Aftershock: A Charity McAdams Novella (11 page)

It’s not a very far walk but it seems to take forever as Brandon has to stop every few steps to pose for the camera. There are people everywhere and the camera flashes are relentless. I feel like I have vertigo as I scan the scene all around me, it seems dizzying.

A reporter latches onto Brandon and I take a few steps back to let him answer the questions. With all the background noise and chatter, I only hear snippets of their conversation but it all seems to be revolving around his next film project. Brandon starts talking with his hands and drops mine in the process.

“Ms. McAdams?”

I turn at my name and come face to face with a woman I have never seen before. She is dressed in a black pantsuit and I immediately assume she is some sort of publicist or manager.

“Yes?” I reply.

“My name is Lindsey Perkins. I’m with Mr. Harts publicity firm. Please come with me,” she directs and grabs for my arm.

I turn to look back at Brandon, a moment of panic overtaking me at the thought of leaving him. “Where are we going?” I ask.

“I’m just going to take you inside. Brandon will be along shortly. He has a few interviews lined up to take care of first.”

I start to protest but she holds my arm firmly, not letting me twist away. Alarm bells are still going off in my head but I nod slightly and let her lead me toward the front entrance. I follow her to the reception hall where the event is being hosted. I am surprised at how big the room as I survey the sea of tables. There are quite a few people already seated and others are scattered in little pockets around the room.

Lindsey conveniently excuses herself as soon as she gets me inside and she leaves me standing alone in the entryway of the hall. I shuffle off to the side to keep out of the way of the other people who are coming in behind me.

I look around and start debating whether or not I should just try to find my seat and wait for Brandon to get here. As I consider the options, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I expect to see Lindsey back from her errand but it’s not her, it’s a petite blonde in a formal dress.

“Are you Charity McAdams?” She asks, her eyes wide and expectant.

“Uh, yes,” I stutter.

“Oh my God! You’re just the person I was looking for!”

“Are you on Brandon’s publicity team too?” I ask.

She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, no, no. I’m Jessica Patrice. I’m a journalist.”

My eyebrow rises suspiciously. If there is one thing I’ve learned from my short time in Hollywood is that I don’t like, or trust, these so called “journalists.”

“Ever since I saw the pictures of you and Brandon I wanted to talk to you and get your perspective on what it’s like to date one of the hottest new guys in Hollywood!” She pulls out her phone and quickly taps the screen. “You don’t mind, do you?”

I don’t know what to say, I just want to get away from her but I know there isn’t really anywhere to go.

“So you and Brandon dated in high school?” She presses on.

“Umm, yes, and college,” I answer hesitantly.

“Did he always want to be an actor?”

I nod as I silently map out an escape route.

Jessica is still rambling on and on, asking everything and I stop listening, nodding occasionally.

“Is it true that he dumped you at the altar so he could date Vanessa Blair?” Jessica blurts out.

“What?!” Her question snaps me back to attention.

She looks confused for a minute. “That’s why you had that fight with her, a couple months back. She found out you two were sneaking around. Care to comment on that?”

“Seriously? Is that how this works? You just throw out the most outrageous question you can think of and hope you’ll get some dirt? Or at the very least, I’ll throw a fit and you’ll get a sound bite out of the deal? That’s just pathetic.” I continue, not even trying to control my tone.

A few people nearby start looking over at us and I feel heat rising into my cheeks. Great, now this is going to make the news.

“Brandon Hart’s Girlfriend Goes Berserk!”

I don’t even bother to apologize for my outburst. I walk away and don’t look back. I cross the room and go down a hallway. I see a sign for the restrooms and head in that direction. I take a few deep breaths, trying to compose myself as I push through the door.

“Charity? Is that you?”

What now?

I look and see Maggie, from the beach party, standing at the sinks. She dries her hands on a paper towel.

“Hi!” I say, happy to see a familiar face.

“How are you?” Maggie asks.

