29. Raleigh
Raleigh
29
Madds loops her arm through mine as we wander down the street in LA, stopping by every store we see along the way. It’s been a crazy few weeks, but now that I have a few weeks off to relax and reconnect with Ezra, I’ve never been so happy. Hence why it’s time to go shopping. If I plan on seducing him morning, noon, and night, I’m going to need every lingerie set under the sun. Though, to be completely honest, I don’t think I need anything at all. I just have to look at him, and he’s ready to go. The chemistry is just there, and it’s always steaming hot.
“Oooh, we have to go in here,” Madds says, as we pass another store filled to the brim with designer dresses that I’m almost positive I won’t be able to afford. At least, not with the money in my bank account. But if you consider my currently non-existent inheritance that I may or may not be getting, then sure, I could probably afford the whole store, and the twelve down the street. Hell, why not include the Lamborghini dealership while we’re at it?
I don’t exactly know how much Axel was worth at his time of death, but the boys were at the height of their career during a sold-out world tour. I’m sure there’s more than I could even imagine, along with cars, properties, and royalties. It blows my mind.
I scrunch my face at Madds. “I don’t know,” I say, glancing through the window. “They look expensive.”
“Hate to break the news to you, but you’re expensive now,” she says just as a few girls stop on the sidewalk and start gaping at me, their phones out and recording.
I let out a sigh as they squeal and bombard me. “Holy shit, are you Raleigh Stone?” one of them asks.
I give her a tight smile and nod, knowing that by the time I get three more steps down the street, my face will already be splashed over the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in Ezra’s life again, but a part of me thought I could still fly under the radar, and for a while, it was working . . . until I decided to give him the lap dance of a lifetime. My ass was all over the internet, and it didn’t take long for people to put the pieces together. They already know I’m Axel’s little sister, and they already know that Ezra and I have a past. And now, the whole world knows about our flaming hot chemistry.
Just fucking great.
The girls squeal and start jumping up and down, asking random shit about Ezra, and within seconds, other people on the street have started to notice. More people flood toward me, and as it starts to overwhelm me, Madds grabs my hand and pulls me into the store.
“Holy fucking shit,” she breathes, her eyes wide as she gapes at the crowd starting to gather outside. “That was ridiculous.”
“You’re telling me!”
“I mean, that’s what you get for dating the biggest rockstar in the world.”
I roll my eyes and glance around the store at the array of dresses around me. “He might be the biggest rockstar in the world to you, but he’s just Ezra to me, the boy I grew up with,” I say. “I mean, I’ve always known the screaming fans came with the territory, but I didn’t think they’d care so much about me. It’s him they want, but suddenly everyone wants to know every detail about my life and has an opinion about it. The lap dance was barely even forty-eight hours ago, and the whole world already knows I dropped out of college, spiraled after Axel’s death, and then lived out of the back of my car. Some asshole even found my stupid abandoned car and posted it online. I can’t escape it.”
Madds offers me a forced smile. “Just give it time,” she says. “They’ll chill out soon, they just need a different story or scandal to obsess over, which is totally manageable by the way. Dig up some of Rock’s or Dylan’s old dirty secrets and dump them in it instead.”
I give her a hard stare. “Not an option.”
Madds shrugs her shoulders and laughs. “Just trying to be helpful,” she sings, picking up a dress and holding it against her body. “I mean, I could always drop mine and Dylan’s accidental sex tape.”
My eyes bug out of my head as I gape at my best friend. “Your what?”
“I know,” she cringes. “It was an accident. We were both so drunk on your birthday, and we were taking a stupid video, and then he started kissing me, and I guess we forgot about the phone, and then the next thing I know, I’m waking up on the floor of a hotel room with a video of Dylan Pope fucking me like a god.”
My jaw drops, and all I can do is stare at her.
“Say something,” she says.
“I . . . you . . . SEX TAPE!”
