Chapter Twenty Eight
I wake to the sound of someone repeatedly calling my name, demanding that I get up. Right now I feel like death and sleep. My legs are attached, barely, and my toes hurt. I think it's best if I decide when I wake up – and that's going to be later in a couple hours' time. And this is the reason why I don't exercise, it hurts.
"Time to get up," calls Dad.
"No, sleepy time," I mumble into my pillow.
"Riley, wake-up, we're running out of breakfast time," Dad calls back.
Snuggling further into my warm covers, I put my pillow over my face and hide from the outside world. I understand why people sleep the morning away, and I don't blame them for it either. Why would anyone want to get up early from their late nights – I don't think coffee will make things better either.
"Since I'm the only one up, I better answer the door and let this Alex guy in," he casually yells out.
Dad's sneaky stunt does the stick. My eyes pop open and the tired, sluggish feeling inside of me disappears. I feel on edge, nervous until I catch the bright gigantic smile on his face. The evil plots my parents will do to get me out of bed always seems to amaze me.
"You're sneaky, real sneaky you know." Dad laughs and moves away from the doorway.
Throwing the covers away from my body, I climb out of bed and stomp out of the bedroom and into the main living space. I head straight for the small kitchen area where the room service menu is placed. I spend a couple of minutes looking through the breakfast items despite already knowing what I want to order.
Hopefully the pancakes are as good as the last batch from the previous hotel. You know you just want to see pancake boy again, a thought pops into my head. And of course I want to, just as Riley though. I can't be Sienna around Nathan, I'm too afraid he'll connect the dots.
When I get back to New York, I'll only have a couple of days for Riley. I'm not sure how I'll pass off being in New York a second time. I don't want to have to lie to Nathan any more than I have to lie to Alex about myself. I want to feel real to at least one person.
"Have you decided on your breakfast?" asks Dad.
He comes and stands next to me at the kitchen bench. I point out the food items I want as well as a mango smoothie and a bowl of fresh fruit to be healthy.
"I think I can remember all of that." He takes the menu from my hand.
"Just call if you need me. I'm going to start getting reading," I say.
Dad nods his head, "Sounds good." He produces his mobile phone and begins tapping in the room service number located at the top of the food menu.
"Have fun." I grin.
"Don't forget you have to be in the studio at nine," he adds.
At the mentioning of 'don't forget', I remember the one thing I was trying not to forget. Breakfast with Alex at the restaurant in the lobby. On any other day it would look like an accident, but after our almost kiss last night, it would look all shades of really bad. I don't want him to gather the wrong impression from my absence.
Rushing into my bedroom, I grab my mask off my side table and pull it on. I drag my fingers through my hair to remove the tangles. I still want to look decent despite greeting Alex in my pyjamas. With my complexion a fraction neater, I run back to the front door.
"Just need to speak to Alex for a second," I yell out before disappearing outside the hotel room.
Dad yells something, but it's muffled when I close the door behind me. Probably something about this new, silly rule he's trying to implement. I'm just stepping out for a minute, I'll be fine. I don't plan on walking to any dangerous neighbourhood.
I dart to the door next to me and knock. When nothing happens, I knock three times more. It takes a couple more seconds after the second knock before I can hear movement happening on the other side of the door.
My heart completely stops when the door opens – this was not how I expected my morning to unfold, but I wouldn't change it either way.
He's just stumbled out of bed from the state of his short black hair. It's tousled devilishly, and there's a few strands hanging in front of his eyes. He's frequently blinking his eyelids from the onslaught of light – and I feel bad for waking him. There's a slight slant in his posture which gives the idea he's still tired from last night, or half asleep and out of balance.
I almost loose balance as my eyes scan down the front of his body. He might not be a ripped, shirtless super model, but there's a certain Alex chair that's making my heart swoon with happiness. He's standing in front of me with low slung grey pyjama pants with black anchor patterns dotted around.
"Hi Alex," I whisper, a little flushed from his appearance.
