Forever

Chapter 10: Aftermath

Two hours. You had been sitting on the floor of Anthony's hotel room, crying – for two hours. And in that whole time, you probably had about 10 missed calls from Chad and Chris, and quite a few texts from others, all begging the same question – "Where are you? Are you okay?".

You had turned your phone off after the first three phone calls – you couldn't deal with anyone after what had just happened. You looked back on the whole thing and kept drawing a blank. "What exactly did I do wrong?" was the only thought running through your mind. Then you would remember how this would ruin the rest of the press tour – not just for the two of you, but for the rest of the cast. And that's exactly what you had wanted to avoid.

Reluctantly, you pick yourself up from the floor and make your way to the bathroom. After shutting the door, you wash your face and re-apply the makeup that had come off. You smooth out your dress and slip on the flats you had brought. You grab your phone from the vanity and turn it back on. You skim the texts you had, and clicked on the first voicemail message from Chad.

"Hi, love, it's me. Just wanted to see how you were – I'll see you at dinner, okay? I love you."

You smiled as you heard those last three words, and then clicked on his second message –

"Hey, I just talked to Mackie. Are you okay? Please call me when you get this."

You sighed as you realized that his next few messages were going to be full of worry, but you let them play as you walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed.

"Babe, please answer. I need to know you're okay. I would come to your room, but I'm in back-to-back interviews. Fuck. Just please call me."

"(Y/N), please. I don't know if your phone died or you turned it off, but god, please just call me when you hear my messages. I'm so worried."

"I'm here for you. I love you so much, please remember that. I will stop by as soon as I can."

"Love, please. Let me help you. Whatever you need. Just talk to me, please."

You called Chad after that last message, waiting as the ling rang and echoed through the empty room. After the third ring, you decided to hang up before you heard a small gasp.

"(Y/N)? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry, babe."

"Of course I'm going to worry, love. You missed your interview. Are you still in Mackie's room?"

"Yep. Where are you?"

"About to get on the elevator. What floor is his room on?"

"Two floors below ours, I think."

"Meet me by the elevators. Please."

You sighed quietly, not sure you'd be able to face your boyfriend after what happened. Yet, at the same time, you needed to be with him – he was the only one who could comfort you at a time like this.

"(Y/N)?"

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you."

You clutched the phone tightly in your hand as you grabbed your purse from the floor and made your way out of the room, towards the elevators. The doors opened as soon as you reached them, and your heart swelled as you saw Chad step out towards you, pulling you into his arms. You stood on the tips of your toes, wrapping your arms around his neck as he hugged you tightly. He rubbed the small of your back with one hand as he cupped your face with the other. You leaned into his hand slightly, smiling as you felt his warmth. You opened your eyes to meet his gaze, and saw how glassy his eyes were. He opened his mouth to speak, but you shook your head to stop him. You closed your eyes again as you rested your head against his chest, hearing his heartbeat. You stood like that for only a short time before you pulled away, putting a hand where you just had your head. Chad looked down at you, his brows furrowed as he studied your face. He held you in his arms at a distance, unsure of how fragile you felt. You looked down at your feet before feeling a hand pull your chin up. Chad leaned down, pressing his forehead against yours, his eyes closed.

"(Y/N)..."

"Please. Not now. I'm not ready."

"When exactly will you be ready?"

You met Chad's gaze as he pulled away, anger beginning to cloud the sadness in his eyes.

"I – I'm not sure. What's wrong, Chad?"

"Anthony refused to tell me exactly what happened, except that I should make sure to avoid Sebastian for a few days. Do you know why he would tell me something like that?"

"Chad, please. I'll explain everything to you soon, just not now. If I talk about it now, I'm just going to start crying and – "

"What the hell did he do to you, (Y/N)? Did he hurt you?"

Your eyes widen in shock at hearing Chad suggest that. "Of course not! Why would you even think that?"

"Chris texted me, warning that Sebastian was getting sort of violent – he threw a few glasses at the wall in Chris' dressing room when he went to talk to him about what happened between the two of you. I didn't know what to make of that, love. Sorry."

That's not like Sebastian at all – is he really that upset? You tried to register what Chad was telling you, but it wasn't making any sense.

"(Y/N)?"

"Yeah?"

"It's almost time to get dinner – we can cancel now if you want, I just want to be with you and,"

"No, no. We're going. Sebastian is not going to scare us away, babe. C'mon, I really need to change, please."

- A couple hours later -

"Are you sure about this?"

"Mackie, please. It'll be fine – Sebastian isn't about to make a fool of himself in front of everyone over this. Just make sure he doesn't sit near us, that's all."

"I'll try my best – Chris said he'll be watching him the whole night so he doesn't drink too much. Are you here yet?"

"Right outside. I'm trying to fix Chad's tie – we'll be there in a few."

Chad ended the call as you smoothed out his tie and jacket. You glanced up to meet his gaze, and saw only worry and fear in his eyes. You put a hand on his cheek and gave him a small peck on the lips before flashing a small smile.

"It's going to be fine, babe. I love you."

"Sure you do, (Y/N)."

You gasped quietly as you turned to put a face to the voice – Sebastian stood only a few feet away from the two of you, an empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. Chad pulled you to his side, tightening his grip on your waist as you gripped his jacket tightly.

"What do you want, Sebastian?"

"I'm just here for dinner and friends," Sebastian slurred his words slightly as he leaned against a brick wall. "And to talk to you, good ol' Chad."

"About what?"

"How I'm not going to give up on (Y/N) - I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make you realize you love me, doll – not him."