[ONC shortlisted]
Rose Veretta is the heartbeat of the nation. Her smiles on magazine covers are worth a million dollars and to just get one of her clicks was to die for. People loved her and she loved her audience. At least that's what everyone tho...
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It wasn't often that Rose woke up to the sound of her phone blowing up with notification sounds and her entire body hurt. The screen showed twenty missed calls and fifty-six messages from her manager and the few other actors she knew. Her sight was blurry and eyelids constantly protesting against opening wider and there was a sharp sting on her cheek which felt like a bruise.
Her neck ached from being in an odd position. She sat up straight, rubbing sleep out of her eyes in a hurry. Her head, elbows, and knees were throbbing from having been seated in the same position the entire night.
She was at the door of her penthouse where she had apparently been sleeping till now. The card key was lying right beside her but the door was perfectly locked. She tried to remember the last night but nothing was clear. It was a hazy memory like a messed up charcoal sketch which left the canvas in a gray mess.
She hurried inside the apartment, closing the door behind her. The phone in her hand rang once again, making the ache in her head even more pronounced.
"Thank god you finally picked up Rose! I was so worried!"
The voice was, of course, her manager Darwin's. It was evident in his voice that he was panting heavily. He was probably clutching his inhaler in his free hand.
"Why?" Rose managed to croak out. Her throat was awfully dried.
"I-it's all a mess, Rose where are you?! You shouldn't be alone!"
"Darwin! Relax, it's okay, I am home and I am fine."
He took two heavy breaths, "Sorry, fuck, I am really stressed. Don't leave your house for now."
Rose pressed two fingers on the sides of her forehead, massaging the area gently.
"What about the fan-meetup?"
"It's postponed till tomorrow. Rose I'mma need you to sit down for this one."
"What the hell Darwin, this is not a movie, don't increase the suspense." Rose rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch. There was no answer received from the phone and Rose's eyes doubled in size realizing her words, she was about to apologize before the guy spoke again.
"Right, sorry, I am going crazy because of the police officers here. Listen up, Sophie is missing."
Suddenly as the damn broke, memories of last night came flooding inside her head, crowding the already filled-up space. It felt like her skull would break into hundreds of meat pieces any second.
"What?"
"Just see the messages I sent you. We are trying our best to keep this low profile but you already know the Zeke, he's an asshole."
The phone call disconnected and Rose couldn't be happier letting the device slip down her hand. She employed both of her hands to massage her head.
Of course, she knew Zeke, he was producing Butterflies. His motto was 'Every publicity was good publicity'. He was most probably going to use this in favor of the series.
