Diary of a Rocker's Kid (D.O.R.K #1) (13 page)

“Oh my God…” Ana slips her arms around me. “Who posted it?”

I shake my head and lean against her. “I don’t know…but whoever they are, I hate them.”

Ana nods against my head. “Me too. What kind of sick person does that?”

“Now Dad hates me.” I cry even harder. “He…he wouldn’t even let me explain.”

“Shhh…” Ana strokes my hair, which she knows has a calming effect on me. She holds me for a long time, telling me it’s all going to be okay.

***

Later, Ana and I leave in the Jag, with Cass’s permission, to go to Griffith Park and hike up to the Hollywood sign. Seeing the sign up close is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I figured physical activity would help me purge some tension and anxiety. I felt like I was about to go crazy in that house with Dad. His wrath is the last thing I want to face right now.

As we hike up Mount Lee, I am once again amazed at how vastly different California and Kentucky are landscape-wise. Cali is basically a dry dustbowl, and Kentucky is a lush, green oasis in comparison. That’s one of the few things I’m starting to miss…Nana, the horses, and the land.

“Almost there.” Ana struggles to breathe as she trudges up the mountain in front of me. Her family doesn’t live on a farm, so she’s not quite as used to physical activity as I am.

“Come on, you can do it. Push through the pain,” I tease her.

Ana grins down at me. “Shut up.”

We arrive at the top of Mount Lee, and both of us gaze upon the giant white letters in awe. Then Ana strikes several poses in front of the sign while I take pictures with her phone. This kind of thing happens a lot with us—Ana practicing her modeling and making me be the photographer. After that, we sit down side by side in front of the sign to drink some water.

I lay my head down on Ana’s shoulder as we take in the expanse before us. From the top of the mountain, you can see a lot of L.A. dusted in a fine layer of smog. The area directly in front of us is mostly comprised of neighborhoods, but then in the distance you can see the towering skyscrapers, and sapphire-blue Lake Hollywood is over to the right.

“I could stay up here forever,” Ana says.

I chuckle, still smarting from my exposure to the world. “I wish I could.”

“Why did you fall? Were you pushed?”

“I don’t think so. I’m just clumsy, and I didn’t have my glasses on.”

“Why didn’t you have your glasses on?”

I bite back a sheepish smirk. “Gio.”

Ana chuckles. “Ah. The things we do for love.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘love.’ More like intense, frustrating ‘like.’” I sit up to drink more water.

“Why is it frustrating?”

“Because he didn’t kiss me. He says he ‘likes to make a woman wait.’ Of course, for all I know, he really doesn’t want to kiss me.”

“I’m sure he does,” Ana says. “He seems like a bit of a tease. I bet he just likes to see you squirm.”

“Well, today I definitely feel like squirming.” I sigh, shaking my head. “I’m such an idiot. I kind of wish I could die.”

“Don’t say that.” Ana pulls me in again and rubs my arm with her palm. “People might talk about you for a while, but eventually it will all blow over, and everything will go back to normal. Trust me, this happens to celebrity girls all the time. People are only making a big deal out of it because you’re new in town. Just ride it out and try not to take it too seriously.” I nod against her, and then my phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my green messenger bag.

Gio: Where are you? Are you OK?

“Aww, Gio’s worried about me. Can I call him real quick?”

“Yeah, sure,” Ana says. I tap Gio’s contact to call him. The phone only rings once.

“Hey, where are you?” His voice is strained.

“I’m at Griffith Park with Ana, and I’m fine.”

“Oh good. I saw the stuff online and got really worried when you weren’t at home.”

I feel myself blush, and not in a good way. This is
so
embarrassing. If only I could bore a hole into this mountain and live out the rest of my life as a gopher. “Thanks for caring. I’m just getting some BFF therapy right now. By the way, exactly how bad is the post? I only saw it for a second.”

“It’s…it’s bad,” Gio reluctantly informs me.

“How bad?”

“Some gossip websites are posting it, and…well, let’s just say, you’re trending.”

Hammer. Meet. Chest.
“Oh my God…”

“They found out who you are, and they’re calling you a party girl. I’m so sorry, Madness. Cass and I are trying to figure out who took the picture so your dad can file a lawsuit.”

“Lawsuit?”

“Yeah, for emotional distress. Cass told me he’s already looking into it. If the person is over eighteen, they might even press criminal charges. I’m not sure who at my party would do a thing like this to a person they don’t even know, but they’re going to pay for this. We’ll get them. Don’t worry.”

“What’s going on?” Ana asks.