Her face is warm and compassionate looking and part of me wants to spill my guts to her about how awful the past week has been and the reporter with the inappropriate questions. I stop myself, knowing that it will only lead to an eyeliner disaster of epic proportions and I’m not entirely convinced that the glue holding on my false lashes can handle a mess like that.

“I’m ok, just a lot to take in,” I answer.

“Yeah, it is a lot. Do you want to come and sit with me and my friends until Brandon gets done?” She asks.

I get the feeling that she really wants to help me so I nod and follow her out of the bathroom. We weave through the crowd and sit down at a table near the front of the room. Maggie introduces me to the three other women at the table and they all start chatting like old friends.

I don’t really have anything to add to the conversation and find myself settling into the background. One of the women makes a comment about some new breakthrough plastic surgery procedure and before I know it that is all they want to talk about and I feel even more out of place.

The whole conversation takes a dive into TMI territory very quickly. Talk of Botox, boob jobs, and laser hair removal only make me feel more out of place.

I scan the room again and still don’t see Brandon but I do see Lindsey making a beeline back towards me.

“Ms. McAdams let me show you where you are sitting,” she says when she reaches me.

I thank Maggie for inviting me to sit with her and say goodbye to the ladies I just met.

I turn back to Lindsey and start following her to a table across the room. “Will Brandon be here soon?” I ask, desperately hoping the answer is yes.

She looks confused. “No, Mr. Hart will be tied up all evening. He is speaking later and will be backstage most of the night. He won’t have much time for sitting and he won’t be here for the dinner portion. Then, after he speaks we have a few more interview and photo ops lined up.”

A flash of anger courses through me as I start to wonder why Brandon even brought me here if he knew he wasn’t going to be able to be with me. He had to have known that he was essentially abandoning me to a room full of strangers. Actually, this was worse than strangers, most of these people are associated with the media in some way and even if they aren’t directly, they seem like the type of people that would sell out your stories if they thought it would benefit them.

Hadn’t Brandon been the one to tell me you couldn’t really trust anyone in this business?

If he really feels that way, why would he leave me here with all of them?

Maybe that was why he had spent the whole day trying to butter me up with gifts and special surprises. I shake the thought away as soon as it enters my mind.

“Thank you Lindsey, I will be right back and then you can take me to my seat,” I say, my voice even and my smile firmly in place.

“Alright,” she replies, glancing at her watch. “I’ll be right here when you get back.”

I go back down the hallway with the restroom but I pass the restroom door and keep walking until I find an elevator. I go back up to the main lobby and snake around the crowd of people. I break free of everyone and glance back to see if I can spot Brandon. For a moment I debate whether I should go back and see if I can find him but decide against it.

Turning back to the street I see a cab and I rush to flag it down.

Chapter Nineteen

I get back to the house in record time. I pay the cab driver and rush up the front walk. Once inside, I shut the heavy front door behind me and lean against it, not sure what to do next.

My phone starts buzzing from inside my purse. I dig the phone out of my bag and see Brandon’s name on the screen. I’m sure his little assistant ratted me out as soon as she realized I wasn’t coming back from the bathroom.

“Charity, where are you?” Brandon’s voice is frantic.

“At the house,” I answer my voice shaking. “Brandon, I’m sorry but I can’t do this.”

“Do what? What are you talking about?”

“This! Any of this!”

“I don’t understand, what happened?”

“You know what, it doesn’t even matter. I just need to get out of here,” I say as I start toward the stairs.

“Oh, no no no, you’re not going anywhere!”

Surprised by his demanding tone I stop at the top of the stairs. “I need some space. I can’t think here. It’s too much right now.”

“So where are you gonna go?” He questions, not even trying to hide the anger in his voice.

“Home,” I say without thinking. “I’m going to go home.”

The line goes quiet. I pull the phone away from my face to make sure he is still there.

“Cherry, please wait for me,” he is saying as I put the phone back to my ear. “I’ll leave right now. I want to talk to you.”

