I ran after her
,
cursing the entire way
down the stairs.