Page 117 of Heartstruck at Dawn
The woman in black clicked on her earpiece and saidokaya bunch of times and then, “Off you go.” Lily pulled me out, and William and Joel followed behind. Caleb stood just outside the tent, watching us walk the carpet.
A million flashing lights shot our way. It was blinding, uncomfortable, and surreal. Lily whispered in my ear, “You look great,” and shot a comforting smile my way. I really missed Nathan.
The photographers kept yelling over and over, and all at once:
“Lily!You look great!”
“William,over here,please!”
“Joel!Joel!Joel!”
Joel and William were photographed together and separately too. Joel walked over to us, and the photographers took a few shots of the three of us. I then took a few steps away to allow Lily and Joel to be photographed together without me. I was ready to walk away, but someone yelled, “Billie!”
It was Tobias, sporting a grin from ear to ear. He looked so incredibly handsome. It was his big night; one could easily tell. The photographers went nuts when he stepped out, shouting his name, throwing crazy compliments at him.
And now they knew my name.
“I’M SO GLADyou showed up,” Tobias said in my ear. He hugged me. “You look great.”
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” He wore a bold, burnt orange, vintage-style suit that he obviously pulled off wonderfully. That face goes with anything.
“Tobias,over here!”
“Billie!A shot together!”
We turned to face the photographers. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking at the camera with a smile, his hand softly gripping my waist.
“Ah—yeah.” I tried smiling too, but I was sure it came off stiff and awkward. It was weird hearing random people shouting my name. I was no one. A complete stranger. “But I think it’s best if I meet you guys inside, okay?”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“Tobias!Please!Over here!”
“Who are you wearing?”
Oh, God.
“Family friend!” Tobias shouted back to the photographers and reporters with a smile. However, they didn’t seem satisfied with his reply because they kept yelling follow-up questions.
“You’re sitting beside me. Nathan’s orders, okay?” Tobias whispered. I nodded, making my best attempt to smile naturally, and took a few steps away from him. I could see Aaron standing just outside the next tent—the finish line. I needed to get myself therenow.
Someone grabbed my hand and tugged me back, making me turn around. William placed his hand around my waist and pulled me toward him. He dropped a kiss on my cheek, and easily three hundred flashes captured the moment.This isnotgoing to photograph well…shhhhit.
And I wasn’t going to make a scene in front of the press, so I smiled and said in barely a whisper, “William, you need to let go of me.”
He pulled me closer to him. “I can’t allow them to believe you’re here with Tobias. That will only complicate things later. I know what I’m doing.”
“Later? No one thinks I’m here with Tobias. Now let me go,” I said, echoing William’s big, synthetic smile. “Right now.” I was two seconds away from pushing him. But he softly released my hand and waist. I took a deep breath and stared into his analytic eyes, letting him know how infuriated I was about his behavior.
How was I to explain the photographs to Nathan? I was already mortified about it.
“I’ll see you inside,” he replied.I hate that freaking fake smile.William approached a woman with a microphone and chirped, “Hey, Marissa! Nice to see you again.”
Fans kept yelling William’s name from across the street. He waved at them intermittently as he answered the reporter’s questions. “No, no, no! We arrived together, but we’re just friends,” I heard him say with a studied laugh. That was the last thing I heard before I disappeared off to meet Aaron at the end of the red carpet. Caleb magically appeared beside me.
I’m going to be locked up in my apartment for life.
I didn’t even know how my father agreed to let me come in the first place. This seemed much more elaborate than just going to the movies. I never understood his judgment. And those photographs with William were a complete disaster.
