Page 68 of The Starry Knight

Lana doesn’t know we are coming today. I remember her school schedule and I know she doesn’t have classes today. Since it’s the middle of the week, I doubt she has a catering gig either. We arrive at the apartment after minimal traffic. I was kind of wishing it would have taken longer to get here. I don’t know if I’m prepared enough for this.

Sebastian comes to my side of the car and opens the door for me. I take his hand and step out. It’s a small gesture but it calms me. He shouts to the crew to follow us, and we all ride up in the small elevator together. Once out, I lead the way through the corridor to our apartment door. Opening it with the key, I swing open the door and there is Lana sitting on the couch watching TV. She turns to look at me and her face pales. She looks behind me at Sebastian and her face grows paler if that’s even possible. I don’t have to look to know that he is sneering at her. He was ready to lawyer up and sue over this, but I wanted to talk to her first and get to the bottom of why everything happened the way it did.

“Lana, we need to talk.” I breathe and walk toward the kitchen. Might as well make a cup of coffee while I’m here. Sebastian and the crew head to my bedroom to begin packing my things. I gave them explicit instructions on how I wanted things to be packed so I hope they follow through with that. Lana rises from the sofa and follows me to the kitchen. I pour myself a cup of coffee with cream and sit at the table. Clutching the mug in my hands, I ask, “Why did you do it?”

“I’m so sorry Stormy. I never meant for any of this to happen.” She takes a deep breath and tears begin toform in her eyes. “When we were at the bar that night and you got up to sing, I accidentally told someone who you were and that they needed to hear the best singer there. I was drunk and stupid. Then everything happened so quickly, pictures were taken, Sebastian showed up, you passed out. It was all too much to deal with. I don’t know how you do it. The next day I found out that my father spent my college tuition gambling again. I only have a partial scholarship and the school wasn’t willing to work with me. I spent all afternoon in the finance department, only to be told there was nothing they could do. I was panicking.” Lana gets up to get a tissue and blows her nose. So far everything she’s saying sounds feasible. She comes back to the table and sits down. “I was stopped coming into the apartment that day and asked if I would give an interview. They knew I was your roommate. I told them no several times until someone mentioned they saw me leaving campus and that if I gave them a story, they would pay me. I felt like I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I didn’t think I had any more options. When they continued to harass me, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. Get money for college and get them off my back. I’m sorry I never thought how this would affect you. I was thinking of myself the whole time. I wrote up the story you told me about the night Blaine died and then they wanted me to also do an in-person interview. Everything happened to fast.” She blows her nose and wipes her eyes on her shirt. “The worst part is that I didn’t get paid. They tricked me. And now the Jacks’ family is coming after me for telling the press about Sean. I didn’t use his name, but they figured it out. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared, Stormy. I’mno better than my father.” She puts her head on the table and silently sobs. I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know if she is telling the truth, but she seems to be. I could always check with the school and see if she has unpaid tuition there if they would even tell me. the thing is, I still think Lana is an okay person. I’m not normally wrong about these kinds of things. Did she fuck up? Yes. Did she screw me over? Yes. But I think it was done to aid herself and not done with malice toward me.

“Do you have proof of your college tuition not being paid?” I question. She looks up at me and nods her head. “Can I see it?” She pushes back from the table and goes to her room to retrieve it. While she’s gone, I look around at this apartment that I didn’t have the chance to live in very long. It’s a cute place. I think I would have been happy here had I not met Sebastian and my had my world turned upside down. When she comes back, she hands me the paper that’s dated for the day she said. I look down at the bottom and my stomach flips at the sight of how much she owes. Fuck, she did what she thought she had to do. She’s so passionate about art and this school and it was about to be taken away from her. I know the feeling of being stuck and having to do something drastic. That’s why I moved here in the first place. I had to get away from the stares and the constant chattering everywhere I went. “When is this due?” I ask.

“It’s due by Monday if I want to keep my classes that I’m already registered for. If not, they will drop all my classes. I’m so sorry. I’ve messed everything up. You trusted me and I let you down. I’m going to move back home. That’s the only choice I have.” Lana confesses.

“What if I paid for this semester? Would you beable to save up and make payments next semester?” The question looks like it knocks the breath out of her. In all honesty, I didn’t know I was going to say that either. It just flew out of my mouth.

“Why would you do that? I’ve been nothing but terrible to you.” She argues.

“You weren’t terrible the whole time. It’s true that you shouldn’t have done what you did but you were desperate, and you thought it was the only way to escape your fate. I get that. I want to help you, but this doesn’t make us friends again. You will have to earn that trust back. But in the meantime, you’ll be able to attend college. What do you think?” I ask.

“I-I mean, yes. Yes! Thank you. You don’t know what you are doing for me.” She states.

