Page 228 of Fame & Chaos

I’m halfway through mindlessly playing a game on my cell phone when the door suddenly bursts open and Ella races in looking panicked.

“Caleb, come quickly,” she blurts out, grabbing my hand. “Annie freaked out and fainted.”

Immediately, I stand up. “What?”

Ella drags me out of the room so quickly that I almost trip trying to keep up with her.

“What do you mean she fainted?” I ask sharply. “What happened?”

Ella shakes her head. “I shouldn’t tell you.”

I stop walking and gently pull her back toward me. “Ella.”

She groans dramatically. “Fine. But she’s gonna kill me for telling you.”

“Tell me.”

“She slept with Aston,” Ella blurts out. “Then afterward, he told her he loves her, and she completely freaked out.”

I blink at her. “What?”

“She started spiraling about how her birth parents didn’t love her, so how could anybody else love her either.” Ella shakes her head, looking confused. “I don’t understand what happened.”

“Okay,” I say quietly. “Take me to her.”

We rush down the hallway toward one of the backstage kitchen areas, and the second I walk in, my stomach drops. Annie’s lying unconscious on the floor, looking pale as hell, while Dee kneels beside her, dabbing her forehead with a damp cloth.

“Oh shit,” I mutter while immediately crouching beside her.

She looks awful. Sweaty, pale, and completely exhausted.

“Geez, Annie,” I murmur.

Dee glances up at me anxiously. “Can you carry her to the green room? The couch will be more comfortable than the floor.”

“Yeah, of course.” I carefully scoop Annie into my arms, and honestly, the dead weight instantly reminds me of carrying her home drunk not that long ago.

Aston appears seconds later, looking completely wrecked. “What happened?” he asks frantically. “Is she okay?”

“She’ll wake up soon,” I assure him while carrying her toward the green room.

“I caused this, didn’t I?” Aston asks quietly.

His eyes are already filling with tears, and I feel bad for him because he genuinely looks devastated.

I lower Annie carefully onto the couch while Aston hovers nearby, panicking.

“She’s gonna be okay,” I say firmly. “I think this has been building for a while.”

Ella nods sadly beside him. “She’s been carrying this stuff around forever.”

A medic arrives quickly and starts checking Annie over while Dee stays beside her, holding her hand.

Eventually, Annie stirs weakly and gasps softly.

“Annie?” Ella says immediately.

“My chest hurts,” Annie whispers weakly without opening her eyes properly.