“I’ll let you talk to Ana,” Gio says. “Talk to you soon.”

“Okay, bye.”

After I hang up, Ana repeats her question. “Mads, what is going on?”

“Well…you know that picture of me Dad showed us early this morning?”

“Yeah?”

I release a labored sigh. “I think the president has seen it by now.”

After her initial shocked reaction, we take out our phones and Google search my name, and the results pour in.

“Basket Baby Madison Daley returns the way she left us…in her birthday suit.”

“The Grim Weeper’s daughter is back, and she’s ready to party!”

“Curious about what the Grim Weeper’s daughter looks like now?”

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Michael Daley’s daughter is just as wild as he was!”

I tap on that last link, just to see what Dad did that was comparable to what everyone thinks I did. We see tons of photos in the article of Dad partying it up in clubs, bars, and house parties, dancing with near-naked women and drinking until he was shitfaced.

“So having your swimsuit fall down at a party is the same or worse than all of this?
Horseshit!
” I throw the phone down on the mountain in anger. Ana keeps it from tumbling down the slope in front of us with her foot, and I pull my knees up to my chest and bury my face in my legs.

“Mads…don’t look at the comments on these articles.” Her voice is thick. “There are some horrible people in this world.”

“What? What are they saying?” I lift my head up and try to look at her phone.

Ana keeps it away from me and shakes her head. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”

I take the phone in spite of her protests, and I feel sick to my stomach as I read comments like:

“What a whore…”

“Where are her boobs?”

“Her father must be so proud…”

“We missed out on seventeen years of W3 for this?”

My tears come back in a rush. “This is a nightmare. Please wake me up.”

“I wish I could.”

***

Ana drives us back home, and when Kelsey opens the front door for us, I see Dad in the entryway on the phone with a lawyer. His hair is mussed, and his eyes are wild with worry. He talks about some legal-sounding stuff that I don’t understand for a minute, and then he hangs up and sees me. I half-expected him to still be angry, but he immediately scoops me up in his arms and presses me to his chest. “Thank God you’re all right.”

We grip each other for a long time, and I almost start crying again at the feeling of his arms around me. “What’s going on?”

“We’re gonna find the person who did this to you, and then we’re gonna make them pay,” Dad says.

“Dad…money is not going to fix this.” I pull back from him. “It’s not like people can unsee the picture.”

“That’s not the point. The point is that whoever took your picture and posted it committed a sexual offense. We have to make sure whoever it is never does it again.”
A sexual offense…
I hadn’t even thought of it that way. “But, listen, Gio came over and told me everything. I am so sorry for yellin’ earlier—”

“Don’t worry about it.” I pull into him again. “Just hold me. Please.” Dad holds me against him like he did when I was a scared little girl back home.

Chapter 14

June 7, 2015

New Worst Day of My Life

Well, I guess I just officially became a celebrity. It seems the rite of passage for becoming a real famous girl always involves some kind of nip slip, wardrobe malfunction, nude photo, or sex video. I just managed to accomplish three of those all in one step. Now that my dues are paid, I guess I can rest easy. I’m officially famous. Hooray!

Anyone who can’t see the obvious sarcasm dripping off the paragraph above needs to be held under water.

This is horrific. Someone took a picture of me when my swimsuit flipped down and proceeded to post it online. People must really be obsessed with Dad’s return, because my story has been “breaking the Internet” for the past ten hours. They’re calling me names I didn’t even know existed and railing against me for taking Dad away just to come back like this. My hopes and dreams of someday reinventing my image in the public eye are all but destroyed. Now everyone sees me as the girl who was dropped off in a basket, wrecked W3, and got naked at a pool party in front of everyone.

I am officially a total screw-up. Not only have I screwed up my own life, but I screwed up everybody else’s too. I’ve cried myself out, and now all I want to do is hide. Actually, hiding isn’t enough. I want to disappear. Dematerialize. Cease to exist.

I wish people knew it was an accident. It would make me look stupid, but at least it might make them stop defaming my character and making me out to be a whore. I’m the furthest thing from a whore. In fact, now I’m wondering if I’ll ever want to get naked again.

Thank God for Dad, Ana, and Cass. They’re keeping me sane right now. I’m not letting anyone see me, but they’re bringing things to my room for me and trying to keep me as calm and comfortable as possible. Gio has texted me a few times, but after seeing myself on the news, I’m too embarrassed to acknowledge his existence. This is so far beyond ‘humiliating.’ If a person can’t die of excitement, I’m almost certain now that one can die of mortification.

