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CLOVER
My stomach drops when a Google alert pops up on my phone. Bells flicks a glance at me from the driver seat before we both steal a peek at Aurora who has AirPods in and oversized sunglasses. Pretty sure she’s asleep.
Good. God knows she needs it. Her tour schedule has been grueling. But it’s finally coming to an end. Or it was. Then, right when we could all see the light at the end of the tunnel, Kent Kingston went and pulled one of his bullshit stunts. Gah, I’ll never understand why anyone believes anything that comes out of that man's mouth!
“What did that dick face say this time?” Bells glares at my phone before she realizes she’s not watching the road. She jerks the SUV back into our lane. I grab the handle above the window, holding on for dear life. I drop my phone and almost have a small heart attack.
The snow is already coming down hard.
“Sorry,” she mouths, blowing one of her dark wavy locks out of her face that escaped the messy bun on her head. I’m just thankful that Aurora is still out. She doesn’t need another thing to worry about. What the hell did that doctor give her? It had to be something strong, because she’s been out for a while now.
I reach down and scoop my phone back up off the floor. Not only do I have a Google alert, but I also have a text from Daphne that I missed. Crap. It was from twenty minutes ago. She was trying to give me a heads-up that a Google alert was going to begin pinging soon. It was something she didn't have to warn me about, but it went a long way in making me trust her more and more. Trust is something I don’t give out easily. Especially when it comes to things that involve Aurora.
“Daphne texted me, too.” Bells’ eyebrows rise all the way to her hairline. “What’s up?”
I push my glasses up my nose. “She let me know Kent is busy adding fuel to the fire, and then I got the alert.”
“I believe her.” She shrugs. Yeah, she’s been saying that from the start. The thing was, Bells didn't grow up in this world. I did. She was tossed into it when her best friend Aurora became an overnight sensation.
I don’t usually make friends easily, and I definitely don’t trust easily. But it was different when it came to Bells. I took to her instantly. She and Aurora were already loyal to one another, but I felt as if they extended that to me too. I may technically be employed by Aurora, but both she and Bells still treat me as if we’re old friends.
“Giving Daphne an exclusive inside look at Aurora Davenport could put her little reporter blog on the map.”
“Not going to fight with you on that one, but I follow her. She’s about truth, and she’s also about sticking it to assholes. Kent is as big of an asshole as they come, plus this isn't about money to her. This is about making a name for herself that people will believe in. If she wanted to be known, she could have easily become a socialite.”
Also true. Daphne was born famous.
“A man fucked her over in the past,” I say. “It changed her life.”
“Yep. She’s out for blood and it isn't female. I respect it.”
I’m not a big fan of exclusive interviews, but I know that this one is important. Kent’s behavior needs to be dealt with, and there’s no one better than Daphne to bring attention to it.
I watch the snow start to come down faster. I thought we only had another hour to drive, but it’s been way over that. I’m chalking it up to the weather. I’ve been watching this storm since we all came up with this little plan to drop off the map. We knew it was crazy, but we needed to do something to shake everyone. To let the world and the paparazzi chase their tails while we get away to a little town in the middle of nowhere. I do have to admit that this is starting to get a little more middle-of-nowhere than I’m comfortable with. That’s what happens when you do things on the fly, though. Something we usually don’t have the luxury of doing.
“Are we getting close?” Bells lets out another one of her deep breaths that tells you she's more than annoyed. I understand the feeling. We should have had twelve hours before this storm reached us.
“I ran out of signs miles ago.” She squints, trying to see through the snow. I almost tell her maybe we should pull over and wait for a clear spot in the storm, but what if it only gets worse? We could get stuck in the car or plowed in, and then what would we do? Maybe we should have thought this out a little better.
“Signs? You don’t pay attention to those anyway.”
“Fair point.” She smirks, then grips the wheel harder.
I tense up when the SUV begins to slide, but then the back tires catch, and it quickly rights itself. Bells is a killer driver in the city. I’ve never seen anyone lose paparazzi the way she can. She could make a profession out of it. I’m really starting to see that city driving and country snow driving are two different beasts altogether. I think she’s coming to that conclusion, too.
“I haven't seen a sign in forever. Not even one of those mile marker things. Nothing.” She shakes her head. “Not good.”
“Okay.” I sit up a little straighter. “We’re not going to freak out.” I'm totally beginning to freak out.
“I’m not freaking out.”
“We will remain calm.”
“Iamcalm, but I can tell from the high pitch in your voice you’re not feeling the same.”
“I am totally calm.” I drop my voice low to cover the high voice I have when I’m, well… not calm. But the attempt only makes me cough.
