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She steps up to the sink and calmly washes her hands, dries them. She smooths her hair and touches up her lipstick with a tube from her clutch. Aside from the wet spot down the front of her clothes, she looks a little flushed but camera ready, as always.
Luckily, we’re not alone in the elevator; I know Melly well enough to know that she would change the subject as quickly as possible and I’m grateful I don’t have to answer any questions about James. The people with us either don’t know who Melly is or are too polite to mention it, thank the Lord. My phone starts vibrating with increasing frequency by the second floor, and by the time we make it to James’s room there are a handful of messages from James, some from Robyn, and shit—one from Ted.
Judging by the look on James’s face, his says the same thing:
FIX THIS
Ella @1967_Disney_bound • July 12
HOLY SHIT THEY CANCLED THE TOUR?
TMZ @TMZ • July 12
Cameras catch lovers’ spat as Melissa and Rusty Tripp dine together amidst rumors of infidelity and scandal. Promo tour canceled. www.tmz.com/2L6Kz8l
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booksnbangtan @booksnbangtan
@1967_Disney_bound I cannot be reading this right. They lost it in front of an entire restaurant? And what cover up are they talking about in the article?
Ella @1967_Disney_bound
@booksnbangtan Like you couldn’t just eat your pasta primavera and be nice?? Not positive on the rumors but it’s been a circus the last few months. Remember this doozy?
TMZ @TMZ • April 4
Melissa Tripp out with friends. Sources say mysterious bruises have team concerned www.HollywoodLife.com/2L6Kz8l
booksnbangtan @booksnbangtan
@1967_Disney_bound WHY ARE THEY SO MESSY THO?
And mysterious bruises? Please, if we going knock down drag out my money is on Melissa. A lot of pent up rage behind all that makeup
Ella @1967_Disney_bound
@booksnbangtan idk take your pick lol. I know people suspected rusty had a drug habit after he lost some weight last year, and don’t get me started on their kids
Pitty @Pittypattington7th
@booksnbangtan @1967_Disney_bound I was supposed to go to the Seattle event and they canceled at the last minute.
Jenna @Jennanadamcuthbert04
@Pittypattington7th @booksnbangtan
@1967_Disney_bound I have a friend who knows their son from school and said he has a thing for hookers and vegas. Do with that what you will.
Abashed1999OC @Abashed1999OC
@Jennanadamcuthbert04 @Pittypattington7th
@booksnbangtan @1967_Disney_bound no shit??
Part of me is relieved to see the lights fading away as we leave the Portland city limits. But the other part is anxious about what’s ahead: we’ve essentially been banished until the first season of Home Sweet Home airs.
The four of us are on our way to a cabin in the middle of nowhere, meaning the gloves can truly come off. With every mile we move farther from civilization. I’m not one hundred percent sure where we’re going, but I know one thing: nobody can hear the screams from this far away.
It’s absurd, really, that we’re still expected to chaperone this nonsense, but my assumption is that everyone is worried that, left to his own devices, Rusty would rather catch a cab home and leave Melissa behind than stay sequestered with his wife in the woods. Just as I’m about to quietly run this theory past Carey, a crash comes from the back of the bus, and Melissa storms out of the lounge, throwing herself on one of the couches toward the front of the cab. Breathing heavily, she closes her eyes and rubs her temples. They’re not even trying to pretend anymore.
“I swear to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” she hisses. “That man—”
“TJ and Kelsey.” Carey calmly reminds her boss of the two most important reasons why Melissa can’t murder her husband. “Also, you’re building a house in Aspen that is going to be gorgeous. You can’t decorate it from a jail cell.”
Melissa takes a few deep breaths and then opens her eyes to smile gratefully at Carey. What the hell would Melissa do without her?
My phone lights up with a text sent to me, Carey, and Ted from Robyn. It reads simply:
Everything’s set.
Carey grimaces at me and types up exactly what Ted can do with his getaway, before erasing it all.
She slides her phone onto the bus bench between us, gives me a half smile, and leans her head back against the cushion. The metaphorical handcuffs have been clicked into place.
I grew up in the Southwest, and I’m familiar with Jackson, of course—obviously it’s where the Tripps are based—but I’ve never traveled the almost four hundred miles to Laramie. The size of the sky out here blows my mind. Half of the circle of my vision is a clear, startling blue. The other half is an explosion of green: hills, grass, plains that go on forever.
We drop off the tour bus in Laramie and, with as little fanfare as possible, we’re done. We say goodbye to Joe and encourage him to schedule a long vacation. He takes a final look at the Tripps and wishes us luck—their mutual silent treatment commenced as soon as we got on the bus, and we’re all tired of breathing such pressurized air.