“I know,” she laughs, covering her face in embarrassment. “It just kinda happened. I’ve been meaning to delete it, but like . . . it’s Dylan Pope. Without that video, no one would ever believe I was with him, not that I would ever show this to anyone, not even you. But also, it kinda gives me a reason to talk to him again. I’m just not sure when that happens that I particularly want to be admitting to having a sex tape of him. I don’t want him to think I did it on purpose or that this is some kind of money grab because it’s not. I would never do that. Plus, breaking out the phone was totally his idea. If anything, I should be the one scandalized, but like . . . I actually look kinda good in it, so, you know, I’m just keeping it for sentimental reasons.”
I can’t stop gaping at her. “You absolutely have to get rid of that.”
“But like . . . do I?” she questions. “It would be a shame to get rid of it prematurely. What if Dylan wanted a viewing party?”
I go to tell her what a terrible idea that is, but on second thought, a viewing party of his own accidental sex tape is Dylan’s idea of the best night that ever existed. “You know what,” I say with a heavy sigh. “Maybe I could run the idea past him.”
Madds laughs and presses her hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling alright?”
I shove her off me just as a rush of paparazzi flood the store window, their cameras flashing over and over, blinding us as they scream for my attention. “What the flying fuck?” Madds says, stepping closer to me and grabbing my arm. She pulls me away as the store attendants hurry past us to the door, quickly locking it before the paparazzi take over their store. “What’s going on?”
I shake my head, not having the slightest clue, but what I do know is that this is so much more than just dating rumors. This is a scandal. I just wish I knew what.
“Raleigh. Raleigh Stone,” I hear them yelling through the glass, some of them banging against it and making it rattle. “What can you tell us about your father? Are the rumors true?”
“Rumors?” Madds asks, looking back at me for confirmation, but all I can do is stand and stare at them, feeling the blood drain from my face. Please don’t tell me they know about my father. “What rumors?”
“No. No. No. No. No,” I start chanting.
“MISS STONE?” the paps get more insistent, their blinding flashes sending me into a spiraling panic. “MISS STONE, DID YOUR FATHER RAPE YOU AS A CHILD? MISS STONE. MISS STONE? CAN YOU COMMENT?”
Fuck.
Madds whips her head toward me, her eyes wide and filled with horror. “What are they talking about?” she questions as the store attendants start piling up clothes racks in front of the window, desperately trying to give me some privacy, but all I can do is run.
I turn on my heel and bolt, darting to the dressing rooms in the back of the store. I find the first one, diving into it and pulling the curtain closed behind me before crumbling to the ground, locking my arms around my knees.
My whole body shakes. How do they know?
The only people on the planet who know about this are me, Ezra, and . . . my father.
FUCK.
“Rae?” Madds calls, hurrying after me as I hear her searching the dressing rooms, pulling back curtain after curtain until she finally gets to mine. “Rae,” she says, finding me, her tone filled with concern. She drops down in front of me, her hands clutching my knees. “What are they talking about? It’s not true, is it? Why would they be asking you something like that?”
Tears well in my eyes, and as I hold her stare, she sees the truth, just as clearly as Ezra had. There’s no need for me to respond, no need to delve into the horrid details, she already knows. “Oh, Rae,” she cries, throwing herself at me, her arms winding around my body and holding me close. “I’m so sorry. I never knew.”
I cry into her shoulder as the store attendants come to find us. “We’ve done what we can to barricade the door,” one of them says. “But it’s not looking pretty. More are showing up by the second. What do you want us to do?”
Madds looks back, trying to figure out a game plan. “I don’t know. Should we call the police?”
“No. Call Ezra,” I say, handing her my phone. “He’ll know what to do.”
Her eyes widen as she stares down at my phone, doing what she can to try and keep her composure, knowing that this is important and now is not the time to get starstruck by my boyfriend. “O . . . okay,” she says, her face turning green. “I’m just going to call Ezra Knight. No big deal.”
