Beautiful

Chapter 35

Veronica POV

Layla walks me down to the lobby of the studio. "Girl you were amazing today," she says. "I really think we have the beginnings of an album."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but me too!" I say. I'm really proud of all of the work we've been doing. 

"It's gonna be so-," Layla gets cut off by her phone. "Ugh, sorry," she says as she reaches into her pocket for her phone. She looks at the screen for a second and says, "I gotta run, but I'll see you Thursday." She gives me a hug.

"See you soon!" I say and walk out. I open the door and I'm immediately met with nice, cool air. I reach into my bag and grab my phone to turn it back on. As I stand there, waiting for my car to come around, I check all my missed messages. 

I'm surprised to see that I have hundreds of text messages, missed calls, emails, and news reports. I click on the top notification which is a news report. The headline reads, "Source Reveals Veronica Agrest Escaped Abusive Relationship After Three Years." 

My legs come out from under me and I collapse on the New York sidewalk. My ears are ringing and I can't hear a thing. Everything around me goes fuzzy and all I can see clearly is that headline. 

I read the article and it gives a description of everything that happened when I left Sean. And it's all true. I look at four more articles and they all say the same thing. 

It's everywhere. Every social media platform and all of the news networks are covering it. 

I hear a muffled voice that becomes more clear the closer it gets. "Ms. Agrest," my driver and bodyguard, Chris, says calmly. He helps me up off the ground and into the back of the car. I am silent. "Home?" he asks and I nod slowly. 

I open my Messages app and see texts from my family, friends, and Theo is at the top. I read his texts first.

T: Babe, have you seen the news?

T: I didn't say anything, I swear

T: I'll be at your place when you get home

T: I just got here 

I'm relieved he'll be at home when I get there. I know he wouldn't say anything, but it still makes me wonder. My paranoia kicks in as I start to wonder who would've possibly told anyone about this. The only people that know are me, Theo, Sean, and Zeke. The only person I would think it could be would be Sean just to be cruel.

We pull up to my apartment and the entrance is swarmed by paparazzi. Chris gets out first and walks me to my door. My doorman, Anders, helps us to get in okay. Chris walks me to my elevator and doesn't leave until the doors close behind me. I stare at my reflection in the elevator doors. I was so happy just a few moments ago, and that's all gone now. 

The doors open and I see Theo sitting on my couch. The TV is on and some news program is covering my story. He looks over and jumps up to come see me. He immediately wraps his arms around me and I fall into him. I start sobbing into his chest. He carries me over to the couch and I lay there, crying to him. I can't even begin with what to say. For the first time in my life, I'm at such a loss for words. Theo rubs my back and holds me close, tightly, to him.

I greatly appreciate the fact that he doesn't feel the need to fill the silence. My body feels numb and my brain feels fuzzy.  I look down and notice that my hands are shaking really hard, I clench them into fists in an effort to make them stop. It doesn't work. Fear takes over and I shift into autopilot. 

I hear a muffled sound from far away. It starts to get closer and I realize it's Theo saying my name. "Ronnie, honey, do you have any idea who could've done this?" he asks. I shake my head. The only thing I can rationalize is that Sean did it just to be cruel. I say as much and Theo's face goes dark. Sean infuriates him and I can't say that I blame him. I'm still furious over the way he was treated by Layla. "How do you want to move forward?" he asks. I sit up and wipe my eyes with the heel of my hand. 

I lean forward, elbows resting on my knees, and sigh. Once I even out my breathing, I say, "I'm tired of lying. I want to set the record straight." There's a moment of silence as he considers what I said. I turn and look back at him over my shoulder. 

"How?" he asks, pushing some of my loose hair behind my ear. The long, straight strands are probably starting to curl back up since I cried on them.

"I don't know," I say. "I can make a video on my YouTube channel," I continue.

"That's not a bad idea. That way you can tell you're story in the way you want," he says. I sigh again and lean back against the couch. 

"I don't have a clue where to even begin. I just want to curl up here and never leave," I pout, crossing my arms. Theo lets out a little chuckle. The corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly into a lovely little smile. That alone helps lift a little bit of the weight sitting on my chest.

"Well I would love nothing more than to be here for that," he says and it makes me smile a little, which makes him smile a lot. He kisses my cheek and traces little circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. He sits up to rest his forehead on the side of mine and we sit in a moment of comfortable silence. 

"Can I offer some advice?" he asks. I turn to look at him straight on and nod. "I think a good first step would be to answer your phone. Your family and friends and even Camille have all been reaching out to me to try to figure out what's going on because they can't get ahold of you," he says. I nod slightly. 

"That's not a bad idea," I echo his words as I reach up to push some more of my hair, miraculously still straight, behind my ear. Theo takes my shaking hand in his and kisses the back of it. 

"You know I'll be here no matter what you decide. No matter what," he says softly. he lifts my chin up so that my eyes can meet his. I nod once and lean down to pick up my phone.