Siren's Heart (Siren's Duet Book 1): Love at first sight

20. Chapter Twenty - Luca

”Go upstairs,” Kayla hisses and gathers Millie from my arms. Of course, news of the incident spread like wildfire, all over the internet within minutes.

It didn”t help that everyone in the restaurant had their phones out after Millie”s scream cut through the restaurant like a firework just before exploding, and security stormed into the women”s bathroom. Turns out all discretion is out of the restaurant’s hands when some assholes livestream an assault. I know where I’m not returning to.

My heart broke into two when I saw her cowering on the ground, curled into a ball, and scared out of her mind. She looked like a stray cat being threatened by a herd of feral dogs, and I fear that”s a pretty accurate metaphor for what happened.

I”m worried for her. Anger at myself has my blood boiling to a point that makes forming straight thoughts challenging. How could I let this happen to her? I’m so goddamn mad at the world. But especially those sorry excuses for women who fucking threw my girlfriend to the ground. Just what the fuck is wrong with people?

”Luca!” Kayla yells and snaps her fingers in front of my face, and I guess I can be glad she’s not taking the opportunity to leave a red handprint on my face instead.

”Sorry.”

”Apartment 23-5. Asher is in there, and he”ll let you in.”

I nod solemnly and return to the elevator, completely numb. I feel like shit. I should have said no about going out. All of this wouldn”t have happened if we”d just stayed in and had dinner as we had planned.

Asher is already leaning in the doorframe to Kayla”s place when I step out of the elevator. Wordlessly, he lets me walk past him, only clasping my shoulder in an attempt to be comforting. He tries to steer me to the couch, but there’s no way I could sit still.

Instead, I start pacing the living room, barely managing to dodge the furniture as I trail after my thoughts.

”How are you holding up, bro?” Asher asks worriedly and hands me a glass of water. No idea when he got that or what about my demeanor screams dehydrated, but I take a sip anyway.

”I”m not the one any of us need to be worried about right now, Asher.”

”Fucking hell,” he curses and lands a slap to the back of my head. A hard one that makes my head tip over. ”You”re my friend. You”re always someone to be worried about, idiot.”

”Well, I feel like shit,” I confess angrily and set the glass down before I do something dumb, like smashing it against one of the walls in frustration. I resume walking up and down Kayla”s living room instead. ”I still can”t believe that happened.”

”Neither could we when we saw it online.” I look at him. I know news travels fast, but it’s hard to believe that the ten minutes it took us from Serenity to her building were all it took. ”That”s how quickly you see stuff on social media?”

”Oh, sweet summer child.” He rubs his hand over his face, squeezing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and middle finger. ”Listen, I have a hunch that you have no idea what the two of them are actually dealing with online. And I mean directly, the messages people actually send them, not some random news outlets. So sit your ass down, I need to show you something.”

I do as he says and sit on Kayla”s couch, my legs bouncing nervously, while he types something into his phone. There’s a penguin plush and hug it to my chest in an attempt to calm down. Then he sits down next to me and hands it over.

”Look at it, bro. I know you don”t use social media, and probably never will, but that doesn”t mean you can just stay oblivious to what”s happening and what the two of them are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.”

Odysseus93750: That slut doesn”t deserve Luca. She should just rot by herself and die alone and leave the good men for proper women.

EarsExplosion: Who”d want someone with a higher body count than England conquering their colonies? Fuck off, Millie, nobody likes you.

”What the fuck?” I mutter under my breath as I continue reading. I had no idea people could turn this fucking nasty, but the more I scroll through the comments he’s opened for me, the more faith in humanity I lose.

My anxiety works itself up the more I read, until Asher suddenly tries to snatch the phone from my hands. I evade him when suddenly, the door bursts open, and Kayla marches inside, fury surrounding her like a blazing red aura.

”Gentlemen, we”ve fucked up massively,” she grits out and stomps through her living room. ”We shouldn’t have let it get this far. Millie is talking to her parents right now, but we need to come up with a plan. I”m not waiting around for Naroa and Starlet Sounds to fix this anymore.”

”Alright. But how can we fix it?” I wonder and let out a heavy sigh because I have no idea what to do here and how to make it right.

”You two are idiots, do you know that?” Asher asks exasperatedly and pulls on his hair dramatically. ”Seriously. A bunch of oblivious idiots.”