“I do. I’m giving you a fresh start. How about don’t fuck it up this time.” I reply. She puts her hand over her mouth in awe with tears streaming down her cheeks. I pull out my purse and write a check to the university in her name so it can only be used at school. I slide the check across the table and Lana jumps out of her seat to hug me.

“Thank you. You won’t regret this. I promise I will earn back your friendship. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She sobs as she looks at the check in her trembling hands. “Oh! I forgot I have something for you.” She runs to her room and comes right back with the pair of Louboutins that I ruined in the rain. “Here, I painted these for you. You don’t have to wear them, but I thought they would be perfect for you.” She hands me the shoes and I see she has painted them with scenes from the Harry Potter book covers. All seven books are represented in some fashion. They are the coolestthings I have ever seen. I look back up to her and know I did the right thing. She didn’t have to do this for me, and she didn’t know if she would see me again, but she painted these shoes for me, and I will cherish them. We may have a long road ahead of us, but this is a good start.

“Thank you, Lana. I love them. This must have taken you forever to do.” I tell her, still examining the shoes and finding little details that I didn’t see the first time.

“Well, I haven’t been sleeping well so I would get up and paint. It helps put my mind at ease.” She explains and I definitely know how she feels.

Sebastian comes out of the room and walks over to us. “The guys are almost done. They will be taking loads out soon. Everything okay out here?” He asks, looking from me to Lana.

“Yep. Everything is good.” I tell him. “Let me go make sure that the guys are packing everything I came with.” I get up and walk to my old room. It resembles what it did a few weeks ago with everything back in boxes. I walk over to a portrait of Blaine that I did, holding it up to the light. This portrait did not age well. The paint is chipping off in areas and the whites are turning brownish. I painted this when we were in high school when we were happy and before the band got signed. This represents the old Blaine, my best friend.

“You were a lovely time in my life, Blaine, but that’s all you’ll ever be. Not all art is meant to hang on the same walls indefinitely. Sometimes we have to trash the canvas and start new.” I murmur to the painting as I drop it to the floor.

Sebastian

I wait until Stormy is in her old room to speak. “I heard everything. She may believe you, but I don’t. Rip up that check. I’ll pay for your school but if you ever betray her trust again, you will need a lawyer for what I do to you. You revealed her secrets, and I won’t let you continue to hurt her. She’s young and somewhat naïve but I’ve been around people like you. You could have found another way to pay for school or just gone back home. You didn’t have to throw Stormy under the bus, but you chose to. I’ll call the school and donate in your name but if you so much as utter her name in any way but positive, you will be on a bus home.” Lana nods her head as a fresh set of tears spring down her cheeks. She takes the check and tears it in half. She knows I mean business. She’s a money chaser like her father. They are two peas in a pod. I did a little research on Lana Jones, and I know more than Stormy does. She has a history of talking to the press about things in her home town. Only this time it didn’t work out. She didn’t get the money she was promised because I stopped it. “Your school is being paid for and I’m only doing that because Stormy was going to. She sees the good in you. Make me see that as well. You know, I did a background check on you, and I know this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this.”

“I’m sorry for hurting her. She was so nice to me, and I sold her out.” She replies.

“Yes you did. And you lost that trust you built. Now sign this NDA so you can’t make the same mistake again without paying a price.” She signs the paper and I stuff it in my jacket just as Stormy comes back to the kitchen.

“Everything seems good to go.” She says. Shegrabs the shoes from the table and puts her mug in the sink. “I guess I’ll see you around, Lana. Good luck in school.” She remarks and leaves the kitchen waiting for me to follow her. I look at Lana giving her a glare, so she knows what it means. She nods her head and I turn on my heels and walk out of the apartment with Stormy on my arm. I told her that I would always protect her and that means protecting her from bad people, even if she would never know about it. We get in the elevator as a tear rolls down her cheek.

“What’s wrong, Angel?” I question.

“I just still can’t believe she did it. At least it’s done and I got my things from there.” She says.

“Yeah and you never have to see her again.” I insist.

“Well, people can change, right? Who knows, maybe she will turn things around.” I love her for her huge heart, but I disagree with her on this. People never change. They may seem like it, but old habits die hard, and Lana was probably about to try and cash in on more money with a new story had I not made her sign that NDA.

I open the car door for Stormy and buckle her in, something she still fights with me on, and I get in on the driver’s side. The crew knows where we live, and they will be along shortly with all of Stormy’s belongings. This is the start of a new chapter in our lives. Stormy moving in with me is the best thing that could happen to us. I’m not saying I’m glad that article came out but I’m glad it gave her the push she needed to stop dragging her feet and move in with me.

Chapter 34

Sebastian

It’s Monday morning, a week from the funeral, and Stormy and I are back at work. We spent the week in each other’s arms when we weren’t unpacking her things from her old apartment. My attorneys visited Dennis Jacks and their family. He signed the paperwork, did the official interview, and got paid the money that was promised to him. Everything seems to be back to normal.

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