The Last Thing (28 page)

“A lot of it is made up,” Ginger said trying to console me. I
knew that, but it didn’t change the fact that it was all there for the whole
world to see. I don’t know why, but other people’s view of him bothered me.

“How long before they figure out who I am?” I asked her.

“A few days, if we are lucky. The media almost ate you alive
last time, but that was local news. These types of reporters won’t be as nice.”

I sat up and wiped the tears from my face. I couldn’t break
down again. This time someone else was depending on me. This life inside me.

“I know.”

“Now, Quinn. I know that I’m rude to him sometimes but I can
see it when he looks at you. It’s a look that Bash never gave you. He loves
you. Don’t let this tear you apart.” She picked up my cell phone from my
nightstand and put it in my hands.

“People hate me. They think I’m the other woman. It wasn’t
supposed to be like this. We were supposed to come out as a family.” I told her
before pulling my knees up to my chest. They wouldn’t understand that what Chase
and I had, it was more than just physical. I should have listened to him when
he wanted to make a public statement. Right now, when he looked at me he saw
the real Quinn. He didn’t judge me. Things were just beginning to feel perfect.

Ginger grabbed me by the shoulders and roughly shook me.

“Don’t do that. Don’t go back to shutting everyone and every
feeling out. Feel what you have with Chase and fight for it! Do you want to be
with Chase?”

Was Chase what I wanted? Yes, I was sure of it. I hadn’t
realized how much until now.  However, this situation brought up horrible
memories. Bash, a whole town that thought I killed him.  I curled up inside of
myself as I thought about all of the whispers, accusing eyes, and threatening
letters.  Chase wouldn’t leave me to handle this alone. He’d stay by my side.

“I want him,” I whispered.  “I didn’t think I could feel this
way about anyone ever again, but I do. Chase makes me feel everything that I
shut away.”

“Good, then go to him and find a way to fix this. Don’t let
Chloe James make you look like the bad person.”

Chase

I sat in the big brown club chair at my publicist’s office.
Rhea set a bottle of water in front of me, but I was far too pissed off to
acknowledge the gesture.

“How many times have I told you this? When you get yourself
in these types of predicaments, you need to tell me beforehand so I am not
blind-sided by these God damn stories!”

She threw a few magazines on the floor and leaned forward to
look me straight in the eyes. Even though I wasn’t afraid of her, I cringed.
She could get ugly when she was mad.

“ And luckily, one of the reporters down there owes me a huge
favor.  He tipped me off about Chloe’s big story. We have time to prepare a
statement and maybe, just maybe, minimize the backlash.” She scrambled in front
of her desk and started going through papers. Her salt and pepper bun sat on
the top of her head, and she pushed her black specs higher on her nose.

“Are you positive?”  It was the only thing I could force out
of my mouth. Chloe wanted fame, but I hadn’t realized just how far she’d go to
get it.

“Chloe James sold her story to the press. She is playing it
off like she is the victim and you knocked up some other girl. This is bad,
Chase.”

 I couldn’t shake Quinn from my mind.  I wanted to be next to
her, to shelter her from the shit that was about to go down. The media would
tear her apart; portray her in an unfair light. This was entirely my fault. I
couldn’t protect her like she needed. She had even warned me, told me that same
thing.

“Positive. Quinn’s story never made national news, but it was
still quite a story on the east coast. Sabastian was a football legend. Here’s
a news article I dug up about the accident.” Rhea tossed a newspaper my way,
which I swiftly caught in my hands. I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want
to a face to put with Sabastian’s name.  My curiosity got the best of me, and I
glanced at it. Quinn stood in a cheerleading uniform next to a guy in a
football uniform who stood about a foot taller than her. She looked different,
younger in the face. Her hair was shorter, but she appeared happier, not so
lonely. That was the Quinn I wanted more of; this girl on the picture was not
the scared and emotionally unavailable one that came out sometimes.

“This doesn’t change anything. I still love her,” I said,
matter-of-factly. That much I was sure of.

“Yes, it does. You don’t love her. This is infatuation. You
want the one girl who didn’t want you back. This is the type of thing that will
ruin your career. People will judge you like they did her. She was made an example
of, Chase. And now she’s pregnant? How stupid could you be? I encouraged your
playboy antics because I thought you were smarter than this. I have to figure
out a way to spin this story, but I can’t make promises. You should have
convinced her to take care of the baby.”

The way Rhea talked about our child caused my stomach to
wrench. The horrible taste in my mouth wouldn’t go away, so I picked up the
water bottle and gulped down about half of it. Rhea was making everything
clear. It was Quinn or my career. I couldn’t have both. My mother had
sacrificed everything so that I could follow my dreams. What would she think of
me now? What would she say when she heard the rumors? Twenty-four hours ago, I’d
been so certain that Quinn had been
the
one, the only one for me. All
feelings aside now, I needed to put her first. I would have to sort everything
else out later.

“Break it off,” Rhea demanded.

“No.”

“Break it off, Chase. I am warning you. A scandal with a girl
like her is not what your reputation needs right now. You can’t be photographed
with her.”

“We can fix this. Surely, there is
something
in the
contract about Chloe selling this story to the press. I can’t lose Quinn.”

“Maybe; maybe not, but what’s done is done. The studio will
want you to salvage the movie. Two months before the release date, Chase. Two
months. That is all I’m asking, and let’s not even get into the fact that you
had the nerve to keep this relationship a secret from me!”

“I didn’t have a choice. This is her life too.”

