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“You’re with Lo from Shakedown. Surely you can see why people want to get pictures of you and his kid.” Her expression sends me into a fit.
“How do you know who I am? How do you know about my daughter?”
She holds up her cell phone. “Everyone knows about you guys. It’s all over the place. They’re calling you the new Yoko, you know, like the woman who broke up the Beatles when she got with John Lennon.”
Another man comes into the lobby and the desk clerk’s eyes widen. “I would get out of here if you don’t want anymore pictures taken. They know you’re here now, so they’re going to start swarming this place.”
“Where’s Apollo?” Lani asks as she pushes me toward the elevator.
“At a band meeting.” I hurry inside, and she follows.
Just before the doors close, a different man uses his phone to take a picture of us. “Don’t post that, you son of a bitch!”
Holding Aurora close to me, I force her to face from the door.
I can’t believe how some people can be.
“Is the meeting here at the hotel?” Lani asks.
“I have no idea. Didn’t think to ask. But we’ll be safe in the room.”
She nods.
Once the elevator stops at our floor, she steps out first, looking around. “Okay, come on.”
Hurrying out of the elevator, then down the hallway, we make it to the room, then get inside where I finally feel safe.
Aurora begins to cry as I put her down. “Oh, baby, what’s the matter?” I pick her back up, trying to sooth her.
Lani runs her hand over Aurora’s head. “I’m sure she feels what you’re feeling. Just calm down and she will too.” Taking her phone out, she shakes it. “I’ll find out what the hell is going on.”
She taps away as I go sit down with my little girl, trying to calm us both down.
Lani frowns. “Okay. Well, your man isn’t doing anything wrong, so that’s good news.”
“I didn’t think he was. This is about me, for some reason, but I’m not newsworthy.” Holding my daughter even tighter, I sigh. “We are not news. We’re just normal people.”
Sitting down next to me, she shows me her phone. “You guys have been followed everywhere. Look, here you and Apollo are dropping her off at daycare the other day. The paparazzi must have put two and two together.”
“But why would they think I’m breaking up the band? I’d never do that!” My throat is closing up and my eyes are stinging.
But when Aurora cries harder, I swallow it down. “It’s okay, sweetie.” Stroking her back, I try to calm myself down too. “Everything is okay. We can have ice cream if you want.”
Pulling her head back, she looks at me with wide eyes and red cheeks. “Chocolate?”
“Yes, chocolate ice cream. You can eat all you want. Won’t that be fun?”
Lani smiles sadly as she nods. “Auntie Lani will go get you some, sweetheart. I’ll be right back.”
“They’ve seen you with me now, Lani. You better lay low here too.”
“I’m not afraid of having my picture plastered all over the internet, Luce. It’s you and her that I’m worried about. And if anyone asks me anything, I’ll set them straight.”
“Please don’t. It’s better if we just don’t say anything at all. This is bad enough. We need someone who knows what they’re doing. We can’t let this get worse than it already is.”
19
Apollo
