Fallen Starz

Chapter 2

When I was twenty-one I got drunk at a club one night with my girlfriend and attempted to drive us home. That error in judgment cost my girlfriend her life.

Robyn wasn’t just my girl, she was famous as well. I was more urban and R&B while Robyn was urban crossover, aka a bona fide pop star. Her star was rising and little girls everywhere wanted to be like her. Boys crushed on her and envied me. She was going to be one of the future’s biggest divas. Except, Robyn was a sweetheart and didn’t take her status to heart. She was down to earth and treated everyone with respect and went out of her way to be nice in an industry so cold.

I guess that’s why everyone turned against me after her death.

When word got out that I’d been drinking and driving that night the media had been in an uproar. Rumors started going around – they were creative. The worst part was they deviated so far from the truth. Some said I’d gotten drunk and started a fight with Robyn in the club over her receiving texts from other guys. Some said I’d grabbed her. Some said she was planning on leaving me and I’d crashed on purpose. That was the worst.

No matter what the actual truth was, the result of my recklessly killing her through my drunk driving turned everyone against me. No longer was I that golden boy straight out of Ohio. I was some punk who had taken America’s sweetheart from the world selfishly. No one cared how broken and remorseful I was for what I’d done. No one cared that I’d lost my best friend and first love. No one cared that we had families who had to wake up and read the slander written about me. No one cared.

The industry simply painted me as the villain and bad boy and sought revenge. I’d gone on probation and had to pay a fine. I’d sought counseling to tackle my grief. Yet, no matter what I did nothing could eradicate my foolish mistake.

After my run-in with Lauryn and seeing how far gone I was from the world I used to be a part of, I rarely saw the light.

I had to force myself out of the house and to the park one weekend to play some ball. Back home, before the fame, I was known for my skill on the courts. My parents thought my ball playing was my guaranteed way into college. In some ways my mom still wanted me to go and get my education. She’d wanted me to put the music on hold after my first year so that I could finish school and get a degree. At the time, singing and touring was what helped my family. Even with all my current free time I wasn’t so sure about going to school.

Overall, basketball always put me where I needed to be. It was one quick stress reliever when I wanted to escape from it all.

It was a hot Saturday afternoon and I was shooting around by myself when I stopped to grab a swig of water. By chance I happened to look up and I saw her.

Lauryn was walking alongside a younger boy as he bounced a basketball on the path that led from the playgrounds to the basketball courts. Out of her uniform she was dressed in a simple tee and shorts combo while her natural curly hair was up in a bun. One thing I could register from our first encounter and even that moment as I saw her again was that she was a pretty girl.

Whatever it was that the boy beside her was saying Lauryn was definitely listening closely as she bobbed her head and responded when needed.

And then she looked up and noticed me.

Miss P for Pissed-off didn’t register, instead, she seemed to smile at the sight of me.

The boy noticed me next and I watched as his eyes grew big at the recognition of who I was. Instantly he tugged on Lauryn’s arm and practically dragged her across the court and over to me.

“Marco! What’s up, man?” The boy reached out and slapped my palm with a big grin on his face. He wasn’t that tall, definitely shorter than my six one, but gaining up on Lauryn’s height. He had to be about thirteen or so.