Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
“Shit. Sorry, Indi. I didn’t know,” Kenzi mutters.
“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” I say desperately as the cameras continue flashing. “I’m not the one who broke Caleb and me up. He’s the one who did everything wrong! Stop writing about me and my past. You have no right to talk about me. Please leave me alone and get off my property.”
“Indica, are you officially coming out?”
“What? No! I’m not a lesbian. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a lesbian, obviously. Oh, for God’s sake, why do I even have to explain this? Get the hell off my property!”
“Did you know you broke Caleb’s heart so badly he’s considering quitting music altogether?”
“What?”
“Okay, enough!” Kenzi snaps, stepping in front of me.
“Indi is not a lesbian, Caleb broke her heart, and none of us give a crap if he keeps singing or not. The guy’s a creep, and you vultures need to leave her alone.
Now fuck off before we call the police!” She grabs my arm and yanks me back inside before slamming the door shut.
I wrap my arms around myself, trying desperately not to cry again.
“Indi?”
I look at her helplessly. “He can’t give up on Staked.”
“He won’t,” she says firmly. “They’re saying that to get a reaction out of you. That’s what these people do. They twist everything until the story becomes bigger than reality.” Walking over to the window, she yanks the curtains shut.
“How did they even find where I live?” I whisper.
“They knew your full name. It probably wasn’t hard to look up once people became interested enough.”
“Jesus, Kenzi. When did my life become such a disaster?”
She snorts softly. “Easy. The second, you defended a scrawny little boy getting bullied at school.”
Despite myself, I huff out a laugh. I can still picture Caleb back then. Tiny, frail, and sickly looking even as a kid, though none of us realized how serious it would eventually become. Nothing like the broad, strong man he is now.
“Ah, fuck you, Caleb!” I yell suddenly.
Kenzi bursts out laughing. “That’s it… cathartic. Let it all out.”
Chuckling weakly, I shove another brownie into my mouth before more insults can spill out.
Another hour passes with Kenzi trying to distract me by rambling about some guy she likes. Honestly, I have no idea which guy she’s talking about because she burns through men the same way Caleb used to burn through women.
Probably still does.
Stupid jerk.
Another knock sounds at the door.
I groan loudly. “Bloody reporters won’t take the hint.”
Storming toward the front door, I yank it open, fully prepared to tell them to fuck off again, only to freeze. Two teenage girls stand there staring at me like I’m gum stuck to the bottom of their shoes. One has almost white-blonde hair, while the other’s hair is dyed a violent shade of red.
They can’t be older than sixteen. Seventeen at most.
“Um… can I help you?” I ask cautiously.
They both look me up and down with obvious disgust.
“You’re it?” the blonde one says before turning to her friend with a smirk.
“Wow. I didn’t realize his taste was in his ass,” the redhead sneers.
I stiffen and cross my arms over my chest. “What do you want?”
“You’re Caleb from Staked’s ex-girlfriend, right?” Blondie asks.
“No,” I reply sharply. “Why are you here?”
“Indi, who is it?” Kenzi calls out.
“Ha! See? It is you,” Red says triumphantly. “Indi Malone. Caleb loved you, and you broke his heart, you bitch!”
My brows pull together. “Excuse me?”
“How could you?” Blondie spits. “He’s the hottest rocker ever, and you treated him like shit. You’re nothing but a skanky bitch.”
Anger burns through me. These girls don’t know Caleb or me, yet here they are judging my entire life based on gossip articles.
“You don’t even know me.”
“We’re Caleb’s biggest fans,” Blondie says proudly. “We know everything about you. We read all about you this morning and then saw the cameras here. We live one street over and recognized your house. If Caleb quits music because of you, we’ll never forgive you!”
“Yeah!” Red agrees enthusiastically.
“You’re children,” I say in disbelief. “Do you even hear yourselves? Love Caleb’s music all you want, but declaring war on me? What would your parents think?”
The girls laugh.
“We love Caleb,” Red says dreamily. “One day we’ll show him how much we did for him.”
A strange chill creeps over me. “What do you mean?”
Both girls step backward. Red suddenly lifts a camera while Blondie reaches into a bag and starts throwing things at me, and something smashes against my forehead.
Pain bursts through my skull while thick slime drips down my face.
I stare at the egg coating my hand in shock as Blondie continues pelting eggs at me while Red cackles and takes pictures.
“Indi?” Kenzi yells.
“Get the fuck out of here!” I scream before slamming the door shut.
Kenzi rushes over, staring in horror at the egg splattered across my pajamas, hair, and skin. “What the actual fuck?”
And that’s it.
The final crack.
Tears explode from me again as I break down sobbing.
Caleb did this.
He made me into London’s most hated woman, and now I’m not even safe in my own home.
“Jesus fucking Christ. Okay, come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Kenzi guides me back toward my bedroom while I cry silently. “I don’t care what you say, Indi. You’re coming back to my place until this blows over.”
And for the first time in years, I don’t even try arguing.
“Okay,” I whisper as I peel off my ruined top and start wiping egg from my face in more ways than one.