Page 19 of Not Another Rockstar
“I’m alive, so I have time to mend mine.” She shrugged it off like they were talking about groceries.
“But this is only going to add fuel to the fire, you’re already getting threats.” He couldn’t believe how calm she was. Calm or numb, he wasn’t sure.
“Is this why you were crying last night?” He couldn’t stop himself. It made sense, now, why she’d wanted to be alone last night, and he was relieved he hadn’t listened.
“You heard that?” She flushed, hiding her face as she zipped her toiletry bag.
He nodded. A tense silence settled between them, and there was nothing he could say to ease her pain.
“Let me give you a hand,” he offered, and she glared at the pun. “We’ll miss our flight at this rate.”
Watching her struggle with her organising cubes and bag with one-hand was painful, but it was worse for her. He’d never noticed how stubborn she was before.
“I’m almost ready. You can help me get this stuff in,” she agreed. She’d sorted everything into cubes, which was interesting—he was more of a ‘chuck it in and sort it out later’ type of packer.
It was her first time leaving the hospital since the accident, so he understood why she would be anxious.
“Nick was right about the early flights. Considering the video, we’ll need to avoid as many people as possible,” he said. “The press will be desperate to get your side of the story.”
“I know you all want to protect me, and I’m lucky to have you all as my own personal bodyguards, but you can’t lock me away in a tower. The more I hide, the harder they’ll try to get to me.”
“I was thinking about a house or an apartment—do you know how expensive and difficult it would be to rent a tower?” he said with a smile.
She rolled her eyes and chucked a cube at him. He caught it and packed it with the others. There were still some socks to pack, so he picked up one of the cubes she’d left out.
“Do you have anything else for this bag?” Axel started to unzip it.
“No, not that one.” Phoebe tried to snatch it.
“Why are you blushing? Think I’ve never seen women’s underwear before?” He chuckled, and it was nice to have a moment of normalcy despite their setting.
Phoebe grumbled something he couldn’t make out and gave up on her packing process.
“Only trying to help,” he remarked.
She shoved everything into the case. Clearly, she didn’t like him watching her; anytime he got close, her cheeks turned pink. He wished he knew what he was doing that made her so angry. Her nose scrunched up adorably as she struggled with the zip.
“Can I help zip it for you?” he asked, and she pushed it towards him without argument.
“Done.” He smiled, taking the case from the hospital bed.
She put her small bag on her shoulder. Neither of them mentioned the tiny specks of blood on the bottom of her bag. It was her bag; she could use it if she wanted. He wheeled her case behind him and gave her a moment of privacy as she hugged her nurse goodbye and thanked her. She had Axel buy a couple of boxes of chocolates for the nurses as a thank you, and everyone at the nurses’ station beamed as she handed them over.
“This feels so weird, to be going home without him,” Phoebe said, quietly. They hadn’t spoken about Cillian, not since she’d asked if they’d known about his cheating.
“We all feel the same, but least we have each other,” he said, trying to assure her that she wasn’t alone.
She smiled softly, and he noticed her resting her bandaged hand protectively against her chest.
As they reached the main doors, the sound of the crowd and flashing cameras stilled them. The hospital security ushered back those hoping to get a glimpse of them. Axel saw Phoebe’s car waiting by the curb; the others were going to meet them at the airport.
He cursed under his breath. “We can go out another exit. Someone must have leaked our plans to the press.”
“No, let’s just get out of here,” Phoebe said, taking a deep breath. “The car is right there.”
“Stay close to me.” He took her good hand and led her through the door.
Once the sliding doors opened, they were surrounded by their own security. The sea of voices shouting questions merged into a buzz of illegible noise. Axel kept Phoebe close at his back, protecting her from the onslaught as best he could. Security opened the car door for her, and she hesitated, gripping his hand tighter. The fear in her eyes told him their mistake. None of them had considered how getting into a car might affect her.