She visibly swallows before searching through my phone for his number, and as she presses call and holds the phone between us, she takes my hand, squeezing it tight. She presses the speakerphone button, and as memories of my father’s assault cripple my mind, I try to focus on the sound of the call.
“Hey, baby. What’s up?” Ezra’s voice comes through the phone a moment later, the sound somehow starting to calm me. “We’re just in rehearsal.”
“Oh, ummm . . . hi,” Madds says awkwardly. “This is Madds. Raleigh’s friend.”
“Uhh . . . okay,” he says, a strange tone to his voice. “Everything good?”
“Yeah, ummm . . . no,” she says, clearly frazzled, but she’s doing a hell of a better job than I could right now. “We’re in a store, and we got flooded by paparazzi. There are heaps of them, and they’re screaming out questions about her dad and what . . . you know . . . he did to her.”
“What?” he rushes out in a panic, his tone hardening. “How the fuck do they know about that? Where is she? Is she okay?”
Madds glances at me, a sadness in her eyes. “She’s right here listening, but no. She’s not okay. She’s shaken, and there are so many paparazzi surrounding the store, I don’t know what to do.”
“Fuck!” He blows out a breath, probably trying to come up with a game plan. “Okay, I’m coming to get you both. Are you safe in that store?”
“Yeah. For now.”
“Alright, stay put. I’ve got Rae’s location pinned,” he tells us. “We’ll be there in twenty.”
“Okay.”
“Rae?” he asks a moment later, his voice shifting low. “You there, baby?”
I swallow over the lump in my throat, trying to sound as though I have my shit together. “Mm-hmm.”
“He can’t hurt you anymore. I’ve got you, alright?”
Tears stream down my face, and I can’t manage to keep myself from shaking. “I know.”
“Alright. I’ll be there soon,” and with that, he ends the call.
Madds lowers her hands, her eyes wide as she stares at me. “Ezra Knight is coming to get us,” she says monotone, blowing her cheeks out as though that’s going to help her current state of shock.
She squishes in beside me on the floor, hooking her arm around my shoulder and pulling me against her as we wait for the calvary to arrive, and as I do my best to zone out the screaming paparazzi coming from outside, Madds does her best to calm me. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asks hesitantly.
I shake my head. “Not right now.”
“Okay,” she says, trying to cover the hurt in her tone, probably sad that I’ve never opened up to her about this before when we’ve always strived to be honest and open with one another . . . mostly.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, not trusting my voice.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” she tells me. “I just hate that I haven’t been a good enough friend and haven’t made you feel as though you could talk to me about it.”
“It’s not that, not even close,” I tell her. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, it’s just not a period of my life I ever wish to relive.”
“Period of your life?” she questions. “So, not just a one-off occasion?”
I shake my head, and the sadness in her eyes grows. “Tonight,” I tell her, wiping at the tears on my face. “Stay with me at Ezra’s place. We’ll get really drunk, I’ll put it all out there on the table, and then we can cry.”
“Okay,” she says, her voice shaking as her bottom lip starts to quiver and her eyes fill with big, fat tears. “But I think I’m already starting.”
“Oh no.” Seeing her tears have mine coming in faster, and as we sit on the floor of the dressing room, waiting for the love of my life, the two of us turn this shopping disaster into a messy sob-fest.
The screaming outside eventually eases, but I have no doubt they’re still there, more than ready to wait me out, and after twenty minutes, when the rowdiness starts up again, I realize Ezra has arrived. The paparazzi demand comments from him, and all I can do is listen as the store attendants try to get Ezra’s team through the door without causing any more issues.
“Where is she?” I hear Ezra ask a moment later.
“Back here,” one of the shop attendants says.
It takes only a moment before the front of my little dressing room is crowded with people, and I glance up, expecting to see Ezra and a few of his security team, but instead, I find Ezra surrounded by no less than eight men in black suits, Dylan, Rock, and even a few of the guys from the label I’ve come to know over the past few weeks.