“Your reputation is the only one I am concerned about. Do the
right thing, Chase. Do you really think a girl like this can handle a life like
yours? She cracked under a little bit of pressure. The media will eat her
alive. Do you really want that for her?”

“No…”

 Rhea was right. I didn’t want Quinn dragged into this any
further than need be. Losing Quinn was the last thing I wanted, but I knew by
now that you didn’t always get what you wanted in show business. I picked up my
phone and dialed her number. I glared at Rhea and moved from her office into
the bathroom for a bit of privacy.

“Chase. I’m so glad you called.” Her voice caused my stomach
twist in pain.  She wouldn’t be happy in a few minutes. When I didn’t answer,
she spoke again.

“Chase…you’re  scaring me is everything okay?”

I savored her voice. Who knew when I would hear it again.

“Chloe’s the one who sold the story to the paper.”

“What? How did she find out about me? Did you tell her?”

“No, I didn’t say anything. She picked up on things here and
there. She may have overheard me talk about you to Harlow. She is obsessed with
media attention. I just didn’t realize how far she would take it.”

“What are we gonna do?”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes so that I could get
the words out without breaking down. I shouldn’t be causing her stress, but
doing this would cause tremendously less than staying with her.

“We can’t do anything, Quinn. This was all my fault. I should
have never agreed to let the press think she and I were dating. I shouldn’t
have hid you away like my dirty little secret. I should have loved you every
moment I had the chance.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, let me come by. Where
are you?”

I didn’t want her here. If she were, I wouldn’t have the
strength to finish this. I had to do this over the phone.

“No, please…. I don’t want you to get caught in everything
that is about to go down. I’m under contract for two more months to do what my
studio says. People will pick you apart when Chloe tells them who you are. What
I’m saying is…” My voice broke and I struggled to find the right words. “The press
will start hounding me after this story is released, and I need to keep you as
far away from it as possible. Let them get over the shock, and then we can eventually
go on with our lives.”

The line was dead. Her silence was breaking my heart.

“Quinn, please say something.”

“You’re… leaving me?”

“No, not leaving. I’ll always support you and take care of
you and our child. This is only for a few months. We need to take a break.”

“A break? I get it, I hide in the shadows until the baby is
born and let the world think that I am a slut?”

It sounded terrible coming from her mouth.

“No, that’s not it at all. Can’t you see I’ m trying to protect
you? We can talk on the phone and even Skype. I thought we could come out as a
family, but I don’t want you to have to deal with it this way.  You deserve
more than what is about to happen.”

“I’m sick of text messages and Skype. You just came home and
now you’re telling me that we have to be apart, again? We need you. Me and the
baby. Don’t give up on us; don’t leave me alone.”

“No! I don’t want you to hurt yourself again!”

I heard her intake a sharp breath. I regretted it as soon as
it left my mouth. How could I have thrown that in her face?

“That’s all you needed to say,” she spat out. The line went
silent so I put my phone away.

My stomach lurched till I found the toilet and threw up. Hurting
her was the worst feeling in the world, but I had no other choice. If we went
public now, they would drag her through the mud. Last time, she’d tried to kill
herself. This time, who knew what would happen. I wasn’t willing to take the
risk that she was stronger now, not with my child inside of her. I was being
much too protective. It was a long time before I felt better. But I finally
made it out of the bathroom and into Rhea’s office. She took her glasses off
and sighed.

“Listen, Chase. I sent out your official statement. Do not
contact Chloe.  I need you to pull yourself together. No girl is worth this
much anguish. It looks like Chloe had someone tailing you for a while. She has
pictures, a lot of them. Any reason why she is so mad at you?”

I shrugged. I was the one thing she couldn’t have.

I stared down at my phone, which showed twenty missed calls.
Scrolling through the list, I saw that my mom, Harlow, and Quinn had called.

Dammit, my mom called
.

I put the phone back in my pocket and made a mental note to
call her later. Without hesitation  I also sent a quick text to Randall. I
wanted to make sure Quinn was kept safe. If people found out who she was, I
could never forgive myself if something happened to the baby.

“So? What now?”

She sat back down in front of her computer and started typing
away.

“I’m writing press releases, and you need to stay out of the
public eye. Go home and relax. I’ll call you when I figure it all out. But you
better believe you’re paying me overtime for this shit.”

“Just make it all go away,” I mumbled while rubbing my temples.

 Unable to stomach the thought of going to the new house, I
left her office and went back to my condo near the beach. I sent a quick text
to Harlow to let her know that I was okay, but ignored her calls.  I tried to
call my mom, but didn’t get an answer, so I left her a voicemail apologizing
and promising to explain everything to her in the morning. Right now, my entire
world was crashing down around me. I could have either my career or the woman I
loved. I couldn’t have both, not right now.

Quinn

The
second I’d walked out of the restaurant, the photographers rushed in from the
sidewalk. They covered me from each side, and I felt the world start to pulse
and quickly close in on me. I kept my sunglasses on my face as the cameras
flashed. All around me, the photographers yelled out. Some of them were nice,
but a bunch of them were outright cruel. Someone at work tipped them off after
seeing the photo in the paper, so my manager had sent me home.

“Homewrecker!”
“Whore!” “Gold-digger!”

My
vision blurred as I searched for a way through the crowd.

“Move
back! Can’t you see she’s pregnant?” a loud voice boomed through the crowd.

 I
looked up to see Randall, Chase’s bodyguard, pushing his way through the crowd.
I’d never been so happy to see his scowling face. He grabbed my arm and tucked
me behind him. Using his hands, he tried to clear a path for me to walk
through.