Summer of Stars 🌟 [complete - Under Editing]

Curl Up And Die

James and I didn't speak after that, and I blindly went through the motions of my days trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong. Maddy kept asking me why I was crying, and I told her it was because the store was out of my favorite chocolate ice cream.

My daughter seemed to accept this answer, but my mom and I knew the truth. I had hurt my best friend so bad he didn't want anything to do with me.

To make matters worse, Stephanie had started posting all sorts of quizzical quotes on her website and her social media feeds. Every one of them had something to do with love and betrayal or making your way through the darkness to find the light or some such nonsense. And of course, her ardent fans immediately attributed her woeful words to my reactions during the recent interviews with Miles and Ninja Bear. Needless to say, a whole new host of rumors started to fly.

First, people speculated that Miles had whisked me off to his homeland in a flight of romantic fancy, so we could hide out and frolic through the moors naked. (I don't even have a passport!)

Then, a person on Reddit swore they'd spotted us partying together at the Chateau Marmont in downtown LA, but the photo was too blurry to tell if it really was me. FYI: The fuzzy woman in the picture had darker hair than me, and was at least a size two (I'm a size six on my best days.)

Next, some awful girl in Woodinville claimed to be my long-time best friend and gave a tell-all interview about my salacious sexcapades that made me a teen mom (PS she wasn't even in high school by the time I'd dropped out!)

None of these stories were true, but that didn't stop people sending me hundreds of hateful messages that barraged my email and fan page day and night. Some even sounded downright threatening, which nearly made me choke on my own breath.

I emailed screenshots of the worst messages to Briana, asking for her help, but she had gone uncharacteristically silent. I was being burned at the stake, for hanging out (and hiding out) with my sick kid, and there was nothing I could do to prove my innocence.

My mom tried repeatedly to get me to call James and apologize, but I was too overwhelmed. All I wanted to do was barricade our front door and never leave the house again. By Friday, I was nearing a nervous breakdown when my phone buzzed five times in a row.

Thinking it was Briana finally texting me back with advice, I snatched up my phone to discover that it was Jocelyn calling me.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey!" She exclaimed spiritedly. "Are you at home?"

"Where else would I be?" I asked, already exhausted.

"Well, there's someone here who's asking to see you, is it ok if I give him your address?"

"Sure, why not?" I shot back without any humor. I was in no mood for that kind of baloney and I wanted her to hear it in my voice. "Give a stranger my address, that sounds like a good idea."

"I'm not a stranger," a deep voice replied with a tempting chuckle.

Connor's pleasant laughter was a welcome surprise.

"Oh wow, sorry, that comment wasn't for you." I stammered, embarrassed.

"It's ok, I understand, safety first," he sniggered. "I finished up my session at Electric Kitty yesterday, and I was, uh, hoping to run some notes by you, uh, for the show?"

I was more than a little confused, as Briana was supposed to be giving me marching orders, but I agreed. Then, I shot upstairs to shower and change so I didn't look like I hadn't washed in two days (which I hadn't.) When I was done, there wasn't any time for makeup, but I figured Connor wouldn't care if he was giving me notes.