Page 78 of Loved

"Is it that different?"

"When I'm low I feel like I can't breathe. Even when I indulge in whatever it is I'm addicted to. It's just an escape. But with you, I feel like I can finally breathe for the first time. You're not an escape. You're a new way of living that I didn't even know was possible." It was a fine line. A very fine line.

But she wasn’t staring at me like she thought I was a monster.

I turned back toward the road. "Shit." I pulled the car to a stop outside my apartment building. The reporters were blocking the entrance to the parking garage. Penny had dealt with enough today. This whole thing was ridiculous. How long could they sit out here in their vans? The investigation was done. I was about to press on the horn when Penny unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Penny, stay in the car."

She opened the door, ignoring me.

"Damn it, Penny!" The last thing we needed was a scene. It just fueled them.

She slammed the car door.

Fuck.I put the car in park and flung open my door.

"What do you want to know?!” she yelled. “Why are you standing out here? Don't you have anything else to report on? This isn't news."

"Penny! How do you feel about the recent findings in the investigation?" One of the news reporters approached her, quickly followed by her cameraman. "Did you know that James was..."

"He wasn't. He hasn't done anything wrong. What is wrong with you people?"

I ran up to her and grabbed her arm. "Penny, get in the car now."

"Is that how this started?” the reporter asked. “Him telling you what to do? Did he force you..."

Fuck off.I put my hand in front of the video camera lens that was in our faces. "Penny," I said sternly. Why the hell was she engaging with these people?

"He didn't force me to do anything,” Penny said. “Haven't any of you been in love? James is kind, and caring, and wonderful."

I stared down at her. I hadn’t expected her to say that.

The reporter stepped closer. "He cheated on his wife in order to be with you."

"He didn't,” Penny said. “Stop standing out here harassing us and go do your job. You're just spreading rumors. This isn't news!"

It was sweet of her to try to defend me. But I didn’t mind taking the heat here. I wanted to. For her. "We don't have any other comments at this time," I said and stepped in front of her.

Penny climbed back into the car.

I knew why she was upset. Her fellow classmates were assholes. Girls were lying to get As. Joe was just accepting crappy detectives' theories in order to sweep this whole mess under the rug. And these reporters had chosen us to harass. It was ridiculous. But engaging with them just made everything worse. And for once in Penny’s life, I just wanted her to listen to me. To let me handle this the way it needed to be handled.

I climbed back into the car, slammed the door, and laid my hand down on the horn. The reporters didn't back away so I just started slowing driving forward until they had to move.

What a fucking shit show. The investigation was done. They were probably getting ready to pack up and go on to the next thing. But after finally getting a word from Penny? They were going to stay even longer after that. My hands gripped the steering wheel even harder than they had when we were talking about my addiction problems. Really, why couldn’t Penny just for once listen to my advice? I knew how to handle these people. I’d been in the limelight for years. You had to ignore them or they’d never stop.

I pulled into my parking spot and got out of the car. I needed a second to calm down. I couldn’t protect Penny in her classes. And apparently I couldn’t even protect her when she was right next to me. I was used to being in control of all aspects of my life. And I felt very out of control right now.

I heard her chasing after me as the elevator doors slid open.

I stepped on.

She hurried inside before the doors closed. "James, I'm sorry. But this needs to stop. They can't stay out there forever."

I shook my head and hit the emergency button on the elevator. The elevator came to an abrupt stop. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Wasn’t today bad enough? Why make it a thousand times worse?

"It doesn't make any sense that they're out there. They're being relentless."

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