"Sienna? What are you doing here?" He yawns.
"I can't do breakfast with you, so I'll meet you at the studio at nine?"
"Okay, I'll see you then." He nods his head. "Make sure your own time, I wouldn't want you to get a bad reputation before your first interview," he adds.
"That would be bad." I frown.
"See you then."
"Bye." I smile awkwardly and then retreat to my own hotel room before anything else can go wrong.
I slip inside the room and slam the door shut. With my back pressed against the door, I slide down and softly land on the ground. Closing my eyes, I imagine Alex and the images of his shirtless body consume and fill my mind with pure delight.
My cheeks turn a bright red shade when someone knocks on the door. Dad gives me a weird look and I just shrug my shoulders in return.
Getting off the floor, I open the door and great the person. As I catch the smile on their face, it only makes sensitive to my current clothing choice – pink and red Hello Kitty pyjamas that a young child would wear.
Instead of looking confident like Alex and his half nakedness – I feel utterly humiliated. I want to climb back into bed and hide under the covers. I would give anything to be hidden away right now. Why does Nathan always catch me in this state? He's turning out to be my awkward pancake boy.
"Hi Sienna," he cheerfully says.
Just like our first meeting, he's nibbling on the bottom of his lips to hold back the desire to laugh at me. Thankfully, I'm not bound by a contract or the wrath of my parents – so I pout at the unfolding situation and reply to him.
"Hey Nathan."
"I've got your food order." He turns away and grabs a tray off his trolley.
"Thanks." I take the tray off his hands.
"I was surprised when I got a deliver request for your room – I thought you were having breakfast with Alex?" he asks.
"It's really none of your business." I slam the door in his face.
Guilt courses through my body, but I ignore the feeling.
I take the heavy tray over to the kitchen bench and then slide it in front of him.
"What the heck did you buy?" I ask.
"A variety of food. Eat up because we need to leave soon." He takes the tray lid off and steals a slice of plain toast.
"Got it." I survey the tray and take the food I ordered and an extra hash brown or two since they're just sitting there.
"Ava and Archer are coming over this morning, they can have breakfast too," he adds.
"At least the food won't go to waste then," I point out.
Picking up my knife and fork, I dive into my already buttered pancakes and fruit. I change between the fruit and the pancakes – which is kind of weird going from something hot and buttery opposed to something cold and crisp. Since I started recording music, my appetite has gone through the roof. All this use of energy is making me really hungry.
I'm about halfway through my meal when another person knocks on the door. I grab the napkin off the table and wipe my face before turning to open the door and Ava and Archer are waiting.
He's dressed in his usual black slacks and collared shirt, along with his angry game face. While Ava is wearing blue jeans and a flowing layered white shirt and brown boots. Her hair is tied up into a ponytail and a clip board ticked under her arm.
Despite Archer's intimidating appearance, Ava is the one who manages to scare me the most. With her tight ponytail, she looks deadly serious and the kind who enforces the rules and unfortunately doesn't let them slide.
"Dad just ordered some breakfast if you want some," I offer.
Ava cracks half an amused smile and enters the room with Archer swiftly following behind. With two new people in my environment, I can't help but feel like an awkward duck stuck out in the middle of the pond by themselves. I don't know what to say to either of them.
Making friends with Alex seemed easier, I'd spent years listening to his music and following all of his interviews and social media accounts. But two strangers, I don't know what question to pop first. 'How's your morning?' or is that placed into the same category as weather?
"Make friends," he whispers, and then points to the two.
Rolling my eyes, I nod my head in agreement. I'm going to spend the next couple of months with them, might as well get to know the two. It isn't easy keeping a secret life, or a famous one either – I'm going to need people to confide in.
"Food?" I point to the tray.
I point out the plates and the cutlery before making myself cosy with my pancakes again.
"Thank you for the offer," starts Ava, "but I'll explain your schedule first. I have the whole day planned out." She enthusiastically smiles.
"Okay."
