Lucky Number

6

Everything was fine. It had to be.

*****

Tom had just finished filming in New York. He'd thought he had a few weeks to relax and recover with you, but when the studio decided to push up the release for a period drama he'd completed a year ago, he had to jet off to do press in London. It was only going to be a week this time, nothing compared to most of your time apart. He'd be back before you'd even had time to miss him.

A couple days later, you decided it was really time to get a new pair of winter boots, so you gave yourself a pep talk and got yourself over to the mall. You'd known you were signing onto this when agreeing to date Tom, after all. You had to learn to live life—there was no way you could stay hidden away forever, and the sooner you learned to cope with it, the easier all of this would be.

You stopped at Macy's first, browsing the sales rack. You felt a prickle on your neck as goose bumps formed on your arms. Glancing around, you spotted a woman in a large puffy coat staring at you. Averting your eyes immediately, your breathing began quickening, your heart rate spiking. Deep breaths, it's all ok. Nothing to be worried about—she's just a fan. You've dealt with them before...this is nothing new. Just breathe. You kept your head down and headed towards the exit that led to the rest of the mall, but out of the corner of your eye, you saw the woman making a beeline for you. She just wants to say hello...stop overreacting. It's fine.

The fan cut you off, stopping right in front of you. You looked up from the ground to meet her eyes, expecting to see the usual nervous, excited expression all of Tom's fans wore. Instead, you found an icy glare that chilled you to the core. The woman just stood there, glaring and blocking your path to the exit.

"Uh, hello. Excuse me." You tried to move past timidly, but the woman sidestepped to block you again. You were about to ask if you could help her with anything when she finally spoke.

Her voice was casual albeit with a slight edge. "Who do you think you are?"

You were utterly confused and didn't know what to make of the interaction. You opened your mouth to reply, but the woman continued, her voice getting louder and more intense with each syllable.

"You're a real bitch, you know that? Think you're so special cause you're with Tom, but you're not. You're just a selfish whore who wants her five seconds of fame. You don't deserve Tom, slut—"

You stood there, unable to move from shock. The woman shouted obscenities at you, and all you could do was stand there. Her words felt like bullets flying into you, each curse ripping through your body, leaving a gaping wound. You could feel yourself beginning to shake, your jaw trembling. Tears welled in your eyes as the woman accosted you.

"Just a bitch who's only in it for his money—fat ugly bitch—he doesn't love you—how could he?!"

Everyone else in the store was too shocked to do much of anything, just staring, jaws on the floor, as the scene played out before them.

After several seconds, you were able to pull yourself together a little, feeling irate more than anything. You didn't deserve this! In a moment of anger-fueled bravery, you took a purposeful step towards the woman, shoving past her—your shoulder firmly knocking into hers, a little more forcefully than you'd intended.

In the next instance, you realized what a terrible mistake that had been. Her hand grabbed hold of your hair and yanked sharply. You felt a searing pain as a chunk of hair tore from your head, the force making you lose balance. You found the bloody spot on your scalp with a hand, staring at the blood on your finger tips. Suddenly out of nowhere, the woman slammed her fits against your chest, sending you backwards onto the concrete floor. Your head cracked against the ground, and coldness seeped onto your forehead. A sharp pain in your side caused you to curl into the fetal position. The woman kicked your side again, before a security guard was able to get to her, pulling her away and restraining her. You heard shouting and some type of alarm going off, but couldn't understand what was happening. Your vision was blurred, and the alarm blared in your ears, ringing incessantly. It was absolute chaos. Then, everything stopped, and it was just darkness.