“Woah,” Madds says, echoing my thoughts.
Ezra looks down at us, taking in the train wreck on the ground before pulling me to my feet. “You okay, Rae?” he asks, gently gripping me by my arms as his dark eyes bore into mine.
I shake my head, the idea of the world knowing about the abuse I suffered at my father’s hand haunting me like never before. “I just . . . Take me home.”
Ezra nods and pulls me in against his strong chest. “Whatever you need,” he tells me, his hand roaming up and down my back. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
I don’t have the strength to tell him I’ve already figured it out, that it was my father. He told the world what he did to me after seeing me on stage in Madrid. Who knows, all these years he probably assumed I was dead, and while telling the world what a monster he is wouldn’t be doing him any favors, I get the feeling he doesn’t care. As long as I’m miserable and hurting, he’s happy.
“Hey,” Dylan says, stepping in beside me and Ezra, his hand lingering on my back as he steals my attention. “I’m sorry, Rae. I had no idea any of this was going on. If we knew, we would have come home. We—”
“Don’t,” I say, stepping out of Ezra’s arms and right into Dylan’s. “Don’t start beating yourself up over it. I went out of my way to hide it. You couldn’t have known.”
Rock grabs my arm and pulls me out of Dylan’s, locking me in a tight bear hug as he drops his chin to the top of my head. He’s not a man of many words, but he has big feels, and they always hit the hardest. “I’m okay,” I promise him, both of us knowing I’m lying right through my teeth.
I pull back, wiping the stray tears from my eyes as I look at my three boys, desperately needing the attention to be off me. I can’t handle their broken hearts and helpless stares all at the same time. “Okay, so is now a good time to tell you that Dylan and Madds accidentally made a sex tape?”
Madds gasps behind me, and all eyes fly to her, including the eight security guards around us. “The fuck, Rae?” she demands. “I thought we were keeping that on the downlow.”
Dylan grins and steps toward her. “No, shit. Huh? A sex tape?” he says, excitement dancing in his tone. “I suppose it was only a matter of time. Let me see. I bet I fucking rocked it.”
Madds drops her face into her hands, embarrassment flooding her. “Oh, you did,” she mumbles into her hands.
Dylan loops his arm over her shoulders and drags her out of the dressing room with the rest of us. “So, what’s the deal? Are we doing this? Cause I need to get home. Apparently, we’re having a movie night,” he says, pulling Madds even closer, her cheeks flushing while looking between me, Rock, and Ezra. “You guys wanna join? We can have popcorn.”
I can’t help but laugh. He really does want to have a viewing party for his sex tape.
“No,” Madds laughs. “Nobody but you is seeing this tape.”
“Oh,” Dylan says, his face falling. “Is it not good? We can make a better one if you’re worried about angles.”
Her brows arch. “You wanna make another one?”
“Baby, I’ve never come so hard in my life,” he says, his voice lowering as his eyes dance with a wicked enjoyment. “I’ll make one every day for the rest of my life if it means getting to eat that sweet—.”
“Okay,” Ezra says, cutting him off. “Let’s go before we get roped into being the cast and crew for Madison Takes My Big Square Gardens, Part Two.”
One of the security guards snickers to himself before quickly trying to wipe the grin off his face, and with that, Ezra’s hand slips into mine, pulling me along. The security team crowds around us, and the moment the paparazzi see movement within the store, their blinding flashes start all over again.
There are more people crowded outside than I could have ever expected, all of them surrounding the three blacked-out SUVs that are parked outside the store. There are even more security guards outside, already working crowd control and making a path for us to get through.
“You okay?” Ezra murmurs, leaning into me as we approach the door.
I shrug my shoulders, quickly glancing back to make sure Dylan still has Madds. “Not really,” I tell him. “It’s not exactly a story I ever wanted to get out.”