Ttyl if I’m still alive,

Mads

***

I set my laptop on the nightstand after clicking Submit. Then I squirm underneath my covers and pull them up over my head. Everyone else is downstairs having dinner, but I can’t eat. All I want to do is listen to the sounds of random TV shows, zone out, and forget I’m Madison Daley and the whole world has seen me without a shirt. I’m wearing sweat pants and a hoodie under my covers because if I see my own skin, I’m going to want to hurt myself. Being covered feels safe. I snuggle into my pillow and pull it up over my face, feeling like it might even be a risk to let the sun see me right now.

A knock comes at the door, and I pull the covers up even further. “Come in.”

I hear the door swing open. “Hey,” Gio says, and my stomach drops.

“Hey…look, no offense, but I really don’t want to see
anyone
right now…”

“I understand. I just wanted to bring you something. I guess I’ll set it on the nightstand and go.” I hear the clank of glass on the wooden nightstand, and I turn over and pull the comforter back a little bit to take a peek. It’s a single purple rose in a clear, water-filled vase.

I pull the comforter away from my eyes. “Gio…it’s beautiful.”

“I figured purple was your favorite color besides black. Glad you like it.”

I can now add ‘observant’ to the list of qualities I like about this guy. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Guess I’ll see you later.” Gio turns around to walk out the door, and my heart yearns after him.

“Hey…wait.” He turns back around, and I sit up, holding the comforter in front of me from the shoulders down. “You don’t have to go.”

Gio’s perfect lips turn up in a smile, and he comes back to sit next to me on the bed. “You doing okay?”

I blow out a sigh. “No…not really. I feel…well, I don’t really feel anything. I’m just—”

“Numb. Like feeling anything at all would be too much to handle.”

“Exactly.” I’m amazed at how easily he got that.

Gio brings his hand up toward my face. “May I?” I nod, and he runs his fingers through my hair like he did last night. “Believe me, I know how that is. I’ve been in the news for bad reasons a few times myself, and people said horrible things about me too. You just have to realize they’re not the ones who really matter. If your family and friends know the truth and support you, you’re doing all right.”

“I’m trying to believe that, but they’re all so mean…”

“You’re right. They
are
mean. Don’t listen to them. You’re beautiful, and you’re definitely not a party girl or a whore. Everyone who matters already knows that.”

My hands lower, bringing the comforter down with them. Much to Gio’s credit, he doesn’t even glance down at my chest. Instead, he smiles and leans in close to my face.

For a second, I think I’m about to get my first kiss, but then he whispers in my ear, “Hey, do you want to go see something pretty and not upsetting at all?”

I pull back, panicking at the mere thought of going outside. “Um…I appreciate the offer, but I’m terrified to go out in public right now. I don’t want any of these horrible comments coming to my face.”

“No one’s going to say it to your face. All those people commenting on your pictures are complete cowards. They’d never have the guts to approach you in person and defame you like that. Trust me, you’re safe.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, and if anyone says a word to you, I’ll punch their ass out,” Gio promises. “You have my word.”

“Um…I dunno…”

“Are you doubting my ass-kicking abilities?” Gio glowers at me in mock offense, and I giggle.

“No, I’m sure you’re incredibly strong.”

Gio pulls me in by my covered arm and kisses my cheek. “Then just trust me, okay? Let me get your mind off your troubles.”

I pull the comforter off my legs, keeping my gaze fixed on my black, manicured fingernails. “Well…okay.”

***

After I’m dressed in jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt, Gio and I take a ride to Santa Monica Beach in his steel-gray Maserati. On the way over he tells me, “The radio’s all yours tonight. Pick a station, any station.”

I scan the stations, and then I stop when I hear a familiar song. “Hey, they’re playing W3!”

“Yeah, I’ve heard W3 in a lot of places lately. I think people are getting nostalgic now that your dad’s back in town.”

“Excellent.” I grin like a villain. “Looks like my missions are right on track.”

“Missions?”

I briefly explain my missions to Gio, leaving out the parts about my mother. At the end of the explanation, he laughs. “Why am I not surprised by this?”

“I dunno, I guess you’re psychic.”

“Nah, you just give off a general evil-mastermind vibe.” He gives me a dimpled grin and a wink.

I sit and watch him drive the rest of the way, loving the way his light blue shirt contrasts sharply against his dark coloring. I can’t help but feel like I don’t really belong in this passenger seat next to him, especially after everything that happened over the weekend. I’m not the kind of girl he deserves at all, but if Gio doesn’t mind being seen with a weirdo like me, I’m not going to complain.

