Paige
I’d spent the last few days driving through multiple states, only stopping for gas, food, the bathroom, or sleep. My sporty black BMW did little to help me keep a low profile, so I made sure to tuck my hair up into a baseball hat and wear sunglasses constantly.
So far I’d been able to avoid prying eyes, and no one I’d come across even spared me a second glance. Most people would never think to look for me in their town, not to mention the fact that the majority of people I’d run into probably couldn’t care less about who I was. Consumed with only my own thoughts for company, I felt freer than I had in a long time, as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
My thoughts drifted as I drove aimlessly down a near desolate highway, the sun sinking into the horizon somewhere in my rearview mirror. I had no idea if I was still in Texas or if I’d crossed over into Louisiana at some point, since the landscape was virtually unchanged. Lush green trees and tall grasses filled my view in every direction. Houses were few and far between, separated by acres of farmland.
I enjoyed taking in the scenery around me until his voice came over the radio and filled the empty space inside my car. Slamming the power button off on the stereo, I opted for the blissful sound of silence instead. I’d grown tired of listening to the same songs over and over again. Tired of hearing Colin’s latest hit mock me from my own speakers.
Colin.
My heart ached in the rare moments I allowed myself to think of him and remember that we had shared some good times together. It wasn’t all bad. Actually, it was rarely bad. The majority of our relationship had been happy and filled with understanding. At least, that was what I’d always thought it was.
No.
Colin made a fool out of me and continued to do so to better his public image, and I was determined to hate him for that. Or at least try.
But this wasn’t even about him. Not entirely. Leaving Los Angeles was about so much more than just the public spectacle Colin created when the photos of his cheating hit every media outlet. And even though the public had taken my side, I still felt like a stupid girl. Like I should have known he was a complete cheating scumbag who lacked the ability to keep it in his pants.
But I didn’t. Because I was too trusting. And so in a single moment, ten months of dating was flushed down the toilet and swept out to sea. Being this trusting made it hard for someone like me to stay in control of my own boat in the waters of Hollywood. Somewhere in all this fame and celebrity, I’d completely lost control of my life. I was no longer the captain of my own destiny.
My thoughts drifted to the hotel last night and my mistake at turning on the tiny television. Colin’s face appeared on a sit-down interview on an entertainment show.
“Paige knows this is all a big misunderstanding,” he’d claimed, and my stomach churned.
“The pictures and video look pretty damning, Colin,” the interviewer had said.
Colin nodded. “They do. But you know everything can be faked these days. You know it and Paige knows it.”
“So you’ve talked to her then?”
“Of course I’ve talked to her, Sandy. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Oh
. I’m sorry, it’s just that we were under the impression that Paige wasn’t speaking to you, and that you two were definitely over. At least, that’s what we’d heard from one of our sources.”
“Can’t believe everything you hear. You should know that by now.”
“So the pictures were faked, the video was faked, and you and Paige are perfectly fine?”
Colin nodded and grinned. “I didn’t do anything, Sandy. I would never cheat on Paige. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“Then where is she and why isn’t she speaking out? Our sources say she left town to get away from you.”
I’d flipped the TV off at that point, my desire to shove it from the cabinet and onto the floor growing stronger with each lie that spilled from Colin’s stupid lips. If I was on the fence about what a jerk he was before, I certainly wasn’t after seeing that interview. Dating him had been a mistake to begin with. I knew that now.
After watching everything he’d said during that interview, I knew immediately the only reason he said everything he did was to better his public image. He’d been all but vilified since cheating on me, and he was in damage-control mode. Thankfully, I’d never had to spin lies like that for publicity purposes, but I’d seen it done many times. I knew the attempt to save face when I saw it. It sucked that he pulled me into it and I wasn’t there to defend myself, which was why he probably did it in the first place. A hundred bucks said Colin knew I was off the grid.
When I made the mistake of using a computer in the hotel’s business center, I caught sight of an online report that had the audacity to claim that this was all a publicity stunt coordinated by me since my newest movie was due out later this year. But I didn’t give a damn about the publicity. This wasn’t a stunt. My life wasn’t a press release.
At least, it never used to be. I didn’t even know what it was anymore.
Focusing my thoughts back on the road in front of me, I listened to the sound of each piece of stray gravel crunching and popping as I drove along the deserted highway. It soothed me in an odd sort of way. Searching the recesses of my mind, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been alone like this. The last seven years of my life had been scripted, scheduled, and planned out for me. At first it had all seemed so glamorous, my new life on movie sets around the world, the parties, the money, the lifestyle. But once all my friends from high school started going to college, I started craving what they had. Seeing their pictures on social media filled me with envy, and I longed to have one thing in my life be normal, or relatable to others my own age.
Lost in thought, a sudden hissing sound followed immediately by a hard jerking motion to the right pulled me into the present. I steadied the wheel and guided my now limping BMW to the side of the road. Ungluing myself from the black leather seat, I stepped out of the car as the sweltering humidity almost pushed me right back in.
Wherever I was, it sure was hot. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot in Los Angeles, but it was a dry heat. This felt more like a blanket soaked in warm water and tossed across your shoulders. It wasn’t comforting. And it wasn’t refreshing.