"Now, we have a tight schedule today because the record label wants to introduce more promoting methods and ideas to kick start your tour. We want it to be as successful as possible!" As Ava begins to explain the information and appointments, I find all the dates, names, and what I'm supposed to do flying over my head. Maybe she should just email me an itinerary, or print it out?
"And that's everything we have planned. Of course, there are a few pending requests, but I don't want to overload you. The first day of promotions and interviews can be tiring," explains Ava.
I haven't had the opportunity to do a single thing and I'm already exhausted just thinking about the list she's got. I need to sleep and focus on writing my songs, and I won't get the chance if I'm spending my whole day being shuffled in-between buildings and cameras. I don't think I clearly understood what this job required before agreeing to sign a contract.
"Is that everything for the day?" I ask.
"Yes." Nods Ava, "we're going to leave in twenty minutes, you should start getting ready."
I've already managed to finish my pancakes and eat a couple chunks of fruit, so I nod my head happily and place the knife and fork on the table. Scurrying off to my room, I close the door and lock it behind me. I want to feel safe without my mask on, and I don't want Ava wandering inside to discuss ideas and more events I'm supposed to attend. I want my room to be a happy and calming place.
Taking my mask off, I head straight to my bed and flop down and snuggle under the covers. I rest my eyes for a brief second and enjoy the calming feeling that overcomes me. I begin to think of outfit choices until the sound of someone assaulting my bedroom door pulls me away from my thoughts.
"It's time to leave," calls out Ava.
Grabbing my phone off the side desk, I notice that I've actually fallen asleep instead of briefly closing my eyes.
"I'm coming, just a minute," I lie.
Grabbing the biggest bag I own, I dash into the bathroom and start filling it with make-up, jewellery and other junk I may or may not need – who knows, I'm trying to be optimistic here.
Once I finish packing my bag, I search through my suitcase for something to wear. I fish out a white single shirt with the outline of a skull, a pair of black shorts with golden studs dotted around. As I change into my clothing, I chuck a pair of heel boots into my bag as well.
I grab a pair of large sunglasses and fluff my hair in front of my face for a bad disguise. I decide against it, and put my mask on and the sunglass over the top of the mask. I don't have time to do my eye make-up, and I don't want other people to see me without it on.
When I emerge from my room, I spot Ava pacing back and forth nervously and Archer happily chomping on crispy strips of bacon. Dad's sitting on the couch with a weird, annoyed look on his face.
"What took you so long?" he asks, "and why aren't you dressed properly?"
"I'm going to miss you so much when you leave!" I try to change the conversation. I don't really want to admit I fell asleep while I was supposed to be getting ready, I don't want him to bring in another ridiculous rule about changing with the door open.
"I'll miss you too." Dad gets up from the couch and gives me a hug. Despite disliking my parents on the occasion, I'll always miss them when I'm gone for too long. I tightly squeeze his body and try to remember the feeling. It's an odd thing saying goodbye, because he's the one always leaving.
"And before you know it, we'll all be here supporting you." It's not easy remembering you're all alone, at least that's what it feels like when my family isn't here.
"We need to leave, Riley," Ava says, breaking the moment between us.
Shaking off the feeling of being alone, I smile internally and to the three of them. It's the kind of smile that says, 'I'm ready', but I don't feel an inch like it.
The thought of saying goodbye makes me feel sick to the stomach. I don't want to have to say goodbye, it makes me feel like he's going forever.
"See you later." I smile.
"See you soon." He smiles back.
Grabbing my bag, I follow Ava and Archer out of the hotel room.
"What took you so long, Riley?" asks Ava.
I ignore her questions again and begin laying out the rules, "You can't call me that in public, it'll give my identity away. Instead, call me Sienna."
"Sorry, I'll try to remember that," she mutters with a nod of her head.
"Good to know you understand. Now I have an interview to attend, and make-up to put on." I brush past Ava and quickly follow Archer to the car, leaving a stunned Ava standing by the hotel door. It stings, but I don't want to be the puppet everyone else has become.