I awake the next morning to find Demi pacing around the bed, her cell phone pressed against her ear, and an annoyed expression on her face. Knowing she has yet to realize that I'm awake, I watch her.
"What do you expect me to do, Adaliah? I can't just drop my entire tour for you." I raise an eyebrow at how she sounds like such a bitch when she's talking to her girlfriend. "God, what is with you? How many times do I have to tell you that I would never fucking cheat on you." I can't help but to snort incredulously, causing Demi to glare at me. "Adaliah, I have to go. The team needs me." She ends the phone call, her glare not relenting in the slightest. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Me? I have no problem."
"It's obvious that you do." She scoffs. "You think I'm a slut, don't you?"
Sitting up, I chuckle humorlessly. "Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart. I think you're a lying, cheating, whoring bitch." She stares at me with her jaw slack, her hands curled into fists at her sides. "What are you going to do? Throw a temper tantrum? Hit me? Scream profanities at me until the next room over calls the cops?"
"You don't know me, Banner."
"Obviously I don't." I stand and approach her. "But my sister thinks she knows you better than she knows herself. She looks up to you. She idolizes you. I swear sometimes she thinks that you can't do a damn thing wrong in this world. How do you think she'll react when she knows you're not so perfect afterall?"
With a panicked expression, she seizes my arm. "You can't tell her."
"And why not?" I scoff, shaking her hands off of me. "You don't care about her. She's just another paycheck to you."
"It would crush her."
"She'd get over it."
She stares at me with a disgusted, hateful expression. "You'd ruin your little sister for the sake of being vengeful?"
I hold her gaze for a few more moments before storming past her and out of the room. "Kelsie, we're leaving."
I try to ignore my sister's wide-eyed, innocent gaze. "Dude, I literally just woke up."
"Doesn't change the fact that we're still leaving." I stand in front of her sitting position on the couch. "I will not hesitate to drag you out of here." When she continues to do nothing but stare at me with a confused expression, I roll my eyes and hoist her tiny body over my shoulder.
"What is wrong with you, Banner?" she screeches, trying to fight against me. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think you're officially crazier than I am right now."
"You can't just force her to leave," Demi interjects as I'm heading for the hotel room door.
"Why are you acting as if you honestly care?"
Kelsie gasps as if I offended her before slamming her fists against my back. "She's not acting, you idiot."
"I hate to break it to you, Kelsie, but your idol is a fake."
"Fuck you," she retorts, still continuing to punch me.
"Would you stop hitting me?"
"Would you stop acting like such an asshole?"
"Banner, you can't just leave with her like this," Demi pleads.
I turn around to face her, leaving the hotel room door agape. "Give me one reason as to why I shouldn't."
She combs her fingers through her hair in exasperation as her eyes dart around the room, looking for an excuse. "She hasn't even eaten breakfast yet."
"She doesn't even eat." I slam the hotel room door behind me.
"What is wrong with you?" Kelsie harshly questions as I carry her towards the elevators at the end of the hall. "Why would you tell her that?"
"At least I didn't lie to her."
"I'm still wearing her clothes, Banner. All of my stuff is back in her hotel room."
"I'm sure she's used to having strangers' clothes in her house and vice versa."
"Why do I feel as if that was another asshole comment?" she groans.
Though I haven't been carrying her very far, my vision begins to blur. When we finally reach the elevator, I can barely distinguish the up arrow from the down arrow.
"Aren't you going to press the button?" I slowly return my sister to her feet before squeezing my eyes shut and kneading my forehead with the tips of my fingers. "Banner?"
I force my eyes open, wincing at the bright lighting, wincing at my sister's worried frown and concerned eyes. I slam my hand against the down arrow, leaning against the wall for support as we wait for the doors to open.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Kelsie," I grit out.
With a ding, the doors open, and I nearly stumble inside the confined space.
I'd kill to be at home right now, asleep in my own bed. The pounding in my head is relentless.
Somehow, I manage to lead us to the front desk, where the same guy from yesterday stands, typing away on the computer.
"Is our car here?"
He stares at me, probably shocked by my abruptness, but I don't care. All I care about is getting home, as far away from Demi as I can possibly get.
"Your car is in the parking lot," he replies, and I release a grateful sigh, "but you still have to pay all of the fees."
Clenching my jaw, I turn away from the man and grip Kelsie's arm, practically dragging her out of the hotel.
"What are you doing?" she shrills, trying to pry my hand off of her wrist.
"We're walking."
"But our car-"
"Kels, do me a favor and shut up."
"I'm not even wearing any shoes!"
I pinch the bridge of my nose as I turn to look at her. Only a pair of socks cover her feet. Releasing a sigh, I crouch down.
"Get on my back." Looking over my shoulder, I see her chewing on her bottom lip, hesitating. "Kelsie-"
"I don't want to hurt you."
"I don't have time for this," I groan, and her eyes flicker to the ground. "Please, Kels. It's just until we get home."
Rolling her eyes, she hops onto my back, wrapping her arms and legs around me like a koala bear.
"Let's go home," she murmurs.
~
When we finally manage to reach our house, both Kelsie and I are shocked to see our car in the driveway.