“You can’t leave, you have to speak and do all the interviews and everything,” I remind him.

“Why are you doing this? Please just wait, I’ll get there as soon as I can break away.”

I sigh. “Alright, I’ll wait here.”

We disconnect and I go into the bedroom. I slip out of my dress and change into a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I pace around the room, debating whether or not to start packing a bag.

I don’t want to leave Brandon but I have to get out of here. I need the peace and quiet of home to clear my head and figure out what I want.

My mind made up, I pull a duffel bag out of the closet and start packing.

A few hours later I hear the front door open and shut.

“Cherry?”

I leave my perch on the edge of the bed and head out into the hallway. Brandon is coming up the stairs and stops short, leaving a few feet between us.

“What happened tonight?” He asks, his face a mix of bewilderment and anger. “I feel like one minute you’re standing next to me and then I don’t see you again and when I call you to find out where you are, you tell me you’re leaving me. I can’t even begin to wrap my brain around this!”

“It was just too much, Brandon. Your publicist person hauled me off and you didn’t even notice! And then some reporter spotted me and wanted to ask me a thousand questions about when we were engaged before and how we got back together again. Apparently people think you dumped me at the altar because you were having an affair with Vanessa Blair!”

His face twists in confusion. “What?!”

“And then I got away from that mess and got stuck in a cluster of women who only wanted to talk about crazy plastic surgery crap that I have no interest in ever understanding. I mean, really?! Who talks about things like vaginal rejuvenation in public?! I don’t even know what that means! I don’t even
want
to know what that means.

“And somewhere between that and the obnoxious reporters and the gazillion pictures, something snapped and all at once I realized that this is just not right for me. I don’t belong here.”

I pause for a moment, taking a deep breath, trying to steady my voice.

“I’m sorry, but I need to go home.” I finish before turning to go into the bedroom.

Brandon follows closely behind. “Ok, so obviously it was a freakin’ circus tonight, and I’m sorry about that. But really? That’s it? One bad night and you’re throwing it all away?”

“No, I’m not throwing anything away. I don’t think so. I don’t know,” I argue, pulling the duffel bag off the bed.

“Then stop! If you don’t know, then stop!” He exclaims, grabbing for my hands and then trying to pull away the bag.

“Brandon, no! You have to let me go!” I yell back.

A look of shock flashes across his face and he backs away from the bed. He puts his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” he says, shaking his head.

I look away, blinking quickly, trying to stop the tears that are threatening to fall.

“I’m sorry,” I say, rounding the corner of the bed. I stand in front of him and gently place my hands on his face. “I don’t want to leave you but right now, I don’t know what else to do. I’m not made for the spotlight and you can’t go back to the normal, small town life. We’re in two different places, two different worlds, and I don’t see how we can ever blend it all together.”

His eyes soften and search mine. For a moment I think he is about to lean in and kiss me, but then something shifts. It’s silent, but somehow palpable and suddenly his anger returns. His face changes and he pulls away from me abruptly.

“I have to get out of here, do whatever you have to do,” he says before turning and storming out of the room.

I stare at the empty doorway, wondering if I should follow him. I try to run through what I would even say but I can’t come up with anything. I start to question the whole thing, wondering if I am making a mistake. Maybe I’m overreacting.

Overreacting or not, I need time away, to breathe and process everything.

I leave my bags by the front door and go in search of Brandon. The lights are on outside and I can see his silhouette standing at the railing of the back deck. I peek out the front door to make sure the car isn’t waiting before crossing the house and going out the back doors.

“I have a car on the way, it should be here soon,” I say as I step out onto the deck, shutting the door softly behind me. He turns at the sound.

LeeLee is sitting by Brandon’s feet and she comes bounding over to me, begging for attention. I stoop down and scratch behind her ears.

As I stand back up, I cross my arms across my waist. I want to go to him and feel him wrap his arms around me and tell me everything is going to be ok. But I don’t move.