Page 134 of Shy Girls Can't Date Celebrities
“Apparently people were asking about you online, and people from your high school identified you.”
“Ugh.” I groan, folding forward. “I’ve done so well, staying invisible at that school. I don’t want those people talking about me.”
“I’m sure they have a million questions. Darling,Ihave a million questions.”
“Did you see the videos?”
“I had a panic attack just hearing about it. Marcy showed me something on the way to my cubicle, but it was such a blur.”
“Well, I was on the street with Wyatt, but I wasn’t in a mob.”
“People were saying...”
“Wyatt wanted to speak with his fans, but I couldn’t stomach it. I hugged a wall so tight until his security moved us away.”
Mom breathes a sigh of relief. “You had security with you?”
“Yes, they’re always with Wyatt.”
“Josie, I don’t like the sounds of this. You get so scared in large crowds, and now you’re in a big city, with a celebrity who has loads of fans, and you...”
“Mom,” I blurt. “Stop. I’m already wigging out. I don’t need any help spiraling.”
“Darling, I just want you home.”
Tears well in my eyes and I swallow hard. “I want that too. But... But, Wyatt...”
“If mobs are forming around him, this won’t get easier.”
“I know. They’re already talking about him going back to work.They want to send me home.”
“I think it’s for the best.”
“Were the twins in the car when they were talking about me on the radio?”
“No, it was after school drop off.” Mom huffs. “I now know why that group of moms was eyeballing me by the school gate.”
“I’m sorry the news about me scared you.”
“Oh, darling, I’m just scared about your safety. I want you home where I know you’re safe.”
“You could tell last night there was something wrong,” I say, cradling the phone by my ear. “I’m not cut out for this. Oh, Mom, I love Wyatt so much. It’ll hurt so much when we’re pulled apart again. I’m already in pain.”
“Oh, Josie.” Mom sniffs back tears. “Maybe we shouldn’t have let you go in the first place.”
“I just wish he wasn’t famous. I wish he could come back to Victoria Falls, and everything would be normal.”
“I don’t think that’ll ever happen.”
A sob breaks in my throat, garbling my words. “He said he’d come home. This morning, he said he wanted to come back, see all you guys again, and just be with me.”
“But Josie...”
“But he loves this life. He got a taste of it yesterday, and it lit him up. He’s so excited to record again, and play his guitar. He’ll go back to his life, and forget he wanted anything to do with me.”
“Oh, darling.”
“I just hate this, Mom. He’s so perfect. I don’t want him giving up on his music or his movies. But I don’t want to let him go.”