“We’ll handle it. When you’re ready, we can talk it through with our PR team to see what the best way to handle this would be. You can say as little or as much as you want, set the record straight with a statement, or if you’re not ready, we can just lay low until it blows over.”
I shake my head. “Laying low isn’t an option, not with you guys heading back out on tour in two weeks. We need to handle it before we head to Portugal. We can’t have this shit hanging over our heads.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” I say, leaning into him.
His hold tightens around my waist as his security reaches for the door, pulling it open. “You ready?” he asks, looking at the mob ahead. “Just keep your head low and ignore everything they say. They’ll be brutal about it in the hopes of getting a reaction out of you, so just keep your cool, and then you can fall apart once we’re in the car.”
Fuck.
“Okay.”
With that, we make our move.
The security team falls out around us, shoving the fans and paparazzi back as they try to mob us. “MISS STONE,” someone screams right near my ear. “IS IT TRUE? DID YOUR FATHER RAPE YOU?”
Another voice comes from the opposite direction. “RALEIGH, OVER HERE. OVER HERE, PLEASE!”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Tune them out,” Ezra says, clutching my hand, squeezing it tighter than ever as the flashes from the cameras blind me. “Just focus on me. I’m right here. I’ve got you, Rae.”
My whole attention becomes laser focused on the feel of his hand in mine, and as we slowly make our way through the mob, the noise around me turns into a distant blur.
The security guard opens the car door, and Ezra quickly ushers me in before diving in after me, and one by one, Madds, Dylan, and Rock follow. The moment the door closes behind Rock, peace washes over me. We’re not out of here yet, but we’re one step closer to freedom, and that’s all I can hope for.
Ezra pulls me into the warmth of his body, holding me close as everyone seems to watch me, waiting for me to fall apart, but now that the guys are here and I feel safer than I ever have in my life, the need to crumble isn’t as overwhelming as it’s been in the past.
I’m okay. Truly okay.
The security team works on clearing the crowd, and inch by inch, the SUV begins to roll down the street. “Fuck,” Dylan says. “The paps haven’t been that bad since news of Axel’s death broke.”
“Oh sure,” I mutter under my breath. “Just while my brain is reliving the hell my father put me through, let’s throw in a reminder of my brother’s death.”
Dylan’s face turns white, his eyes widening like saucers. “Shit, Rae. I didn’t mean—”
“Chill. I’m screwing with you,” I tease, reaching out and grabbing his hand. “I’m fine. I just wanna get back home and pretend like none of this ever happened.”
“Home?” Rock asks. “Where exactly is home?”
“Uhhhhh . . .” My brows furrow. That’s a damn good question. My gaze shifts to Ezra’s, and he looks at me as though the answer has been staring me in the face this whole damn time, and as I pick up what he’s throwing down, my eyes widen in horror. “Woah. Back up. Are you suggesting I move in with you?”
“Ummm . . . what?” Madds grunts, peering around Dylan to look between me and Ezra. “Did we just skip seasons three and four? How did we get here? I thought we were figuring out where they were going to dump us for the night.”
“You’ve belonged right by my side since you were thirteen, Rae,” Ezra says, ignoring Madds. “We’ve spent years apart from each other, and now I’m done waiting. I want to build a life with you, just as I should have done all those years ago. I want you with me. I want you in the home I bought for us. I want you in my bed. My life. My whole fucking world. I want to wake up every morning and the first thing I see is you. The first thing I feel is you. The first thing I hear—you. It’s always been you, and unfortunately for your stubborn ass, I’m not taking no for an answer.”
My bottom lip pouts out, trembling as the overwhelming happiness fills me. “Wow,” I tease. “Way to get a girl when she’s down.”
Ezra groans and grabs me, pulling me into his arms, and before he even gets a chance to pull me right in, my lips are on his.
“Fuck yeah,” Dylan cheers as the driver hits the gas, finally clearing through the mob of fans and paps and taking me back to Ezra’s home where I can finally start the life I was always supposed to have.