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Rory elbowed a plump paparazzo in the side and managed to get a bit ahead. She could now see a little more of what was going on. The paparazzi got rowdier and more vocal as a tall blonde in a stunning dress exited the club. Rory’s breath got stuck in her throat.
Tanya Cox. Rory’s lips pursed tightly. Forget the sight, just the name of that woman was enough to send Rory into a frenzy. It took a second for Rory to realize that she was trapped in the middle of the crowd as more fans had come up behind her at the sight of Tanya Cox. Their excitement was through the roof.
All of them wanted a glimpse of her and they had their cellphones out, trying to take a picture. In the process, Rory was being pushed against the paparazzi in front of her who were kept back only by a barricade and the big burly bouncers from the nightclub.
Rory was feeling claustrophobic, sandwiched between one tall guy and a rather muscular woman who kept giving her a dirty look. Goddammit, I need some air.
“Lizzy!” Rory shouted again in vain, as if her voice would be heard over this commotion. She was so close and yet so far from her friend. No way am I giving up now. Rory took a deep breath and tried to make way to reach up front.
Tanya Cox was busy posing for pictures and giving sweet smiles to the paparazzi. Rory froze as she saw Arsen Ford walk out of the club and greet Tanya, both of them posing for pictures. Arsen had a smile on his face. He looked happy. Rory’s heart sank and slipped down into a dark space. She wanted to run away, to be invisible. To be back in Montcove, in her safe, comfortable home.
Lizzy. It’s about Lizzy, she reminded herself. She thought about shouting Arsen’s name, but she didn’t want help from him at all. More celebrities that she didn’t know came out of the club, and the paparazzi started their regular routine of screaming for pictures.
Arsen and Tanya were nowhere in sight. As Rory gained some more space, she saw that Arsen was ushering her into another car.
“Arsen!” she shouted, involuntarily. He was her last hope after all. “Arsen!” She jumped up, raising her hand. The paparazzo next to her chuckled, thinking her some crazy fan.
Arsen turned around, but he just smiled and randomly waved at the cameras. “Arsen!” One last try. Being confined to a small space, tightly packed in with a whole bunch of bodies, made her feel woozy. The claustrophobia was real and the body odor of all the people around her was making her nauseous.
“Arsen! Lizzy!” she screamed in an exasperated voice, as her knees gave way. A blackness came in front of her eyes as Rory felt all of her strength leave her body.
Rory didn’t know how long she had bee
n lying on the sidewalk, but her eyes opened as she heard someone calling out to her.
“Lady? Hey lady?” It was the Uber driver who was fanning her face. “Are you okay?” he asked, when he saw her eyes open. As Rory realized that she was lying on the ground, she immediately tried to get up. The big crowd had dispersed, but there were a few paparazzi still milling about and sharing laughs at her expense.
A couple of them started taking her pictures as they chuckled at her sorry state.
Don’t take my picture, she wanted to say, but her throat was parched. No voice came out of it. Fuck. Rory just wanted to sit down and cry. This was the lowest that she had fallen. Literally!
Taking a deep breath she got back up, straightened her clothes, ran a hand through her hair, and cleared her throat.
“Gotta give it to you lady, you almost made it through us. You must be a real big fan,” a paparazzo said to her.
“Isn’t she a bit too old to be a fan?” another chuckled.
“Looks like a first-timer in LA You know how these small-town folk can be like,” a third paparazzo said, and they all broke into laughter. Rory quickly started making her way to the cab. To hell with these guys. To hell with this city.
What made her feel worse was the fact that she hadn’t been able to rescue Lizzy. Hadn’t been able to keep the promise that she had made to her mother. How she was going to get to Lizzy, she had no idea. If she had thought that she felt defeated about her life in Montcove, then she was wrong because this was what defeat truly felt like.
She was powerless to stop the tears that slid down her face as she approached the car. She was just done with everything. Rory sat in the back seat of the car and hid her face in her hands.
She had to quickly compose herself because it was time to head to her parents’ house and as always, it wouldn’t be a cakewalk. There was no room for crying and feeling bad. She somehow had to find the strength and the composure to endure it.
As the sight of her childhood home came in her view, her heart started beating audibly. They were not expecting her. They’d probably be shocked that she’d arrived early, but at least they’d be relieved to know that she had arrived well in time for the wedding. Rory crossed her fingers and prayed that her parents were in a good mood. The last thing she could stand was another conflict.
Chapter 21
For once, her wish came true. The atmosphere in her parents’ house was not tense as it always was. It was actually rather pleasant. The front door was ajar and as Rory opened it to walk in with her luggage in tow, she realized that there was a party going on.
There were a whole lot of people in the house, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. She looked around but could not find a familiar face. Clearly, they were friends of her parents and some other younger folk that she had no idea about. Rory could never have imagined that her parents had such an active social life.
The house was as perfect as it had always been, thanks to her mother’s dictatorial rule. Rory sheepishly walked through the crowd of people, realizing that she was probably the worst-dressed person in the room. I’ll just find one of the family, let them know I’m here and go lock myself upstairs. Rory was in no mood for socializing.
“Look who’s here.” A high-pitched, condescending voice greeted her.
“Hello Tara.” Rory grew stern.
