Page 97 of Leah

More cameras. More bullshit.

The paparazzi struck again. They were busying themselves on a story that had zero substance.

I wondered how I held my sanity in for so long. It’d been a seriously long while since I punched someone in the face, and my hand had only just stopped twitching with the urge.

“Apparently she threw an engagement ring at you, man,” Rome chuckled on the other end of the phone as I shuffled down the aisle of first class.

“Oh, so now it’s an engagement ring,” I muttered on a scoff. “The last I heard it was a promise ring.”

“Nope, they’re saying it was a massive diamond ring.”

I found my seat and collapsed into it. “First of all, I’ve known the girl how long? A few weeks?”

“I know, I know,” he carried on. “But she’s a supermodel, man. Of course they’re going to be saying things.”

“Second of all, there was no argument. We’re not even seeing each other.”

“They’ve got videos of you holding her hand.”

“She said she was a fan, and that she wanted the band to perform at her charity event. We had dinner to talk it over, and then we stepped out into a sea of those bastards. I couldn’t let her fend for herself. After I dropped her off, they followed me straight to the airport, the fuckers.”

“You should have taken the private jet with us yesterday, to get away from that shit.”

“Couldn’t. I had papers to sign.” I’d finalized selling my LA home. I’d had enough of the lifestyle and was going back to my roots. Have a house on a bit of land, maybe build it from scratch. I hadn’t decided yet. The best part was I had all the time to sort through the details.

The band had one more music video to shoot before we cooled off for a while. I was desperate to go back home, somehow find a way to bump into Leah. All that was wishful thinking though.

She might still not want me.

“Anyway, Rome, the plane’s going to take off in a bit.”

“Right.”

“I’ll see you in New York.”

“See you, bro.”

I hung up and stuffed the phone into my pocket.

“Hello, I’m Julie,” said a flight attendant behind me, sounding giddy. “If there’s anything you need, just let me know and I’ll assist you.”

As she passed, I looked up from my notebook and watched her repeat this line to everyone. She was young, pretty, dark hair pulled up into a bun. I stifled a smile as I realized she must have been really new. You don’t get this excited for work often. Maybe in the beginning, but hardly later on.

Minutes later, the plane started its procedure for take-off.

Then, she offered me peanuts.

*

I had fallen asleep when it happened.

The first thing I heard were screams.

The first thing I felt was… speed.

Speed unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

My eyes flashed open.

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