We arrive at Santa Monica Beach, where the park on the pier is closing and the sun is just starting to dip toward the horizon. Orange and purple streaks are beginning to appear in the sky, and the bit of Pacific Ocean washing up onto the shore is reflecting the pier like smooth glass. Gio and I slip our sandals off as we step onto the warm, fine sand, and he reaches for my hand. I link fingers with him, relishing the feeling of his slightly roughened skin as we walk down the beach.

“This is
incredible
,” I whisper as the lights on the Ferris wheel come on in the distance. The contrast of the bright pink electric lights against the coral and heather hues of the sunset is nothing short of magical.

“I knew you would like it.” Gio rubs the side of my hand with his thumb. “When I come down here at sunset, it helps me forget about everything and not feel like I need ten shots of whiskey quite as much.”

I turn to look at him with an amused smirk. “You’re a big liquor fan, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea,” Gio says with a chuckle.

“Just curious, what are you doing here in L.A. during the summer?” He raises an eyebrow in confusion. “I mean, on TV, rich kids go out of town to places like Paris and Rome to get away.”

“Well, ironically, Rome
is
usually where I go in the summer. That’s where my mother lives. This year Papa has a big movie premiere and Mamma’s really busy, so they just decided I would go there for the holidays instead.”

“Your dad has a movie premiere?” He nods. “That is
sick
!”

“Yeah, I get to walk the red carpet with him again. That never gets old.”

“What’s it like having two homes?” I squeeze his hand. “Being away from your mom all the time must be hard.”

Gio shrugs and looks straight ahead. “It’s all right. Mamma runs a four-star restaurant over there, so she’s never really around anyway.” He quickly turns the attention off himself. “What about you? Did you ever figure out who your mother is?”

I shake my head. “No. I just started trying a couple months ago.”

“You know who I think your mother is?”

“Who?”

“Wonder Woman.” Gio gives me a big, teasing grin. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious.”

I giggle at the flattery. “You
really
think I’m as hot as Wonder Woman?”

“Hotter. And believe me, that’s saying a lot coming from me.”

My heart begins to pound, and I take a deep breath to steady my voice. “So Gio Abate is a Wonder Woman fan. Finally, this makes sense.”

Confused, he asks, “What do you mean?”

“I mean…you liking me.” I stare at my feet in the sand.

Gio takes my arm and turns me to face him. “Hey…” He inches toward me with a look of concern. “I like you for
you
.” As he winds his fingers down my cheek and neck, I gaze into his wonderful eyes, which are reflecting the pier and the sunset. “You’re so great, Madness. I wish you could see it.”

“Thanks,” I whisper. I lose my breath as our bodies come fully together. He wraps his arms around me, making me feel safe and vulnerable all at once.

“Take your glasses off,” he says softly, and he smiles at my shocked reaction.

“What?”

“Just take them off.” My hand trembles as I reach up and remove them. Then his head tips down, and I almost squirm out of his embrace in my panic.
Oh God…this is it…

In one smooth movement, Gio touches his lips down to mine. At first, I freeze up in my nerves, but then I reach up and dig my fingers into his mass of black hair as I kiss him back. It’s my first kiss ever, and there’s no way it could be any more perfect. We listen to the waves crashing against the shore and seagulls crying above us as the breeze whips my hair against his face. Gio tightens his grip around me, and his lips press down firmly against mine, grasping them over and over and flooding me with euphoria from head to toe. Eventually, we have to come up for air, and Gio breathes against my lips, “You’re amazing.”

“You’re awesome,” I whisper back.

He swallows hard as he tangles his fingers in my hair. “I’ve never had a kiss like that before.”

“I’ve…never had any of this before,” I say with a breathy giggle.

He pulls back with wide eyes. “What? Really?”

Shrugging, I say, “Well…I grew up alone on a farm.”

“But the flirting…the kissing…this was really your first time?”

“Yeah…” I trail off, not sure what to say.

Gio chuckles, flabbergasted. “Well, you’re a natural. And I have to say, it’s really not fair.”

My smile grows so wide that I’m afraid it will split my face. He used my ‘not fair’ phrase. It’s almost like we’re a match made in heaven. “Thanks.”

“You got any notes for me?” There’s a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. I’ve been teaching him how to excel at gaming, but there’s no way he could possibly improve on this.

I wrap my arms around his strong neck and shake my head. “Not this time.” Feeling braver than ever before, I rise onto my tiptoes and press my lips to his again.