”Well, then, share your grand plan with the rest of the class, why don”t you?” Kayla challenges him with her arms crossed in front of her heaving chest, raising her eyebrow at my friend daringly.

”It”s nice that you two are there for Millie privately, but have any of you had the balls to stand up for her publicly yet?” He shoots Kayla a sharp glance, and she freezes, before dropping her not-so-fiery-anymore gaze and sinks into herself at once.

I do the same. Fuck. No. Actually, I haven”t. There hasn’t been an opportunity yet.

Well, that’s a lie. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And from what I’m beginning to understand, part of the reason for the women’s aggression is that they think I am the one who deserves better. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.

”See? There”s no use being her shoulder to cry on, telling her to ignore the haters because, let”s be honest. That”s pretentious as fuck coming from you two, who aren’t being bombarded with this insanity. We”ve got to do something to put people in their place. Give me my fucking phone, Luca.” He holds out his hand, and I oblige, having completely forgotten about the device in my hand.

Fuck. He”s right. And he”s obviously the only one thinking clearly, while Kayla and I are definitely still in shock mode.

”What are you doing?” I ask him, and he shushes me as he types out a message. Then taps a few more times and calls someone.

”Hi there, Adam? Can you do me a solid?” What does he want with the Walker brother now?

The two of them shoot shit for a bit before he gets to the nitty-gritty. And what he asks Adam makes Kayla”s and my eyes go wide, both of us staring at him with open mouths. How did we not think of this?

”You”re a fucking genius,” Kayla says when he hangs up.

”Say it again,” he demands with a chuckle, holding his phone in front of her, microphone just in front of her mouth. ”This time on record.”

”I will do no such thing.” She pushes it away from her face. ”I”m telling you that it”s a great idea. Take it or leave it.”

”I”ll take it,” he chuckles and pulls up another number. ”Now, you two take your damned phones and call up the most famous people in your contact lists. We”ve got an online campaign to put in motion. I’m no professional, but fighting fire with fire seems like a good idea when ignoring it doesn’t work.”

We spend the next forty minutes calling all kinds of people in our contact lists. The motive is simple: Get them to go online and tell all of their fans about how great Millie is. I have no idea about the specifics, but no matter who I call in my list, they”ve met Millie, even if it’s only in passing, and they adore her. I didn”t even know it, but my girl has a secret A-List fan club. Would have been nice to know that before I had to depend on Asher to introduce us. Oh, well.

We only stop when we hear a timid knock on Kayla”s door. She immediately runs to open it, letting Millie inside. I jump up, about to run over to her and suffocate her in a tight hug, when I remember the way she pushed me away before. Which was completely fine, but I”m not sure if a hug is what she needs right now.

She answers that unspoken question when she chucks her shoes into a corner and trudges over with her bare feet to where I”m standing, laying her hands on my chest to push me backward until I fall onto the couch and climbs onto me, her arms snaking around my neck.

”Hey, Sunshine,” I murmur into her ear and press a kiss against her temple. ”Feel a bit better?”

She nods against my shoulder, and I can feel her starting to relax in my arms. Thank God. My tense shoulders finally loosen, and suddenly, it feels like I can breathe properly again.

”Yeah. Sorry for before, I was a bit overwhelmed.”

”Nothing to apologize for,” I insist and hug her a bit tighter.

For a moment, I wasn”t so sure if that was something I”d get to do again. I mean, what if she”s changed her mind? If it”s too much for her after all, and she decides that she doesn’t want to deal with this shit? Since most of the online hate seems to stem from people wanting someone better for me, what if she”s decided I”m not worth the hassle? All those worries weighed on me, and now that they”re gone, I enjoy her in my arms all the more.

”What are you guys doing?” she curiously asks a bit louder so Kayla and Asher can hear her as well.

”You know,” Kayla hums and haws, before finally spitting out ”Just planning to restore your reputation. Label and management be damned.”

”Okay?” She sounds skeptical, and when she lifts her head, I see her scrunching her nose in an adorable grimace. I get it. It sounds crazy, but if it works, it works, right? And I can”t imagine our little campaign not working. We’re not going to be able to convince everyone about how awesome she is, and I know that. But it’s a start.

Kayla fills Millie in on Asher”s plan, and just like when he told Kayla and me, her eyes grow wide, and her mouth pops open.

