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With the weight of everything that had happened in the hour since I woke up, the extremes of emotion, I suddenly felt exhausted. Too exhausted for an in-depth conversation about how to patch up years of issues between the brothers, and way too tired to deal with gossip-hungry journalists.
“Can you make this mess over me and Drew go away? I’m not news, Jason. I’m an ordinary girl who fell in love with an extraordinary man, and I want to be with him in peace.”
Jason took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. His eyes softened and he nodded.
“I’m sorry. Give me an hour or two and I’ll fix it. I promise.”
True to his word, Jason didn’t waste any time calling Derek to implement some damage control. Razes Hell fans weren’t the kind to be interested in tabloid gossip. For the most part, they were quite an emo crowd, but the readers of celebrity news found the whole “love triangle” aspect fascinating. I’d taken a quick peek at some of the more popular gossip websites on my iPad, and seeing grainy, unflattering shots of myself, and guesses about what really happened did nothing to cheer me up.
While I waited for Derek to arrive at the hotel, I called my mum back. If she had any idea what Drew was doing to me during our last call, she didn’t mention it, thankfully. I reluctantly agreed to us having dinner with our families later, even though Drew and Jason weren’t talking and it would be awkward as hell. Making arrangements took my mind off the news, and Jason’s near-dabble with drugs. I also received an email from Janet Black, asking me to take some time to carefully read the terms of the attached contract for the illustrating job. Not a problem. It would probably be a few days before I had the brain power to take it all in.
Derek arrived at the hotel in less than an hour, and when he got to my room, he was not his usual put-together self. What was left of his grey hair flapped on one side, and his shirt and trousers were unusually crumpled, as if he’d been attacked by an angry mob.
An angry mob of journalists.
“Okay, we need to sort this out fast,” Derek said, trying to tidy his hair. “Those reporters want blood, and if I don’t give them something, they’re going to get pissed off.”
“Wow, way to calm me down. So, what’s the plan?”
Derek shrugged. “First you have to tell me what’s happening.”
“Didn’t Jason explain?”
“He told me that you and Drew are together, and the rest I read in the paper.”
“What else do you need?”
“I need to know what you want from this.”
“I want this to go away!” I tried not to shriek at the only person who had a shot at helping. “I don’t want to be the girl who might have caused the fake feud; I want to be the girl I was yesterday. The one I’ve always been, who stays in the background. Can you make that happen?”
Derek watched me thoughtfully. In fact, he stared so intently, I wondered if I had food in my teeth. “You’re unusual, Ellie. You’re an artist, and you’ve been given a huge platform to launch your career from. Are you sure you don’t want it?”
“I’m sure. I’ve been asked to illustrate a children’s book, and I got the job through my own hard work. I want to keep it that way. Fame is not my thing.”
“Okay. But you need to understand what you’re getting into here. Everyone’s gone nuts for Razes Hell, and like it or not, if you’re with Drew, you’re going to get attention. I’m talking constant speculation, cameras in your face, strangers shouting crap at you in the street and the occasional death threat from jealous fans. Are you ready for it?”
If our relationship hadn’t been forced into the open, nobody would care who I was. Thanks to the wonderful people who invented camera and video phones, that dream was dead. Derek was right, though. Even if we didn’t court publicity, the bigger the band got, the more people would want to snoop inside our lives. It was so easy for outsiders to intrude, with social media giving hundreds of thousands of people a tip-off to someone’s whereabouts in seconds.
But you have Drew. The beginning of a panic attack at the immense upturn my life was about to go through eased as I thought of him. He’d always kept me safe, even before we got together. Now, he was mine, so if we were forced to share a little bit of what we had with the world sometimes, it would be worth it. Being with him was worth it.
“There are plenty of wives and girlfriends of famous people who don’t flaunt who they are. This has all started off in the worst way, and I don’t want anyone to think I’m with Drew to promote my own career. So, yes. I’m ready to take whatever comes, but I will stay out of the spotlight as much as I can because it’s not mine. It belongs to the band.”
Again, Derek silently gazed at me, admiration growing in his eyes. “You’re a good girl, Ellie.”
“You say that as if you doubted me.”
“I didn’t. You’ve been with the guys through everything so I know you’re not a hanger-on who wants to be associated with rock stars. But people with the best of intentions sometimes lose who they are when an opportunity comes along. Whether you see it or not, this is an opportunity for you.” He paused, and blew out a breath. “If you want this to go away, I’ll release an official statement this morning explaining there was a misunderstanding, and any in-band fighting had nothing to do with
you. Your name’s already out there, but I won’t mention it again, and if reporters contact you, don’t speak to them. Don’t react if they follow you. Keep walking, pretend you can’t see them. If you don’t give them any gossip, they’ll lose interest.”
“That’s it? That’s all there is to it?”
“Yes. Journalists are like flocks of seagulls. If you feed them a tiny morsel of food, they’ll keep on coming back for more. If you don’t, they’ll lurk, waiting, then move on when someone else throws them a crumb.”
I smiled. “So. No crumbs for the reporters.”
“Exactly. Now,” Derek added, “I’ve arranged for a couple of cars to meet you at the back entrance. You can decide between yourselves who goes in which car, but you’re not going back on the train. I talked to the band before I came in here, and they’ll be ready to go when you are.”
