Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kira
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal was amazing!
There were themed “scare zones,” where monsters and stuff would just pop out at us and chase us for a while. Me and all my new friends would scream and run, while the Daddies and Athena didn’t seem too disturbed.
And speaking of my new friends—I finally met Trevon. Gosh, he was huge! I’ve heard that in haunted attractions, the actors always go for the big guys that seem really scared, having fun making someone who appears tough cry and scream.
That wasn’t Trevon.
No one dared approach him, probably because he didn’t act the least bit fazed. And looked like he could pick up three of them at the same time and toss them—though he was clearly a gentle soul.
In fact, around him—and all the Daddies—I’d never felt so safe in all my life.
Especially with Rex always nearby. It wasn’t lost on me that he was keeping a watchful eye.
I really liked it. Maybe there was something to this Daddy/Little dynamic.
You know, for some people. Not for me. Of course.
But I was enjoying the feeling. And all these people who were suddenly in my life.
Would they want to stay once they knew the truth about me, though?
I couldn’t blame them if they wanted to leave. After all, I was lying not just to Rex, but to everyone. And they’d been so welcoming and kind to me!
It was an awful feeling. But I told myself to forget it right now, enjoy the moment, and then finally have that conversation with Rex when it was just the two of us.
Until then, what harm would come out of pretending to be a Little? Besides, if I were being honest, I had to admit I was having fun with it all. It probably wasn’t anything more than me being caught up in the group dynamic, but I still enjoyed it.
“I want to see the classic monsters!” Lana said. “All the old ones from the black-and-white era like Dracula and Frankenstein.”
That tracked. I’d already learned enough about Lana to know she worked in the special-effects department in a studio and had a great appreciation for classic films. We’d bonded over that.
“Me too!” I said. “Do they have that Dark Universe ride?”
It was Samantha who answered. “Unfortunately, no. That’s only at the Orlando Universal. But they have the classic monsters around here. I think there’s even a haunted maze with ‘em. Come on!”
All of us Littles—I mean all the Littles and me—sped up, eager to get there, but Rex called out, “Stay close to me.”
“That goes for you too, Iris,” Jack said.
One by one, all the Daddies chimed in, telling their respective Littles to remain close by and not get lost.
I could see why they were concerned. It was super crowded! And with the music, fog, strobe lights, and barrage of noises and constant activity, it would be easy for someone to get separated from their group.
It felt kind of nice to have someone care. I was so used to being on my own that I’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone actually think about me.
Would be super hard to give that up if—I mean when—I went back to New York.
We made it to the right scare zone and found plenty of old favorites haunting the area.
“This is so cool!” I took my phone from my purse. “I’ve got to livestream this so my friend Carrie can see back home!”
“I’m so glad you’re having fun, honey,” Rex said.
With all the noise and chaos around us, it was hard to hear, but the words still reached my ears, and a warm feeling started in my core before radiating through me.
Maybe I should just be Lila forever, I thought to myself. I don’t want to ruin a good thing by telling the truth!
“She always checks when she gets a notification I’m going live,” I explained. “Hey, we should all tell her hi. I think she’d fit right in with the group. You’d love her!”
It was safe, I figured, because Trish and the other ladies were wearing “Big” clothes, being out in public.
“Woohoo! Let’s tell her hey, girls!” Trish said.
They Littles all gathered behind me as I held up the phone in selfie mode. On the screen, all around us were neon strobe lights, fog, and monsters.
“Just having a blast here in Hollywood Universal! Carrie, wish you were here! You’ve got to come out!”
I switched modes and slowly turned the camera around, showing her—and anyone else who viewed the livestream—all the sights.
A minute later, I put the device back in my purse. Two minutes after that, my phone rang.
“Oh man. I’m not sure I can hear her, but it’s Carrie,” I said.
There was an alcove nearby with a food stand and restrooms, so I ducked into it hoping it would give me a bit more ability to talk to my friend. Rex was close by, keeping a watchful eye, but not so close that he was eavesdropping.
“What’s up?” I asked.
As I figured it would be, it was tough to hear her, but I could still hold a conversation.
“You accidentally livestreamed on Lila’s phone!”
“Huh?”
“Kira, that livestream you just did wasn’t on your phone. That was Lila’s Instagram.”
“Oh, shit!”
“Yeah. I follow her because, you know, my bestie worked for her. But when I got the notice, I thought maybe she was showing London or something. Morbid curiosity to watch the trainwreck, I guess. But then I saw you, and…”
I groaned. “I’ve got to be more careful. There’s so much going on here that I didn’t even think about that.”
“Will that blow your cover?” she asked.
My mind raced. “I’m not sure. If any of the other ladies follow Lila, it might. But I know Rex doesn’t follow her.”
“He doesn’t know she’s an influencer, right?”
“Nope. Best I can tell, at least.” I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, trying to alleviate the tension that was rising. “But if my new friends do, well—they’ll put two and two together that I’m claiming to be that Lila, yet I don’t match any of her other videos. This could be bad.”
“So I’m guessing you still haven’t told Rex.”
Shaking my head before I realized she couldn’t see the gesture, I added, “Good guess.”
A heavy silence stretched from the West Coast to the East.
“Maybe this isn’t a big deal. What are the odds your friends follow Lila?”
Well, Lila had a lot of followers, so it was pretty high at least one of them did. Now, a lot of people follow so many influencers that they don’t all pop up in their feed. And as I glanced back at them, none of them were on their phones, so that was a good sign.
With any luck, no one would see that video until I had a chance to explain everything to Rex.
I couldn’t hide it much longer. And I had messed up big time. But he deserved to hear the truth from me rather than finding out some other way. He was owed that much, at the very least.
“Thank you for the heads-up. I sure wish you could be here.”
“When you fall in love with this Rex guy, I’ll have to come out there and see you. Maybe even move there!”
I laughed. What I didn’t do was tell her I suspected I was already in love with Rex.
That couldn’t be possible though. Right?
“We would have a lot of fun out here,” I simply said.
I promised to send more pics and Snaps and we finished the conversation before I rejoined Rex.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Sliding the phone back in my purse, I said, “Yeah. But, eh… can we chat later? Now isn’t a great time, I know. Kinda hard to have a conversation here.”
“Sure,” he said. “I just hope everything is all right.”
“It is. Don’t worry, it’s not about us.”
Well, it wasn’t about me not having feelings for him or anything like that. But of course, his view of us might change once I told him the truth.
“Sounds great. Come on. Let’s go have some fun. But know if you need to talk before then, we can find a quiet place,” he told me as he took my hand.
Having Rex’s large hand over mine was heavenly.
I sure hoped everything played out okay. Because I didn’t think there was any way I could say goodbye to him.