”Are you guys crazy?” she asks, her voice turning a hysterical octave, and she jumps off my lap. ”That”s awkward as fuck.”

”Wrong,” Asher points out, causing her to glare directly at him. ”It would have been awkward if you”d asked them yourself to do it. If we do, it”s friends looking out for each other.”

”Potato potah-to.” She waves her hands through the air before she hides her face in them. ”Oh God. This better work out; otherwise, my already tarnished reputation is even more fucked. I can already see the headlines. ”Hated popstars friends ask celebrities for encouraging words - none of them reply.”” She shakes her head.

”Well, speaking of, I”m stealing my friend for a minute, because he definitely needs to make a statement, too.” Asher grabs my arm and pulls me into a stand.

”Where would I even post it?” To the zero followers I would have on my brand new profile?

”My account. Not the first time they’ve seen you on there, so come on, lover boy, we”re doing one together.”

He pulls me into Kayla”s kitchen, where he opens all the cabinets until he finds one with a shelf at just the right height and angle to put his phone to film us.

”Okay, let”s go.” He taps on his smartwatch, then faces the camera. I look at him confused; everything just happens way too quickly. What exactly does he want me to do?

”Hello, everyone,” he starts, and I barely realize he”s already recording. I give the phone an awkward wave. ”So we”re here today because my friend and I need to have some words with y”all.” I keep nodding beside him when he nudges my shoulder pretty hard. ”Go on.”

”Errr...” I take a split second to sort my thoughts in my head before I even have an idea where to start. ”So as most of you probably know, I have no social media profile. So Asher”s brought to my attention, what you guys are saying about my amazing girlfriend,” I start and cross my arms in front of my chest.

”And honestly, I”m pretty disappointed with a lot of you.” Just for emphasis, I shake my head and just pray that the ”I”m not mad just disappointed” tactic will work, even though I feel ridiculous. ”Millie and I started dating only a bit ago, and I”m not kidding when I tell you that she makes me happier than I’ve ever thought I could be.

“She”s generous and kind and one of the purest souls you can find in the entertainment industry. With her, I can be myself and never ever have to fear being judged. She”s supportive as fuck, even if it hurts herself. So to all of you saying that I could do better: No, I couldn”t. I know about her image; I”ve seen the headlines, but it”s just that: empty words on a piece of paper or your screen.

And today, my lovely and very non-confrontational girlfriend hasn”t been attacked once, but twice. I can”t believe I have to say this, but–” I take a deep breath. ”Just what the fuck guys?” I tilt my head and try my best to give the camera a disappointed stare. ”Do better.”

And with that, Asher taps on his watch again, then moves to take his phone off the cupboard.

”Wait, can we do that again?” My voice was all jittery, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands.

”Oh, sweet summer child,” he says pitifully, and for the second time today, I fight the urge to let my fist meet his teeth. ”It was a live stream. It”s out there now. But you were perfect, so well done, bro.”

He clasps my shoulder, and my eyes grow wide. ”Wait, what do you mean ”live”?”

”You know what it means. Don”t ask me such a dumb question,” he chuckles. When we return to the living room, both of the girls are sitting on the couch, staring at Kayla”s phone. My heart starts beating faster when I realize that Millie”s eyes are glossy, her lip caught between her teeth.

”What”s going on?” I ask, my heart beating full of panic that something else happened.

”We watched your video,” Kayla says, and I can see her try to fight a grin unsuccessfully. ”That was sweet.”

”That was really sweet,” Millie adds and jumps up, just to throw her arms around my neck and press a kiss to my lips before capturing my gaze with teary eyes. ”Thank you. You didn”t have to, but thank you.”

”It”s seriously the least I could do,” I grumble as I put my arms around her, meaning every word. I”m pretty mad that I didn”t get that idea myself, actually.

”Now, how about the two of you fuck off while we call a few more people?” Asher”s pointed gaze at me signals me to distract her from what”s happening and keep her offline.

”Thank you,” Millie tells him, her gratefulness written all over her face. ”I really appreciate it.”

”You”re very welcome,” Asher answers her and holds his hand out for a fist bump. She shakes her head but quickly presses her knuckles against his, then waves at Kayla on her way out. I say my quick goodbyes as well as I follow her.