"How is our car..." Kelsie murmurs, trailing off as she jumps off of my back.
She circles our car, as if it's going to vanish right in front of her, studying it with a slack jaw.
I pluck a tiny note card off of the windshield.
I'm sorry.
Underneath, is a phone number and d.d.l. scribbled in the bottom right hand corner. Rolling my eyes, I crumple the note up in my fist.
"How did our car get here?" Kelsie wonders as I make my way to the front door, with her following close behind.
"It doesn't matter."
"Of course it does. What did the note say?"
Clenching the doorknob tightly, I turn around to face her with narrowed eyes. "It doesn't matter," I enunciate each word.
She returns my narrowed-eyed gaze, but nods anyways. Sighing, I push open the front door, throw the note in the trash, and go straight to my bedroom, wanting to sleep myself into oblivion, wanting to forget the shitty mess that my life has become.
~
Laughter wakes me up. Laughter that is high-pitched, slightly squeaky, and very infectious. Familiar.
A groan escapes my lips as I drag my hands down my face. Why must Kelsie be so obsessed with her?
Half asleep, wanting to return to my state of blissful oblivion, I force myself to stand, to shuffle towards the living room.
"Kelsie, turn down your stupid Demi interviews. I can hear them from my bedroom, and I was-"
I stop, seeing my little sister sitting on the couch in front of a black television screen.
"Demi interviews?" the popstar wonders, an eyebrow raised at my blushing younger sister. She chuckles when my sister falls uncharacteristically silent, staring at her lap. "Sweetheart, do you think you could give your brother and I a moment alone?"
Though my sister's eyebrows are furrowed in confusion, she nods and rises to her feet.
"Don't hurt her," she hisses as she passes me, and I roll my eyes.
With Kelsie in her room, the silence is now awkward, suffocating. I accidentally catch her gaze a couple of times before we both awkwardly look away.
"This is absurd." She sighs, meeting my eyes, refusing to look away. "Can I explain-"
"Explain what?" I scoff. "That you're cheating on your girlfriend? That you're hiding her from the world? That you're a liar?"
"Yes, okay?" she nearly shouts, jumping to her feet. "I'm cheating on my girlfriend. Is that what you've been wanting to hear?"
Hearing her admit that, seeing her hands tremble in sync with her lower lip, seeing her eyes become glassy, seeing her try so hard to defend herself...I feel guilty, regretful even.
"Why?"
"She chooses to hide from the world, by the way. She wants nothing to do with my fame. It's easier that way."
"Easier for who?" I retort. "Her? Or you?"
"Everyone. It would be messy-"
"I don't know what fantasy world you're living in, but newsflash, Disney Princess: relationships are messy."
"And what the hell would you know about being in a relationship?" she seethes, and my eyebrows raise.
"You're seriously going to use such an immature retort?" I narrow my eyes at her. "Why are you cheating on her?"
"That's none of your business."
"You made it my business when you decided to kiss me."
"Why do you care so much?"
"Why do you? You're the one who kissed me. You're the one who is cheating. You're the one who initiated the meet and greet. You're the one who payed for me to have my car back. You're the one who apologized and came here."
"Kelsie called me, actually. She found the note that I left in your trashcan."
"You're the one who is avoiding questions."
"I can't tell you why I'm cheating on Adaliah."
"Then leave. Leave me, and leave her."
"I can't."
I snort. "Of course you can. You have two legs, and there's the front door."
"I can't leave her."
"So, you'll keep putting her through Hell-"
"You don't even realize what it's like being in a relationship with her! You're assuming that she's some damsel in distress, and I'm the cheating asshole!"
"Because you kind of are."
She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. Inhales. Exhales. Repeats.
"You don't know what it's like walking on eggshells every second of every day. You don't know what it's like constantly having to defend yourself, to check in as if you're suddenly a teenager, to watch your back as if you're being stalked. You don't know what it's like feeling manipulated by the one person that you're supposed to love. You don't know what it's like second guessing every single word that comes out of her mouth, wondering if the sweet words and comments that you wake up to and go to sleep to are all lies. You don't know what it's like being in a relationship with her, so stop acting like you do."
Silence.
I have no idea what to say.
Her lip, her hands, are no longer shaking. She no longer appears to be on the verge of tears. She seems calm, relieved even.
"She'd be stupid as hell to hit me, but she can yell some pretty demoralizing things, and I swear some of the shit she has said to me hurts more than any punch or slap or kick ever could." She pauses, opens her mouth, stammers. "You don't know what it's like. You can't judge me if you don't know."
"Then tell me what I should know," I murmur, taking a step towards her.
"Nothing." I loosely grasp her wrists, and she stares at my hands curled over her tattoos. "Everything." Her eyes lock with mine once again as she looks up. "I've tried to leave her before, so many times, but that's when the worst of her decides to show. The evil and the dark and the desperate. Whenever I try to leave her..." Her eyes flicker away, and that's when I notice the darkness and the desperation in them. Her next breath is strangled, shaky, painful. "Whenever I try to leave her..." Her voice wavers slightly, matching her breathing, matching the trembling of her lower lip and the trembling of her hands. "She threatens to kill herself."293Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHJqyBZCb8
